stock piston question

strokin08 · Dec 2, 2014

Looking at difference threads and stuff I see people having burnt or cracked piston. I'm no diesel guru but I'm guessing that one getting burnt is from hanging injector or some failure that we cant stop. My question is how many people out there that not necessarily beat on truck but aint easy on it and are still on stock pistons and no problems? Fron reading rods are good up to high hp. I see these piston failures and just curious. I know Erik having problems and I haven't read the whole thread but his truck is far fron stock also.

ncollins64 · Dec 2, 2014

My truck has 150k on it, lays down 950+ hp and I'm still on a bone stock bottom end. I always let it warm up good before I ever play with it. Seems like stock pistons are really luck of the draw imo.

Powerstroke Man 6.4 · Dec 2, 2014

strokin08 said:
Looking at difference threads and stuff I see people having burnt or cracked piston. I'm no diesel guru but I'm guessing that one getting burnt is from hanging injector or some failure that we cant stop. My question is how many people out there that not necessarily beat on truck but aint easy on it and are still on stock pistons and no problems? Fron reading rods are good up to high hp. I see these piston failures and just curious. I know Erik having problems and I haven't read the whole thread but his truck is far fron stock also.

I got a 6.4 267,000 miles original motor and its on its original pistons/bottom end as far as I know.

sootie · Dec 3, 2014

it's luck of the draw because the reason for failure on these is an inherent design flaw.

yes a hanging injector will melt a piston but cracked pistons happen on bone stock trucks all the time.

strokin08 · Dec 3, 2014

Ok thanks for the replies. Other than design flaws keeping your egts to high for long periods of time gets them I'm assuming?

sootie · Dec 3, 2014

that doesn't help that for sure.

madman1234509 · Dec 3, 2014

Some failures/cracks can probably be attributed to valve/piston contact due to valve float. Many pictures of failures you can see valve marks in the piston. I have stock pistons, trucks made 1000hp and it has just over 100k on it. I always let it warm up. Oil changed every 2500-3000 miles. Im sure I'm not the hardest on it. But I do get on it quite a bit

sonic blue l · Dec 3, 2014

I've never seen a stock truck crack a piston, now lifters. That kills more 6.4s then anything.
I have one that burnt a valve, bent a rod and the piston looks fine.(****ty fuel)
Had one with play in the piston pin, (not stock) but overall most are replaced due to lifter failure. Oh and the most common with lifter failures is with an edge as they love to rev a 6.4 to over 4000 rpm.

Bustedknuckles · Dec 3, 2014

sonic blue l said:
I've never seen a stock truck crack a piston, now lifters. That kills more 6.4s then anything.
I have one that burnt a valve, bent a rod and the piston looks fine.(****ty fuel)
Had one with play in the piston pin, (not stock) but overall most are replaced due to lifter failure. Oh and the most common with lifter failures is with an edge as they love to rev a 6.4 to over 4000 rpm.

I have, it had like 180,000 miles though. Also two guys I know with just H&S's cracked pistons. One just driving on the lowest tune the other towing a bobcat on tow.

ncollins64 · Dec 3, 2014

Like some have said its really luck of the draw. And I hope I stay lucky LOL

Jbird · Dec 3, 2014

Second that. All the cracked pistons on 6.4s locally were canned H&S tunes. One guy used his truck daily to pull bobcat and tools. Another guy just played DDs it and plays with it a lot.

strokin08 · Dec 3, 2014

Yeah I hope I'm a lucky one also lol. At first i was thinking these stock bottom ends couldn't hold up to a lot of power but a lot here have and thats good to know. Lifters and injectors cant control so much but valve floating is caused by to high of EBP correct? I know this has been covered a lot but whats the highest you would feel safe seeing? I have a dashdaq with spartan tuning. I run 210 all the time pretty much cause I tow a lot and dont like changing.

sootie · Dec 4, 2014

yes valve contact is from high ebp.

and whoever said earlier that they crack from piston/valve contact is BS. i have seen four different motors crack pistons with no valve contact.

madman1234509 · Dec 4, 2014

So that means pistons never crack from valve contact? Lol

madman1234509 · Dec 4, 2014

And if you re-read my post, it said.... " SOME piston failures/cracks can probably be attributed to valve contact"

sootie · Dec 4, 2014

i get that-i just dont want the guy thinking that if he installs a gate to avoid high ebp he will have no worries about cracking a piston because that is not the case.

also-i want to say there is a difference between a cracked piston and a melted piston. lots of ppl bunch those two things together and they have very different causes.

madman1234509 · Dec 4, 2014

Got ya, and you're exactly right.

strokin08 · Dec 4, 2014

Mainly what I was curious of is how tuff these stock pistons are and sounds like therepretty good for some people. like was said its luck of draw of what you got. WhatI'm gathering is keeping back pressure in check will help avoid valve float and as long as injector doesnt hang or whatever to burn piston you should be good. Unless you got a set of bad pistons and then its gonna happen nothing to stop it.

strokin08 · Dec 4, 2014

I really have never ran guages to check it run a decent tune but not a race tune and I tow and everything with it without a problem. I change oil everything 3000 miles so I'm gonna hope for the best. Been a good truck so far. 08 job 1 never seen the dealer.