new Ford 6.4 performance?

[EricBu12]

Anybody out there heard how the new 6. 4 diesel with the twin turbo is doing?... Any problems yet?.



Reason I ask is the new 4500 which is what I would want, don't make a max cab. Im looking at the Ford F-450, for the towing ability and the crew cab and 19. 5" tires stock... Just don't know about the engine durability yet.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Eric, if you're gonna get one make sure the turbo has a good seal on the oil return line https://www.turbodieselregister.com...opics/193819-turbo-upgrades-6-4l-strokes.html

 

[HBarlow]

This is not a direct answer to your question but is information you might choose to consider. I have ordered a new Dodge cab and chassis. About ten days ago I visited an aftermarket truck bed dealer near the Dodge dealer where I will buy my truck. When the woman office manager walked me outside to show me the bed choices I noticed a lot of beds sitting on blocks of wood in the grass. Some had obviously been sitting there a year or two as indicated by the grass cuttings and mud splash around the bottom edges. I commented that it looked like some had been sitting there awhile. The woman replied that the beds were Ford beds and they had ordered a bunch of them a couple of years ago and nobody was buying Fords. That was only her opinion, of course, and was only one small town trailer and truck bed dealer and certainly not the result of a scientific study but possibly an indication of Ford sales.



I drove a new Ford F-450 pickup last week just out of curiousity, no genuine interest in owning one. In my opinion the Ford is a nice platform with a poor engine. I wouldn't have one. My '06 Ram with 226,000 miles on the odometer would run off and hide from it in a stoplight to stoplight unloaded test. I know for a fact that they will not pull side by side with a Cummins without downshifting two or more gears. Each to his own. No Fords in my future.



Harvey

 

[EricBu12]

good to hear of your test drive. I agree that ford is a good platform. . just wish it had the cummins... the F-650 has the option of a cummins but that is a mid truck... not bad but a little big. . like the GMC truck.



saw also some people were having problems on that engine where the regen would puke white smoke for 20 seconds or so and one guy said he had 4% fuel in his oil. !



would love a new dodge if it had the max cab on the 4500. . that also has the cost of getting a upfit bed for it. . so that was why I was wondering on the problems the ford might be having.

 

[FourBarR]

How about the having to remove the cab to do certain work on the engine??!!! Got to love that engineering.

 

[JCrockett]

We have a couple in our fleet. One is up on the North Slope operating in -50*temps. We have a F-550 Crew with a 10. 5' bed on here at the shop. They seem to have a decent amount of power. They all get about 10-12 MPG, they have anywhere from 7500-10,000 miles on them. Sent a couple mechanics to a class on the 6. 4, they came back scared and said they would never personally own one. Ford says after about 125,000 the entire exhaust system would have to be replaced due to particle buildup, about $4000 in parts from Ford at this point in time. Use ULSD only, CJ-4 oil, no excessive ideling, etc, etc. If they can prove you didn't use the specified oil there goes the warranty.



I like the truck just not the engine. We will see how they work out over the next year ot two.



My company truck is an 04 F-350 Crew LB 6. 0 that I drive daily, all I can say is I like driving my Cummins on the weekends.

 

[HBarlow]

JCrockett:



How can the Fords in your company fleet be used in AK if extended idling is prohibited? I was under the impression that trucks operating in such extreme cold were started and never turned off. Am I misinformed?



Harvey

 

[Dick Langendorff]

My son has a F450 as a company truck. He was at the dealer the other day and there were some Chasis Cab Sterlings there. 450's and 550's with a Cummins!!

 

[HBarlow]

My son has a F450 as a company truck. He was at the dealer the other day and there were some Chasis Cab Sterlings there. 450's and 550's with a Cummins!!

Dick,



Your son probably meant 4500 and 5500 Sterlings. Class 4 and 5 Sterlings are nothing more than Dodge Ram 4500/5500 cab and chassis with a Sterling grille and badges. Larger Sterlings are a different truck ... made by Sterling, I think.



Harvey

 

[BimmerAgent]

9 mpg

Rode to Denver and back with a friend in his '08 F450 King Ranch. Really nice truck, but HUGE. When he was bragging about getting 9 mpg, (empty or loaded), all I could think about was my CTD getting 12 mpg, towing tandem, through the mountains. They're nice inside, but ugly outside. Just my $. 02 Bruce

 

[PWitteveen]

My brother has one he uses to tow his 5er. He likes the truck, hates the mileage. He has had it in the shop for two different recalls and had to have the rear-end gears replaced.

 

[JCrockett]

JCrockett:



How can the Fords in your company fleet be used in AK if extended idling is prohibited? I was under the impression that trucks operating in such extreme cold were started and never turned off. Am I misinformed?



Harvey

When I say idling I meant without the high idle function on. We have to equip all of our trucks with a high idle switch to ramp them up to 1500-1800.

With these new trucks they are telling us to flip the swith immedialty before getting out of the truck. If they idle at low RPM for more than about 3-5 minutes they say particulates start building up and therefore will shorten the "life" of the exhaust system. So we tell our guys to ramp them up to keep the heat built up, as best you can do at -50* anyway.

 

[HBarlow]

Thanks. That's good to know. It could be important on the new Dodges as well.



Harvey

 

[Cattletrkr]

I drive a F550 for a local guy every couple weeks. Pulling a 36' stock trailer with one heck of a load it gets a whopping 7mpg consistantly. That's on the console. He has an aux tank so checking by hand is kinda tough.

When it gets cold out the CEL comes on and stays on until the outside temp warms back up.

I personally don't like it. Not a bad truck, but way too much crap to go wrong.

 

[ZBrown]

How about the having to remove the cab to do certain work on the engine??!!! Got to love that engineering.

NO DOUBT



After talking to a ford mechanic and learning this i was like



So after taking a look i doubt a person could drop a wrench under the hood and expect it in any way to hit the floor... ...



I guess the 6. 0's were a ***** but the 6. 4 is moved even farther back and that much harder to get at.

 

[Grizzly]

Eric, I think you have enough good reasons posted here to NOT get a Furd without me adding my two cents.

 

[EricBu12]

True Grizzly...

If I had My way it would be ford F-450 with a Cummins and Manual Trans.

Just was wondering on the 6. 4 as I have not been following it too closely.

Has anyone heard if they (dodge) are going to make a max cab on the 4500? That would be the thing for me.

 

[HBarlow]

Judging from what we've read about the new '09 Ram 1500 my guess is if you don't mind waiting for a 2010 you can probably buy a 4500 with a full sized crew cab. Maybe not a maxi-cab but a larger cab than the current quad cab.



I drove a couple of 4500s and decided they were just too stiff to be used as a daily driver and part time personal RV puller but I wonder... ... are the leaf spring packs on a 3500 cab and chassis the same length as the springs on a 4500/5500? It might be possible to buy a 4500 with the huge 15. 35" brakes and put softer riding 3500 springs under it.



Harvey

 

[EricBu12]

Saw that thing on the "Ram Box" for the 1500. . be interesting to see what they come out with. .

If they do come out with a crew cab then that would be good. . I already have the 19. 5" tires if the 8 lug pattern is the same...

 

[HBarlow]

4500/5500s use ten lug wheels.



Harvey