# Need Advice For My New 2010 Ford F-250 6.4 L Psd



## gzaleski

I recently upgraded my 2009 Ford F-150 (gasoline) to a 2010 F-250 6.4L Powerstroke Diesel. This is the first diesel I have ever owned and I have no idea on how to take care of the engine (aside from having the oil and filters changed at the dealer).

My main question is what type of additives should I add to the fuel?

Do these addititives help boost the fuel millage?

Do I use special fuel additives in the winter time?

What about any additives for the engine oil?

Any other words of wisdom?

I feel kind of dumb having to ask these questions but I want to make sure this truck lasts for a very long time!

Help!!

Thank you so much in advance,

glen...


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## W5CI

Use Shell Rotella oil and buy FlyingJ fuel and it will run Forever. I put 1.5 mil on a cat and 1.1 mil on a ser60 Det. with no failures.


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## battalionchief3

Rotella oil....some people use Lucas diesel fuel treatment and love it, thats an argument waiting to happen. Change your fuel filter, a LOT. In fact add an extra one from WIX and change it too. American diesel is dirty and leads to a lot of failures but they wont admit that to you. Enjoy!!!!


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## Joonbee

Short answer is go to some powerstroke forums and do some reading.

www.powerstroke.org
www.thedieselstop.com

are a few.

I am not as fluent with the 6.4, but it is a powerstroke. So you need clean oil, fuel and coolant. A good coolant and oil bypass filter can't hurt, as well as an additional fuel filter as mentioned. Oil, I have used Motorcraft from Wal Mart for 14.00 a gal., but we be changing to Amsoil and a bypass filter for my next oil change. (Some disagree, but I have had good luck with amsoil) Rotella T, I have never heard a bad thing about and you can get that at Wal Mart as well.

Additive, I use DieselKleen, Grey bottle in summer and white bottle in the winter. Also make sure you use the "correct" filters, not all are made to OEM standard and can easily hurt your motor. You wouldn't think that they could sell something for our application if it really isn't but they do.

Get over to those websites and do some reading and enjoy that new oil burnerF150.









Jim


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## raynardo

I've had perfect luck just following the manual that came with my truck.

Change the filters and fluids when recommended and with their proper replacements
Try to use fuel from stations that turn over their diesel fuel quicker due to a higher volume of sales
Don't waste your money on additives, since it has been my experience that the cost of these elixirs are not offset by any benefits
Wash your truck frequently, keep it clean, wax it twice a year (and when you wash it, use a product meant specifically for washing a car)
Most do-hickeys you buy for your truck may personalize it for you, but aren't worth crap during trade-in
Keep your tires inflated to their proper pressure - check them a minimum of once a month
Remember it's a truck, nothing more, nothing less - but then it's probably also the second most expensive thing you own after your house!


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## rsm7

Like Joonbee said go to those diesel forums and you will learn alot. I also read www.fordtruckenthusiast.com. As for additives you will hear for and against. You should read those websites and draw your own conclusion. I use the Ford fuel additive but I dont see a real difference in fuel economy or power. There would be no way for me to gauge the effects on longevity. My reasoning is that these motors are very expensive and I let the Ford dealer do all maintenance and I only use Ford products. That way if I have an issue I dont want any problems from Ford's warranty department. I have read a couple horror stories about denying warranty claims for bad fuel. Probably isolated instances but still worrisome. Make sure you read the diesel engine supplement vary carefully. You will learn alot about how Ford wants you to take care of it.

Some basics:

Avoid idling for more than a couple minutes. Even when cold, start it, give it a few seconds and go. Idling causes excessive fuel washing of the cylinders which eventually dilutes your crankcase oil. If you run it hard or really hot then you want to idle it for a couple minutes to let the turbo cool down.

Be sure to drain your water/fuel separator monthly. Try not to let the fuel level go below a quarter tank. This truck uses a high pressure fuel system that can be easily damaged by water, dirt, rust in the fuel or if the pump was dry run (starved for fuel). If Ford determines some kind of owner neglect they will deny your claim and to replace the fuel delivery system including pumps and injectors is around $7500! USE ONLY FORD FUEL FILTERS. Aftermarket filters have had problems getting a tight seal.

