Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Ford F-350 SD owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Shortly after the truck is up to operating temperature a constant plume of white smoke continuously emits from the exhaust. Fuel economy has had a substantial loss. During lower levels (1/4 or lower levels of diesel) of fuel capacity the engine will stall and die upon take off. Attempting to restart afterwards was very difficult. During this process a "wrench" appears on the dash and that's about it. I have not checked "codes" yet and the check engine lite in on.
Sudden vehicle acceleration during slowing/braking. Registered over 4000 RPM at approximately 10 MPH with brakes fully depressed and was extremely difficult to stop which almost LED to a rear end collision. After coming to a complete stop, vehicle was put into park and engine slowly decreased from racing and went to normal RPM operating range at idle within seconds.
I bought a 2008 super duty with the 6.4 l diesel engine in it. I noticed that the radiator was leaking on the bottom driver side. I decided to do some research on the internet to see if it were a common problem , to my surprise it was. Everyone that has a super duty truck with the 6.4 l complaint about the same problem , radiator leaking on the bottom driver side. Some of the owners recorded that it was their 3 rd radiator in their truck. I did some research on carfax and noticed that atleast 7 trucks out of 20 that were for sale in the memphis area had their radiators replaced and some trucks more than 3 times. I went to the dealer and they look at my radiator and told me that they would replace it under warranty. They also looked and made sure that my truck had the venturi kit installed on it, that Ford had a recall on the cooling system back in 08 , it was installed. …
Exhaust temperature sensor will cause a crash that May end up killing someone. This is what failed on my wife who was pulling a 28' horse trailer with her show horse inside worth over $30,000 dollars. She merged to a one lane road on interstate 68 in maryland heading down hill when the check engine light came one soon to follow with a message of pull over safely. 20 seconds later, the engine shutoff. This caused her to lose power steering on a one lane road going over a bridge down hill pulling a horse trailer with a gross weight of over 10,000 pounds. She had no where to pull over safely when the truck shutdown on her. She had to get out of the truck in order to move the barrels blocking the right lane in order to try and get the truck and trailer out of the open lane. She had to block an exit in order to make room for the other vehicles. …
I noticed a plum of white smoke out the tail pipe. That indicated steam, water in the system to me. All the gauges were normal and I stopped the vehicle and checked the fluid levels. No obvious problem. I called my local Ford dealership and they could not get it in for 36 hours. I drove it .4 miles home and parked it. At the appointed time I drove to north country Ford. It took them another day to find the diesel mechanic who could work on the vehicle. 24 hours later I am told the engine is blown; fluid got into the manifold and was sucked into the # 3 cylinder. Depending on the amount of parts that could be salvaged the cost of replacement could exceed $ 12,000. This vehicle has 95,000 miles on it. It has had tow other incidents with the engine and drive train: in December of last year, in preparation for a trip to arizona I had the transmission serviced. …
While driving my 2008 f350 superduty diesel powered truck at 45mph for approx 4 miles, received message "exhaust drive complete" immediately followed by "stop safely now" and complete powerdown of engine. The truck decelerated so fast that despite my flooring the throttle, the car behind me almost collided. The truck lost so much power that I could not safely pull off road and was in a rural area between two blind curves. The whole incident happened in less than 30 seconds and left truck completely vulnerable to whatever traffic conditions were at the time of incident. After getting over to side of road, truck stalled on slight rise and did not have the power to move, however when I shut truck down, my 5ft8in 200lb body was able to push the 8000 lb vehicle over the hump. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 Ford f350 super duty truck purchased new. He stated after having a regular oil change, he noticed a large oil spillage coming from under the vehicle. The dealer advised replacing the high pressure fuel pump. The repair caused the oil to leak worse. Within just under a year of the initial failure, the dealer replaced the high pressure fuel pump a second time. Several months later, the contact began to notice the oil leak again. The high pressure fuel pump was replaced a third time. He also stated the bulbs in the exterior lighting elements, including headlights, tail lights and turn signals continued to blow. The dealer could not identify the reason why they continued to fail. While at a stop, while attempting to accelerate, the vehicle would not shift into gears properly. The vehicle would stay in high gear and would not down shift properly. …
I leased a 2008 f350 6.4 liter it was smoking out of the tailpipe often so I called the dealer and they said it was normal over the next few months it got worse then I had the oil changed at the dealer and the smoke checked they said in the paper work it was undetermined 1 month later I lost all power and the truck died the oil cap was not put on and there was oil everywhere since then the smoke has gotten worse so I started to go to a small mechanic that works on my other trucks well since this incident the smoke is more often like two times a week for 10 min son I brought it to the dealer two weeks ago they had it for 3 days and then they called me and said I had to prove that I had the oil changes done to it I own four trucks and they all get oil changes so I brought the recites and they said because I paid cash for the oil changes the receipt form the mechanic where fake and it was …
08 f350 with 70,000miles on it. We tow a trailer daily with this vehicle. Approximately 10 times per day it states "cleaning the exhaust filter". On sept. 29, 2010, it said "cleaning exhaust filter and stop safely now" and shut off immediately. While I was in the middle of road. Luckily a friend was driving by and towed me out of the lane of traffic. Prior to this our vehicle had four radiators put into vehicle because plastic parts kept breaking. The exhaust sensor was replaced prior to this incident. The code for this was the exhaust sensor. If I was on four lane highway when the vehicle shut down I'd be dead. I didn't have any time to pull off road. Something must be done about this. Ford is not standing behind this. Truck is still at dealer. I've been without vehicle since sept. 29, 2010. They refuse to put truck back together. …
Was driving at approximately 40mp when the engine just stopped and lost power. This happened on 2 more occasions. Once while pulling out onto a busy street, and was almost hit by oncoming traffic. Cannot risk injury, so took it right to a reputable local diesel mechanic. Diesel mechanic states that entire fuel system must be replaced. Faulty hi pressure fuel pump disintegrated and sent metal thru fuel system. This will cost $8000 to fix. Was told this was the first year "bug" for a new design. Ford will not replace parts or warranty this. Common on this model, but definitely a safety hazard, as the truck May or May not stall when giving gas. It is unpredictable.
Engine complaints in other F-350 SD years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2008 Ford F-350 SD?
NHTSA has 31 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2008 Ford F-350 SD, 31% of the model year's 101 complaints. The component named most often is exhaust system (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Ford F-350 SD engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2008 Ford F-350 SD. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2008 Ford F-350 SD engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 44,000 miles, and 30% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 1 injury to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.