Half-ton pickup redux

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Wife hit a deer in her car so while it's in the shop she's driving my S10 ZR2 while I borrow my parents' farm truck. 03 Ram 2wd with a 6.7 Cummins, 5-speed manual, and a 4.10 axle is about as polar opposite of a truck as its gets to mine.

My S10 while it struggles hauling heavy stuff, has never gotten stuck (and I've taken it through some pretty nasty mud/snow), this Ram has about 0 traction off road, but would happily pull a house up a hill on the freeway at 75 MPH (at 2600 RPM).

They still use 5 speeds? Wait now, in 2003 they didn’t have a 6.7.
 
Oh you're right, it is a 5.9 based on the VIN. Still annoying as hell to drive because of the ratio and razor thin power band.
 
Oh you're right, it is a 5.9 based on the VIN. Still annoying as hell to drive because of the ratio and razor thin power band.

You can take off in 3rd almost as easy as second and not shift as much. First is only for crawling.
 
Little be little Specs are leaking out for GMs 4cy Turbo wiht 310 HP. I was wondering what the EPA MPG estimates were. 20 City and 23 Hwy according to a recent article. Less than either Dodge or Fords new trucks. Some ford models do 26 Hwy and Dodge 25 .I would think the Hwy number would be higher for GM. Both GM and Ford are reporting around 30 with their small diesels.
 
Last edited:
Used to be Chevy/GM were typically returning the best mpgs. That's the early 2000's gen. I was surprised to see my last tank average with my 2002 Silverado, I know the figures are certainly low by today's standards - with about 70 - 75% highway driving I got 429 miles out of a tank. The gauge was a bit under the 1/8 mark, which came out to be 16.4 mpg. This tank will last a while, last month bought a 1999 (yep almost 20 years old) Honda Accord. It's an EX with a 5 speed manual. It's got 169k, feels more like 60k. Believe it or not it's a pleasure to drive. Keeping the truck of course - that will now be mainly for wood hauling duties. One advantage of a company vehicle is being able to buy old high mileage (hopefully reliable) vehicles.

On a wood stove note - split wood today for the first time this season, got the stove going last week. Replaced the door gaskets with 3/8" diameter, the manual called for 7/16". Seems Ok but next time will probably order one online, couldn't find 7/16" locally. Fortunately the length was enough for both doors.
 
I was reading up on cylinder deactivation. GM has 1-8 variable cylinder trucks coming out this year (Silverados and Sierras).

It sounds awesome, but the MPG improvements aren't as big as you'd think.


When it was first introduced I heard it was somewhat troublesome. I believe that was called Active Fuel Management - the engine would operate temporarily on 4 cylinders, so it was 8 or 4. There's discussions and instructions online how to deactivate it. This new system seems completely different.
 
When it was first introduced I heard it was somewhat troublesome. I believe that was called Active Fuel Management - the engine would operate temporarily on 4 cylinders, so it was 8 or 4. There's discussions and instructions online how to deactivate it. This new system seems completely different.

Yeah, it was a mess at first, but they first screwed it up about 40 years ago in 1981, so they've had time to sort it out a bit.

The 2019 trucks will have a new flavor that goes all the way down to 1 active cylinder, so we'll see how that works out.
 
Used to be Chevy/GM were typically returning the best mpgs. That's the early 2000's gen. I was surprised to see my last tank average with my 2002 Silverado, I know the figures are certainly low by today's standards - with about 70 - 75% highway driving I got 429 miles out of a tank. The gauge was a bit under the 1/8 mark, which came out to be 16.4 mpg. This tank will last a while, last month bought a 1999 (yep almost 20 years old) Honda Accord. It's an EX with a 5 speed manual. It's got 169k, feels more like 60k. Believe it or not it's a pleasure to drive. Keeping the truck of course - that will now be mainly for wood hauling duties. One advantage of a company vehicle is being able to buy old high mileage (hopefully reliable) vehicles.