Its an amazingly smooth, quiet, and powerful motor. Fuel economy sucks. Longevity remains to be seen. Its only been on the market since 2008. Most owner comments I have read are very good. People love this truck, love the motor, hate the fuel economy. All the previous owners of 7.3 and 6.0 Ford diesels love the 6.4 for power, noise level, and smoothness compared to the earlier engines. I worry about the reliability because they're so friggin expensive. But I read alot and sometimes I think if you dig hard enough you'll find dirt on any product and maybe I should quit digging cause I scare myself LOL! One complaint I have is the turbo lag from a standstill. Its fine if you roll out gently but there is a noticeable lag in a "jackrabbit" start, which I try to avoid anyway, I'm a fairly laid back driver. But I'll tell you this, hitch your trailer up and head for the mountains and you'll be grinning ear to ear!


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## Tangooutback

I have read a lot of arguments over fuel additives and it boils down to the lack of lubricant in today ULSD causing premature engine component. However, diesel engines from 2007 on were designed with ULSD factored in. Mine is 2000 model and I add 2-stroke motor TWC-3 oil into fuel for lubricant. My engine runs smoother with it. I sometimes add corn oil into fuel for same purpose. I notice no increase in mileage though. Mileage is mostly dependent on driving habit.

Don't add anything to your engine oil, especially that Teflon stuff. It prematurely clogs up your fuel filter.

If you use it for towing the first thing I would do is to install an additional aftermarket transmission cooler to the OEM unit. A good transmission oil temperature gauge is the second item on the list. Don't count on the OEM gauge.

The third item on the list is a coolant filter. It takes out sands and other contaminants which wear down seals in water pump.


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## Alan J

Just want to ad, do use a fuel additive to retard jelling in the winter,lubrication and to remove water from the fuel. I am retired firefighter and years ago when doing refinery inspection and training when the low sulfur fuel was just was coming out I had discussion with the engineers there. They explained to me that the only way to get the sulfur down was to inject high pressure water into the fuel. So the new fuel has more water in it and it has been a problem with diesel motors. Ever since I use Total power in my 7.3 at every fill up, just a few ounces will do ya
Alan J
2000 Excursion 7.3
2011 outback 280 RS


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## SLO250RS

As it has been stated use the correct filters for your 6.4,the Ford/Motorcraft fuel filters have a treated media to capture water which the other brands do not(its a patent thing)If you are confident with a wrench do your own services and keep records of products purchased and mileage when it was performed.It will save you a few $$$.JMHO


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## cwh

I had an '08 Ford with the 6.4L. Same exact truck as yours just a couple of years older. I spent many many hours researching how to maintain the truck to its full potential. Always buy quality diesel fuel. The fuel system components on the new Ford diesel are built with such tight tolerances that your truck WILL NOT tolerate bad fuel. Use the motorcraft additive. It is bar none the best thing that you can put in your fuel tank. There is nothing on the market that's better for your 6.4 fuel system PERIOD. The Optilube seems to be a good additive that you can add with your motorcraft additive. It'll add a little extra protection for any unwanted water in your fuel tank. The older diesels can use other additives such as 30W oil but if you try it in your truck it will make it run poorly and destroy your dpf exhaust filter. This is experience talking. Never let your fuel tank drop below 1/8 of a tank. I tried to never let it drop below a quarter tank. The manual says to change the primary and secondary fuel filters every 10K miles. I found that every 5K miles was a much better schedule. My filters were never filthy but they were dirty. Your 6.4 fuel system has a place to bleed the water from the system. I tried to bleed the water off the fuel every month. This is probably one of the most critical things to do. Water will completely destroy a diesel fuel system. I always had a couple of fuel filter kits on my garage shelf and a couple of bottles of additive in the truck. Keep the oil changed like the manual says. I didn't see any excessive sooty oil when I changed mine. The manual is probably dead on for that interval. Don't let anybody talk you into any aftermarket parts for your 6.4. The service department at Ford will TRY to void your warranty if they see even a cold air intake on it. This is experience talking. I took my cold air intake and dpf back exhaust off after they attempted to void my warranty. Ford sends out warnings on a regular basis to 6.4 owners warning of aftermarket parts. The truck is a powerhouse in stock form. Just enjoy your stock truck. Anyway, that's my experience talking. Hope it helps to make an educated decision.

cwh


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## joeymac

Holy Smokes ! I am in the market for a F-250. I was considering a diesel engine if the price was right. But after reading this, it has scared the bejesus out of me about owning a diesel. I am marking the diesel option off my list and sticking to a gas engine. Way to much maintenance and way to many things to worry about going wrong. Glad I read this before taking on this headache.


