New 6.4L diesel

[ducati996]

I do not know enough about the new fords to have an expert opinion about them. I have an 06 chevrolet and do not have enough miles on it yet to even think about a new truck. I also would not buy a new diesel truck of any flavor right now until they get some of the problems that the new exhaust emission controls have created. To the best of my knowledge ford is the only one that has had to come up with a fix for a major problem The blowing fire out of the tail pipe problem. I would not be comfortable with the fix they came up with. According to what I saw a Ford Engineer on the news say. They are monitoring exhaust temperatures. If the exhaust temperature gets to be too high then the engine will give you a reasonable amount of time to get to the side of the road then it will shut your engine down. I have not heard what a reasonable amount of time is. If I am on the side of a mountain and it shuts down then that might be a problem. If I am stuck in traffic and it shuts down before I can get to a safe pull off point that also could be a problem. I realize that this is a interim fix but I would not have to want to worry about having this problem. I also think that all the big three are going to have a similar problem since they have a similar idea in the exhaust emission equipment

Ok here is a quick take away and all you need to know about their fix. If you have flames, there is other issues at hand and the truck needs to be in the shop. They decided by dialing down the engine to cool off, was better than it reaching dangerous temps. There are other failures at play to cause this scenerio - its not just a engine running hot or burning particles....
Thats all you need to be concerned with that its a safety feature, that is telling you something else is wrong - EOM

 

[ducati996]

As for the power the 6.4L is rated at 350 hp and 650 lb.ft of torque, both of which are higher than the previous 6.0 (325/575). I can say having driven a few examples of both the 6.4 does seem stronger. I cannot say how many parts/components they share, but the 6.4L is touted as a "redesigned" engine. Greg, GWH and Duc, I appreciate your--and others--nice comments.

John M

Carefull its possible you will not see that full power in the F250 series - its governed by Ford (detuned) depending on drivetrain choices -
posted on Ford and other sites and its based on model & drivetrain selection

 

[HGM]

Greg, has there been any more issues with the exhaust "problem" or is it still just a few trucks? If it is just a few trucks then for the most part the truck shutting down isn't ever going to be a problem for the average user who takes care of their truck.

Yep, just a few... Shouldnt be an issue, surely not the issue the media would like it to be..

 

[KICK]

The number on the road indicate they must be reliable.

tis true the Internet allows rumors to spread at a much higher rate than they did in the old days before High Speed DSL and Cell phones. LOL.

also quite possible there were a fire or two.

but one thing I've noticed in my locale ( Floridas Horse Country) is that Ford dominates the Crew Cab world, at least around here, so they must be doing something right, at least in this locale.

 

[KICK]

I'm not familiar with Fords fix but someone was saying how they wouldn't be satisfied with a truck that shut down without warning if exhaust was too hot.

apparently nobody on here knows that those kind of features are standard on heavy duty engines, and if enabled allow engine protection for any factor desired

This is actually an acceptable way to do things on an engine equipped with an ECM and sensors and is just a new application of what has been known as engine protection.

since I'm more familiar with Detroit and Cummins than anything else, I can give an example of how their respective engine protection features work and explain how it would be possible to protect against high exhaust temp if desired, you can be the judge.

normal engine protection generally covers 4 or 5 parameters. these would be

lo oil pressure

high oil temperature

low coolant level

high coolant temperature

you can also have auxiliary shutdown features sesigned in if you desire, such as high transmission temperature or high exhaust temp or high intake air temp.

what is normally programmable on a heavy duty engine is if one of the above mentioned conditions is out of range, the engine will derate itself in order to allow itself time to fix the problem.

An instance like engine running hot the ECM will reduce amount of fuel and engine may cool off enough for ECM to allow engine to go back to normal. If engine doesn't cool off and reaches a preset temperature it will shut down.

Detroits usually are set to derate at 213 degrees and will shutdown at 220, Cummins is similar.

since its an ECM and it has sensors you can program it to watch anything you want, Ford apparently is choosing to watch the exhaust which isn't a bad idea.

Keep in mind the whole time this engine with an engine protection feature is running hot and in derate mode, the check engine lite will be on and engine power will be reduced. they also have a stop engine light. If this comes on it is going to shut off, generally in 20 seconds. they also give the operator an overrule switch which will allow the engine to keep running as long as the operator holds the switch.

so it isn't really all that dangerous a thing, unless you are totally clueless to the equipment you are driving or the manufacturer didn't build some type of warning and time delay into the engine protection features that are available.

since this feature has been available on other brands for some years now, I wouldn't think they would build it so it would shut down without warning.

 

[TwinCreek]

I don't want to destroy your great feelings with the new truck. Believe me, this was my first new vehicle ever purchased. What I learned was that warranties are meaningless if manufacturers simply deny a problem exists. Case in point, Ford says it doesn't leak oil. Case in point #2, Ford says there is nothing mechanically wrong with the truck. I'll let the pictures explain the truth. My message to you, don't let them tell you there isn't a problem and walk away with your tail between your legs because you are a Ford fan. I was a ford fan. Never again.

I hate to think what would happen if I was hauling horses instead of motorcycles. How well do horses do in 100 degree heat, sitting on the side of a road for 10 hours?

 

[jcmseven]

Twin Creek,

I understand exactly what you are saying. A warranty is only as good as the dealer and company standing behind it. It would certainly frustrate me if I had a situation similar to yours. I believe the dealer has some control over this. I chose my dealer carefully, and the sales person I dealt with. I also have the benefit of being fairly well-known in my community for dealing well with people and having a strong network of support. While this guarantees absolutely nothing, I suspect that if a problem were to occur, I would have some help. The selling dealer has already said, for routine service and/or if a problem, he would send someone to pick up my truck (30 mile round trip) and give me an equivalent loaner truck until mine is ready. This makes me feel pretty good about things. Hopefully I will not need anything other than routine service, but things DO happen. I would also mention to Duc that I checked VERY closely on the power output before buying. The six speed manual with the 4:10 gears is rated at less horsepower, which I did not want. I went for the full 350/650 combo. I might even dyno it to make sure they are not exaggerating, although a test on YouTube suggests they are not.

John M

 

[gemini5362]

Kick I do not have a Ford so I do not know how they are implementing it. What I saw on TV was a senior person in the engineering department explaining the new fix. According to what he said YOU will NOT be able to override this. When the exhaust temp gets too high It will give you a warning then in a short period of time it will shut down until it cools to a predetermined level. They did not give an estimate of the time that will take. Depends a lot on outside factors I imagine. I do not know how big a problem it is other than Ford felt it necessary to make a change via a recall.

 

[HGM]

JEEZZ!!!

I'm not sure why post #28 wasnt enough info to explain it in better detail, but KICK was right on how they do it.. Also, if you get to that point...........well, lets just say you had plenty of warnings... No you cannot override it. You will be able to pull over, let it cool, then try again to your hearts desire.. But, you will continue to damage the engine and aftertreatment system.. I can assure you that Dodge, GM and anyone else producing a diesel for '07 emmisions is paying attention and taking notes for their calibrations to make the same adjustments.. Of course, I understand that might not be enough for some...

To put it quite blunty, its a safty strategy to protect the truck from an ignorant driver. This will also keep from setting things on fire due to this ignorant driver.. Of course, thats just my personal explaination of it..

 

[KICK]

HGM, your explanation was fine in #28

It just seemed to me some people were confused how they do it and wouldn't get any warning. automakers try to idiot proof some of these things but its impossible.