Diesel trucks

[Nick110]

Its about that time for me to start looking for a truck. I have been tossing around the idea of getting a diesel. One of the three Ford, Chevy, or Dodge. Im leaning towards the dodge cummins around a 1996 or 97. Does anyone have any input on what too get or if my choice is alright. I am willing to spend 6-8 grand.



Also does anyone know anything about Bio diesel, cause I would Like to get into that if I do get a diesel. WHat does it take to make it? etc. Thanks guys.

[1fst400]

If it was me I would go Chevy then ford. NEVER dodge, Good drive train but ****ty truck.


Diesel gets better MPG that gas big time. My dads f-350 4-door towing a small inclosed trailer, 4 ppl and 35galons of water. Gets 14mpg or so depending how how late we are/ how fast we drive.

I like the interiors on the chevys better than fords. more comftorble. But I like how the coil spring front end is set up on a ford, works better for plowing snow and stuff than the chevy T-bar set up.

Its a toss up.

[quadfamily]

You may as well pretty much rule out a diesel if you only want to spend 6-8 grand unless you just want a beat up standard cab 2wd. You can get a pretty nice gas engine truck for that much but anything diesel in that price range will not be in very good condition. Just my opinion so don't flame me. There is plenty of information on making bio fuels on the internet, just google it. If you're shopping for a ford and you need information a good site to ask questions on is the diesel stop.com forums http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/
Good luck to you!

[Nick110]

Originally posted by quadfamily
You may as well pretty much rule out a diesel if you only want to spend 6-8 grand unless you just want a beat up standard cab 2wd. You can get a pretty nice gas engine truck for that much but anything diesel in that price range will not be in very good condition. Just my opinion so don't flame me. There is plenty of information on making bio fuels on the internet, just google it. If you're shopping for a ford and you need information a good site to ask questions on is the diesel stop.com forums http://forums.thedieselstop.com/ubbthreads/
Good luck to you!

Aight, I have found some locally and on ebay in my price range. Like I said around 1997.

Anyone else.

[bulkdriverlp]

search. you will be amazed as to how many topics like this there have been.

[99TRDTaco]

You might be better to step up at least to a 98 because that is when they changed to the 24valve motor and from what I hear it is a night and day difference between the 12 and 24 valve motors.

[TheFontMaster]

If you find a Chevy with a 6.2, or a 6.5 turbo diesel (6.5's are the same as 6.2's but different heads) They aren't the most powerful motors, but they are a diesel, and since thats what your looking for you could come across a couple of them. Like I said they aren't the most powerful, but they are decent motors. The only thing to watch out on them, is the counter ballancer. They will get small cracks in them, cause the rotating assembly to go out of balance, and you will loose the bottom end. Thats fixed easily with an aftermarket counter balancer.

6-8 Grand you better rule out a diesel..... But if you can find one I would go with Cummins, They have the highest overall rating for durability and power. If you had the money though I would say a Duramax with Allison Trans. But not a Powerstroke. They have the worst rating and they clank like a bit**.

[sportraxkid]

I actually like the pre-98 powerstroke fords. One of my good friends bought his 96 F350 7.3 psd. 4x4. long bed, standard cab, with manual trans and 4.10 gears brand new. Im in love with that truck it really is a great truck. He replaced the clutch at 170,000 miles and replaced the rear springs at 210,000 miles. It now has 248,000 and is still running strong and has pulled either his bobcat or his cement trailer around almost everyday since it was new.

[400EXTRA]

get a chevy

[CDCHONDAS]

I am a durtymax fan but I am surprised someone mentioned the 6.5 alot of people talk trash on these but I had a neighbor that was deep into them and his impressed me, he would hook to a big wedge trailer with 2 full size chevy pickups on back and go anywhere, it was an automatic and all. they arent bad but definatly helps if you know about them and what goes wrong because most of the failures i saw are computer/injection related and not as major as people think.

[fast250r]

I like how non-informed poeple come on here and say that you cannot buy a Diesel in your price range. For the years that you are shopping for, than you will have no problem. My parents just replaced there old diesel ram with a brand new diesel ram. They sold there old one with only 100,000 original miles on it for $6000. It was a 96 one ton extended cab longbed. There was not a single thing wrong with this truck. They wanted a Duelly so they sold it an bought the new one.

