Post by Jake LaPierre on Feb 21, 2016 15:11:11 GMT -9
First and foremost with these engines, maintenance is crucial. Change your oil and filters on time and with quality oil. Only use Racor or Motorcraft filters. Change your fuel filters (there are 2 of them, one on the top of the motor and one on the frame on the drivers side). Empty the water separator (its on the fuel filter on the frame). When changing fluids use quality fluids for everything, i.e. transmission fluid, differential fluid, oil, coolant, etc. It is also suggested to run a fuel additive when filling up your fuel tank (I am not going to get deep into this as there are tons of additives out there and tons of discussion on it).
**I have also noticed a trend in some of the questions, if you are not mechanically inclined, most of the modifications are not difficult to accomplish (at least the basic "bulletproofing" ones) and feel free to keep asking questions (in this thread and also in your own build threads), but as a note, DO NOT PUSH THE LIMITS OF YOUR TRUCK IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. These modifications can be great bulletproofing measures when the power level is increased in moderation. Don't expect to do the bare minimum and more than double the power output of the engine and go stoplight racing your buddies in their Mustangs or Camaros and not break something.**
1. Tuner: It'll take some digging, but there are a few out there... the most popular are the Spartan and the H&S - Offroad (Mini Max, XRT Pro). Custom tunes can also be had from Gearhead performance and Innovative Performance and will be uploaded via an SCT off road tuner. Custom tunes can also be had from KEM and PIP but I do not recommend them. At the moment these will give you the option to delete the DPF. Recently people have been looking for cheaper options as Spartan and H&S tuners are now becoming very expensive. DPF-r is a basic tuner that allows the DPF to be removed. The DPF-r 4.0+ also adds a small amount of HP (70HP).
This will allow you to get rid of the Regen cycles, Which is a great thing.
First your fuel mileage will increase because the engine is no longer dumping fuel into the exhaust stroke to be burned in the DPF to clean out the soot it has collected.
Second it will lower your fuel dilution because fuel won't be dumping into the engine on the exhaust stroke.
The tuners will also allow you to run much higher horsepower tunes on your truck (just be forewarned, the higher the tunes the more modification your truck will require to stay bulletproofed).
INSTALLATION: This one is easy. Plug it in to your OBDII port, follow the instructions on the tuner and it will walk you thru the installation. NOTE: DON'T INSTALL A "DELETE" TUNE (either deleting your DPF or EGR) BEFORE PERFORMING THE DELETE!
2. Exhaust: There are a few options at this point.
A DPF/DOC delete pipe is the minimum and the cheapest option for removing the DPF. This is just a short straight pipe that takes the place of the DPF and DOC.
After that there are all sorts of options for full exhaust.
First you must decide if you want to get a downpipe back or turbo back. The stock downpipe is very restrictive but in order to remove the stock downpipe it must either be cut or the cab removed. The replacement downpipe is usually a 2 piece so it can be put back in cab on and is not very difficult to install.
The next question is 4" or 5" pipe. I have noticed that most people who buy a 4" pipe eventually switch to a 5" pipe. The 5" has a deeper sound to it and a little less whistle. I haven't heard of anyone noticing a difference in performance between the two, it comes down to personal preference.
Last, muffler or no muffler. The turbos in the 6.4 quiet the motor a lot, to the point that a muffler really isn't needed. It is also personal preference. I'm sure having a muffler might take some more of the whistle out of the exhaust note.
As far as material, I would think it depends on where you live, if you live farther north and the roads are salted in the winter, spring for the extra price and get the stainless rather than the aluminized.
3. Intake: There are all kinds of intakes out there. By far the 2 most used brands on this forum are S&B or AFE. I personally Either will do the job on your tuned 6.4. The stock intake will work for lower HP tunes, but once the high HP tunes are loaded up there is too much air flowing and the filter minder will pop every time you roll into the throttle a little. The only other options here are wet vs dry.
Wet requires cleaning when it is dirty. Dry is just replaced.
4. EGR delete: There are also a few options here. The 6.4 EGR coolers are better than the 6.0, but it is still a point of failure. AND the EGR system puts soot and other crap back into the engine. Just take a look in the air intake manifold of a 6.4 that has had the EGR intact for a long time, its caked with crap.
Option 1: turn off the EGR with a tuner. This is usually done on the higher tunes. Everything is still intact, but the crap isn't being cycled into the engine. This is byfar the bandaid fix and I wouldn't recommend it as a final solution.
Option 2: Block off plates. These can be installed on both sides of the EGR coolers. This is the cheapest and easiest solution but is still not a perfect solution. Coolant still flows through the coolers, but exhaust gas doesn't flow through. A tuner is also required for this.
