08 F350 diesel input

[aspenripper]

anyone running a F350 6.4 diesel dually for a tow vehicle ?
interested in your opinion good or bad and real world mileage figures, towing and empty
thanks
ed

[reidhazelton]

If you want, give Hypermax (Search Internet for their site) a call. They deal only with Ford diesels, so they will be able to give you some real good information and even some ideas and parts to bump the economy. They are some real good people to deal with, and they are racers too.

[smcqueen]

I purchased a new 2008 Ford F350 4x4 Crew cab long bed diesel last April. I currently have 33k miles on it. I used to drive a 2001 diesel excursion until it got totaled last April with 235k miles. The 6.0 engine scared me away from anything used. The 6.4 supposedly has been the best and most trouble free engine rollout ever for Ford. The Dieselstop forum has all the info you would ever need.

If you are looking for a truck, try and get a Job 3. Job 1 were the first trucks built. Job 2 and 3 incorporate updates to the ECU and other details to improve milage and drivability.

The only generic problem I know of is the radiator. I just had mine replaced. Problem with the supplier. The tanks start to leak.

The truck is incredibly quiet inside. You actually have to turn the radio off to hear the engine.

Biggest downside is fuel milage. Until the clean diesel technology advances, we are all going to suffer with poorer milage on new diesel engines. The main drawback is the diesel particulate filter (DPF) which catches all the black smoke. While this alone does restrict the exhaust and moderately impact fuel milage, the big impact is the regeneration cycle used to clean the DPF. Fuel is injected into the DPF in order to burn off all of the captured carbon. This cycle occurs every couple of hundred miles or so depending upon how you drive.

If I check milage between regen cycles for my normal commute, which includes highway and city, I get about 16 or 17mpg. Over a full tank of fuel, with regen cycle, milage is knocked down to 14-15.5mpg. My tow milage with a 24ft trailer fully loaded is about 8-10mpg at 70-75mph depending upon wind and other driving conditions. Comparing this with my '01 7.3d Excursion, I got 17-18 normal driving and right at 10mpg towing.

Also, you will have trouble putting a programmer on these engines. Ford got burned so bad on the 6.0 warrantees. The aftermarket programmers on the 6.0's almost always resulted in blown headgaskets which ended up being covered under warrenty. Ford took a beating. The new system will identify and record any changes made to the factory ECU, even after removed. The programmers will also trip your check engine lights. Ford makes you sign a stack of papers stating that you will void your engine warranty if you do any of these modifications. I personnally think that the engine has plenty of power without being reprogrammed. I also think the only way you are going to significantly improve milage is to remove the DPF, which is of course, against the law.

hope this helps,

Scott

[aspenripper]

pm sent