Truck recomendations... Ford and Dodge guys.

[STAGE 2]

I'm trying to decide between an F250/350 and a 2500/3500. As far as Im concerned the cummins is the end all of diesels. I plan on tweaking the engine substantially and the cummins has gobs of more potential to handle the xtra hp and torque. That said however I think the ford has the definite edge as far as fit and finish goes on things such as body and interior. That in addition to the fact that Dodge trannys have had a less than stellar record makes me kind of wary of going that way.

It would be real nice to have a million mile engine, but if theres nothing left of the truck after 150k then its not really worth it in my mind. Anybody with a late model dodge, how has it held up? Ford guys, do you feel that there is that much of a difference in performance? Opinions welcome.

 

[JOHNDEEREGN]

You have pretty well hit the nail on the head with your thoughts. The new style Dodges are better fit and finish than before.

 

[suicide six]

I have an 02 f250 s/d diesel, the last of the 7.3l. no problems since owed except poor chromed bumpers. heard the newer smaller engines had early teething problems engine component wise but has a hell of strong tranny.which was subjected to heavy abuse before release. A cummings engine speaks for itself. Id say your choice would be made on purchase price and support there after.

 

[EightSecV6]

I have an 04 PSD in a 4 door dually 2wd, best pulling truck I have ever had. My trailer weighs 11,000# loaded and there is not a hill I can't pull at 75mph without really pushing it. I have raced it at the track 2 times, went 14.56 at 97mph last time out, gets 18mpg on the road and 11mpg towing. The trans let loose at 28k miles, the dealer covered it, even with my mods (I told them I had a programmer on it and they politely asked me to remove it before bringing it in just in case a Ford rep wanted to look at it) the 4" turbo back exhaust was permitted to stay. It rides great and is comfortable. The trans problem was because I abuse it regularly and I expect that kind of stuff to go wrong. It has WAY more power than my 95 dually PSD AND my 01 dually PSD ever had. If I were to buy another one right now, it would be the Ford.

 

[ttypewe4jim]

:frown:

I have an 04 PSD in a 4 door dually 2wd, best pulling truck I have ever had. My trailer weighs 11,000# loaded and there is not a hill I can't pull at 75mph without really pushing it. I have raced it at the track 2 times, went 14.56 at 97mph last time out, gets 18mpg on the road and 11mpg towing. The trans let loose at 28k miles, the dealer covered it, even with my mods (I told them I had a programmer on it and they politely asked me to remove it before bringing it in just in case a Ford rep wanted to look at it) the 4" turbo back exhaust was permitted to stay. It rides great and is comfortable. The trans problem was because I abuse it regularly and I expect that kind of stuff to go wrong. It has WAY more power than my 95 dually PSD AND my 01 dually PSD ever had. If I were to buy another one right now, it would be the Ford.

WOW you get better mpg then I get with my gasser driving as much as I would hate to say it IMO go ford we have a ford ambulance and a chevy one both 96s they get beat to no other. The ford has never had a engine problem the chevy is probely out of service 4 to 5 times a year

 

[Turbo Indian]

I have to agree with Bill the only difference is my milage avgerages 16+ local,18+ empty highway,12+towng 11,000# 42' enclosed.

 

[Turbo Indian]

I have to agree with Bill the only difference is my milage avgerages 16+ local,18+ empty highway,12+towng 11,000# 42' enclosed.

I forgot to add mine is single rear wheel,4X4, crew cab, with 33" tires.

 

[CKBuick]

Take a ride in both.Look under the hood and if you ever plan on working anywhere near the engine your decision will be easy.

 

[arista5]

i like my 2500HD but i am a GM guy

 

[NastyGn]

I have a 2003 2500 quad cab and use it as a daily driver. It does have the manual 6 speed. Over the years this is the third Dodge I have owned and have never had a problem with any of them. My current truck has the HO motor in it and in town (back and forth to work) it gets 17 to 18 mpg. On the Hwy it will hit 19 to 21 mpg. Pulling my trailer 24' enclosed at 9000# it gets 11 to 13 mpg running at 70 to 75 mph. Before Dodge put the Cummins in there truck I have never owned a Dodge before.

