Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives 08 ford super duty

i dont see why ford would bring out a new motor and then replace it a year later with another new one. Maybe another 7.3 in a few years.

I am glad i made that decision.

The motor does not appear to be what it was cracked up to be it wont be around but a year or two is what I am betting

My wife is on the phone now with a friend who just bought an '08 PS. He just pulled a small trailer from Phoenix to Wyoming and got only 8 mpg! Needless to say, he is not thrilled with what he got for his $50K.

I won't buy another diesel V8.

A 7.3 with common rail would have been an awesome rig in 2002 or 2003. However, with all the emissions crap they are putting on the diesels, I'm not sure that 2008 or '09 7.3 wouldn't be just another "small block 400".................

Ford is going to have to do something better or when dodge eventually figures a way to put a long bed on the mega cab truck they are going to have a tough time competing with their unstable motors and poor fuel mileage

or when dodge figures out a way to put a good frontend on their trucks.

I havent had any trouble with mine so far i have had 2 03's and now have 2 06's but I can promise nothing dodge can do wrong can make up for the mistakes ford has made with their diesel my 99 ford was a great ride, but since 03 it has been an up hill struggle and i was a ford fan before.

Has the 6.7 Cummins shown itself to get good gas mileage? The 5.9 is legendary for reliability and efficiency, but the only reason they added .8 liters to it was to counter the power-robbing emissions equipment they had to add. That doesn't inspire confidence.........

Dont know anyone with the 6.7 cummins yet. Everyone is still buying th 07 models with the 5.9, but that is correct with the new motor it may not be as reliable as the 5.9 I am sure there will be bugs, but you can bet it wont have the problems you can expect with the 6.4 ford

So far it looks like the mileage for the new Cummins 6.7 will be about the same as the 5.9, at least with the automatics. It appears that the 6.7 burns more fuel, but the overdrive ratio of the new six speed automatic offsets it.

I was under the impression (told by some people who "know") that the 5.9 CTD had so much power it had to be tuned down to put it in the truck. Is this not true? Are new engines just a marketing ploy?

Both the 5.9 Cummins and the 6.6 Dmax are easily capable of a very streetable and durable 500 RWHP, which is around 560 HP off the engine. When the Cummins first came out in a Dodge it was around 200 HP off the engine. The first generation Dmax was 300 HP off the engine. The manufacturers now have both engines up to around 360 HP off the engine in factory form, which is still 200 HP less than what I have in my truck and what Badger has in his Cummins.

Actually the Cummins as packaged in the Dodge pickups has a higher horsepower rating than it does in most commercial applications. You can check out Ford's commercial truck website for examples. They list the Cummins as an option on the F650 up, offering engines rated from 200 hp and 520 ft/lbs of torque to 325 hp and 750 ft/lbs of torque. The Cummins "B" motors as used in most heavy equipment are usually set up for around 200 hp.

The Cummins 5.9 is capable of lots more power & torque, its available in marine applications up to 500 hp & 850lb/ft (I think those figures are accurate) from Cummins. Marine engines are often run at full load for extended periods of time, they work harder than the average automotive engine does. Modified Cummins engines have reached the 1200 hp & 2000 lb/ft mark so they are certainly very strongly constructed. Emissions is what is driving the increased displacement. You can make lots of power with most of the current offerings, but you can't stay emissions legal while doing so. We are seeing in diesels what we saw in the 80's with gas engines. Power-robbing emission controls. I think in a few years we will see diesels making more & more power again within the new emissions regs.

badger

I'd hold off on the 08. Go to the diesel stop and read what's happening under load. Seems a good many people are experiencing a significant power loss during the regen while towing. I read one poster's thread saying he'd go from 65 to 45 and not a mph higher until the regen was over. He also said the regen was happening quite frequently.

I had an 03 that ran like a raped ape. It was a strong rig so I traded it. Go figure. My 06 had the turbo replaced but otherwise has performed flawless. I put a lot of tow miles hauling my 36' fiver and both trucks handled like they were intended.

My 06 pulled fine but the fuel milage was cut to around 8 mpg with even a light load, My cummins is still around 14 and you can add the chip to a cummins without worrying about the head gasket

A friend who is a diesel wrench for Empire said that they see a lot of 5.9s with the block cracked in half between the 3 and 4 cylinder. The 6.7 has been out 2 years in commercial applications and is a better block. Don't know if it will have all the other good features of the 5.9.

Those trucks with high HP rates can't run too long without tearing stuff up. If it weren't so, big rigs would be running more than 400-500 HP!

It will probably take me 15-20 years to get 250,000 miles on my Dmax. 250K is not unreasonable for a 500 RWHP engine. A big rig would likely get 250,000 miles in what, 3 years? The big rig companies cannot afford to change engines every 3 years, but i can certainky afford a new engine in 15 years.

I read a lot of these diesel threads with interest. During the summer our horse trailer is latched onto the truck more than it's not. It's a '93 non-turbo 7.3 F250 with 180K miles. I recently had to put some money into it - inj pump, injectors, muffler, starter motor. Still need to replace rear springs (broken leaf) and shocks all around. After this much money, I want to drive my own money, but wonder if I should sell while it's salable or drive it until it dies. Then I read about the problems with newer rigs and think I've only put a few "payments" into it, it's still mine, and as good as anything newer (albeit a tad more sluggish) Then again, it's 14 years old.
Decisions...