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Should i buy a 6.4?

9K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  Isaac313 
#1 ·
i have had a 2007 6.0 for about 6 years now and had to stud it at 130000 miles but other then that its been a good truck . but now I'm wanting something newer and i love the way the 6.4 looks inside and out but have heard so much bad stuff about them that there worst then the 6.0 ever was. not looking to make 500hp i do tow my bass boat and sometimes a camper but will be using it mostly just as a dd so may want a light tune on it.. whats your thoughts thanks
 
#2 ·
I just did the same thing about a month ago. And I loved my old 6.0. It was a 2004, extended cab and I bought a beautiful low mile 2010 crew cab Cabela's and haven't looked back. It's not the tractor my old truck was, it is more refined, more quiet, and quite frankly I like it better all around so far. In fact I am at the tire shop getting a new set of tires put on as I type this.

But I do miss the sound of the old 6.0... Just a little....


My 2c.
Good luck with it.
 
#3 ·
Honestly... There are a lot less little problems that you run into with the 6.4. The problem with it, is when something does start going wrong it usually takes the motor with it. Couple that with having to pull the cab any time you need to work on it... I love my 6.4, but I also love 6.0s. If your truck is running strong then I wouldn't switch.
 
#5 ·
It also looks like you have quite a bit of money invested in your 6.0. That is something to consider as well. Mods on a 6.4 are more expensive than mods on a 6.0. The only real difference you will notice is the interior and the fact that even deleted a 6.4 is still very quiet. If you stand on it a 6.4 is also going to build a lot more power than a 6.0, but a tuned and slightly built 6.0 will get you pretty close to a tuned and deleted 6.4.
 
#6 ·
do you have to delete a 6.4? and if I don't tune it will it last ? or can I tune it with light tune without egr dpf delete?
 
#7 ·
Don't bother with a 6.4 unless you delete and tune it... The regen process will literally eat the motor alive. Do a bit more reading before you decide on a 6.4. Leaving them stock is asking for problems sooner rather than later.
 
#8 ·
Would never own a 6.4 that isn't deleted. I actually bought a 6.4 last week ordered deletes next day.
 
#9 ·
Ok I don't. Mind deleting it. But I don't want to tune a lot to make it blow. What kind of tune could I go with just a tow tune is all I need. And does it need a full exhaust? Muffler? I take? To make a good dd
 
#10 ·
I run a 210hp tune from river city diesel and I have a few tunes from Gearhead that I use for towing. The tune itself isn't going to kill or even hurt the truck (unless the person writing it is a moron...) its the higher egt's, boost, and your want to shove the go pedal through the floor. The main killer of tuned 6.4's happens to be the person behind the wheel. Just about every single person that blew up their truck on here has a story that starts with "I was doing a few boosted launches and I just dono what happened...". That isn't just the 6.4, we see them quite often for just about any tuned vehicle.

The other aspect of a 6.4 is fuel and oil. Plain and simple, this is probably the least forgiving diesel out right now... If you don't keep up on basic maintenance like your life depends on it, the truck will eat through your savings like a school of piranha.
 
#11 ·
so if i buy one and delete all the mess it should be good? does it need a full exhaust? intake ?
 
#12 ·
I always suggest an intake even if you are staying stock. It is true that the stock filter will flow "fine" up till about 500 hp...ish... But, aside from regen I personally think that the stock filter doesn't flow enough for the dual turbo setup. I don't think it can give the lp turbo enough air, in turn this starves the hp turbo causing it to eat away its own seal. This combined with the high egt's from the regen process... Well you know.

Anyway, yes delete... Run a mild tune and do your maintenance like your left nut depends on it and you should be fine. Providing the owner before you did just the same. Stock these trucks should have an oil change interval of about 2500 miles... Ford says 8000-10000 miles...................... Now you might understand why these things have the bad reputation. Running 10k miles with super diluted oil is going to cost a motor sooner rather than later.
 
#13 ·
ok thanks for the info buddy
 
#14 ·
There is more info than anyone can read in one sitting on 6.4's. They are truly amazing trucks, but they are the Ferrari's of the truck world. Damn do they move, if taken care of they will last... But when they break, man do they empty your wallet lol. Ohh yah, and basic maintenance and replacement parts are stupid expensive. But that is nothing new in the diesel world.
 
#15 ·
Sold my 7.3 a few months back and bought my 6.4. Haven't looked back! These trucks are beasts and to be honest, I don't find them as complicated as people make them out to be. Advanced? Yes. Space shuttle? no. I think overall the design is a lot better that my 7.3s.

As said, deleted It should be pretty reliable... IF you maintain it. That's my take on this can of worms.
 
#20 ·
With a great 6.0, unless you wanna keep both. You might regret it just because you had a great reliable truck that you loved, and now you would be back at square one. For a 6.4 though....



This is my take. Put a light tune on it, intake, 5inch straight pipe. Delete everything.

Mine has been great, although I got it at 230k undeleted, so who knows what that may have done, I haven't found any weird mechanical issues though.


