Diesel truck question

[Filo]

So, you all seem to have plenty of opinions on this here board. I am looking to replace my current truck with a more modern one. Looking for somewhere late 1990s early 2000s diesel. Extended cab (or up to crew), 8' bed, 4wd, working A/C are pretty much all I need. I have looked at some gas engine trucks (like today - 2005 F250 w/5.4L gas and 186K miles!) and have found that most trucks with the big cab and the 8' bed are diesel. I don't know a lot about diesel dependability. So, how many miles are a lot on a diesel? What years/displacements/makes are known to be troublesome? Any opinions are welcome.

I plan to haul the occasional yard waste, the occasional home improvement stuff (like a bunch of dry wall), a trailer or two full of dirt or track bikes, and maybe go up into the mountains once in a while, ... etc with it. It is not a daily driver, so I don't want to spend a lot of cash here. I have seen some nice 2007 trucks for $36K. You really have to be smoking something to pay that much for a used truck, IMHO.

On a slightly related note - who wants to buy a 1995 F250 XL, long bed, single cab, 118K miles, basic work truck cheap ($3K). Please note - no air conditioner...

[Husky]

So, you all seem to have plenty of opinions on this here board. I am looking to replace my current truck with a more modern one. Looking for somewhere late 1990s early 2000s diesel. Extended cab (or up to crew), 8' bed, 4wd, working A/C are pretty much all I need. I have looked at some gas engine trucks (like today - 2005 F250 w/5.4L gas and 186K miles!) and have found that most trucks with the big cab and the 8' bed are diesel. I don't know a lot about diesel dependability. So, how many miles are a lot on a diesel? What years/displacements/makes are known to be troublesome? Any opinions are welcome.

I plan to haul the occasional yard waste, the occasional home improvement stuff (like a bunch of dry wall), a trailer or two full of dirt or track bikes, and maybe go up into the mountains once in a while, ... etc with it. It is not a daily driver, so I don't want to spend a lot of cash here. I have seen some nice 2007 trucks for $36K. You really have to be smoking something to pay that much for a used truck, IMHO.

On a slightly related note - who wants to buy a 1995 F250 XL, long bed, single cab, 118K miles, basic work truck cheap ($3K). Please note - no air conditioner...

Stay away from the ford 6.o, total junk with too many problems to even list. The 7.3 was one of the best diesels ford ever made.

[sag]

unless its super cheap id try to keep it around 200k miles. they will go plenty more for sure and imo 200k is not even close to a lot of miles.

for what you want to spend i would for sure go with a 7.3 powerstroke

[The GECCO]

One word - Cummins

[The Black Knight]

One word - Cummins

+1!!

[Wrider]

+1 on what's said above. Personally I love the Cummins (it's all my uncle would ever own, and he averaged about 250K farm miles on his trucks every 3 or 4 years), but the 7.3 is a bulletproof motor.

If you're going for a manual, Cummins all the way, otherwise if you find an auto, either go for the Ford or make sure the 48RE behind the Cummins has been rebuilt properly (I.E. not using factory parts).

The 6.0 eats head gaskets like candy.

[#1Townie]

http://www.cosportbikeclub.org/forum...ad.php?t=48779

Ford 7.3 or go newer and get the 6.7. I have heard good things about those. 6.0 is a pile. No power and is just a pile of crap. 6.4 is better but still not that great. It has tons of power but lots of issues. I had the high pressure fuel gasket go twice. I spent 60k on my f450. I really like the truck but it has had some issues. My beast is a 99 f250. I love that thing.

[dirkterrell]

I love my 7.3. It's an F350 crew cab, 8-foot bed with dualies. The 7.3 motor was built by International and they have been doing diesels for a while. I suspect the body/frame will give out before the motor on these things.

[UglyDogRacing]

One word - Cummins

[slim775124]

No Duramax love in here I have an 05 Silverado 2500 with the 6.6 Duramax/Allison combo and it's the best truck I have owned. On the Duramax forum there is a guy with over 700k milage on his with just basic maintenance. My other option would be a cummins (5.9 if you can find one with a good price), cause in my eyes Ford is junk (other than the 7.3) Just drive a couple different ones and see what you like better. My vote is Duramax, I also see 17 MPG in the city and 22 MPH highway on a stock CCLB

[#1Townie]

Thats because everyone knows chevy sucks.

[jcj81]

If I were to get diesel it would be a durmax as well

[Drano]

I second what has been said about the Dodge Ram and automatic transmissions. My uncle bought one brand new in '96 and it went through 2 transmissions in less than 10,000 miles.

My dad bought a '97 Silverado with the 6.5L Turbo Diesel. It was under-powered compared to the Cummins and Power Stroke, but it had no trouble pulling a 29' fifth-wheel and he put well over 350,0000 miles with no major breakdowns before replacing it with a Duramax in 2006.

My little brother has owned nothing but Power Strokes and swears by the 7.3L. Not many liked the change to the 6.0. He currently owns a 2001 with over 250k miles and it still runs like a champ.

Since you're not really planning on pulling anything heavy, I think any of the trucks would fit your needs.

Personally, I really didn't care for the Ram from 1994-2002. To me it was poorly built and unrefined. I had a pretty unpleasant experience driving it on the freeway, I hit a bump and the front tire decided it wanted to keep bouncing. Scared the hell out of me.

The Silverado would be my pick for the late 90's. Overall it had the most comfortable ride of the three. It may not be as powerful as the other two, but it was certainly easier to ride in for long trips.

As for durability, they all hold up pretty good if they're well taken care of.

[slim775124]

Thats because everyone knows chevy sucks.

I love your sig but all that extra horse power from having your mirrors flipped up must be getting to your head the only problem I have with dodge is the owners that think they have the greatest thing since sliced bread haha all truck are pretty good depending on how you take care of them and it comes down to personal preference.

damn haha just re read your post and you have a ford, my burn didn't work and fail on my part hahaha

[Tylar]

My 2004 6.0l treated me as well as I treated it; it was hard getting rid of it. I'm three days into my 6.7l. Owning a 6.0l was an exercise in recognizing the disabilities of the truck (heat, EGR, VGT, head studs) and refraining from exaggerating them through modification. The 6.7l is like a friggin' playground to me in comparison. Not to mention heated seats.

Cummins motors just work, I dont know how to say it much simpler than that. It's the rest of the truck that I'm not impressed with.

[Penadam]

As a general rule, diesels are designed for 300k miles. If you get something, try and avoid as much of the emissions control stuff as you can. While it doesn't effect the reliability, it does change the amount you'll be able to tune and modify it.

I have a personal soft spot for Cummins (having worked there) but they're generally all pretty solid.