2010 Ford F-350 Problems: 7 Known Issues

On the 2008-2010 Ford F-350 6.4L Power Stroke V8 diesel, the 2008-2010 6.4L Power Stroke in the F-350 uses a piston with a re-entrant combustion bowl whose lip is a known stress riser. Under the high cylinder pressures the twin-sequential-turbo 6.4L makes, and especially on tuned trucks or trucks that see repeated in-cylinder post-injection during DPF regeneration, the bowl lip cracks. The crack usually starts small, showing as slowly rising crankcase pressure and coolant/oil consumption, and ends with a holed piston. Because the 6.4L's factory power output already sits near the limits of the piston, this is one of the failures that ends 6.4L engines outright rather than being a repairable annoyance. This is 6.4L-specific and does not carry over to the 6.7L, which uses a different piston and a single turbo.

On the 2005-2025 Ford F-350, after hitting a bump at highway speed, the front end enters violent steering oscillation (death wobble) that requires slowing to a stop to recover. Caused by worn front-end components: track bar bushing, ball joints, tie rod ends, or steering damper.

On the 2008-2010 Ford F-350 6.4L Power Stroke V8 diesel, the 2008-2010 F-350 with the 6.4L Power Stroke uses a plastic-tank/aluminum-core radiator that has a well-documented pattern of splitting where the core is crimped into the tank, and of the tanks themselves cracking. The upper radiator support is thin enough to let the core flex with engine and chassis movement, and the 6.4L's twin-turbo, high-heat-rejection cooling load plus the second (low-temperature) cooling circuit stresses the assembly further. Owners on Ford Truck Enthusiasts report repeat failures - one thread documents a fifth radiator in two and a half years - concentrated in trucks that tow in mountains or work at high GVW, which describes most F-350 duallies and chassis cabs.

On the 2008-2010 Ford F-350 6.4L Power Stroke V8 diesel, to regenerate the diesel particulate filter, the 2008-2010 6.4L Power Stroke injects fuel late in the exhaust stroke through the main injectors rather than using a downstream dosing injector. A share of that fuel washes down the cylinder walls and ends up in the crankcase. Owners commonly find the oil level well above full at a normal service interval, and analyses routinely show heavy fuel percentages. The diluted oil loses viscosity and film strength, which accelerates wear on main and rod bearings, the valvetrain and the turbocharger bearings. The effect is worst on F-350s used the way many are - short trips, heavy idling, plow and delivery duty - because incomplete or frequently interrupted regenerations dump the most fuel into the oil.

On the 1999-2016 Ford F-350, f-350 dually trucks run a full-floating rear axle (a Dana 80 on most, a Sterling 10.5 on some gas duallies) whose hubs carry adjustable tapered inner and outer bearings with a seal riding on the innermost part of the spindle. Unlike a sealed unit bearing, this design is a maintenance item, and the loads a DRW F-350 carries - a pin weight applied well behind the cab by a gooseneck or fifth wheel, plus the extra outboard tire - make bearing preload and lubrication critical. Owners across ford-trucks.com and thedieselstop.com report the seal weeping gear oil onto the brakes, followed by a growl that changes with load, and eventually a spun or destroyed bearing. Gear oil reaching the rear brake friction is the safety consequence, on a truck that is already brake-limited when loaded.

On the 1999-2016 Ford F-350, the 1999-2016 Super Duty cab has a double-wall rocker and cab-corner structure that traps water and road debris and rots from the inside out. On the F-350 the pattern is worse than on lighter trucks for two structural reasons: dual rear wheels throw far more salt spray and grit up onto the rear arches and cab corners than a single-rear-wheel truck, and F-350s spend disproportionate time in plow, farm and construction service where the truck is wet and salted constantly. Failure shows first as bubbling paint at the bottom of the cab corner behind the door, then perforation at the rocker seam and the rear wheel arch on the bed. Because the inner rocker is part of the cab structure, extensive rot is a structural and inspection problem, not just cosmetic.

On the 2005-2010 Ford F-350, gasoline F-350s of this era (5.4L Triton V8 and 6.8L Triton V10) use a Fuel Pump Driver Module bolted directly to the steel frame rail behind the rear axle, where it takes the full spray of road salt and water. The aluminum module against the steel frame sets up galvanic corrosion; the housing corrodes through, moisture reaches the circuit board, and the module stops driving the in-tank pump. The result is intermittent stalling, extended cranking or an outright no-start, often with FPDM circuit codes stored. Trucks in salt-belt states fail earliest. This is a chassis/electrical failure on the gas trucks only.