In general though, I would say for someone who works hard and cares to take care of something, a 6.4 isn't bad. And in some cases, judging by the previous owner..... You might want to buy an untuned one... Just use good judgment.. lol Some people just like rolling coal and making tons of power with no regard to reliability.

Anyway, good luck looking around! :)
 
#16 ·
I think these trucks are misunderstood, truly... And not in some psycho babble sort of way.. but literally.

Check out backglass 6.4 bible.. as far as free resources, it's one of the best. You'll learn all kinds of stuff about these things, and comparing the differences to other power plants both newer and older, you can see where the engineers were really onto something and where they whiffed...

For instance... Oil coolers... A brick in the valley that has oil passages adjacent the coolant, and which is intended to cool the oil to the transfer of coolant... So... A warmer, too, as it is... But there are some functions in that thing that aren't talked about much, here, that are significant by my reckoning. A delta between coolant and oil temps presents itself and people automatically resign to 'clogged oil cooler', and, they may be right.. They may be wrong, too, and simply don't understand that there are no water jackets on the bottom end, as in any motor I know of (auto, anyway) and oil is the crank, rod, camshaft and associated bearings only way to cool- keeping friction to a minimum as the first line of defense, but also that the oil is fastracked when a certain psi is achieved, indicated by high rpm or load, and the cooler becomes pretty much useless during those events... Many a garage or dealer is happy to exploit this rumor, and announce 'clogged cooler, yo, lay down 4g's'.... Lesson? Lifetime coolant and coolant filter w/o silicates... Use good oil with high sheer strength... Don't introduce anything that increases pressure in the system, but DO install bypass filter capable of removing sub 5 micron particulates without disturbing flow or pressure, and remember, when under heavy load the full flow filter is bypassed, anyway, so when you're going to encounter high demand you'll at least have cleaner oil to do its job on standby.

Similar is blow by.. why do these engines produce so much crankcase vapors? They've a monster compound turbo sitting on top of them... That's why... Running the vapors back into the intake cokes turbo wheels, collects in intercoolers creating pressure points and reducing flow, and ultimately slips oil into the combustion which spits remnants at cats, shortening their life dramatically when the zinc (zddp) chemically reacts with the catalyst... Which creates excess back pressure, which is bad by itself but horrendous during a regen- coupled back with the clogging intercooler disallowing air the pcm expects causes excessive heat that only gets hotter when it meets the resistance of a clogging cat, and pistons, valve seats, and valve guides take a beating, allowing more oil past in the short game, and weakening rings in the long game, and compounding the issue exponentially leading up to catastrophe.. lesson? Ccv mod. Reroute at least through a catch can before reintroducing it into the intake, better to atmosphere... Turbo seals will appreciate it, your intercooler and boots will appreciate it, your air to fuel ratio will appreciate it (along with your passenger rear quarter panel and your local popo) your cat and dpf will appreciate it, and they'll extend that appreciation to pistons, rings, valves, valve seats and guides, rockers lifters and push rods.. see? A happy family.

Fuel is to be clean. Clean I tell you.. and lubed... To go from 500ppm to 15ppm, the sulpher has to be removed... Guess what else gets removed in that process? The properties of lubrication. Other than the delicate high pressure system and the house of cards supporting it with the flimsy oe lift pump, fuel also lubes and cools the high pressure pump... Water will destroy everything in the system in just a few passes... Gotta keep it dry and lubed, and filtered as fine as possible.. lesson? Air removing lift pump with sizable water capturing chamber, as good a filter system as you can afford, good fuel to start with, regularly scheduled water draining habits, filter changing habits, and some sort of warning if you lose pressure from your feed (lift pump) to your bowl so as never to turn the high pressure pump dry ever... Ever.. one running out of fuel at high load/rpm and you're likely done with that hpfp. Not a happy day.

I could go on, but it's late... This truck is a tinkerers dream- replacing upgrades with maintenance, and do it religiously and following the advice in many threads here, and it'll treat you very well.. let it go and it will fly apart. Finding one in good shape is getting harder these days, as they're highly prized for their performance potential- they're put up wet more times than not, so to speak. Find one in good shape that's taken care of? You've got a hellhva rig. Put it this way: I wouldn't pay $15k for a dressed out lariat ultimate on a car lot, but there are several people here that I'd pay upwards of $30k for theirs even if it were an xt... That's not an offer, folks... But it is to say that if I ever sold mine I'd hold out for someone who understood the value of a well maintained 6.4 and willing to pay for it... They're worth every penny if they've been taken care of.
 
#17 ·
^^^^ See... When in doubt drew comes in and forms thoughts into words lol. And it isn't just a tinkerers dream. If you have access to a lift for the cab it is a tinkerers wet dream :p

The point we are trying to make is if you buy a 6.4, you need to be prepared to learn. They aren't stupid proof trucks like a 12v cummins or 7.3 idi. Or even to an extent the 7.3psd. These trucks can be one of the best trucks to own if you just take a little while to do your research.
 
#19 ·
i am happy with it but want something newer . going to sell my 6.0 to my dad and sell is 7.3. i am wanting a 6.4 bad
 
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