Shopping for a diesel

Out of the new Ford F-250, the Chevrolet 2500, and the Dodge Ram 2500, what is your poison of choice? I’m not getting rid of the taco, but a diesel will be needed by me in the near future.

Not really worried about price. Anybody here pull the trigger on a new Diesel lately. I’ve seen issues with all of them and I know how to fix them but I want opinions from owners. Other forums suck balls. Tacomaworld is where it’s at.

 

I've got a 2016 Cummins. All modern diesels have the same issue - the horrible emissions systems....and they are a bitch to work on. My best advice on the Big Three is this - don't buy one unless it's a necessity.

The 6.7 power strokes have had turbo issues and valve issues...especially on the left cylinder bank. Fords trannies suck. We had 15 scorpions in our fleet ands 12 of them had to have the left cylinder banks replaced (known issue), they chewed through turbos and not one of the trannies lasted over 100K miles. Interior and ride wise, they are the nicest.

The Duramax tends to have more emission issues than Ford or Ram, but the Allison is the best stock tranny on the HD market. The Dmax is dirty fast - never had an issue with one.

The Cummins may not be tops in HP or torque, but in terms of ease of maintenance and solidness of the platform, it can't be bet. The Aisin is the second best tranny of the group but you have to go with a 1 ton to get it. The 68RFE is marginally better than the Ford tranny. The interior of the Ram is nice, but dated. We've moved to Rams in our work fleet and have had no issues. They are by far the easiest to wrench on.


What do you need a diesel for?

 

Gonna start doing salvage auctions. Need something that has a little more guts than the taco for towing.

 

I'd look to the used market as well. The 2006 Chevy/GMC 2500 had the Allison 6 sp and the LBZ variant of the Duramax. Awesome platform.

Same thing with the Ram 2500 circa 2006-2007 with the 5.9. While the 48RFE isn't up to par with the Allison, it's an easy platform to work on a with a true million mile motor. A clean example of either would be a good route to go. Both were void of all the emissions crap that's placed diesels ever since.

 

I'd personally go with an OBS 7.3, or even a NBS 7.3.

Dirtymaxes are cool, but have issues. The newer ones (15+) seem to be pretty solid though.

Anything Cummins will be good. It's just the Mopar part that can ruin things.

 

What would you choose for a double dose of pimping

 

This baby right here.



In all seriousness, I'd choose a newer F-250 or newer Dirtymax (2015+)

 

A nice well taken care of 7.3 Powerstroke (T444e) or Pre-2007 Cummins will do.

 

He'd be waiting for an infinite amount of time for that, as that'll very likely never ever come to light. Tundra would be more likely to get that treatment before the Tacoma would.

If buying new, the only two I'd consider are the Ford and Chevy, the emissions equipment on the new 2013+ Cummins are very problematic of the three trucks and it negates all the mileage benefits that used to come with the inline six diesel. If buying old any pre-2007 Cummins or a 1994-2001 7.3 Powerstroke would be my choice. The problem with the 2002-2003 7.3 is the piston rods were made with softer, powdered metal instead of forged steel, making them a weak point if you decide to add HP, but are not a concern if you leave it stock. I have a 1997 7.3 and have nothing but good to say about it's reliability and that retro OBS look is a nice touch. It's a bit rough around the edges and rides like an old hay wagon, but runs like a champ! I'd also only consider a manual transmission on the older Ford and Dodge's as the autos of those eras were very lacking in durability as they were originally from gas engine applications and couldn't handle the torque of a diesel very well, especially if abused and towed with often.

 

Actually used it to bring the 04 home after I bought it!