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## willingtonpaul

joeymac said:


> Holy Smokes ! I am in the market for a F-250. I was considering a diesel engine if the price was right. But after reading this, it has scared the bejesus out of me about owning a diesel. I am marking the diesel option off my list and sticking to a gas engine. Way to much maintenance and way to many things to worry about going wrong. Glad I read this before taking on this headache.


with all due respect, that is a bit dramatic. so you buy a F250 gasser and you think you'll never have a problem ?

modern diesel engines come down to a basic truism:

power + emissions requirements = extra technology that requires understanding + maintenance

it's quite simple really. either you learn to maintain your truck and do it, or you pay someone to do it for you. 7 times out of 10, then horror stories you hear about when it comes to any modern diesel are from lack of fundamental maintenance and neglect. 2 times out of 10, it is aftermarket tuning or performance devices that increase power over OEM design limits causing issues. the other 1 out of 10 is everything else, including plain bad luck, design flaws, incompetent professional maintenance providers, etc. etc.

the other relationship that is relevant is:

the more expensive something costs = the more expensive it is to maintain + the more that can go wrong with it + the more expensive it is to diagnose and fix it

higher maintenance costs can create neglect issues very quickly. owners think they can save a buck here or there using substandard maintenance items or by stretching regular service intervals. instead it causes cascading failures of simple things that can add up to big, catastrophic things. that of course makes the money saved look pretty foolish in comparison.

don't be scared of diesels, just understand what they require. it's an $8,000 option for a reason; when pulling, there is nothing better. i would also say when unloaded there is nothing better, IMHO.


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## H2oSprayer

As others have stated, be sure to use OEM white box oil and fuel filters. The best pricing I have found is here --> Diesel Filters Online. I change my oil every 5,000 miles and my fuel filer every 10,000 miles. I prefer to use Shell Rotella Synthetic Oil in my 6.0L. You can find it at Walmart, but plan ahead a little bit. My local Walmart only stocks 3 gallons at a time, so it take more then one trip to get the quanity that I need. As far as fuel attitives, I use Power Service Diesel Kleen; the white bottle in the winter (anti-gel) and the gray in the summer. I use it with every fill up. So far, I have been very happy with my 6.0L. There are many forums out there to choose from when looking for info on your 6.4L, but the one that I rely on most for honest facts and opinions is Ford-Trucks.


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## gzaleski

I want to thank everyone for their advice on this subject. I will pretty much let my dealer do most of the work and will stick to motorcraft filters. I feel like I have a little more knowledge that I did before.

Again, thank you.

glen...


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## ELSEWHERE

gzaleski said:


> I recently upgraded my 2009 Ford F-150 (gasoline) to a 2010 F-250 6.4L Powerstroke Diesel. This is the first diesel I have ever owned and I have no idea on how to take care of the engine (aside from having the oil and filters changed at the dealer).
> 
> My main question is what type of additives should I add to the fuel?
> 
> Do these addititives help boost the fuel millage?
> 
> Do I use special fuel additives in the winter time?
> 
> What about any additives for the engine oil?
> 
> Any other words of wisdom?
> 
> I feel kind of dumb having to ask these questions but I want to make sure this truck lasts for a very long time!
> 
> Help!!
> 
> Thank you so much in advance,
> 
> glen...


As most of the replies say, follow the manufacturer's recommendations. Skip the additives, as long as you're using quality fuel, oil and filters. You shouldn't be concerned about using fuel additives to prevent winter gelling if you're living in Georgia.


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## rsm7

joeymac said:


> Holy Smokes ! I am in the market for a F-250. I was considering a diesel engine if the price was right. But after reading this, it has scared the bejesus out of me about owning a diesel. I am marking the diesel option off my list and sticking to a gas engine. Way to much maintenance and way to many things to worry about going wrong. Glad I read this before taking on this headache.


Didnt't mean to scare you. Most diesels will give you 3-400,000 miles easy. Cummins, Duramax and the 7.3 Powerstroke all have great reputataions. The 6.0 Powerstroke had some issues which can be overcome with some knowledge and mods. The 6.4 came out in 2008. So far so good but there are isolated cases of fuel system problems which Ford blamed on faulty fuel. I have read of two such cases. One I'm not sure of the outcome and the other, believe it or not, was covered under the guys comprehensive insurance. All models can have problems but as a rule most owners will report that they love their 6.4 Superduty trucks. I can say that I love the truck, the interior, the dashboard, the styling, and the power. But I am a little scared of an expensive repair after the warranty expires. Hopefully I'm worried about nothing. But thats 5 years away and maybe there will be something else I want, I dont know. I bought it because I get X-Plan, I like the Ford platform best, and when they introduced the 6.7 they were giving away the 6.4's. I would have considered Chev or Dodge {only because of the motors' reputation for reliability) but they couldnt match my pricing and I just like the Ford better anyway. Whatever you buy in a diesel will cost you more than a gasser but it will always be worth more than gas too. And you get to enjoy it along the way. You just have to learn how to operate it and how to take care of it.