On a wood stove note - split wood today for the first time this season, got the stove going last week. Replaced the door gaskets with 3/8" diameter, the manual called for 7/16". Seems Ok but next time will probably order one online, couldn't find 7/16" locally. Fortunately the length was enough for both doors.

Had a 2003 Honda EX coupe with a five speed manual transmission that I bought used and ended up finally selling after it cracked the 200K mark. I sold it cheap to a friend who gave it to his son who was just learning to drive. Eventually the engine had to be replaced and it was sold after a couple of years. However, he said his son (and me to a degree) really liked the car and last week he saw the car was for sale yet again . . . it's still out there and being driven apparently.
 
The 2019 trucks will have a new flavor that goes all the way down to 1 active cylinder, so we'll see how that works out.
My gripe with all of the systems that I’ve driven (two of my cars have this) is they put way too much hysteresis into the control. You’re cruising along, and it drops into 4-cyl mode, but then doesn’t have enough power to continue climbing the hill. So, you give it a hair more gas, and nothing. A hair more, nothing. Then you push the pedal a little farther, and it jumps back to 8-cyl mode and lurches forward quickly enough that your passengers give you a glance. So, you back off a bit, and the car accelerates comfortably. Then as you reach the desired speed and back off the gas, it drops back to 4-cyl mode, and you start the process all over again.

It’s good that we’re still able to disable these systems, I really dread the day that changes. For those who aren’t following what I’m saying, think back to some of the bad automatic transmissions you’ve probably driven in the past. They either won’t downshift until you have to press the pedal way too far, or aren’t happy staying in the proper gear.
 
I've decided that I'll drop my car in 2 years and get a pickup for my daily sales mule. I'm looking forward to it. I'll buy used, in the $18-25k range. Hopefully, 2-3 yrs old. Right now my eyes are on Tundra and Titan. I'm not sure I would want a Titan w/the Cummings diesel for lots of turning it off and back on again as I make sales calls. We will see.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AlbergSteve
My gripe with all of the systems that I’ve driven (two of my cars have this) is they put way too much hysteresis into the control. You’re cruising along, and it drops into 4-cyl mode, but then doesn’t have enough power to continue climbing the hill. So, you give it a hair more gas, and nothing. A hair more, nothing. Then you push the pedal a little farther, and it jumps back to 8-cyl mode and lurches forward quickly enough that your passengers give you a glance. So, you back off a bit, and the car accelerates comfortably. Then as you reach the desired speed and back off the gas, it drops back to 4-cyl mode, and you start the process all over again.

It’s good that we’re still able to disable these systems, I really dread the day that changes. For those who aren’t following what I’m saying, think back to some of the bad automatic transmissions you’ve probably driven in the past. They either won’t downshift until you have to press the pedal way too far, or aren’t happy staying in the proper gear.

I had a 1964 Chevy Impala with a 3 speed Powerglide. The powerglide was indestructible but it was also insane. It shifted whenever, in whatever direction, for reasons that were really only clear to it. I don't know if it was faulty or if they all 'worked' that way, but I am guessing the latter. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ashful
I'm not sold on these small displacement turbo motors. I know you can get descent longevity out of a forced induction motor but the rings do wear quicker. I have seen a number of ecoboost fords at and after the 100k mile mark blowing smoke. I think the only motors that you will see decent longevity out of are the forced induction diesels not to mention that you will see a lot better MPG numbers out of the diesel at least if you use as a truck most the time. My truck just sits and I drive a commuter car so MPG doesn't really matter to me I need the towing and hauling capacities.
 
I'm not sold on these small displacement turbo motors. I know you can get descent longevity out of a forced induction motor but the rings do wear quicker. I have seen a number of ecoboost fords at and after the 100k mile mark blowing smoke.

Maybe my viewpoint is skewed, I used to work in Germany, but I believe they are largely responsible for this. They were doing 100 hp per liter in daily commuters 25 years ago, but due to the speeds they drive (Autobahn), they also tend not to keep cars nearly as long as we do. Longevity does not mean the same thing, over there.

