6.4 Powerstroke Emissions Related Failures

The 6.4 Powerstroke was introduced in 2008 and quickly became popular due to the factory twin turbo setup and new body style Ford implemented these engines into. Early 2008 Superduty trucks were known as job 1 trucks and later were replaced by the job 2 version. Job 1 trucks were notorious for the flames shooting out of the exhaust due to leaking injectors; however, Ford quickly recalled several thousand trucks and cured the issue with new software being installed. Now that these trucks are getting some miles on them since they are around 7 years old the emissions systems are beginning to fail.

The first emissions related failure most people experience is the DPF or diesel particulate filter clogging up and constantly regenerating. A common sign of DPF failure is a white or blue haze coming from the exhaust, low boost, loss of power, and the clean exhaust light constantly flashing. These trucks have to be driven at least 30 miles and sometimes more to properly regenerate the exhaust system. Farmers and other people who constantly work with these truck in off-road situations experience this more often than others. The trucks that are left idling while working or those who drive only a small amount of miles a day tend to clog up the DPF filter.

The second emissions related failure is the EGR system. The EGR also known as exhaust gas re-circulation system fails because of the coolant passages rupturing into the exhaust passage. Exhaust is sent through the EGR into the intake to lower EGT’s and cut down on the amount of oxygen allowed into the cylinder for combustion. 6.4 Powerstrokes have two EGR coolers and the EGR valve is located in the intake elbow that attaches to the intake manifold. The EGR valve gets clogged up and restricts the airflow to the intake manifold resulting in catastrophic failure. Catastrophic failure is usually a burnt or cracked piston in the number 7 or 8 cylinder. One EGR cooler stands vertically in front of the block while the second lies horizontally on the driver side behind the steering linkage. These coolers usually leak internally and sometimes externally depending on how clogged they are.

Problems usually occur on trucks that are used off-road and do not have conventional driving habits. For trucks that are being used off-road one can perform deletes with proper tuning to cure these issues. When deleting the EGR on a 6.4 it is recommended to also change the intake elbow along with eliminating the coolers. The intake elbow helps eliminate the lean condition caused by the factory intake horn where the EGR valve is present. DPF delete pipes remove the particulate filter from underneath the truck and prevent any clogs that occur because of the screen that restricts airflow. Proper tuning is required to make the truck operate without any check engine lights or warnings. Keep in mind this is for off-road situations only and not allowed for on road vehicles.

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