[wvspeedfreak]

Nick,I have a '97 F350 with the 7.3 Powerstroke.It has been a great truck so far.As far as which diesel engine is the best ,alot of it is probably a matter of opinion.I will say that as a mechanic though,I have seen less problems with the Cummins.

Originally posted by fast250r
I like how non-informed poeple come one here and say that you can not buy a Diesel in you price range. For the years that you are shopping for than you will have no problem. My parents just replaced there old diesel ram with a brand new diesel ram. They sold there old one with only 100,000 orif\ginal miles on it for $6000. It was a 96 one ton extended cab longbed. There was not a single thing wrong with this truck. They wanted a Duelly so they sold it an bought the new one.

The price also depends on your location. A regular cab longbed or extended cab long bed is pretty cheap around here because nobody wants them, So i assumed he's looking for an extended cab short bed.

Utah:
Extended cab long bed cummins: $9,000
Extended cab short bed cummins: $15,000 ^

[nosliw]

Originally posted by wvspeedfreak
Nick,I have a '97 F350 with the 7.3 Powerstroke.It has been a great truck so far.As far as which diesel engine is the best ,alot of it is probably a matter of opinion.I will say that as a mechanic though,I have seen less problems with the Cummins.


that's pretty much the ultimate truck. tows awesome (manny tranny?) gets awesome mileage, will outlast a cummins, and has a super strong super handsome ford body.

absolute only downside is that they are slow. i had a 99' 7.3 and it was awesome. you can turn them up but it's a chore. and a lot of people don't need any extra power.

[400exc]

I am a all-around Dodge fan, and the Cummins has a crap load of power, and are very reliable. The Chevy's and Gmc's are very reliable, and have alot of balls, they pull about anything. My dad has an 04 GMC 2500 duramax, and I havent succesfully havent got it stuck yet!:blah: I cant say much on Fords, because Ive never really had hands on experience with them.

[quadfamily]

fast 250r,
I especially like how when I stated that this is my opinion and not to flame me you actually decided to ignore that and go ahead and insult me and one other person (Nova) who happened to have the same opinion as me by saying that we are "non-informed". Was that truly necessary or could you have perhaps just stated in a polite manner that you have a differing opinion and stated your reasons. Not that I have to explain anything to you but I happen to be informed in the diesel truck market in my area of the country as I shopped for a diesel truck for about a year before buying. I too "wanted" to spend under $10K on a truck but ended up spending more because "in my area" any diesel truck for under $10K was a piece of junk with 200K miles or more. I will say that I was shopping for a crew cab 4WD but I also observed prices on standard and extended cab trucks during my search. As Nova stated the price depends on the location so instead of just telling us we're wrong why don't you just tell everyone the price range for the truck in your area?

wvspeedfreak, it looks like you got a very nice truck. Did you buy it new or used? How much did you pay if it was used if you don't mind me asking? True about the Cummins diesels being a good engine. From what I've seen of the Dodges though it doesn't seem like the rest of the truck lasts as long as the engine. Also something that hasn't been mentioned to my knowledge is the noise factor of each truck. I think the Cummis is the loudest, of the three. Not sure between the Ford and hte Chevy who's loudest. I know the new Duramax's are pretty quiet but they're not going to be in this price range.

[trick450r]

I actually like the pre-98 powerstroke fords. One of my good friends bought his 96 F350 7.3 psd. 4x4. long bed, standard cab, with manual trans and 4.10 gears brand new. Im in love with that truck it really is a great truck. He replaced the clutch at 170,000 miles and replaced the rear springs at 210,000 miles. It now has 248,000 and is still running strong and has pulled either his bobcat or his cement trailer around almost everyday since it was new.


i got my 95' 7.3 powerstroke red/grey standard cab, 4x4 xlt for 3 grand in pretty damn good shape with not ONE spot of rust with 200k miles, runs and drives excellent....that was not an every day sort of deal though...but look around

[quadfamily]

No doubt that's a great deal trick450r! Deals are always around you just have to be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Just as a comparison I sold my old truck a couple of months before I bought my new one for $3,000. It is a 1985 F350 XL Crew Cab Dually 2WD with 460 gasser and manual trans, we're talking rubber floor mats and crank up windows here but it did have working air condiotioning. The guy was happy to get it for that price too! I don't think it would have brought that kind of money in other parts of the country.

Here's a shot of my baby.......

[quadfamily]

Nick,
Just to clarify, what exactly are you looking for? Standard cab, extended cab, crew cab? Long or short bed? 4wd or 2WD? SRW or DRW? Manual or auto trans?

You can go to Kelly Blue Book online www.kbb.com and look up the private parts value of the truck you're looking for in your area too just to give you an idea.

I'm not sure how far you are from here but If you're interested I can give you the number for the guy I bought my truck from. He only deals in trucks and he's a small dealer without his own car lot. That's all he does and he's been doing it for 10 years or so. He's also got a SWEET restored 250R.

[trick450r]

Originally posted by quadfamily
Nick,
Just to clarify, what exactly are you looking for? Standard cab, extended cab, crew cab? Long or short bed? 4wd or 2WD? SRW or DRW? Manual or auto trans?

You can go to Kelly Blue Book online www.kbb.com and look up the private parts value of the truck you're looking for in your area too just to give you an idea.

I'm not sure how far you are from here but If you're interested I can give you the number for the guy I bought my truck from. He only deals in trucks and he's a small dealer without his own car lot. That's all he does and he's been doing it for 10 years or so. He's also got a SWEET restored 250R.


yeah it really was an amazing deal, i saw it doing while driving my bosses powerstroke for the first time, said i wanted one and found one before i got back to the shop lol, i test drove it and all, called my dad and asked we went down about an hour later and wrote the check, for the record i have since paid it off in full....


and if you look at a pre 97 psd, make DAMN sure the tranny is alright the e40d is a rather pricey tranny and even to fix it is expensive...and also the e40d that comes off a powerstroke is NOT interchangable with the e40d off any other ford truck

[wvspeedfreak]

Originally posted by quadfamily


wvspeedfreak, it looks like you got a very nice truck. Did you buy it new or used? How much did you pay if it was used if you don't mind me asking? True about the Cummins diesels being a good engine. From what I've seen of the Dodges though it doesn't seem like the rest of the truck lasts as long as the engine. Also something that hasn't been mentioned to my knowledge is the noise factor of each truck. I think the Cummis is the loudest, of the three. Not sure between the Ford and hte Chevy who's loudest. I know the new Duramax's are pretty quiet but they're not going to be in this price range.

Thanks Quadfamily.I bought the truck used.In our area diesel trucks bring high prices and a CLEAN one in very good shape brings top dollar.I looked for close to a year before I bought mine and if I found a '95-'97 for under 9-10 grand it was beat.I paid $14,000 for mine.It was a 1 owner,garage kept truck.I was driving by the lot when they were just parking it and I stopped in to check about it.It was the cleanest one by far I had looked at inside and out so I bought it.2 other people stopped in and wanted to buy it while I was inside filling out the paper work to buy it.It is an F350 crew cab XLT with power everything and lumbar seats.At the time Kelly Blue Book was $16,500 on it.

[wvspeedfreak]

Originally posted by trick450r
i got my 95' 7.3 powerstroke red/grey standard cab, 4x4 xlt for 3 grand in pretty damn good shape with not ONE spot of rust with 200k miles, runs and drives excellent....that was not an every day sort of deal though...but look around

You got one hell of a deal!

[Nick110]

Originally posted by quadfamily
Nick,
Just to clarify, what exactly are you looking for? Standard cab, extended cab, crew cab? Long or short bed? 4wd or 2WD? SRW or DRW? Manual or auto trans?

You can go to Kelly Blue Book online www.kbb.com and look up the private parts value of the truck you're looking for in your area too just to give you an idea.

I'm not sure how far you are from here but If you're interested I can give you the number for the guy I bought my truck from. He only deals in trucks and he's a small dealer without his own car lot. That's all he does and he's been doing it for 10 years or so. He's also got a SWEET restored 250R.


I want extended or crew cab, dont matter on the bed, 4wd, I not to sure what SRW or SRW is but it has something to do with tow capacity, axles, etc??? And I would prefer auto trans but manual would be fine.

I dont know much about diesels or the diesel truck market but I dont plan on buying a truck for atleast 4 more months. I will do my research and find the right deal before I buy one, because my life revolves around finding the right deal.

Any other opinions?


Oh and sweet truck Jason. That thing is mint.

[wvspeedfreak]

Originally posted by Nick110
I want extended or crew cab, dont matter on the bed, 4wd, I not to sure what SRW or SRW is but it has something to do with tow capacity, axles, etc??? And I would prefer auto trans but manual would be fine.

I dont know much about diesels or the diesel truck market but I dont plan on buying a truck for atleast 4 more months. I will do my research and find the right deal before I buy one, because my life revolves around finding the right deal.

Any other opinions?


Oh and sweet truck Jason. That thing is mint.


Nick,the SRW=Single Rear Wheels/DRW=Dual Rear Wheels or Dually.

[Nick110]

Originally posted by wvspeedfreak
Nick,the SRW=Single Rear Wheels/DRW=Dual Rear Wheels or Dually.


Wow I feel retarded. A dually would be cool but not needed for me, so "SRW".:p

[Nick110]

I have narrowed it down a little to 99+ Ford, 97+ chevy, or 96+ Dodge. All SRW, any bed, 4x4, quad cab, or ext. and automatic.


I am going to the next repo/poloce auction to scope things out. There are usually sweet deals there. I am sure I can find 99 or new diesel truck for under 7 grand or close to it around here.

[quadfamily]

ha ha, don't feel bad Nick. the first time I went to the parts store to get brakes for my truck they asked me SRW or DRW and I didn't know what it meant. The worst part is neither did the guy at the counter!! Your choices all look good. Good luck in your search and keep us all posted. You may get a fleet vehicle for that price but the miles may be pretty high.

[99TRDTaco]

Just curious but why specifically a 96 cummins?

[DEAL]

I have a 96 gmc 1500 2 wheel drive with the 6.5 TD in it .. works very good. haven't done any towing with it yet but alone it gets 30mpg on the highway.

[mephyst]

Never buy a Dodge. And you see less problems with them because no one has them. There are WAY more Fords on the road by far and Chevy's too. My neighbor is a high up executive for some sort of concrete company. Their company owns over 200 trucks. 85% of them are Fords 10 % are Chevys and %5 are Dodge. In the end, the Dodge's end up costing far more $$$ than all the other trucks. They fall apart after 70 thousand miles and need this done and that done. It's rediculous. They may have a great powertrain but everything else about them sucks. Stick with a Ford if you are wanting reliability... and you can't go wrong with Chevy either.

[quad2xtreme]

The new diesel fuel sucks!!! You will lose 2-3 mpg putting it into earlier diesel engines. I've heard it doesn't lubricate as well either so some of the longevity of a diesel engine will be taken away. Add that to the fact that diesel costs as much or more than premium since 2004 and it will make your decision a bit harder.

Diesel mechanics are much harder to find...my truck often sits at the dealership for days waiting for the one diesel mechanic to work on it.

All that said, if you are going to be pulling serious weight then look at a diesel...otherwise, I would stick with gas.

[quads14589]

me and my dad were in his truck yesturday a f350 diesal and we got it up to 3600 rpm the highest we put it through and that turbo kicked in and we made it from 0-60 in like 7 seconds, that truck got some balls.

[Hammer trx450r]

I love my 7.3 PSD. Nothing like turbo diesels


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/hammer450r/truck1-1.jpg[/IMG]

[Pappy]

Originally posted by mephyst
Never buy a Dodge. And you see less problems with them because no one has them. There are WAY more Fords on the road by far and Chevy's too. My neighbor is a high up executive for some sort of concrete company. Their company owns over 200 trucks. 85% of them are Fords 10 % are Chevys and %5 are Dodge. In the end, the Dodge's end up costing far more $$$ than all the other trucks. They fall apart after 70 thousand miles and need this done and that done. It's rediculous. They may have a great powertrain but everything else about them sucks. Stick with a Ford if you are wanting reliability... and you can't go wrong with Chevy either.



Using a company that has a myraid of drivers to levy an opinion on how well a truck holds up is sketchy. Throw 200 mexicans behind the wheel of 200 work trucks and none of them will fair well.

