Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives F250?

Bob257 now did you get those 4.33 gears behind that Cummins! I have a very good friend of mine who purhased one of the last 5.9 Cummins diesels in 2008. He has pulled close to 16,000-lbs with factory 3.73 gearing and no complaints about lack of power under the hood. He used to own the local feed store before he retired in May of this year. He did most of his own hauling too. He gets 19 to 21 mph with his Cummins diesel!

I've bought my last new diesel. I read all I can about all three makes and what I've gathered is that they have more hp and more torque, but at the cost of longevity and fuel economy.
If I was to look for a diesel truck right now it would be a 97 or early 98 Dodge. They have made alot of changes since then, but none that seem to me to be worth the money they will cost over the long run.

More hp and tq "at the cost of longevity and fuel economy." Where'n hell did you read that? To have anywhere near the same power as diesel, a gas engine will be getting a fraction the fuel economy and won't last anywhere near as long. The '97/'98 Dodge 12valves can be made powerful but in stock form are dog slow compared to newer diesels. And they didn't ride very well.

Older diesels like I mention got better mileage than the new ones, and I don't think the stock 97 Dodges were dog slow. I thought the ones I had and was around had plenty of power. I know they had enough power to do anything I ever asked of them, and they got better mileage doing it than the newer diesel trucks I have owned.
Tell me who thinks the Ford 6.0 is a better engine than the older Dodge or the 7.3 Ford.
Over $8,000 for a diesel engine option with automatic transmission on a new truck? They aren't something I need that badly.
I will say the new transmissions like the Ford and the Allison are way better than the automatics in the older Dodges.
As far as I'm concerned the manufacturers have taken the wrong direction with diesel pickups. Instead of the high hp engines they have evolved us into, I'd liked to have seen them strive for less hp gain and more fuel economy gains.
With the Ford 6.0 if you boost the power, you are advised to change out the head studs so they don't break. Wow...that's one tough engine...not. And it costs $2,000 to get that done. Then there's the EGR and oilcooler issues, particulate filters that plug up, injectors that are good for maybe 150,000 miles that cost how much to change when they crack, as compared to lifters that used to cost $40 or $50 apiece and didn't crack?
I don't care about gas vs diesel comparisons because to me a gas engine isn't an option to be considered. I just think diesels have been developed into something I don't want anything to do with anymore. YMMV, wherever the hell you read.

1) Yeah, good economy and dog slow compared to new anything. A little bit of tweaking and the newer ones can get pretty much the same economy, and they're a whole ton more powerful and ride way better. I'd maybe get an older Dodge if it was for a farm truck and I didn't want to spend much and didn't care if the doors fell off or how it rode or how slow it was.

2) If they did what you needed, it's all that matters.

3) I don't know.....who?

4) Don't buy one.

5) People want power. I'd never have have bought a noisy clattery smoky 90's diesel......that was also slow as those things were.

6) The 6.0 is a turd.

7) I took your statement to mean that you'd choose gas instead of diesel. If it was just "new" model diesel you referred to, best not to buy one then. But even if you don't think so, these trucks have kept getting better and better.

8) The CR engines have been awfully damn good up until '08 and all the emissions crap. But even the emissions engines can be tweaked for more economy, and they make lots of power.

Bob-257, since about the last 6 friggin years! To answer your question about cost of new truck. Now did you get the 4.33's in that Dodge rearend or settle for the standard 3.73's???

Somebody should remind someone in this thread, that fuel mileage went way down on diesels, when they took the sulfur out of the fuel for starters and in addition, added that other crap for emmissions on the engine's.

What I didn't see mentioned was that ford says now that if you mod the engine while still under warranty then you are liable for all repairs as well as getting past the EPA testing on the engine.
They will turn you in for doing it. '
As to the 6.0 being a turd the 6.4 was no winner and this new 6.7 has no track record to base anything on unless you believe everything Ford or Chevy or Dodge tells you.
Mileage on all the new diesels are crap way less than I get with my just 4 years old truck. As to the new 2011 I have no idea of what they will really do.
The frame on the dodges used to be the thinnest of all three, don't know about the new ones.
If the EPA would have left the diesels and the fuel alone we would have better mileage. I know my mileage dropped between 1-2 mpg when the low suffer fuel came in as compared to the old fuel.
Best of luck with the new truck

Let's see. An 8000 dollar diesel option. At todays average gasoline price per gallon of about $2.80 or so...2857 gallons of gasoline for that 8 grand. In a V8 gas truck getting only 17 mpg on the highway (and most guys with a smokeblower average this I bet) that's 48,569 miles for that 8 grand. This isn't even adding in the increased maintenance for an oil burner. I know some folks need a diesel, but for most it may not make sense. mtmuley

The dealership that I bought my Super Duty from also sold Dodge trucks. At the time, I saw letters on company stationary from both Ford and Dodge stating that the warranty was void for ANY truck that was chipped or modded in any way, shape or form. Gas or diesel, there was no difference; any mod, void the warranty.

The info was to be put into each company's central data system (OASIS for Ford) available to make sure that no dealership performed any warranty work on the vehicle.

This occurred in 2000, so it has been policy for years. Some dealers try to bypass this, but the manufacturer really hammers them if they get caught trying to perform warranty work on a modded vehicle.

Buddy of mine just bought a 2011 F350 Dually King Ranch with the new diesel in it. He says it has so much power that there is no way to use it all towing anything you would think about towing with a one ton dually. He towed a 40' two car hauler/stacker trailer east last week on US 50 between Parkersburg and Clarksburg, WV and on Salem hill with the speed control on the truck never slowed down. Trailer and two cars is probably 14K. That particular hill is fairly long and pretty steep. A gas V-10 would be on the mat and in 4th gear .
Looks like no mods necessary. He got 11 mpg.

Dave

It has 4:10 rears. It's taking me some getting used to driving this truck compared to the Nissan. I think I'm going to like it though.

Does anyone know where I can find out the towing for a fifth wheel for the Dodge? Conventional is 12,700 I believe.

Bob-257, my friend who retired this year from the feed business, used to pull his 2007 with 5.9 Cummins having a backhoe on a trailer. The total weight his stated was some 16,000 lbs. He also said he did not have any problems going over those Ozark Hills with his rig.

I would buy the ford just for the fact they didn't take any bailout money.