looking at a 09 superduty 6.4L powerstroke

[Duffster]

I'd bet 100 million of the US population lives where it never or maybe only once in 100 years goes to zero. Heck I live near Philadelphia which is pretty far north and it only goes below 0* a few times per decade.

So that would leave roughly 200 million that see below 0 regularly. Not counting CA and other countries.

What differerence does all this make?

Difference is trucks need to be built for the wide array of condition they are used in.

I don't live that far north and it was below zero 10 days in December.

It was only 2* this morning I wonder if this torqshift feature would have kicked in this morning or would have it need to get 2 degrees colder?:confused2:

Oops edit that it did get to 0 this morning.

 

[Diamondpilot]

6 here in Indiana this morning. Got some snow on the way also so better keep that GM Urea warm.:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Chris

 

[timswi]

The GM 700-R4 Transmission was in a good many GM trucks,that transmission was about one of the worst transmissions that I have seen.I removed and rebuilt a good number of them in the 90's during my time as a Chevrolet tech.

There were problems with the early 80's version of the 700-R4 when it first came out..That's for sure. Once the bugs were worked out we used it as a racing tranny..Have had them in numerous trucks out of the 80's and 90's. The only one that gave me any static was the on in my '83 Blazer. The racing tranny guy found the flaw before GM did and I never had a problem with it again. He rebuilt it at around 120K..Ran it though college to around 230k and sold it. Extra clutches , bigger stall and a B&M steet and strip transpak..It would chirp a posi second with a 2.8 V6 and foot wide tires.

 

[westcliffe01]

Gentlemen, it seems that the number of on topic posts in this thread is rather low. Anyone interested in purchasing this vehicle does not need a p1ssing match about rear axles or transmissions or need to know what your flat bed truck had installed 16 years ago.

I will admit that finding reliable info on fuel consumption for even the F250 (which is at the very bottom of what would be considered for commercial use) has been a chore. It appears that despite the horror stories, the fuel consumption can be held above 15mpg without a load, even in a commuting situation. Given that the curb weight is double that of my little 3.7V6 ram 1500 and it averages the same in commuting, that is no mean feat.

I have a little mystery for any of you who may own one of these vehicles. On the left side of the steering column is a small button with a green status LED. Does anyone know what it is for ? The button has text that says PIAA ???

 

[dstig1]

Westcliffe - that's not stock. Since PIAA makes a lot of aftermarket/off-road lights, I would guess the PO put in aftermarket foglights or something similar, and this is the switch for it. If it doesn't do anything, then perhaps the PO removed the lights prior to sale.

 

[westcliffe01]

There is evidence of there having been a pair of lights mounted on the left and right hand side of the rear receiver. Each side has a bracket about 1/8" thick with a single hole about 3/8" in diameter. The truck has a goosneck hitch in the bed, and it was definitely a farm truck, so perhaps those lights were needed when hitching things up in the field. I have not yet tracked down any wiring yet, so I still have some figuring out to do...

Does anyone know if the dome light in the cab has a single light for the cab in addition to the 2 reading lights (I have an supercab) ? Right now only the reading lights work, so I think possibly the light for the cab is blown ?

I also imagine that the drive selector switch is supposed to be backlit ? Everything is lit but that 1 switch. If the OE's used LEDS they would last forever, incandescents are just plain dumb (but cheap).

Since I didn't mention it before, this is a 2008 truck with 58.5k miles looked after, interior is perfect, always used in southern texas. I paid just less than $26k for it, in addition about $500 for 2 one way tickets to Houston for me and the wife, about $70 for car hire to drive out to Brenham, TX (about midway between Houston and Austin) and then about $300 for fuel on the 1300 mile drive back home. We stayed 3 nights in hotels at between $89-99 per night and visited Graceland in Memphis on the way back. The weather in Texas was not great, but it was shirt sleeve temperature (65F). Weather on the return trip was not great either and we only hit snow between Indy and Ft Wayne for the first time.

I was surprised at how wooded eastern texas was and passed Davy Crockett National park/forest before crossing over into Arkansas. In this case it was a welcome break and not so much a chore to do the trip, since the wife and I have not had any vacation since May 2010 (only a week that time). It is really too far to be driving there and back under time pressure, but one way was fine.

 

[Builder]

Gentlemen, it seems that the number of on topic posts in this thread is rather low. Anyone interested in purchasing this vehicle does not need a p1ssing match about rear axles or transmissions or need to know what your flat bed truck had installed 16 years ago.

I agree.

I will admit that finding reliable info on fuel consumption for even the F250 (which is at the very bottom of what would be considered for commercial use) has been a chore. It appears that despite the horror stories, the fuel consumption can be held above 15mpg without a load, even in a commuting situation. Given that the curb weight is double that of my little 3.7V6 ram 1500 and it averages the same in commuting, that is no mean feat.

That's because you'll either get strong opinions negative & positive. Realistically, I think 15MPG unloaded while commuting is the best you will get if you mean stop/go or hilly driving type of commuting. If it's just a flat cruise commute, you may do a hair better. To do it consistently, you'll have to use a light foot and avoid idling.