But I am a fan of them. It can be a heck of a lot of fun to drive a hot little A3 or 500 Abarth, when you’re used to big honkin’ V8’s.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chas0218
I've decided that I'll drop my car in 2 years and get a pickup for my daily sales mule. I'm looking forward to it. I'll buy used, in the $18-25k range. Hopefully, 2-3 yrs old. Right now my eyes are on Tundra and Titan. I'm not sure I would want a Titan w/the Cummings diesel for lots of turning it off and back on again as I make sales calls. We will see.

I’ve never looked at Toyota trucks, but I think you’re going to need to adjust your price range. Even a 2 year old gasser with 4wd is going to be right at the top of that range, diesel will be a good bit more.
 
Does anyone have a problem with the stop-start that seems to be going into all the trucks lately. Seems like something that would annoy me a great deal. It also can be disabled in some cases.
 
I drove a loaner 2018 F150 Platinum (3.5L Ecoboost/10-speed auto) when I was having some vehicle work done and about halfway through the first day I noticed myself 'pumping' the brakes at a stop to fool the computer into not shutting down the engine.

I know they are designed with start/stop in mind but I still can't believe it isn't harder on the engine. I think there was an option in the dash display to disable it, but I didn't want to change it when I was going back to the dealership in 3 days.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Seasoned Oak
about halfway through the first day I noticed myself 'pumping' the brakes at a stop to fool the computer into not shutting down the engine.
About the only place i would welcome this, is in line at the drive up teller window at the bank. Or at a fast food drive up.
 
Had a 2003 Honda EX coupe with a five speed manual transmission that I bought used and ended up finally selling after it cracked the 200K mark. I sold it cheap to a friend who gave it to his son who was just learning to drive. Eventually the engine had to be replaced and it was sold after a couple of years. However, he said his son (and me to a degree) really liked the car and last week he saw the car was for sale yet again . . . it's still out there and being driven apparently.

Ideally I would have bought a gen 7 (2003 +) Accord, that engine has a timing chain. I wonder what caused the engine to fail in yours. You do see a good number of older Accords out there. I've had Subarus for years - while I never had a failure it was a matter of when, not if my 2002 Forester's head gaskets would need replacing. I wanted something that could likely hit 200k like yours without major maintenance. Although I know just due to age I'll need components replaced on this '99, and I it could end up with high maintenance costs. I do miss the Subaru's heated seats.
 
Ideally I would have bought a gen 7 (2003 +) Accord, that engine has a timing chain. I wonder what caused the engine to fail in yours. You do see a good number of older Accords out there. I've had Subarus for years - while I never had a failure it was a matter of when, not if my 2002 Forester's head gaskets would need replacing. I wanted something that could likely hit 200k like yours without major maintenance. Although I know just due to age I'll need components replaced on this '99. I do miss the Subaru's heated seats.
Accords, Subarus... we don't care what your wife drives. This thread is about pickup trucks. ::-)
 
I'm not sold on these small displacement turbo motors. I know you can get descent longevity out of a forced induction motor but the rings do wear quicker. I have seen a number of ecoboost fords at and after the 100k mile mark blowing smoke. I think the only motors that you will see decent longevity out of are the forced induction diesels not to mention that you will see a lot better MPG numbers out of the diesel at least if you use as a truck most the time. My truck just sits and I drive a commuter car so MPG doesn't really matter to me I need the towing and hauling capacities.
There have been many very durable turbo gas motors through the years. No reason these cant be as well. I hope so my wifes escape has one.
 
I had a 1964 Chevy Impala with a 3 speed Powerglide. The powerglide was indestructible but it was also insane. It shifted whenever, in whatever direction, for reasons that were really only clear to it. I don't know if it was faulty or if they all 'worked' that way, but I am guessing the latter. :)


You sure that Power Glide wasn't a 2 speed? Wasn't aware Chevy made a 3 speed Power Glide. My best buddy had a 64 Impala with a 2 speed PG and he used to get scratch four or five times when he took off using neutral lol. Those things would take some unbelievable abuse.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.