Alabama thread!

Yup. It's for sale. They are using it for a to hang their banners also! Lol

 

Happy Birthday Jo Dog!

 

Some dude wants to trade this: http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/3793592884.html

I'm thinking too old / high mileage even if it is diesel

 

I love your truck Jim... Still in the process of getting that avid light bar straightened out, but I think it's gonna work like a champ though! So if you get rid of your truck, are we gonna have a bidding war on your bumper? Haha, just kidding...

 

Glad to hear it dude. Haha, damnit guys, I have no stocker to put on

 

One thing about a diesel, is they will last forever. My dad has over 200k on it and when I borrow it, it is to pull a vehicle or 10,000+ lbs. it has never left us stranded or given us any problems while towing that much weight. Honestly, if you are going to be using a full size to pull a vehicle all the time, I would choose a diesel over a gas burner all day.

On another note, if you were going that old, I would personally find a Ford f-250 with the 7.3l powerstroke in it backed with a 6spd. My dad has a 2000 f-350 with that set up. Also want to find one with a 4:10 gear ratio.

If you don't want a ford, get a dodge with the 5.9l 24 valve cummins and a NV4500 transmission (6spd). Not all the manual transmissions are going to be that one though. I personally don't like the duramax because I have heard of too many stories of them having problems after 100k miles. Also, if it were me, I would be looking at a diesel with a standard transmission because of the less maintenance they require and less likely for a shift solenoid to go out.

I am giving you info on what I would do, it's your vehicle to trade/sell and your choice on which one you would buy. Just my .02!

 

Cummins for dependability. Duramax for the most powerful diesel. Ford for the cheapest.


Any way you look at it, all of them can be very dependable though. All depends on how well they were taken care of, which you don't know unless you buy new.

 

I beg to differ. Cummins will out pull a duramax all day every day

 

By all accounts the Ford 7.3 w/ 6 speed is the way to go. Used ones, unfortunately, are priced accordingly.

 

They are priced accordingly because it is the saught after set up

 

Looking really for an f150. If a good deal on diesel presented itself, that's one thing, can't say I really would ever need it enough to deal with the unloaded ride and mpg.

I mean I realize diesel hds get good highway mileage but non hds get pretty close and gas nowadays is way cheaper than diesel.

 

Unfortunately Bill has not been around or he'd explain in technical terms how the duramax is more powerful then the cummins. I prefer the cummins myself, do to dependability, and the fact that they can be fairly easily upgraded. But, if you take a stock duramax vs a stock cummins, the duramax will win.


The only problem I have with the cummins, is the fact that it's wrapped with a Dodge.

 

not to mention the increased cost of an oil change. cant believe noone has brought this up. you fig you can get a $20 oil change special any day of the week with a gas burner from a parts store or pay $30 and upgrade it to synthetic. you do a service on the diesel and you better have much deeper pockets. because after you buy the filters (which are in no way cheap) your gonna be paying for much more expensive oil and more of it and then you have to top off your urea tank as well as several other odds and ends. i know from working years behind the parts counter that a gas burner on a bad day (meaning new air filter pcv and all the little odds and ends tune up parts) will run around $100-$125 for a full tune up, unless you go crazy all out accel wires and stuff like that. then just a standard mileage due oil change for a diesel truck is gonna start around the $125-$150 mark.

another thing jim.... rem you arent in alabama anymore like some may not rem. you actually see cold temps in the winter and diesels in the winter are a whole diff ballgame.

not trying to bash anyones opinions just pointing out the facts that i believe jim has about as much business getting a diesel as i do financing a lamborghini.

 

Eh, I'll buy some of that. The urea injection is relatively new (some 09 models started it I think), so an early 2000's truck isn't going to have it. My wife's is a '10, and doesn't have it.

The cold weather thing is a concern, but with my wife's Jetta TDI we just add the cold weather additive every tank in the winter, and no big deal starting down into the mid teens - low 20's.

I can tell you that services on her TDI aren't any worse than they were on the 2.0L gas engine, both done at the same shop, both same generations of Jetta.

Now, apples to oranges comparing car diesel to a truck diesel, in at least a few ways I'm sure. However, our experience with it has been really positive.

Not saying you're 100% wrong, just another data point. And again, it may be different with a truck vs. a car.

 

I have toted the Duramax for quite some time. However you will see people from all walks of life here. I can't even count the number of people who are either Dodge, Ford, or GM diesel fans. Each have their own impressive list of trucks they have owned, or friends that they know have this or that problem/issue with "insert manufacturer name here".

As for power and torque, with longevity, most of them all have a reasonably equal playing field. As for the Duramax having problems after 100K miles, that is not 100% true. Just like other manufacturers have, there have been issues with longevity. In the early 2000s, GM had an issue with the injectors, which they extended coverage on for 200K miles! Higher than any other manufacturer has covered for injectors. Currently they have an incredible amount of towing torque and power right now. I say buy the brand that you like.

 

Jim, I thought you had a miata as a DD so that's why I said go get a diesel. They can sit for months and fire right up when you want them to. A cummins has the best mpg out of all three. I have heard and read people getting 20+ mpg driving on the highway and close to 20 around town. Oil changes might be a little more expensive but you can go 10,000 miles before you have to change it. A gas burner, with a load will be less than 10 mpg. It doesn't matter what year, make, or model you get. Regardless, it's your vehicle, your money! Get what you want.

 

Yeah, I do commute in the miata unless the weather's bad, but we still use the truck for a roomier road trip vehicle, home depot runs, and I drive it if it's foggy/snowing/pouring out for safety.

I guess the thing is, 90% of the time I'll use it just like my tacoma now, so I'd only occasionally tow. Word on the street looks like going with gas is the thing to do, since it handles cold weather better and is cheaper up front, with similar unloaded cost per mile after factoring in reduced mpg with reduced fuel cost. Thanks guys. I didn't even think of dealing with fuel gelling, that kinda sounds like a PITA.

 

From all the diesel customers I have had, the average for both the Dodge and the Duramax were 17-22 on both of them. Most of those with the Fords were talking 14-19 average, however one of my customers who had me install the Bulletproof Diesel System in their truck says he is getting consistent highway mileage of 24 in his Ford 6.0 Powerstroke.

 

you are correct with the apples to oranges comment. a 6 liter diesel, or larger, is a completely different animal compared to a 2 liter car diesel. also urea has been around a good bit longer than just the past couple years. my fathers work truck when we lived in IL had the urea tank on it, that was in the mid 90's, its just that urea treatments are just now making its way to all the states. but rem jim you better make sure its up to snuff if you travel to SC or NC. cuz DOT keeps an eye out up there for diesel trucks... cuz they can fine the hell out of those.

also temps from teens to 20's will be more like jim's high's during the day where he is. and diesel's don't seem to mind that much, a bit sluggish at first but not really a big task for it. what will get him is when he goes a week or so at a time with lows well below zero and a couple feet of snow on the ground. that is when you start cussing a diesel sittin in the yard. but again like others have said, jim's money jim's truck. i was just trying to give a retail parts store POV as well as a northerners POV with wintertime troubles.

 

They make diesels with the option of having a block heater. As long as he plugged that up and let it run for 10 minutes before he left, he would be fine. When I live up in VT and NH we had a week vacation in January called winter vacation, and my dad would come up for that week and we would all hit the slopes. There were mornings when it was below 20 and my dads truck started up the first time, everytime