In my opinion any more all of the Diesels are good now since most of the trial and error from the mfg is done. It will be intresting to see what happens to the diesel options after 2007 and the new emissions law comes into effect.

Good Luck

 

[ghall]

http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/commu...olderid=163544&curRec=4&folderview=thumbs&ck=

http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/commu...olderid=163544&curRec=7&folderview=thumbs&ck=

Those are pics of the combo(05 4x4 dually and 32' enclosed trailer) that i drove to New Jersey recently.The truck has "the edge" prog.'r . I only got about 10 mpg loaded---but that was cutting it NO slack at all--running 85 or so most of the time.
Power was excellent---even highway passes were simple.I thought the fit-n-finish is very nice also.


Geoff

 

[STAGE 2]

Thanks for the input guys.. keep it coming. One more question also. Between the two, which if any offers more aftermarket upgrades, both for the engine and suspension.

 

[NastyGn]

Thanks for the input guys.. keep it coming. One more question also. Between the two, which if any offers more aftermarket upgrades, both for the engine and suspension.

I think any more the after market stuff is all about the same for any brand. You can go with as many options as you got money to stick into it and as much HP as you can afford. The additional stuff is about like what's out there for the Buick GN's. Anything from up grade chips to twin turbo systems.

I hope that helps

 

[gnxtc2]

First of all, if you're going to buy a truck, make sure it is a DIESEL, period.

What are you going to use this truck for?

You could blow up a diesel just as easy a gasser. The diesel could take more abuse but when you blow it up, $$$$$$. Yea, you could hot rod a diesel just make sure you don't hit that 1300* EGT mark.

I have a '97 F250HD with the 7.3. I use it to tow the GN around. I am not sold on the 6.0 motor, heard to many honor stories.

Go here.

www.thedieselstop.com (Ford diesel trucks)

www.turbodieselregister.com (Dodge diesel trucks)

The Dodge motor is a inline 6 (Cummins) and the Ford is a V8 (International)

Put it this way "I'd rather be stroked than rammed"

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[Turbo Indian]

First of all, if you're going to buy a truck, make sure it is a DIESEL, period.

What are you going to use this truck for?

You could blow up a diesel just as easy a gasser. The diesel could take more abuse but when you blow it up, $$$$$$. Yea, you could hot rod a diesel just make sure you don't hit that 1300* EGT mark.

I have a '97 F250HD with the 7.3. I use it to tow the GN around. I am not sold on the 6.0 motor, heard to many honor stories.

Go here.

www.thedieselstop.com (Ford diesel trucks)

www.turbodieselregister.com (Dodge diesel trucks)

The Dodge motor is a inline 6 (Cummins) and the Ford is a V8 (International)

Put it this way "I'd rather be stroked than rammed"

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

Billy what you are posting don't make sense. first you say be sure to buy a diesel, then you say a diesel can blow up just as fast as a gas, but a diesel is more expensive to rebuild. as for the 6 vs the 8 all HD trucks run 6 cyl. none run 8 cyl. the inline 6 is tried & true. I know of SEVERAL cummins with over 300k, but they are the old non computerised ones. don't get me wrong when I shopped for a new truck I chose the 6.0psd, the Dodge in my eyes was cheaply made (interior wise). my honest opinion is if you don't tow heavy loads say 8,000 lbs I would not buy the diesel. yes it's a moncho thing for most, but it costs about 5 time more to change the oil, about 5 time more for the fuel filters, the mileage is not that much difference to a gas engine, and the last 1 1/2 years diesel has been higher than 87 octane, not to mention it's a $3,000 option. yes I have a diesel, yes I use the hell out of it. do I wish I bought a gas? for me no, it's not uncommon for me to hook to a 14,000# load quite often.

 

[jpratt]

94 Cummins. 150K. Not a single problem. Just added a simple 150 plate and boosted HP by 60. Truck Pulls hard now and blows goobs of dark black smoke. MY truck is hooked to a trailer 90% of the time and it is great. I am starting to see the first signs of problems though, I think the clutch is worn out. Check out the board. It is almost as good as this one http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/ Loads of power increase information.