[300EXrider356]

Originally posted by wvspeedfreak
Nick,I have a '97 F350 with the 7.3 Powerstroke.It has been a great truck so far.As far as which diesel engine is the best ,alot of it is probably a matter of opinion.I will say that as a mechanic though,I have seen less problems with the Cummins.
I love your truck! It's very nice, I have the same body style, but 91' and it has the 460. Anyways are those the stock rims, I want to upgrade from my crappy hubcaps, but im afraid of losing the ability to lock my front hubs(I have to do it manually)
Aorry for jacking the thread, please continue:devil:

[trick450r]

Originally posted by 300EXrider356
I love your truck! It's very nice, I have the same body style, but 91' and it has the 460. Anyways are those the stock rims, I want to upgrade from my crappy hubcaps, but im afraid of losing the ability to lock my front hubs(I have to do it manually)
Aorry for jacking the thread, please continue:devil:


those are stock 8 lug rims, his truck has manually locking front hubs as well, and so does mine....wish it didnt though

[hondardr4life]

I'm personally a Chevy guy, so I'd look into a 6.5 TD or a Duramax. I've never had much experience with the old 6.5's but I've heard that as long as the 2 or 3 little are fixed, those trucks will tow absolutely anything.. I've got an 01 2500hd with a 6.0l gas engine, and I would do anyting to have the Duramax motor.. My dad has it in his 03 2500hd, and it just freaking rips, plus it gets about 24 mpg vs. my 12mpg...

[deathman53]

in my area diseal trucks are expensive. I bought a f350 dually w/ crew cab for $13,000, 120,000 miles, blue book on it was over 15,000 and this truck is mint. There was an alarm system, 12 disc cd changer, class 1(heaviest duty) hitch, rhino liner. The tires were pretty good too , brakes and a/c recently replaced. Bully dog exhaust and hypertech programable clip. There was a towing wing on it, too. I bought it from a friend of mine, he bought it from the original owner at 60,000 miles.
I agree this new diseal gas sucks, I usually go to raceway stations, diseal from most other places, I lose about 3 mpg. Mine gets 14mpg, not being heavy on the turbo. Mine has 2-15 gallon tanks, I usually get about 400 miles till bottom of both tanks.

[Nick110]

Originally posted by 99TRDTaco
Just curious but why specifically a 96 cummins?

It was supposed to say 96+, but Dodge is out of the question now unless I can get one for 1 grand.:p

I am starting to like the pre 99 Ford body styles. SO basically anything chevy or ford 95+. Getting it fixed wont be a problem because my friends dad owns a shop where they work on diesels all the time.


Post up some pics if you have diesels guys. ANd whats the MPG some of you guys are getting.

[bustedknuckle]

Whats everyone think of the new 6.o gas chev ? im thinking about getting a gas because the duramax is so much money. were going with a crew cab,and towing a 18 ft trailer to the gncc s .gm is claming 22 mpg on the highway.

[woodsracer420]

22 on the 6.0 gas? no way, try about 12mpg pulling a trailer!if your lucky. every notice how much cheaper the 6 liter chevy's are copared to the 5.3's. thats because they love the gas. as for the 07's i really dont know if they changed them much.

ultimate truck

Cummins motor
Allison trans.
Chevy interior and exterior, handling
Ford stance w/coil suspension

If you find a truck like this let me know. ill buy it.

[quadfamily]

It says 22 highway, I'm pretty sure they don't mean towing on the highway.

[deathman53]

those estimates are far from accurate. When I had my ford ranger, the sticker had someting like 18 mpg city and 25 highway, at best it got about 18, most of the time 15.

[mephyst]

if you want a gas truck get the chevy 8.1 with the allison's. we have that motor in our 35 foot winnebego motorhome and we tow an enclosed trailer behind us and kick @$$ up the grades. We pass desiel pushers left and right... love that motor. we also get 5-6mpg... but what do you expect when your rig weighs 26 thousand pounds??

[bustedknuckle]

your wright.about towing. but i have a 04 Class C Motorhome that gets around 10mpg towing our trailer. just thought i would get a gas.thought if motor home gets around 10 the truck would get around 14.