6.4 questions

[Sangre Naranjada]

Well, I will soon be in the market for a new truck. But to be honest, its been a while since I left the diesel truck world (had a '97 7.3....loved it). Anyway, with the price of a new 6.7 wayyy out of my range, I was hoping you guys could shed some light on my options/pros/cons of a 6.4. I know there are issues, but with these issues corrected, are these still good engines? The truck will be a second family car and used for eventually pulling a 20' gooseneck. Mileage is a concern (isnt that a 6.4 issue?) but I would also like the truck to have a little sinister side, if you know what I mean!

Are there any year models to shy away from? What are the major issues with these engines? Are there any shops in the Houston area to remedy these issues? Really want to get as much info as possible before I pull the trigger on something.

[one2nine]

6.4 is a good motor but it does have some flaws. If possible 09 and 10 are preferred as they have had minor updates along the way (head gaskets, radiator, etc). The dpf is an absolute killer for these trucks IMO. A dpf delete, egr delete, dp back exhaust, and a quality tuner would be a good start. The egr coolers have been known to fail/crack and cause engine failure. There were some early issues with hpfp wire chaffing but I really haven't heard much about that. Some hpfp failures have been linked to rust, so make sure to drain the water separator frequently. If you do plan on running some hot tunes a full exhaust, intake, cac pipe, and head studs wouldn't be a bad idea to keep reliability up. Depending if you want to go further than that, a transmission should always be in the back of your mind when you start eclipsing 550+ hp.

[Sangre Naranjada]

What would be considered a mild tune? Are there egr cooler upgrades that would elimante said issue? Assuming I did a dpf delete, egr delete, downpipe, and mild tune, what would expect rwhp to be?

[Jeff @ Spartan]

I would consider our 210 tune a mild and very safe tune for your truck. It would put you around 475 HP at the rear wheels.

[one2nine]

A full egr delete will remove the coolers off the truck so no need to worry about them anymore. As Jeff said a 210 and below would be a mild tune.

[Sangre Naranjada]

How wild of a tune would the stock tranny handle? When I had my '97 7.3 I remember going through two torque converters and one aftermarket tranny.

[Sangre Naranjada]

Also, what kind of dollar amount would I be looking at doing the aforementioned mods?

[B585Ford]

Originally Posted by one2nine

6.4 is a good motor but it does have some flaws. If possible 09 and 10 are preferred as they have had minor updates along the way (head gaskets, radiator, etc). The dpf is an absolute killer for these trucks IMO. A dpf delete, egr delete, dp back exhaust, and a quality tuner would be a good start. The egr coolers have been known to fail/crack and cause engine failure. There were some early issues with hpfp wire chaffing but I really haven't heard much about that. Some hpfp failures have been linked to rust, so make sure to drain the water separator frequently. If you do plan on running some hot tunes a full exhaust, intake, cac pipe, and head studs wouldn't be a bad idea to keep reliability up. Depending if you want to go further than that, a transmission should always be in the back of your mind when you start eclipsing 550+ hp.

^^^^WHS
If you pick up a Diesel Power Magazine from this month, they have an article on weak links of the 6.4. Some of the issues I rarely hear about, but I think one2nine covered everything that is common. If you get a Job 1 or Job 2, you may run into HG issues if you run the bigger tunes. Like Jeff said, Spartan's 210 would be considered a good/reliable mild tune. I don't think there are many issues with any of the Jobs with that tune, but Jeff could probably tell you more about that.

[Razzer]

is the egr delete as simple as a block off then a tune to get rid of the computer part of it?

[one2nine]

Originally Posted by Razzer

is the egr delete as simple as a block off then a tune to get rid of the computer part of it?

You're going to be getting rid of the vertical and horizontal egr coolers as well. Those are really the issue you're trying to eliminate.