6.4 Powerstroke Teardown/Build thread

[rotor_powerd]

I'm just going to buy a new factory rod to replace the #1 and reuse all the others. Forged/billet rods are too costly for these engines for me to justify them with what I'm doing.

EDIT - Sent injectors to MPD to have them tested. The injector on that hole failed flow testing, so I had MPD send me a reman injector. Apparently new ones are hard to come by, and I'm pretty sure they are very expensive ($400-500/ea) if you can find them.

 

[rotor_powerd]

Finally getting motivated to work on this now that it's warmer out. Just ordered full rebuild kit from Dynamic Diesel which comes with ceramic coated IH HD pistons, their stage 1 cam, and all bearings/seals. Ordered a new rod from Tasca Ford. Going to start putting it back together in the next few weeks. Going to order BD power manifolds/uppipes as well, and holding off on the single turbo for now. Still not sold on current tuning options for singles and their driveability.

 

[SID297]

Let me know how the BD manifolds are. Comparo pics with the stock parts would be great. I'm thinking about adding a set to my truck.

 

[rotor_powerd]

They are supposed to be top notch. After talking with a buddy down in TX that works on 6.4's regularly, they are a must have. Supposedly night and day difference in spool time even with stock compounds.

 

[SID297]

They are supposed to be top notch. After talking with a buddy down in TX that works on 6.4's regularly, they are a must have. Supposedly night and day difference in spool time even with stock compounds.

That's what I'm hoping for. Anything to lower EGTs and light the turbos off sooner.

 

[SVTORANGE]

Awesome that you can do this work yourself - hats off to you

 

[rotor_powerd]

Awesome that you can do this work yourself - hats off to you

Well, I can take it all apart at least. We'll see if I can put it back together and make it run again.

Most of the parts were delivered this morning. Will hopefully be able to find a day in the next week or two to go use my buddy's machine shop for a day and get the bottom end together.

 

[SID297]

Well, I can take it all apart at least. We'll see if I can put it back together and make it run again.

Most of the parts were delivered this morning. Will hopefully be able to find a day in the next week or two to go use my buddy's machine shop for a day and get the bottom end together.

Can't wait to see pics of it going back together. I really want to see how those BD manifolds fit.

 

[rotor_powerd]

Ordered a full rebuild kit from Dynamic Diesel at the recommendation of a friend who does a ton of Powerstroke work. Comes with a set of de-lipped, cut, and ceramic coated pistons. All new OEM bearings, rings, seals, gaskets, lifters, hard fuel lines, etc. etc. Also comes with their stage 1 cam (Not pictured, still waiting for it to come back from heat treating) which is a reground factory cam with smoother profiles to help prevent the lifter/valvetrain issues that these engines have. I spent some time talking with Paul of Dynamic Diesel on the phone and he definitely knows his stuff. Highly recommend them for anyone looking for diesel engine parts/advice. Still need to order the BD manifolds, fuel pump reseal kit, and I'm also going to replace the other 7 rods while I'm here at the recommendation of Paul.

 

[SID297]

Are those Powerstroke or MaxxForce pistons?

 

[rotor_powerd]

These are ordered straight from Mahle but they appear to be Ford OEM spec due to the "dimple" in the middle. At first I was dead set on IH HD pistons but after I did some research, as long as the Ford ones are delipped and coated I'm fine with them. The lip of the bowl is where the Ford pistons start to crack, the material is just too thin there and it gets too much heat built up in it.

 

[92GreenGT]

This thread has shed some light for me!! Seems all the diesels are so expensive to work on no matter what brand they are. What kind of ET/MPH could you expect after you build if you planned to run the truck often? Also, based on actual facts and no bias, it seems that all the brands have their weak points when it comes to a diesel truck, if you were say, going to build a 12 second truck(say mid 12's) and you was going to pick a truck(any brand, any model) what brand would you buy and how much would you expect to spend to get said ET results?

 

[SVTORANGE]

Well, I can take it all apart at least. We'll see if I can put it back together and make it run again.

