220K 6.4? Too risky?

[jacob95]

Hey guys,
I'm trying to sell my Cummins and I need to buy another truck before winter. I love the 6.4 and I found a nice one for $20k. No rust, ultra clean inside, the only problem is its got 220K miles..... I I don't mind buying a higher mileage truck because I'd like to do a full motor build with the 6.4 anyways. But I need it to make it through the winter at least without any MAJOR problems. I can't be without a truck. He said that the EGR and *** have been ******d since the truck was almost new. Has new headstuds and rockers, gauges, new torque converter, exhaust, and quite a few other things that are common on the 6.4. Here is the link:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/5283409918.html

 

[drunk on diesel]

He bought it with 200k miles two years ago and it was in an accident in 2012. I'd pass on it, personally

 

[jacob95]

He bought it with 200k miles two years ago and it was in an accident in 2012. I'd pass on it, personally

How do you know that?

 

[drunk on diesel]

CarFax

 

[jacob95]

CarFax

Do you mind running this one also? If you can?

 

[what a mess]

where you from jacob im in rockford arrea

 

[jacob95]

where you from jacob im in rockford arrea

I live in Indiana. Near South Bend.

 

[TyCorr]

Heeeeeell no! 20 grand. Yea, ok.

My ford dealer had an 08 ccsb lariat with 50k for 26k this summer. Now they have an 08 lariat with 64k for 26. No way id pay over 15 fir that ***ker with 220k on it. Wrecked? Forget it at any price.

A 6l with maintenance records is lightvyears ahead of that.

 

[morepower02]

Voice of reason.. Thanks was going to post the same.

 

[TyCorr]

Im not trying to piss anyone off. I was supposed to help at the shop.last saturday and i stayed to build more stairs to avoid working on a 6.4. 4 of those and 4 c code cats which i refuse to touch. Too much $$$ to be twiddling my green thumbs in. Or to rephrase an 800-900hp cat has not much in common with the 4xx hp versions that were OEM and easy teardown/rebuild.

Edit: my point, they are junk. I wpuldnt own one for a longterm solution. Or if it HAD to start everyday. Sorry. Calling it like I see it.

 

[jacob95]

Im not trying to piss anyone off. I was supposed to help at the shop.last saturday and i stayed to build more stairs to avoid working on a 6.4. 4 of those and 4 c code cats which i refuse to touch. Too much $$$ to be twiddling my green thumbs in. Or to rephrase an 800-900hp cat has not much in common with the 4xx hp versions that were OEM and easy teardown/rebuild.

Edit: my point, they are junk. I wpuldnt own one for a longterm solution. Or if it HAD to start everyday. Sorry. Calling it like I see it.

So you're saying you would recommend a 6.0 over a 6.r for reliability?

 

[Powerstroke Man 6.4]

So you're saying you would recommend a 6.0 over a 6.r for reliability?

I have had great luck with the few 6.4's I have had over the years with a few minor problems, most will recommend to stay away/ skip 6.4's and go to a 6.0 (studded) or 6.7 and I somewhat will agree to that

The reason for that is repairs for a 6.4 are a little more spendy than say 6.0/7.3/6.7 and usually when a 6.4 starts to let go they will go down hard, with a big repair bill.

with that being said, I currently have 2 6.4s one with 105K and one with 279K miles and they have not given me any major problems.

Basically what it come down to with 6.4's is they are the luck of the draw kinda thing, some will run perfectly fine and live a happy (200K+ miles) life and have little to no problems, and some are a total money pit and have problems left and right.

If you are looking into a 6.4, #1 rule MAINTENANCE if the truck was maintained correctly it should be fine, also when I look for a 6.4 I always look for the truck that still has a stock exhaust and (is not hanging low) why?

if it has a exhaust and its sitting at a dealer lot that means the truck was most likely beat on not taken care of, most likely has a problem so the PO tried to get rid of it as fast as possible.

If buying from a private seller make sure they have all service records.
Pop the hood and check from blowby, oil level coolant level and color and run a scanner on it to check for codes, pids and deltas , listen for any odd noises, drive it down the road and see how it drives, if all checks out it should be fine, if not stay far away.

6.4s are great trucks I must say, when running they run excellent but when they go down they go down. 6.4's were built at the wrong time, combine that with the low quality materials, somewhat bad design and not enough engineering time = 6.4 LOL.

 

[Powerstroke Man 6.4]

Forgot to add.

If anyone does end up with a 6.4 and its bone stock, tune and de-lete asap with some good tunes and a No Limit CAI.

Change the oil every 5K miles (I like to do fuel filters every oil change but that's just me), OEM / Motorcraft filters only.

Run a good fuel additive and be easy on it.

 

[jacob95]

Ahh I see. I've always heard that the 6.4 was more reliable than than the 6.0 but I also knew that fixing the 6.4 costs more since like you said the problems seem to be more catastrophic. Like I said I plan on doing a full motor build next year on whatever truck I get which is why I was looking into a 6.4 since they make awesome power on just a tune and an exhaust but I also need it to be a reliable daily driver through the winter. I have also been told to stay clear of the 6.7. A lot of guys on other forums have said that they are full of problems too and I can't really afford to buy that new of a truck. My budget is right around 25k.

 

[Powerstroke Man 6.4]

Ahh I see. I've always heard that the 6.4 was more reliable than than the 6.0 but I also knew that fixing the 6.4 costs more since like you said the problems seem to be more catastrophic. Like I said I plan on doing a full motor build next year on whatever truck I get which is why I was looking into a 6.4 since they make awesome power on just a tune and an exhaust but I also need it to be a reliable daily driver through the winter. I have also been told to stay clear of the 6.7. A lot of guys on other forums have said that they are full of problems too and I can't really afford to buy that new of a truck. My budget is right around 25k.

Yes some early 6.7s (11- early 12's) had a few problems (valves mostly on C&C trucks), some radiator end tanks etc. 11-14 have the crap SST which is gone and replaced with a GT37 on 15+), with that being said I honestly rather take a 6.7 over a 6.4 for reliability any day of the week.

They are extremely reliable.

 

[jacob95]

Yes the early 6.7s (11- early 12's) had a few problems (valves mostly on C&C ,turbos, radiator end tanks etc. 11-14 have the crap SST which is gone and replaced with a GT37 on 15+), but with that being said I honestly rather take a 6.7 over a 6.4 for reliability any day of the week.

They are extremely reliable.

I definitely cannot afford a brand new truck like that. I do not want a 600 dollar monthly payment. My price range is a 6.4 or a 6.0. Or go with a Duramax.

 

[Powerstroke Man 6.4]

I definitely cannot afford a brand new truck like that. I do not want a 600 dollar monthly payment. My price range is a 6.4 or a 6.0. Or go with a Duramax.

Honestly for your price range I would look for a studed 6.0 with all the reliability updates done to it, skip the 6.4.

 

[jacob95]

Honestly for your price range I would look for a studed 6.0 with all the reliability updates done to it, skip the 6.4.

Man I just really like the power of the 6.4. I can make 500 hp on just a tune and an exhaust. 6.0 won't do that.

 

[04cr450]

^ gotta pay to play then.

 

[jacob95]

^ gotta pay to play then.

And I don't have a problem with that. Like I said I planned on doing a full rebuild next year. It only has to make it through the winter stock besides me doing the ******s and getting an exhaust. And it will get babied. My main question is am I crazy to think that a 6.4 with higher miles will last 4 months if I make sure everything checks out? Or would it be better to get a 6.0 and have to put $6000 into it just to get to the same power level a 6.4 puts out stock?