Option 3: The 100% solution. Completely remove the EGRs with an EGR delete. These kits come with block of plates for the exhaust and the coolant. This takes time to do (usually most of a day). I suggest getting a kit that has an intake elbow to replace the EGR valve. This requires a tuner as well. FloPro, Sinister and PTP make quality kits.
That is the minimum. There are plenty of other modifications that can assist.
**I have also noticed a trend in some of the questions, if you are not mechanically inclined, most of the modifications are not difficult to accomplish (at least the basic "bulletproofing" ones) and feel free to keep asking questions (in this thread and also in your own build threads), but as a note, DO NOT PUSH THE LIMITS OF YOUR TRUCK IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. These modifications can be great bulletproofing measures when the power level is increased in moderation. Don't expect to do the bare minimum and more than double the power output of the engine and go stoplight racing your buddies in their Mustangs or Camaros and not break something.**
1. Tuner: It'll take some digging, but there are a few out there... the most popular are the Spartan and the H&S - Offroad (Mini Max, XRT Pro). Custom tunes can also be had from Gearhead performance and Innovative Performance and will be uploaded via an SCT off road tuner. Custom tunes can also be had from KEM and PIP but I do not recommend them. At the moment these will give you the option to delete the DPF. Recently people have been looking for cheaper options as Spartan and H&S tuners are now becoming very expensive. DPF-r is a basic tuner that allows the DPF to be removed. The DPF-r 4.0+ also adds a small amount of HP (70HP).
This will allow you to get rid of the Regen cycles, Which is a great thing.
First your fuel mileage will increase because the engine is no longer dumping fuel into the exhaust stroke to be burned in the DPF to clean out the soot it has collected.
Second it will lower your fuel dilution because fuel won't be dumping into the engine on the exhaust stroke.
The tuners will also allow you to run much higher horsepower tunes on your truck (just be forewarned, the higher the tunes the more modification your truck will require to stay bulletproofed).
INSTALLATION: This one is easy. Plug it in to your OBDII port, follow the instructions on the tuner and it will walk you thru the installation. NOTE: DON'T INSTALL A "DELETE" TUNE (either deleting your DPF or EGR) BEFORE PERFORMING THE DELETE!
2. Exhaust: There are a few options at this point.
A DPF/DOC delete pipe is the minimum and the cheapest option for removing the DPF. This is just a short straight pipe that takes the place of the DPF and DOC.
After that there are all sorts of options for full exhaust.
First you must decide if you want to get a downpipe back or turbo back. The stock downpipe is very restrictive but in order to remove the stock downpipe it must either be cut or the cab removed. The replacement downpipe is usually a 2 piece so it can be put back in cab on and is not very difficult to install.
The next question is 4" or 5" pipe. I have noticed that most people who buy a 4" pipe eventually switch to a 5" pipe. The 5" has a deeper sound to it and a little less whistle. I haven't heard of anyone noticing a difference in performance between the two, it comes down to personal preference.
Last, muffler or no muffler. The turbos in the 6.4 quiet the motor a lot, to the point that a muffler really isn't needed. It is also personal preference. I'm sure having a muffler might take some more of the whistle out of the exhaust note.
As far as material, I would think it depends on where you live, if you live farther north and the roads are salted in the winter, spring for the extra price and get the stainless rather than the aluminized.
3. Intake: There are all kinds of intakes out there. By far the 2 most used brands on this forum are S&B or AFE. I personally Either will do the job on your tuned 6.4. The stock intake will work for lower HP tunes, but once the high HP tunes are loaded up there is too much air flowing and the filter minder will pop every time you roll into the throttle a little. The only other options here are wet vs dry.
Wet requires cleaning when it is dirty. Dry is just replaced.
4. EGR delete: There are also a few options here. The 6.4 EGR coolers are better than the 6.0, but it is still a point of failure. AND the EGR system puts soot and other crap back into the engine. Just take a look in the air intake manifold of a 6.4 that has had the EGR intact for a long time, its caked with crap.
Option 1: turn off the EGR with a tuner. This is usually done on the higher tunes. Everything is still intact, but the crap isn't being cycled into the engine. This is byfar the bandaid fix and I wouldn't recommend it as a final solution.
Option 2: Block off plates. These can be installed on both sides of the EGR coolers. This is the cheapest and easiest solution but is still not a perfect solution. Coolant still flows through the coolers, but exhaust gas doesn't flow through. A tuner is also required for this.
Option 3: The 100% solution. Completely remove the EGRs with an EGR delete. These kits come with block of plates for the exhaust and the coolant. This takes time to do (usually most of a day). I suggest getting a kit that has an intake elbow to replace the EGR valve. This requires a tuner as well. FloPro, Sinister and PTP make quality kits.
That is the minimum. There are plenty of other modifications that can assist.