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## GSJ

I got my 2005 F250 6.0L in Aug. I LOVE IT. I adding a tunner, more for better control of the defueling and monitoring of temps, not so I can get more HP its got lots already. It pulled my 23RS very well. Just remember that when your passing someone(cuz you can) that you need to account for the trailer back there.


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## Carey

You wont see many 6.0 or 6.4 engines make it past 250k miles. All of the guys who hauled rvs that ran 6.0 or 6.4 engines werent around very long cause of the troubles they had after 200k. Should be fine for a personal vehicle. Just get rid of it before the warranty runs out and youll be good.

Carey


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## Joonbee

Colorado~DirtBikers said:


> You wont see many 6.0 or 6.4 engines make it past 250k miles. All of the guys who hauled rvs that ran 6.0 or 6.4 engines werent around very long cause of the troubles they had after 200k. Should be fine for a personal vehicle. Just get rid of it before the warranty runs out and youll be good.
> 
> Carey


A couple of us are banding together and are taking the proper steps to try and curve that. of course I like the "fears" cause I got a good deal on account of the bad press.

Jim


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## deanintemp

Do they have an electric diesel yet? LOL


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## Carey

Joonbee said:


> You wont see many 6.0 or 6.4 engines make it past 250k miles. All of the guys who hauled rvs that ran 6.0 or 6.4 engines werent around very long cause of the troubles they had after 200k. Should be fine for a personal vehicle. Just get rid of it before the warranty runs out and youll be good.
> 
> Carey


A couple of us are banding together and are taking the proper steps to try and curve that. of course I like the "fears" cause I got a good deal on account of the bad press.

Jim
[/quote]

Just get the head studs done and rid of the egr stuff and cooler and you will be on your way to a longer lasting 6.0. Wish you the best! I sure seen a ton of grenaded 6.0 and 6.4 fords at my rv haulin yard. One guy had 300k on a 6.0, but he had done all the delete mods right out of the dealer when it was new. Good luck!

Carey


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## Carey

deanintemp said:


> Do they have an electric diesel yet? LOL


All of the medium/heavy truck builders have hybrids out. The are in town rigs only. We got a ways to go till we see something that could be used for long range. If we can overtake one of the Stan countries over in the mid east, we will have plenty of the stuff to make better batteries.

Cant remember which country over there. I think its one above Afganistan. Heck cant even remember what mineral we have to get over there. Been a long day fixing broken oil field trucks here in NoDak. But anyway until we can get our hands on more stuff to make better batteries, long range electrics are a dream.

Carey


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## Carey

Joonbee said:


> You wont see many 6.0 or 6.4 engines make it past 250k miles. All of the guys who hauled rvs that ran 6.0 or 6.4 engines werent around very long cause of the troubles they had after 200k. Should be fine for a personal vehicle. Just get rid of it before the warranty runs out and youll be good.
> 
> Carey


A couple of us are banding together and are taking the proper steps to try and curve that. of course I like the "fears" cause I got a good deal on account of the bad press.

Jim
[/quote]

I have a friend who bought a blown up F550 4x4 dually. He got it for nothing. He is putting in a 12v Cummins and a Eaton 7 speed. Boy that will be a trouble free F550 when he's done! You might look into a cummins swap if your 6.0 goes down on ya Jim.

Carey


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## Joonbee

I have seen that swap done on a few Fords that were for sale on the forums. They call them "Fummins". Doesn't sound like it is a very difficult swap. Probably the electronics would be the worst part. We will see how long my work pays off.

I have spoken to the previous owner and he sent me almost all of his records. Just did the egr cooler, oil cooler, turbo, FICM and valve in the HPOP, so he hit all the big ticket "common problems" right before I bought it. All thru Ford, factory replacements. Which is why when they told him he was lookking at a set of injectors to fix this miss and it would be another $3200 on top of the $4000, he just spent about 4k miles before, he decided to trade it in. I found just the #1 inj was bad, so I gambled and replaced just the one. So far so good. I have since did the spring mod in the fuel pump, all oils to Amsoil and new filters, CAI, 5" exhaust, edge juice (more for monitoring than tunes, especially until its studded one day), fuel pressure gauge, coolant bypass filter and next oil change will do an oil bypass filter. Top of the motor looked good when I had the valve cover off for the injector and all fluids and filters I took out looked good. Think I got my bases covered pretty well, so fingers crossed, I can sit back and watch the odometer click away. Been a nice first couple of thousand miles and no one can believe the truck has 160k miles on it. Thanks to the previous/original owners diligent maintenance and care taking. Outside of the injector, I have only had to do regular maintenance and recommended mods. Front end is tight and new pads and rotors all around, which was a nice find the first time I had it on the lift. And, thankfully my anal tendancies to change out all fluids when I get a new truck may have paid off. I drained out the brake fluid and found there to be coolant in the resevoir. As I sucked it out, it turned green like pea soup and stunk. Realized it was coolant and luckily it was sitting on top, so I dont think any got into the lines or down to the seals. Brake system rebuild would have been a set back for sure. Guess Ford put the coolant and brake fluid caps to close together for someone. Gilligan move I guess because Ford was the last to work on it.

