looking at a 09 superduty 6.4L powerstroke

[hemiguy]

Hello,
Looking to upgrade my truck from a 04 Hemi Dodge 4x4 QC. Looking at a nice deal on a 09 F250, (sorry Dodge guys) 4x4, XLT crew cab, 6.4L w/19k miles. The Hemi is a huge gas hog and the truck has NOT been reliable. Drove the 09 Powerstroke and it is a gorgeous, nice driving truck. Would love to have the diesel for towing but honestly, what kind of real world mileage are you guys getting when not towing? Both regular gas and diesel is big $$$ here in upstate NY. My Hemi gets 12mpg (not towing) Any reliability issues with the 09 6.4L Powerstroke? I think the engine has a 5yr/100k warranty including the turbo, correct? Any advice is most appreciated
Thanks

[dstig1]

Ask the Ford dealer to show you the OASIS report on it. They may not do it, but you should ask about repair/warranty history. The OASIS report is from the Ford system for tracking repair work on vehicles, so it shows everything done to the vehicle in a Ford dealer. If you are not buying it from a Ford dealer then you will have a hard time getting one anymore as Ford has really clamped down on letting dealers give them out as they are considered Ford property. If you can get a look at it, it will tell you if the PO is ditching a problem truck or not.

[jgrreed]

The '08 - 2010's can be REAL lemons. Without chipping it, you should expect 10-11mpg (UK gallons, so more like 8-9 US gallons), and 4-5mpg towing. They are absolute pigs.

If I was looking for a "used/new to me" puller, I'd go for either a broken-in '07 ford 6.0L (ie proven not to be a lemon), or a good old '07 dodge 5.9L. The interiors aren't as pretty, but is a seat warmer worth a 10k engine rebuild??

There was chaos when they brought in the 'clean' technology in '08 - steer clear of it!!! I own a '08, but I consider myself VERY lucky with the reliability that I've had, and I've chipped mine and get 20-22mpg when empty.

-Jer.

[scoutcub]

The '08 - 2010's can be REAL lemons. Without chipping it, you should expect 10-11mpg (UK gallons, so more like 8-9 US gallons), and 4-5mpg towing. They are absolute pigs.

If I was looking for a "used/new to me" puller, I'd go for either a broken-in '07 ford 6.0L (ie proven not to be a lemon), or a good old '07 dodge 5.9L. The interiors aren't as pretty, but is a seat warmer worth a 10k engine rebuild??

There was chaos when they brought in the 'clean' technology in '08 - steer clear of it!!! I own a '08, but I consider myself VERY lucky with the reliability that I've had, and I've chipped mine and get 20-22mpg when empty.

-Jer.

I have to question that mileage figure.....4-5 MPG? That seems awfully low, that's what 80,000 lb semis get for mileage!
I do agree the 6.4's get a little worse mileage than the 6.0's.....I have a 06 6.0 dually (4.10) and get 16-17MPG unloaded, 12-13 loaded. The WORST I ever got was 10.5, but pulling 26,000 lbs (shhhh) up and down hills...

I'm sure some 6.4 owners will chime in, but with a 250 & 3.73's I would guesstimate you'd be in the neighborhood of my figures, perhaps a bit lower..

I would definitely check the Oasis report, and ensure the full warranty passes to you. 19K is pretty close to new.

Good luck!

[Lt CHEG]

I've been averaging around 14 mpg unloaded with a mix of city and highway driving on my 2010 F250 with the 6.4 liter Powestroke. When keeping the speed to a max of 70 mph I got about 18.5 mpg on the highway. Those are hand calculated mileage numbers too. The engine just hit 1,000 miles so those numbers are likely to improve a little bit after a little more break in. The 6.4 is a real hot rod if you want it to be, but if you drive it like a truck and not a drag racer you can get reasonable fuel economy. Do your best to keep the boost at 10 psi or less when accelerating and you'll probably like the fuel economy numbers.

[Diamondpilot]

I've been averaging around 14 mpg unloaded with a mix of city and highway driving on my 2010 F250 with the 6.4 liter Powestroke. When keeping the speed to a max of 70 mph I got about 18.5 mpg on the highway. Those are hand calculated mileage numbers too. The engine just hit 1,000 miles so those numbers are likely to improve a little bit after a little more break in. The 6.4 is a real hot rod if you want it to be, but if you drive it like a truck and not a drag racer you can get reasonable fuel economy. Do your best to keep the boost at 10 psi or less when accelerating and you'll probably like the fuel economy numbers.

Guy I boat with is a professional motor cross rider. He has a heavy foot and has either a 08 or 09 Crew Cab Long Bed 4x4 6.4L F-350 SRW and he averages 14 just like Lt CHEG. His boat is only 5,000# and he drove it like he stole it last summer down to the Knoxville area from Indiana and it got 13 mpg. That at 85mph or so with him.

One thing I have noticed with every diesel truck I have owned, Ford and GMC, is that I got the same mpg getting up to 60 mph quickly versus taking my time. Yes you use more fuel for the few seconds it takes but doing it the other way takes so long the fuel is a wash.
Chris

[Builder]

No offense to Lt. Cheg, but unless you get a really good deal, pass on it. I'm sure it's a good truck, but they discontinued that diesel in Fords after only 2 yrs of production. That would give me a bad feeling about parts in the future.

If fuel economy is your priority, I'd look for another Dodge/Cummins. They have traditionally surpassed V-8 diesels for fuel economy. As a bigger truck driver, one of the things I and other truckers do to save fuel is drive by pyro gauge. If I keep my pyrometer at 7-800* or less, I get better fuel economy. A guy who taught me how to drive tri-axles 25 years ago showed me this. I drove Macks & a couple KW's that way and it really works.

[JESSE1]

I have an '08 F-450 with a 6.4 and 4.30 axle ratio. So far it's been the best truck I've ever owned. Very powerful, smooth running engine. I'm averaging 12 mpg, can get around 13 mpg interstate driving. I talked to the shop foreman at the dealer I use and he said the biggest problems come from people who idle these trucks for extended periods. If you change the oil on schedule and don't idle for long periods there's no reason to expect any major problems with the engine.

[Builder]

I agree with your shop foreman. I just chuckle at the guys with diesel pickups that think they need to leave them idle like big rigs used to while they talk in the store.
I wonder if they know while the alum pistons cool faster than the block and that fuel starts washing down the cylinder walls?

[hemiguy]

Thanks for the replies so far. 12-13mpg is NOT good enough to get me to go diesel. Around here diesel is way more than 87 regular for at least half the year. The computer in the truck I test drove said 13.1 mpg avg so that backs up what I'm hearing. I only tow about 10-20% of the time during summer and don't really care what the dropoff is for that. I've heard all the diesels have suffered MPG wise from the ultra low sulfur and all the government smog stuff. Oh well, I guess we all gotta breath! Plus it seems like there is a HP war in the diesels...trying to get them on par with gassers for 0-60. I'd just like the old fashion torque. I think the late 90's Cummins was only about 165HP but 450ish lb-ft and probably routinely got 20MPG. I'll bet most owners were pretty happy with that.

Anyway, I'd like to hear more about the Fords but will be still be looking at Chevy, Dodge, and maybe the 5.7 Tundra too(I know it's not a 3/4 ton). I gotta live with my choice for a few years so I'm in no rush.