F350 Diesel Emissions

Steve@Advance

Well-known Member
Boss own a 08 F350, 6.4 Powerstroke, The emissions system is starting to fail, I'm guessing about 250,000 miles.

The truck is still in great shape, well maintained.

It started out going into regen too often. Now it goes through spells of blowing white smoke. I don't know that much about the emissions systems, but fear extreme repair bills to get it right. Clogged converter? Clogged filter?

One of his "hunting buddies" son works at a diesel shop. He wants to remove the emissions components, replace the exhaust system, change the chip.

Says it will be the answer to all his problems, more power, better mileage.

Is this a common fix?

Is it legal? (Our state does not check emissions on diesels, as long as the check engine light is off is all that matters.)

Will it smoke and get terrible mileage? (He is not a lead foot, doesn't care about more power, just economy and dependability.)

Will the check engine light still work?

If this is done, why the complete new exhaust system? Can't just the filter and converter be removed, and the chip be changed?

Any idea what this should cost?

My main question is, is this a good idea or should he go to the dealer, or somewhere, and have it repaired back to original?

Thanks everyone!
 
I inherited a truck with the same generation of emissions controls. Mine had the cat and DPF removed, egr disabled, and a tuner installed.

The mileage goes up because the tuner advances the injection timing and makes more NOx emissions but it won't visibly smoke until it is set to +200 hp or so on the tuner.

You don't need the exhaust, a short delete pipe works.

The next gen trucks with the DEF this all is pointless, they get good mileage as is and low emissions.

It's not that cheap and you can have trouble trading it at a dealer without the emissions stuff. My own truck I'd be just as happy to have a newer DEF truck instead.
 
The chips were outlawed and getting hard to find.. If he is going to do it, do it soon as the supply will dry up. He see slightly more power, and if he can keep his foot out of it, he can see more mpgs.. And the chip if working can be resold as they are no longer able to make them. Otherwise he will probably speed 3k to 5k on replacement factory system. A pull of a wreck would save him lots on the exhaust system.
 
Talk to the serious Ford diesel guys and they will tell you the Ford 6.4 motor is harder/more expensive to fix emission troubles on than the motor troubles the 6.0 had. You can easily dump $5-10 K in a Ford 6.4 when it starts doing what this one is doing. That is fixing it back to "stock"/OEM.

Deleting the EGR and EGR cooler, installing a tuner and taking out the particulate/exhaust filter is cheaper but illegal. In some states they do not check all emissions but can spot check them. It is a Federal offence to remove the EPA mandated emission controls.

Truthfully I would trade up unless he is hard pressed for money right now. The 6.4 motor has some issues that make it basically a throw away motor. They are great for 150-200K one miles. Then bend over and be ready. The repairs can get costly. The 6.7 motor with DEF is a better deal.

I am basing this on a good friend with 6 of the 2008 Ford 6.4 diesels. HE is switching them over to the 6.7s. He dumped a fortune in repairs last year on the 6.4 motors.
 
As they said fixing those 6.4 problems is expensive, but so is getting caught without the controls. Chance of getting caught where tailpipes are not sniffed is close to zero, that's your call. Be very careful who you have modify the truck. Lots of wannabes in that buisiness that are real hacks and then you have a real mess on your hands. Read up on the diesel forums. Personally I like the Ford truck enthusiasts site. Without it my 97 powerstroke would be parked in a fence row.
 
Removing the DPF and altering the computer with a chip will set off the CEL. At 250000 miles, it most likely needs a new DPF, and I dont know why just the DPF cant be replaced, but it may be faster and easier to repalce the whole exhaust system. Removing any of the emissions stuff is illegal.
 
If your state does not check emissions I would delete it. The chips are still available from several different suppliers. The chip will not set off the check engine light unless there is something wrong with the engine. That is the one of the reasons you have to put the chip on to keep it from throwing codes that set off the light when you delete the emissions pieces. It will get better millage being deleted. You can get delete pipes to just replace the muffler and the DPF if you want to or you can put a bigger exhaust on it. The bigger exhaust tends to help the egt's stay a little cooler because there is more room for the exhaust to get out of the truck. If you get a good chip there will likely not be very much smoke until you get to the settings above 100hp and the truck is loaded pretty good. Not all chips add a huge amount of horsepower. The one a lot of people use here add 40-100hp. Someone said you will have problems trading at a dealer. This could be true just depending on where you go. If it is someone that deals in diesel trucks it probably wont be an issue. If it is not and they end up taking it to an auto auction then it will be a problem. The auctions that I know of in TN and north AL require the truck to at least have the DPF on them to go through the auction. I can tell you in my area there are very few trucks that get a new DPF put on when the factory gets full. There are some but most get deleted. We do not have any kind of inspection to worry with though so it makes it easier. I have a deleted 6.7 Dodge myself. I just priced the deletes and complete exhaust for my dads new to him truck (10 6.7 Dodge) and it is going to be around $1,500 for the parts no including putting all the stuff on the truck. I'll do it myself instead of paying someone. Cost should be about the same you the 6.4 depending on what brand of parts you buy. The chip will be the biggest cost in it. Hope this helped some. Sorry for the long post.
 
It's a Federal offense to remove EPA mandated emissions equipment, but since there is no Federal inspection, the odds of you getting caught in a state where it's not checked/required are slim to none.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top