Sounds like you are doing well up there in the Artcic north of the Dakotas, good to hear.

Jim


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## Carey

Yea doing good. Highs are hovering from 10 to 20 days and minus 10 to zero nights. To think its still fall, lol. The ugly stuff wont be here for another month. Have like 6-8 inches of snow. It never melts. The pile just gets bigger slowly about every 2-3 days.

The entire oilfield runs the 6.4 fords, but the new scorp trucks are taking over. There are thousands of em here. All white work trucks.

The mgt guys use gas 3/4 ton chevys.

There is a frac group out of minot. They run 20 new scorps. 10 at each shift change. They drive em 250 miles a days to get the guys into the field. Those guys are never home. 2 and 1/2 hour paid commute each way. Plus work 12 hours. 7 on and 2 off, 7 on and 2 off. then 6 on and 3 off. Its a texas company called Pumpco. There machinery is incredible. They can actually overpower anything god ever made. These boys crack the earth to make the oil flow. They are swamped.

With the cold weather trucks break more often.. So yeah, im totally swamped with work. The boss is buyin 3 new rigs. I have to set them up too. There is more money than snow up here. Anyone want a job. 2% unemployment in western ND.. lol Problem is no housing. And this isnt Keystone Outback country here, although I see guys living in them in this cold land. I say screw that.

I loaded a rear differential in my bosses new 60k scorp today. I told him we better tie it down. He said eh, its a pick up dude. Its gonna get beat up no matter what I do. I told him to at least watch the stops. He laughed and said see ya.. Heck he'll never hear it anyway. He just put a 6k sound system in it custom made for his truck. I just shake my head. My boss is making over 5k a day 365 days a year. lol He takes me shopping 1 day a week for truck and shop goodies.. lol what a blast! We load his scorp with us 4 mgrs and go to Williston at 90-95 mph.Yeah there are no cops and there is hardly any traffic.. Hope Nathan put crash protection in the new ford. I may need it someday, lol But anyway, Man that town is hopping. Kinda funny. Its got to be the pickup capital of the USA. Oilfield trucks are just everywhere. The money that town brings in everyday has got to be just stupid.

The boss just bought 10 acres a couple miles north of town. We are planning to build a compond there. I get to custom build the truck and parts shop. Man I hope I plan it right, lol Come spring the buildings are going up. He is putting a custom home in for his family, and building a 25 man housing unit for the drivers, plus homes for the mgrs. Yea I get one too. lol This whole deal is just crazy!

So yeah, its cold but Im having a freakin blast!

When we get the compund done, Im gonna try and talk him into a reality type show to come in. The mayham that goes on is crazy. 3-5 stuck trucks a day. 3 rollovers in the last two weeks from other companies. So far we have been lucky on that one.

Carey


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## Tangooutback

gzaleski said:


> I want to thank everyone for their advice on this subject. I will pretty much let my dealer do most of the work and will stick to motorcraft filters. I feel like I have a little more knowledge that I did before.
> 
> Again, thank you.
> 
> glen...


How much does your dealer charge for an oil change? what type of oil do they use?


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## gzaleski

I dunno. have a free oil change for the 1st one but I think it'a synthetic.


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## 1jeep

Bought mine used with 9k miles, currently have 58k miles, no DPF since 21k and the dealer knows. I have never received any letters about modding my truck or other related threats from ford, but common sense dictates that my warranty went bye bye with my DPF. Currently i get 17.4 mpg with a 146 mile daily commute in/out of boston.

every other service has been done by my dealer, when i do it motorcraft filters and oil are used. You can buy the motorcraft oil filter at walmart along with the oil, i have also used shell.

test your anti freeze nitrate levels every 10k miles, do the fuel filters 10-15k, this is critical.

other than that so far zero problems!


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