Im going truck shopping with a buddy of mine for a diesel truck. We have been looking mostly at Ford and GMC trucks for the most part. Engine wise i have thought about staying away from 03+Ford diesels because of the 6.0L and its numerous problems people have. Therefore when it comes to the Ford im looking for the 7.3L for reliability, mostly 00-02's. The Duromax with Allyson seems to be the best choice in the engine department, which year GMC came with that combo?. I dont really care for the GMC's exterior look, I think ford wins that hands down. I was just wondering what everyones opinion is on these Diesel trucks were....I havent even thought about the cummins....

 

From what I was told about Fords, they actually are not diesel engines-they are refurbished gas engines. We were warned about Ford when my boyfriend was looking for a diesel. The Duramax and Dodge are actually true diesel engines straight from the factory. My dad has a 1993 F-250 with only 70k on it, and its on its third transmission. We aren't talking this truck has ever been beat on. My dad has been a die hard Ford fan for many years, and he says he's never going back again. After he drove my boyfriend's Chevy, he fell in love. My boyfriend has an 06 Chevy with the Alison and its a beast. Its enormously quiet compared to the Ford, you can actually stand next to the exhaust and have a normal conversation. The truck has huge balls, and you dont even know that you are towing anything. I really like the look of the new Dodges, but we got better service and a better deal at Chevy. The sticker on the truck was around 50k, and he ended up getting it for around 38-39k. Its very very comfortable inside. He has a crew cab with an extended bed, and can comfortably fit 3 guys, me and 2 puppies for 15 hours going to Kentucky. I find the interior extremely nice for a GM, nicer than the Trailblazer SS and you have a manual shift mode and tow mode, which you don't have on the SS. There is a really good diesel magazine out there, I think its called Extreme Diesel, but in any case, a recent issue just did a shoot out between the F-250, Chevy and Dodge. The Chevy won

 

no ford chevy and gmc i beleive are the same truck. i know there the same company but whether there is a difference in there trucks i dont know. and dodge can be a heavy hitter when its chiped. huge power.

 

For the past fifteen or so years I've had a number of diesels on the farms. With only one exception, the Ford's have always been the most reliable. 5000 lbs. in the box, 15 000 pounds behind it, it doesn't matter. They've always worked well. The only exception is the 6.0 in the current truck. The rest of the driveline and suspension is extremely well built and hasn't given any problems. But the engine, although a true diesel, has numerous electrical and boost issues. I've been told my the Ford representative that they are fully aware of the shortcomings with this engine, and the new 6.4 twin turbo, 350 hp. engine will be reliable.

My vote would be for a 7.3 Ford. Tough, proven, excellent transmissions, full floaters, and generally built quite heavily.

Terry

 

If its a true diesel, whats with the $5000ish diesel engine "conversion" charge on Fords?

 

If you look closely on any MRSP on Ford, Chevrolet, and Dodge you will undoubtedly see an approximate cost of $5000.00 for any diesel engine. If you can show me a where Ford charges $5000.00 to "convert" as existing gasoline engine to a 22:1 compression engine I'll buy the friend of this poster his truck. And indecently it has been tried in the past. And only once. With Chevrolet on the original 5.7 diesels.

Terry

 

cummins

 

GMC engine. A lot of aftermarket support for it as well. $1K will get you into the 14's.
It's quiet also.

 

Fords 7.3 was respectable, but the new 6.0 has tons of problems. Maybe the new Ford 6.4 will be more reliable. The cummins will always be a beast and the new duramax is a beast too. I'll always prefer a cummins though.

Cummins: 350hp, 650lb/ft
Duramax: 360hp, 650lb/ft
Powerstroke: 325hp, 570lb/ft

2008 Powerstroke: 350hp, 650lb/ft

 

duramax diesel with the allison transmission ftw...

 

i test drove an 07 Duromax 4door short bed..fully loaded. I thought the seats were really comfortable and the engine and trans go well together. The truck pulled great while not making much cabin noise which is a plus. the sticker on the truck was 47,800 and i could only talk him down to 45,600 which didnt seem like much of a decrease for my taste. So i looked over there offer and walked out. .....Now to test drive the power stroke, i still dont know about dodge

 

Can you find a leftover 06?

 

I did find an 06 Duromax all white 4door with short bed. Its got 13K miles on it plus its fully loaded with DVD player for 38,900. Im going to the dealership tomorrow to try to talk them down a couple of grand.

 

^They tried to find a white with the same options for b/f and couldnt find one. He just hit 14k on it, with not a single issue of any sort. He got his for 38-39, brand new, so you should easily be able to get them down a bit.

 

My fiancées sisters boyfriend (thats a mouthfull) is heavy into diesel trucks. He uses them to tractor pull and stuff. He used to be a diehard ford boy but had way to many problems with them. He has since switched to the chevy. from talking to him and with modding the crowd seems to like the 01-03 engines the best ??? dont know why but thats what i was told. He also has a 06 that runs low 11's and is having the engine completely redone to go faster

 

We are very lucky that there is a strictly diesel performance shop right down the road. They will do a bit with SUVs, but 95% of what they work on is diesel. We've been down there a couple of times, and their set up is impressive. Last time, they were dyno'ing a huge lifted Chevy that upgraded the turbo. Definiatly scary being on the ground and peering up at this huge dyno and truck.

 

Duramax!

 

I went to HS w/ Gale Bank's son, so i've gotten to see some cool shit (like an RV doing a burnout). He has definately given me the love for a diesal. I don't care if I never need to tow shit, i'll own a lifted diesal one day!

 

 

Diesels have certainly become more popular over the last few years. It's amazing the aftermarket support available for them as well. Here's a couple pics of the diesel we use to pull the RV trailer. At 275 hp., its has less horsepower than most pickup diesels, but at over 1100 ft/lb of torque at just over 1000 rpm it has no problem yanking things around.



Boris the cat on the deck: