Looking to buy a diesel

[HuntandFish]

I bought the first new style 7.3 /350 diesel truck in Washington state. It has 400,000 mileso on it and drives great. I have pulled everything you can put behind a truck and it has never let me down. I can go to Redding California on 3/4 of a tank of fuel.
 Having said that I have owned an 06/ 6.0 liter. I sold it back to the dealership in 2012 for 28k. It had 85,000 miles on it. I had trouble from the start with the EGr and oil cooler. Would not own one again if you gave me one for free. I traded up for a 2012 F450 6.7 Scorpion. WOW. Best truck I have ever owned. It has a 4.3 gear ratio in the rear end and 400 horsepower stock. I get 18 MPG on the freeway with a low rear end gear ratio. I tow a 46Ft goosneck boat trailer with a 25,000 lb boat on it. My load is 38,000 Lbs. The truck does not know it is there. Turns sharper than any other full sized truck on the market. I asked the mechanic I have known at the Ford dealership for over 12 years what kind of problems thay have had with the new motor. He said other than changing the oil he has never had to work on one. They came out in 2010. I have never had a truck that was so responsive and easy to drive. I also tow a gooseneck trailer with 10 tons of hay over the pass 8-10 times a year. How fast do you want to go. Both of my sons have a 2013 and a 2014 F350. They both have a 3.5 rear gear ratio. They are both getting between 22-25 MPG on the highway. There is not any other brand of truck on the market that you can work as hard as a Ford and have it last. The Dodge trucks have terrible brake life and no top end power. The Chevy trucks( I have always been a chevy guy until I bought my first ford) Are plush ,but if you work them as hard as a Ford they fall apart. The chevy has an allison 1000 transmission. The new Ford has a Allison 3000 Transmission. I get 80,000+ miles out of the brakes on my Fords. The doors do not sag at all even at 400,000 miles like a chevy door does at 100,000 miles The Dodge trucks can not be driven at slow speeds for very long or you have to take them out on the highway and blow them out. 3 buddies have new ones and do not like them. You can not buy a tougher more dependable truck with more stock horsepower and better towing capacity or a sharper turning radius Than the new Ford F series. Not just my opinion a proven fact. I do not get passed by any other truck on the highway. Especially if they have any load at all.

 

 

 

I own a 2013 f-350 6.7l....I used to own a 1999-f250 7.3L, I used to think that was the best truck ever until I bought this truck! I tow daily and you can't beat it! Anybody that actually uses a truck for more than a toy will agree with the statements above.

Regards,
H&F

[KFhunter]

If NKorea EMP's the US you'll be begging for an old 12V P-pump 

[DRENALINJUNKIE]

Blah blah blah! How many miles on your new fords? Only miles and time will tell...ford has changed engines more than obummer changes his underwear. Just want to stir the pot a little. Lol

[Buzz2401]

Get a Honda ridgline it out pulls all the the others

[6x6in6]

If NKorea EMP's the US you'll be begging for an old 12V P-pump 

 
I miss my '98 12 valve. 
But I really like my '02, '05 and '07 too.
I bought the '02 just because I had to have the devil - a VP with an auto.   

[Bullkllr]

I've driven a couple of  gas Fords with the 460- seemed like more than enough power to pull anything- but you're looking at single-digits for mileage I believe.

[Come Get Some]

I've driven a couple of  gas Fords with the 460- seemed like more than enough power to pull anything- but you're looking at single-digits for mileage I believe.

Single digits EMPTY and not nearly as much power as my 7.3. My brother had a BRAND NEW 460. My 7.3 was brand new. We went to NEah Bay. He towed my 30' trailer and I towed my boat. My load was twice as heavy. Not only did I leave him on the hills, I also got twice the mileage.
 We have purchased 9 Diesel trucks since February of 98. We still own 8 of them. The only one I do not have is the piece of junk 6.0 liter.Ford did change motors from 2003 to 2010 .They tried the 6.0 and the 6.4/ Both made by Navistar. Both junk. The 7.3 was bullet proof. No other manufacturer has had the same great results with a diesel. The cummins motor has been good. But they have never had top end HP or pull and still do not. The 6.7 is quiet,strong and very economical. The body of the Ford truck is the longest lasting on the market. Brakes and transmissions have also been the most dependable. All of the manufacturers have had problems with their rearends and front ends(dodge Chevy) Although some of the gas motors do have alot of HP they do not have the same torque and effecency as deisels. They do not pull the same or last as long with vry little problems. If that were true you woulld see gas motore in commercial fishing boats as well.

[CAMPMEAT]

It's all about, TORQUE .................

[bhawley76]

The newer trucks are great if you have deep pockets, and yes they are quiet and get a lil better mileage, but bang for the buck you cant beat a 7.3. I have one and with the upgrades it has, banks turbo, 5 inch turbo back exhaust , programmer, and a afe cold air intake  It will run with any new truck out there.

[Skillet]

Ford did change motors from 2003 to 2010 .They tried the 6.0 and the 6.4/ Both made by Navistar. Both junk. The 7.3 was bullet proof. No other manufacturer has had the same great results with a diesel.

The 7.3 Powerstroke is a Navistar motor too... so were the 6.9 IDI and the 7.3 IDI motors that preceeded it.  Ford used IH/Navistar engines from 1982 through the end of the 6.4, whenever that was.

Navistar doesn't build junk.  It was the questionable engineering by both companies to take what was originally a solid industrial diesel design and make it compete on power output in the "torque wars" while passing emissions.  Navistar had a v-6 commercial diesel based on the 6.0 called the VT265 that has a reputation as a solid engine.

I have a 2006 6.0 and like it.  Been pretty problem free for me other than the standard issues.  It is "bone stock" and haven't paid a penny out of my pocket for breakdowns or anything else above routine maintenance.  I watch it closely for signs of trouble, but haven't seen them yet.  Been a good truck, plenty of power (4.10's help) and gets great mileage. 

[baker5150]

The price for new diesel trucks is obscene, look for the best used diesel out there.  Which is the 06 gmc/Chevy duramax/ Allison.  It will pull anything, dependable and you don't have to shut it off to talk to people!

We ran these exact rigs at work for 3 or 4 years.    GARBAGE....  that's all I can say.  The power trains held up ok on a few, but the rest of the trucks could not hold up at all.   Thin sheet metal, sub-par paint. thin cheap plastics,  nothing but issues from day one.   These were not fleet rigs either.  LT's and LTZ"s

We had 2 that went into limp mode every couple weeks for no reason at all.  No code or nothing.  Dealer couldn't figure it out either.  Just started throwing parts at it.  They never did get it fixed, we traded them in before the warranty was up. 

I will never buy a chevy until they up their standard of quality. 

They did ride nice thou.

[Halo]

The only limp mode issue I have had with my 07 Duramax or heard of is when I got some questionable diesel and loaned it to my lead footed daughter  to run an errand for me. When they got back she said it isn't as fast as the truck she usually drives, I gave them a lecture about incriminating themselves like that  and didn't think much more about it, until I got on the freeway and it smokes like a chimney and wont get to speed. A fuel filter latter and being more careful where I fuel and no problem. I guess it is not that uncommon for the dicey diesel/ lead foot combo to suck the guts out of the fuel filter putting it in limp mode whenever you mash pedal it even with a relatively new filter. Now I carry a spare fuel filter and have not had another problem. I do have a 2nd lead footed daughter with a drivers license now though. 

[baker5150]

The only limp mode issue I have had with my 07 Duramax or heard of is when I got some questionable diesel and loaned it to my lead footed daughter  to run an errand for me. When they got back she said it isn't as fast as the truck she usually drives, I gave them a lecture about incriminating themselves like that  and didn't think much more about it, until I got on the freeway and it smokes like a chimney and wont get to speed. A fuel filter latter and being more careful where I fuel and no problem. I guess it is not that uncommon for the dicey diesel/ lead foot combo to suck the guts out of the fuel filter putting it in limp mode whenever you mash pedal it even with a relatively new filter. Now I carry a spare fuel filter and have not had another problem. I do have a 2nd lead footed daughter with a drivers license now though. 

This was actual limp mode,  The trucks wouldn't go past 25mph,  Defueled like crazy.   Stealership was totally clueless without a code.

[DRobnsn]

I think you really need to drive them all and weight the good with the bad from each and see which suits your needs the best. All 3 have goods and bads IMHO.

I will say this if you take a look around you when running up and down I-5 you will notice that almost every single one of the guys that haul 3-4 cars up and down the highway for a living will be driving a Dodge with a Cummins. 

Also stop in at a truck stop and walk around looking under the hoods you won't find many v-8's under the hood of a big rig. Almost all of them run I-6's for a reason.
Having said that these trucks are meant to pull heavy for life. Its a different world when it comes to a daily driver/tow rig but its still something to think about when your spending this kind of money.

Also if you don't plan on modding the truck or if you simply can't for emissions reasons you need to pay close attention to what kind of emissions controls the truck has. Trucks with UREA/DEF and DPF tend to be more reliable and get much better mileage than the trucks that only come with a DPF. One thing it seems that allot of people don't realize is Ford and Dodge that have the DPF system use what some call a late injection event. What that does is inject fuel into the cylinder at an appropriate time to start the catalyst in the DPF to burn off the DPF's buildup. Unfortunately this also causes cylinder wash down and diesel to build up in the oil, if this is left alone and oil is not changed and sampled on a regular basis you can kiss your 300k mile engine life goodbye!!! The Duramax with dpf uses a separate injector in the exhaust system to burn off the dpf which is a much better idea IMHO. Either way DPF alone kills fuel economy. 

Another thing to look into is which of the 3 has the biggest EGR system failures from what I have seen Ford has had the biggest issue with coolers and valves over the other two. Something to consider also is a programmer when your warranty is up to turn off the EGR system. EGR is BAD BAD BAD for a diesel engine life expectancy! 

Do your research on the dedicated internet forums for each model. Make a list for each that has potential problems with things to look for when buying used or new some of the forums have a place specifically for this and members have lists already made up you just need to search for them. To me it would be time well spent when spending 40k with the potential price of repairs within the life of the truck. 

[ffbowhunter]

I figured I would open up Pandora's box...thanks for the advice y'all.  Continuing my research then will pull the trigger and post up what I got.