Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Ford 6.7L opinions?

I've cussed and discussed the 3/4 ton truck option. The telling tale will happen in 2 weeks. We're pulling our cargo trailer to a show using my wife's Infiniti. I has about 85 more hp than my truck and more torque to boot. I bought a weight distribution hitch to help with the process. If it tries to walk all over the road or lags the car, it's time for the 3/4.

Now on to the truck. I've driven several 3/4 tons and seem to like the Ford the best. I don't drive my personal vehicle a lot, but when I do it seems to be pulling something about 1/2 the time. We've also talked about getting a camper trailer and heading out with the kids.

Those of you that have the 6.7L, what are your thoughts. I know you have to use good fuel, fill it with def, and keep up with general maintenance. I typically only drive about 6,000-8,000 miles a year. I plan on finding one that's got around 45,000-65,000 miles on it and it should last me a very long time. What stories do you guys have about your 6.7's? What are your opinions?

I have 3 that I work on and they have a lot of power but don't get good mileage. I think you will find that any of the new diesels are not good in the mileage dept. Haven't had any problems with any of them yet. If you do, there is a lot of work to get accessing stuff.

The '13 and on Cummins that use DEF for emission control seem to be considerably more efficient than the earlier DPF only trucks. My 2014 gets better mileage running unloaded than my '03 did. It does seem to use more fuel when towing though. Best hand calculated mileage on a 526 mile trip to Charlotte and back was 23.1 mpg. Towing a car hauler with combined weight of car and trailer nets 13-15, where the '03 would do 1-2 mpg better. All hand calculated figures, as I don't believe the trip computer.

I've got a 2012 Ford F-250 Super Duty 4x4 King Ranch Crew Cab with the 6.7 Diesel that I love! Best motor I've had in all my Ford F-250's and much more power & torque than ANY Diesel Truck I've ever owned. As far as mileage, I get 19 to 20 mpg running 75 mph empty and 12 to 13 mpg hauling our big cattle trailer loaded at 75 mph. SOB is a pulling son of a bitch. Never had ANY trouble at all with it, either.

How's the Polaris 4-wheeler I sold your Dad running? That was some damn good Catfish y'all fed me at the Peach Orchard, or whatever the name of that Resterant we ate at was.

I've got 45K on mine now and nary a lick of trouble. Fuel, oil changes, rotate tires, 1 DEF re-flash that they all got which added about 10min onto an oil change for me. Speed limit on interstate here is 75, I drive ~80MPH everywhere and avg 14-16. If I drive into MN and slow down to the low 70's I get high teens.

Keep the short trips to a minimum, do your best to get it up to normal operating temp on every drive and you'll likely never have an issue.

I just rolled over 45,000 myself on a 2011 duramax with the same experience. Same mileage, one DEF related problem covered under warranty (a sensor) and same reliability.

2012, 50,000 miles long term everyday average mileage is 17. Pulling my 18,000 lb fifth wheel she gets 10ish.
Most all my miles are mountain driving.
Absolutely no issues, and it's a pulling S.O.B.
Did have to add airbags, though.

The 4-wheeler is still running like a top. With my 2 kids they get plenty of use. Dad leaves that one down there so he doesn't have to ferry one back and forth. He's been happy with it. You got the name of the fish place right, also. Now you've got me thinking I need to make a trip just for lunch. Thanks for the info on the truck too.

My wife's uncle had the same issue so he handed his 250 down to her aunt and bought a 350. He said it doesn't squat it nearly as bad. The 350 is actually getting a little better mileage than the 250, but I would guess that's because of how they're driven.

Cool. Glad to hear y'all are enjoying the 4-Wheeler. If I'm ever up that way again, I'll Definately be stopping there for some more Fried Catfish.

I need to get down there.

Anybody got anything any other opinions on the truck overall?

Will the adding of an aftermarket chip improve mileage at all?

My current Ford is a 2012 F350 SRW 4x4 with the 6.7L engine. I've been a Ford Super Duty guy for a while, through 2x of the 7.3's and one 6.0...current 6.7L is my favorite. Has plenty of power and torque for my needs, pulls a trailer well. I have the electronic locking rear differential, and it works well in the mud. As far as mpg...around town I get about 14, highway 16/17. Have full replacement bumper front and rear, full steel running boards, headache rack/rails etc that add some weight and cost mpg. Was running 18+ highway off the lot. No issues so far with about 27K on the truck...very pleased.

the 6.7 is a great engine and trans combo. I just sold mine and downsized to an ecoboost f150, plenty of power and way more comfortable. if you don't need to tow over 10000 pounds I highly recommend it.

IMO the problem with the 6.7 and all the other diesels for that matter is they are way too complicated. I shutter to think about the repair bills people are going to see once these trucks are older and commonly have well in excess of 100k miles on them. its way too easy to have a multi thousand $$$ repair on these. The other is the fuel mileage is overstated YESSS I could at times see as much as 22mpg with my 6.7 but reality is the mileage over an entire tank is way less because of regens. towing was pretty comparable to the older diesel dodges I used to run. 93,02,06 dodges. highway mpg was about 16.5 maybe 17 if I keep the speeds 75mph or less.

I have been around them a lot and have a lot of buddies with them. NOBODY gets 20 mpg in them, NOBODY that I know. I have been thousands of miles in one in particular and have had to pay for my share of the fuel. We get 13 pulling a small trailer with a Ranger on it and 17 running empty at best. The ones we work get about 9-10 according to the computer and sometimes only 8 in town. (all F-550s).

The new 15s are supposed to have 440 HP and almost 900 ft-lbs torque. This is insane power. All this said, if I ever wreck my 7.3 I will buy a gasser. I don't tow enough anymore to justify a diesel. You pay $5000 more for the engine and 50-70 cents more a gallon for the fuel. Where does it pay for itself? It doesn't- it just makes it possible to pull your 36' toy hauler up the hill and not back up traffic.

dennis is spot on with the fuel mileage. I might also ad that after switching over to the ecoboost I saved $50 on my first fill up alone, due to increased fuel mileage AND cheaper fuel. thats alot of money on one tank of gas.

I have owned diesel powered passenger trucks since 1980 a IH Scout... it was a slug...1992 250 5 speed manual 5.7 Dodge Cummins...2001 250 auto Ford 7.3...

Now a 2012 350 auto 6.7 Ford...I only use the truck for pulling a trailer or hauling a load in the box.... 90% of the time highway...just did a 850 mile round trip cruise set at 75 MPH or 5 MPH over speed limit.... hauled 2500 lbs. of bear bait weighed on a certified scale... 28 gallon tank of gasoline and 28 gallon tank of diesel fuel on a bumper rack 2 passengers 2-120 quart coolers of food...return trip 8'bed stacked to top of cap with hard maple firewood had to put 60 LBS. of air in the bags to get springs off rubber cushions....19.7 MPG with 2 regens....

Pulling a 10'000 LBS+ camper never less than 12 MPG usually 13-15 MPG depending on wind....

Adding more power to the 15's I just don't think it's needed....just making it easier to brake something...I guess HP sells...improve mileage in my mind would be smarter...

I've got a 6.7 in a 2013 model. So far so good. On the interstate at 75mph, I'm getting 18.5 mpg. Lots of stop and go it drops to about 16.5 on average. I haven't hooked any heavy trailers to it yet, but I'm very optimistic that it's going to have plenty of power to full my 34' fifth wheel.

It is a little scary to know that you can't even change or check the belts on the engine without taking the cab of the truck off. They have it packed in there tight.

It's not that bad but you can't do any head work without pulling the cab. Belts are still accessible- kinda

I'm glad some people aren't having issues with their Ford's. We have a fleet that I oversee the maintenance on. We have 2011-2014's F150's,F350's and F550's. At least 1-2 of our trucks are in the dealers shop per month for some sort of repairs. From total engine (gas & diesel) failures,DEF problems,u-joints,carrier bearings,PCM's,rear end & trans failures. None have made it past 10,000 miles without some sort of failure. I'll disagree on how great their diesels are compared to the dirty max or cummins. We have a F550 with a 6.7L that has had 4 complete engines installed under warranty and it has less than 90,000.Our trucks are brought in every 3,000 miles for oil and filter(oil & air along with both fuel filters on diesels) changes along with thorough inspections. Our ECO boost gets less than 14mpg and it doesn't haul anything except the manager around. Diesels are less than that empty or loaded. Goodluck with your Fords. My personal truck is 2014 Dodge 2500 6.4L gas. Honest 15.5-16.5mpg loaded or unloaded. And yes it has a 'HEMI'

Doug

When you have fleet(company owned vehicles) people don't use them if they were there's...most don't care because there is another vehicle waiting when they brake the one they are using...

couple comments, for some reason the chassis cab ford 6.7's have and do have some engine issues. Its a little different engine than is in the regular superduty. I put 70k on my 6.7 issues were a shifting issue in the trans that was fixed with a computer flash. that was mainly because the truck was a first year truck. The other was an EGT sensor. oh yeah and the radiator developed a very small leak right before I sold the truck. radiators are a known issue still with these trucks. so if your looking at a used 6.7 with 70 or 80k on it find out if the radiator has been replaced because its a 2k repair if you get stuck with it.

as for the ecoboost and 14 mpg, something is wrong. I never see less than 15 in town and normally about 17 combined, pretty much right in line with whats on the window sticker.

2012 with 30k miles here, probably 3k pulling my 12k+ lb fifth wheel. Only issue has been an EGT sensor which caused the truck to tell me to pull over safely NOW. Got towed to Ford dealer and fixed within an hour or so - they immediately knew what the problem was so guess it is common.

I get about 17mpg mixed in town and highway, and anywhere from 9-12mpg towing depending on wind mainly. For example got 12.5mpg towing to west Texas (up hill from Houston) recently, but only 10 coming back due to strong head/cross wind.

Well we don't have enough trucks around for one person just get out of one into another. So we had 2 more go down. 2013 F550 with the CP4 out of it at 38,000 with filters changed more often than most people would. This one has had DEF,wiring along with other issues. 2012 F550 diesel that has had trans problems and different engine problems. Another 2012 F550 with less than 100,000 that is on its 4th engine and 2nd trans along with DEF and wiring problems. I've worked other places that had 10-30 F350-F550's and all had engine,trans and wiring problems with less than 30,000 miles. My only thing is that nobody builds a perfect car/truck these days. You can flip a coin and may get a great one or a lemon.

Doug

Unfortunately after only 10 months with mine in the shop five times for a total of almost a month I sent my f250 down the road yesterday. Loved the power and size but cannot spend the payment having it at the dealer every other month, I will say that the ford dealer took good care of me but after visit three or four the service guys were telling me off the record of too many problems.

CP4 problems are bad juju. Repair bill on a Chevy with a CP4 failure can run about $13,000. It has me scared.

this is what people are going to find when these trucks get high mileage on them. Diesels are just too complicated these days

Yep. It has me thinking about a ram (maybe even a power wagon) with the 6.4 hemi. Problem is it is hard to go back to pulling with a gasser.

My friend and I are both diesel enthusiasts. He knows diesels, works for a large utility company with a fleet of 30 Ford 6.7's...... F 350's with utility body. He says they're terrible, just complete sh#t, his words. These are new trucks. At any one time at least 5 or 6 are out of commission for repairs. One has gone through 4 or 5 engines on warranty, I don't remember what kept breaking. They all get terrible mileage, like 8-9mpg. I'd thought they were supposed to be pretty good and it surprised me to hear that.

6.7's have issues around the 125-150k mark if they get that far. My diesel mechanic was buying Cummings and installing them in Ford's.

thats BS I am going to just call it out. I have been on various diesel forums since this engine came out as well as spent my fair share of driving one. The chassis cab engines are a different animal and have had issues. They are a slighly different engine that is NOT rated 400hp 800tq. if its 400/800 you have the standard engine that is by and large a great engine. I hope you are not confusing the 6.7 with the 6.4 or even the 6.0. Every engine has failures but to say they are wide spread is false. The 6.7 aside from some minor glitches has been a great engine for ford and one that competes well with any of the other 2. I drove dodges for years, they had long been the standard for diesel fuel mileage. my 6.7 got better mileage than my '02 dads '04 my '06 but not quite as good as my single cab 2wd '93 but that truck was less than 6000#'s. that is empty, towing my 6.7 matched or exceeded all those different trucks in fuel mpg. I don't know what your buddy is talking about. I am not brand loyal. if you have to have a diesel truck for weight compacity, buy a 6.7 and sell it at around 100k. I would say the same for the other 2 makes as well.

