6.4 New Owner Questions

[J98]

Morning PSA,

New here to the forum but a long time reader. Just picked up a ’10 F350 6.4 with 140k. Got the truck for a good deal, had one owner since new and its bone stock aside from a level and 35”s.

I have a Livewire TS+ that I intend to use as a monitor, its left over from my ’11 6.7. I plugged it in and immediately checked DTCs, it had 3 of them. U0101, P0488, P0529. Noted them down, and cleared them as none of them seemed too large of worry, figured if they came back I would dig deeper into them.

I set up the monitor on Saturday and did a 150 mile trip (no load, 60-70 mph) keeping an eye on oil and cooler temps which seemed alright, oil running about 193-199* and coolant running 190-194*. This seemed alright to me. I guess you could call me a bit paranoid that something is going to go wrong, as I am well aware the 6.4’s had areas of failure.
I don’t intend to tune the truck and despite owning a number of diesels, I’ve never worried much about these things as I didn’t have a monitor till recently.

Now for the newbie questions – what are some good parameters to keep an eye on with the 6.4 trucks? I realize that is an open ended question, but being that I have the ability to keep an eye on things I figured I would ask.

Thanks for any answers or advice in advance!

 

[sootie]

i would tune it

 

[J98]

I certainly would like to, but unsure on how long I intend to keep the truck. The tuner is currently locked, the old 6.7 was sold with a custom GH tune but I kept the Livewire.

I would assume your recommendation is based on the problematic nature of certain factory installed systems, or based off the p0488 code/other information I mentioned?

 

[sootie]

Yes, the regen on those things is a death sentence. The U code is a communication code so i would worry about that unless it pops up again. The P0488 is likely because your throttle valve is all gunked up with ccv residue and cant cycle. A non issue if you tune. The other code is fan circuit feedback so it could be the wire harness that runs along the botton of the rad cradle, they are known to chaff there.

 

[J98]

Thanks sootie, that's good information to know. I didn't pay much attention to the regen status read out on the monitor, the truck was getting decent mileage (or so I think) for the conditions and tire size.

I'll check out that wire harness you called out. Was there any advantages to having a later build 6.4? Door tag says 10/09 on this one..

 

[sootie]

yes they were less worse than early 08 builds.

 

[J98]

Thats good to know. Will run a DTC tonight and see if the codes came back. I know they really suck to get out, but what are the odds of being able to clean the EGR/throttle valve? A new one is more money then unlocking the SCT, so i'll ponder my options carefully, lol

 

[sootie]

SCT will no longer unlock devices to be deleet capable

 

[J98]

The tuner already had custom deleet GH tunes on it. Does that mean if i send it in to get vin unlocked, those will no longer work?

 

[Connor M]

SCT will no longer unlock devices to be deleet capable

So who's making new ****** capable tuners in general anymore? EZ link and efi live? seems everyone is disappearing fast.

OP i don't claim to be an expert but the best thing you can do to the truck is ****** it. The regen is a death sentence.

 

[sootie]

I stick with H&S on six fours. Plenty still around for cheap and most tuners do custom tunes for them. Very reliable.

 

[kleake]

I agree with others, getting rid of the regen stuff is the best thing you can do. If you don't want to "tune" the truck, just del*** the EGR and such, but run a tune that is near stock. You will gain a fair amount of performance and a LOT more long term reliability.

 

[J98]

Thanks guys for the advice!

 

[78f100]

Sct should Vin unlock your tuner for 150$, then you can get a custom tune written for it and tune your 6.4. Your old 6.7 tunes are of no use unless you buy another 6.7 of the same pcm type and you would still have to pay the 150 for a Vin unlock. As others said it's hard to go wrong with a minimaxx a d they are getting pretty cheap now days.

 

[J98]

Yeah that's what SCT quoted me. The tuner has GH tunes for both the '11-12 & '13-14 6.7. I plan on getting another 6.7 in the future so I'll keep it for that. My friends got a minimaxx that he said I could use if I want.

 

[J98]

Well, huge cloud of white smoke after regen on Saturday and check engine light keeps coming on. Looks like its time to start getting rid of a few components. That didnt last long wned:

 

[Connor M]

Well, at least you're going to have a monster when it's back together. Sucks that it didn't happen on your time though.

 

[J98]

I think its erissions related issue, I keep getting the p40088 code and it keeps telling me to drive for awhile so it can regen. Who knows if it even can at this point, lol. Tuning should get rid of this permanently.

 

[6.4powerstroke!]

Had the white smoke issue with mine during regen. Straight raw fuel so thick you couldn’t see behind you. Tuning fixed that problem

 

[J98]

What are some of you guys typically running for exhaust back pressure? Running the h&s mild 160 tune just around town, I'm seeing as high as 420 inHg.. not seeing much for smoke but boost builds fairly slow. The highest I've seen on desired back pressure is 121.

Normal? Stock aside from a race pipe and tune.