 

[BLACKHAWK]

powerstroke

the powesrstroke :: BOY DOG::: IS THE WAY TO GO DUDE,WOULD`NT DRIVE ANOTHER DIESEL.NOTHING LIKE A POWERSTROKE,THE BOY DOG OF TRUCKS/

 

[Bill_Ritter]

I have an 04 F-250 lariat x-cab 4x4 with the 6.0 powerstroke. It only has 19K on it and has been through 1trans, one drive shaft, 4 turbos, 2 intercoolers, countless wiring upgrades and intercooler piping, glow plug o-rings, and 1 rear main seal. The truck has been to several different dealerships also.

I DO NOT beat this truck in any way shape or form... I tow an enclosed racecar trailer once a month for mabey 20 miles round trip. other than that its just a daily driver. It gets 13mpg tops around town and 16mpg on the highway. It eats oil like it is its job

I have 3 other friends with similar experiences with the turbos blowing oil into the engine, but none quite as bad as mine with regards to the other problems. I have tried to lemon law this thing, but they said it has to go back one more time for the same problem. I hope it does with all my heart.

I worked my a$$ off for years to buy the truck of my dreams... now I cant wait to get rid of it

 

[gnxtc2]

Billy what you are posting don't make sense. first you say be sure to buy a diesel, then you say a diesel can blow up just as fast as a gas, but a diesel is more expensive to rebuild. as for the 6 vs the 8 all HD trucks run 6 cyl. none run 8 cyl. the inline 6 is tried & true. I know of SEVERAL cummins with over 300k, but they are the old non computerised ones. don't get me wrong when I shopped for a new truck I chose the 6.0psd, the Dodge in my eyes was cheaply made (interior wise). my honest opinion is if you don't tow heavy loads say 8,000 lbs I would not buy the diesel. yes it's a moncho thing for most, but it costs about 5 time more to change the oil, about 5 time more for the fuel filters, the mileage is not that much difference to a gas engine, and the last 1 1/2 years diesel has been higher than 87 octane, not to mention it's a $3,000 option. yes I have a diesel, yes I use the hell out of it. do I wish I bought a gas? for me no, it's not uncommon for me to hook to a 14,000# load quite often.

In the first post, he stated that he wants to substantially mod it (atleast how it took it). What does substantially mean to me it means, bigger injectors, propane, NOS, turbo (H2E), etc.

The next part I was just noting the basic difference between the two engines.

Your right, the Dodge seems cheaply made. I won't trade my PSD for a gasser. I know of few 7.3 approaching the 500K mark. One just turned 300K the other day with original injectors.

Hook up 8,000lbs to gasser and then to a diesel, we'll see who gets to the top of the hill first. Mileage, the diesel will blow away the gasser. My friend has a 454 Chevy and he gets about 450 miles per tank, holds 40 gals. I get 650mi to mine and I hold 38gals, talking empty now. Both my truck and the Chevy are Xtra cabs with 8'beds, 4x4s.

Lets not get on the fuel thing here. Diesel is being gouged big time. When I bought my PSD in '98, diesel was $0.89 and gas was $1.30 for 87. I'm still waiting for the gas prices to drop since Katrina. Just another excuse for the gas companies to rip us off.

The PSD is now around a $6,000 option with the TorqueShift.

Hope that better explained myself

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[gnxtc2]

I have an 04 F-250 lariat x-cab 4x4 with the 6.0 powerstroke. It only has 19K on it and has been through 1trans, one drive shaft, 4 turbos, 2 intercoolers, countless wiring upgrades and intercooler piping, glow plug o-rings, and 1 rear main seal. The truck has been to several different dealerships also.

I DO NOT beat this truck in any way shape or form... I tow an enclosed racecar trailer once a month for mabey 20 miles round trip. other than that its just a daily driver. It gets 13mpg tops around town and 16mpg on the highway. It eats oil like it is its job

I have 3 other friends with similar experiences with the turbos blowing oil into the engine, but none quite as bad as mine with regards to the other problems. I have tried to lemon law this thing, but they said it has to go back one more time for the same problem. I hope it does with all my heart.

I worked my a$$ off for years to buy the truck of my dreams... now I cant wait to get rid of it

Should have bought a 7.3