Think whatever you want. The guy works for Rocky Mt. Power, 12-16hrs/day driving one of those trucks. He knows exactly what he's talking about. His personal truck for years was an LLY, now it's an LMM. I'm not confusing anything with anything so pipe down.. He tells me the company 6.7's are crap, I believe him. Go back and look at Winchester's post.

spoken from a duramax guy, that figures. my neighbor just traded his 18 mo old dmax back in because is had issues the dealer couldn't figure out. one was an oil leak that was never solved. believe what you want, I put 70k on my 6.7 towing loads, flying down ruff gravel roads in the high desert. only motor problem was an egt sensor. I am not brand loyal and don't care, I drive fords now despite my screen name here.

No, what figures is he told me what's going on with those trucks at work. Nothing to do with what he drives. Sounds like the same crap as Winchester's experience. You've had good luck with yours great, that's how it should be. If you're "not brand loyal and don't care" then stop bitching.

We bought several at my FD in both cab/chassis and 4dr 4x4's and they've been complete schitt. Trans issues out the azz and a couple complete engine failures as well as EGT problems. I had high hopes for this platform but so far don't know anyone who's had good luck.

wow this is crazy, during my entire time at ford truck enthuists forums NOT ONE person reported or even heard of a trans failure with the 6.7 powertrain setup. NOT ONE, nobody. believe me we generally heard about problems not good things over there. early on there was an issue with the adaptive learning in the trans, some also needed a selonoid replacement, This effected early '11 models only, a reflash fixed the trans issue and the selonoid was hardware. truck was an early '11 model and it needed the reflash and all was well. never have I heard of a 6.7 psd tranny total failure. Which is pretty amazing if you think about.

I chalk that up to guys working on them not being on forums. I don't care in the least about brand and just want the damn things to work but so far they've been spotty.

I bet the guys with all the failures have trucks that sit and idle for a while. With these new emitions requirements, long idle period will jam up the exhaust and cause a miriad of other issues. If they work hard, driven long miles or tow regularly they seem to work well. City driving is tough too.

I have a 2012 F-250 6.7 and love it so far. I've got 35k on it. Mileage is 10-12 pulling my 36 ft travel trailer which is around 11k loaded for a trip. The only thing I have been disappointed with is I had to put helper springs on it. The springs are soft on these new 250's. I'm taking it in Monday for service and there is an oil leak they're going to fix. I think its the front seal. The leak is not bad and it just started. Overall I would buy another one before any of the rest. This is my second diesel, my first was a 2007 Duramax classic body and loved that truck too but the new chevy's are ugly.

I was trying to not get involved but I had a 2011 F250 6.7 until this spring. I absolutely loved the truck but it started having issues at 19k miles. My truck started to have turbo flutter, surging issues, and rough shifts while going up slight grades. I took it in for warranty repair and the dealership replaced the TQ converter, TCM, and a few other parts. It shifted like glass, but the engine was still cutting/surging. We have a few Ford 6.7s at work with similar issues. After looking at the service bulletin it appears some of the trucks like to drop a valve and who knows which trucks have the isssue. I traded it in on a 2014 Silverado Duramax. I miss the interior and interior space but the Silverado handles like a sports car compared to the Ford. The chassis design on the GM is far superior to the Ford. No body flex, sagging, or creaking sounds while going over uneven terrain. The Ford was quieter and has more bottom end but less power from mid to high RPMs. My 6.7 got slightly better mpg than my new D-max at this point.

A co-worker purchased a 2014 in July and before 500 miles he got a check engine light. Ford said he got contaminated fuel and charged him 4k to replace and clean the fuel system. His insurance covered the bill. He swears the tank of diesel was the fuel the dealership put in the truck at the time of the sale. I would have purchased a gasser if I had it to do over.