Diesel trucks, anyone with diesel experience??

What do you want to know though? I might know a little something about diesels...

 

Fwiw people pop head gaskets on cummins too. And dirtymaxes have quite a few problems too varying by model engine, and those god damn limp dick allisons...

They can all have problems, pick your poison...

That being said I'm partial to cummins and 6.4 intertrational and 6.7 fords. No interest in the 6.6 but ymmv. The 6.0 intertrational id run as well, with some mild mods.

7.3s are solid but can still have issues and the 6.0s have a better tranny and 12 and 24 valves are cool too but the dodge part can fuck you. Lift pumps kill the vp44s and trackbar junk steering box BS.

If I wanted a stock truck I didnt want to fuck with Id buy an early common rail 6 speed dodge with low mile.

Biggest thing you can do for any diesel is buy a set of gauges.

 

Allison transmissions have been the best transmissions. They aren't the strongest now but they have been paired with the duramax for how many years? Thats the one thing I really liked about a duramax.

 

They've been paired with the 6.6 since it came out which really isn't that long, LB7s came out in 01. They slip and go into limp mode. Ford's 5R110 is far superior.

 

I had an LB7 and my transmission never slipped until I got to 160 hp over stock(460). and that was after 2 years of towing heavy on that tune. Then I built it and never looked back. I would much rather it go into limp mode than grenade a clutch or snap a shaft, god forbid I have to cycle the key a couple times to make things go back to normal. There wouldn't be so many Allison swaps out there if it was suck a pos.

Edit, that being said... I agree that fords new trans is probably the best out there right now!

 

Fords new one is the best. H&S tested it and got it to 886 hp before it slipped. The Allison only got to 556 hp

 

FTFY

If you keep a 6.0 stock the only issues you'll have is injectors failing at 120-150K (Caused by ultra low sulfur diesel), and possible turbo failure if you don't let the truck idle after a hard run.

We have a 2005 F-250 with a EGR kit, 4'' turbo back exhaust system, and a light tune (75 HP, 75 FT-LB IIRC), it just turned 140K and the only problems we've had are EGR (Fixed), turbo failure (4 times under warranty, no issues after we started letting it idle before shutdown).
On our latest trip (San Diego to South Miss. by way of chicago) we towed a trailer that was ~11,000 lbs, we didn't have any issues except at high boost we have a head gasket leak, and the #2 injector is not operating correctly.

The best part of our f-250 is the trans, it has never given us a problem in 50-60K miles of towing, and the tow/haul mode is designed correctly.

I do like the 6.7 except it has all the emissions crap on it, and it's way to quiet stock.

 

In the field.With the new emissions and the new tech they are still testing on these things I would steer clear.Unless you can find a 7.3 with low miles and in good shape.Usually the body rots out around those up here in the northeast.

 

I hate the emissions crap on ours.. We are debating on deleting but it is a lot of money to do that we would rather use on other things. I will agree it is quiet but sometimes its nice

 

Lulz my 6.4 runs like a raped ape...

 

I'm going to go ahead and disagree. Its all very well understood. Egr kills engines. SCR is significantly better.

 

6.0L Powerjoke is the biggest turd ever made. I always see them running around blowing blue smoke.

A co worker of mine has owned a 2005 since new. It has about 150k miles. It has been in the dealer or diesel shops 50+ times. Blown headgaskets, blown turbos, egr crap, (insert common 6.0L problem here) etc. A local shop even gave up on it and told them to leave. Dealer has no answers either. He has since bought a new Ram and the Ford is sitting there rotting away.

There's a reason that they sell for under $10,000 while similar Cummins Rams and Duramax's are $25,000.

Some people are just blindly loyal and will defend something to no end. smh.

 

Ugh huh... Whens the last time you worked on one?

I'm not loyal to shit, and id run a 6.0 with some mods but I guess I don't have any problem working on my own shit.

Deleted 6.0 with studs and a powermax and a ficm. Run like a raped ape.

But I'm good with my 6.4 and the 12 valve in my fj80.

 

I never was talking up the 6.0, I know they are a terrible motor (stock) I am just saying that since Ford has moved their production to "in house" with the new 6.7, it is the best motor on the market hands down. Ive driven and towed with all 3 of the new engines (cummins, duramax and powerstroke). Thats why I am defending Ford, they know they made a mistake and they fixed it.

 

http://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/4714415442.html

 

If you have a 6.0 Ford, and want to save money in the long term, get the Bulletproof Diesel kit installed. (Costs about $4k total) and you never have to worry about EGR issues or blown turbos after that. I am a GM fan because the 6.6 is so dang easy to work on compared to the others, but if you have the BPD kit installed, the 6.0 rocks. (Except the FICM problems, but BPT has upgraded FICMs available as well)

Still love the 6.6 Duramax. Funniest story with one of these, a customer came into our shop with a brand new (at the time) Duramax with a toasted Allison trans. Opened the hood and saw a beautiful "Supertuner" sticker on the firewall. The idiot bought a Supertuner software upgrade for his truck, but the one he got was for the old-school 4L80E transmission. Poor Allison transmission didn't have a chance, even having it's own ECU.

 

I have owned a 7.3 powerstroke and a 12 valve, both autos. A big advantage that the ford had over the dodge was the e40d trans was a bit stronger in comparison to the 47re auto tranny in the dodge. As far as the 6.0 PSD's go, my buddies dad has one for years now and has never had any problems with it, but it has been stock its entire life(besides a reent EGR delete). On the other hand, almost everyone else I know who owns a 6.blow has lifted the heads. Duramaxs are nice too but have always been just outside my price range. If i had to pick one, I'd probably go with the dodge 6bt. IMO the inline 6 is more dependable because of one head, less moving parts, etc.

"It's about the Cummins, not the POS wrapped around it."

From what I've gathered about diesels it, the closer it is the stock, the more dependable. (obviously). I personally would only do the "neccesary" mods like ARP headstuds, a nice exhaust (MBRP, or maybe a diamond eye), and a small tune, maybe wheels and tires

one of my friends has absolutely built his 24v to the sky. Sequential bi-turbo, lift pump, inj. pump, injectors, stacked tuners ,hot unlock, everything you could think of, and he is constantly chasing weak links. I dont even want to think about how much money he has put into that truck..

 

Another thing to consider if you are looking for a plow rig is cold weather starting. My Duramax starts at -30F better than my Tacoma, and I don't plug either one in. Plus, remote start is kind of cool. While you're inside putting your boots on the truck is warming up. Also, I don't know if it's every duramax, but ours came with a locker. I hear they aren't the toughest in the world, but mine has worked fantastic in the snow and never had a problem with it. I actually change gear oil too though.

 

Are you talking about the automatic slip locker? My friends 2012 2500 suburban has that. My 2011 superduty with fx4 (off road) package comes with an electric rear locker, just pull the 4x switch out.

 

I used to have a 96 Cummins with all sorts of mods. Definitely fast, that's for sure. Couldn't stop or turn at speed though. After the 4th built tranny blew up I decided enough was enough. I just miss the giddy up that it had (when the tranny held together)