 

[dstig1]

Does anyone know if the dome light in the cab has a single light for the cab in addition to the 2 reading lights (I have an supercab) ? Right now only the reading lights work, so I think possibly the light for the cab is blown ?

I also imagine that the drive selector switch is supposed to be backlit ? Everything is lit but that 1 switch. If the OE's used LEDS they would last forever, incandescents are just plain dumb (but cheap).

Pop the cover off the interior dome light and see if there is another bulb. It is pretty common for automakers to re-use the map lights as the dome light, double duty.

The dash bulbs rarley burn out, even incandescents. Usually takes a loooong time for them to go, unless defective and then they go real early. Wife's '99 Exploder with 181k miles just had the first one go out this past summer. My little '98 Civic has one out now too. They will eventually go to LEDs I'm sure. But carmakers stick with a design once they have it going well, for a long time.

 

[Diamondpilot]

That switch is 100% aftermarket. I am wondering now if the relay blocking your access to the fuse box was not related to this light kit? If not it was really stupid of Ford to make it so you need to use tools to access the fuses.

Chris

 

[westcliffe01]

Chris, its not a relay that is in the way, it is definitely a Ford component. I took a picture tonight, but now have to recharge the camera battery before I can download the pics....

 

[westcliffe01]

OK, here are 2 pictures of the annoying actuator/valve whatever it is:

And finally, this is the truck (taken while in Texas)

 

[Diamondpilot]

Well that is stupid! I see the relay on the fender for the switch you had down by your steering wheel but I have no idea why they put that valve on top of the fuse box???? Are you sure its not mounted on backwards or something from when someone else monkeyed with it? I am not at all familiar with the 6.4 under the hood.

Chris

 

[not2old]

OK, here are 2 pictures of the annoying actuator/valve whatever it is:

And finally, this is the truck (taken while in Texas)

I don't think this is OEM, but if it is, the engineer is related to the idiot who designed the motor oil filler on my 1990 460.

 

[Lt CHEG]

My engine compartment is not set up in the same fashion on my 2010 6.4 PS.

 

[Diamondpilot]

My engine compartment is not set up in the same fashion on my 2010 6.4 PS.

I searched the net for pictures of 6.4L engine pictures and also checked Powerstroke sites for "fuse box", and like you saw engine compartments that were not the same as his. I also found no complaints for "fuse box".

I am with you thinking its something not OEM. It would be interesting to find out what it is and compare it to the engine compartment of a OEM 6.4L. Maybe you could take a few good pictures for him.

I am wondering if the truck was not wrecked and put back together differently? It looked to me as if not even the coolant recovery tank on his is in a different position. On his there is a hose clip that is not used, on all the others I seen had a hose in that clip.

If it is OEM, its a stupid design.

Chris

 

[Builder]

I'm told this:

"it provides the vaccume for the auto hubs if it has them and if it has manual HAVC controls it uses the vac for the mode motor"

Just heresay, though take it for what it's worth. I don't own a 6.4L and don't claim to know everything about them.

 

[westcliffe01]

The contraption starts with the steel bracket to which the fusebox is mounted. On the front side (front of vehicle) of the bracket is a captive nut for 1 bolt that holds the outboard end of the plate to which the actuator is attached with 2 or 3 seperate bolts. The on the Inboard end of the bracket (after wrapping around the bottom of the fusebox) is a tab about an inch wide which has a slot in it. The plate under the actuator has a tongue which inserts into the slot and is then secured with the single bolt mentioned previously.

The way the thing has been made, it would probably have taken 100k or more of tooling to make the stamped parts and then the captive nuts (3 or 4 of them) have to be projection welded onto the different plates, and then someone has to be paid to assemble the whole mess.

Looks to me like it was something that was forgotten or added at the last minute and Ford decided ***that*** was the best place to put it.

To change the battery in my wifes 97 Venture was a job that took more than half a day and cost most of my knuckleskin... The air filter box and PCM had to come out to allow the battery to be changed...

I guess I will have to figure out what the device does and look for a better place to put it. There surely has to be a better place than right above the fusebox. Many people may never blow a fuse, but for the time that someone does, it is a real PITA. The other thing that I learnt was that about 3 different geometry of fuses were used, so I had better get a few spares to cover me while out on the road.

 

[westcliffe01]

I guess the thought never occurred to me that it might be a vacuum pump. The cylinder could well be a motor and the lines do look suspiciously like vacuum lines. Do the brakes on the PS models need vacuum for a servo or not ?

 

[Dargo]

It's the flux capacitor. I'd be very careful tinkering with it...

 

[Ryan03]

I guess the thought never occurred to me that it might be a vacuum pump. The cylinder could well be a motor and the lines do look suspiciously like vacuum lines. Do the brakes on the PS models need vacuum for a servo or not ?

You should have a hydro boost system for the power brake assist. This system relies on the power steering pump for fluid assist pressure. I am 99% certain your 6.4 will have this system, but I will peek under the hood of one of our 6.4 work trucks tomorrow morning and report back tomorrow night.