Most of the parts were delivered this morning. Will hopefully be able to find a day in the next week or two to go use my buddy's machine shop for a day and get the bottom end together.

Good luck to ya as it will be great once you have it back together

 

[rotor_powerd]

This thread has shed some light for me!! Seems all the diesels are so expensive to work on no matter what brand they are. What kind of ET/MPH could you expect after you build if you planned to run the truck often? Also, based on actual facts and no bias, it seems that all the brands have their weak points when it comes to a diesel truck, if you were say, going to build a 12 second truck(say mid 12's) and you was going to pick a truck(any brand, any model) what brand would you buy and how much would you expect to spend to get said ET results?

I have never taken my truck to the track, nor do I plan to, but a tune/deleted 6.4 will do low 13's/high 12's depending on the configuration of the truck. If you're just looking to go as fast as you can in the 1/4 mile for the least amount of money, the 6.4 would definitely be my first choice. Depending on your choice of tuner, a tune and delete can cost anywhere from $800 to $2,000. To get to the mid 12's consistently, you'd need bigger turbos/fueling and/or nitrous. The only reliable option for fueling is to run dual pumps (~$3,000) and bigger injector nozzles (~$600). A modded set of factory compounds (~$3,000) or big single turbo ($2,500-$3,000) will give you the airflow you need. With that power you'll also need a trans to take it (~$4,000-$5,000) because the stock trans is at it's limit on a tune/deleted truck. That doesn't include all the supporting mods (Intake, exhaust, up pipes, headstuds, etc.) or tuning that you'll need for such a setup. As you can see it adds up quick.

That said, you're taking 7-9,000 pounds and trying to go fast with it - any truck is going to break doing that and yes they are very expensive to fix. You need very deep pockets to play the make-a-diesel-truck-go-fast game.

I got around to power washing and honing the block today (Funny how a 5 month old can make time hard to come by...). Still need to lap the decks and do a through cleaning, then file the rings and assemble the bottom end. I used a ball hone by Flex Hone and it was very simple and straight forward and left a great cross hatch in the bores.

It looks all nasty because it's coated in WD40 to prevent it from flash rusting.

A picture of the truck since I don't think I've posted one in this thread -

 

[Zemedici]

Excellent work bud. Keep the updates coming! :beer:

 

[SVTORANGE]

What a beast of a truck

 

[SID297]

I am not jealous of the amount of work you have ahead of you.

 

[rotor_powerd]

What a beast of a truck

Yep... I love it. I've owned a ton of cars, Mustangs and everything else, and I have to say this truck is my favorite vehicle that I've ever had.

I am not jealous of the amount of work you have ahead of you.

Luckily I've had enough time to mentally prepare myself. My first goal is just getting the bottom end together and back in the truck. Then getting the heads on. After that, everything can be done by just working on it a couple hours at a time whenever I get a chance. I don't have much time to work on it, but I'd rather that than be under the gun to get it done and have more chances at screwing something up.

 

[rotor_powerd]

Ordered a lapping block and it showed up today so I made some more progress on prepping the block. Lapping block is a 6"x8" piece of granite that has been machined to be flat within .0001" corner to corner. I used it and sandpaper to lap the deck surfaces and ensure they are perfectly flat/smooth so the new gaskets seal up. I would have had the block cut if the heads didn't have a perfect sealing ring around the cylinders when I took them off. I just did the headgaskets 5,000 miles ago so I don't expect to have any sealing issues this time either. Also I had the heads cut when I did the gaskets and they were right on the edge of being in spec, with as tight as everything is in these engines I would like to avoid valve/piston contact as much as I can.

Also got all the top/second rings gapped properly, deburred, cleaned & bagged. At this point everything is ready for a final cleaning and assembly.

Disregard the markings on the block... I had a brain fart and added an extra 0. I think I'd run into a few problems if my ring gaps were set that tight.

 

[hockeylover86]

I didn't realize that the 6.4 only had 4 head studs for each cylinder.

Are the heads iron?