Trucks (or engines) to stay away from advice needed

[ironpony]

I know I said stay away from diesel's but if you or anyone else reading this really wants a newer diesel consider this.

In my opinion if you want the holy grail of modern diesels look for a 2003-2004 Dodge Cummins with the HO Cummins. It produces 305hp/555tq and has no EGR, no catalytic converter, no variable geometry turbo, and it can be had in automatic or 6 speed manual. I had a 2004 Ram 2500 with the above mentioned engine and kick myself frequently for trading it on a Ford. Yes I've driven a Ford. A 2008 F-350 V-10 to be exact. BTW it was a shop queen so I drive a Dodge again.

Like I said in a previous post, they will command top dollar. But a clean 305/555 Cummins is the shizzle.

I have to agree with you on this. I had an 03 4 door but I traded it for an 02 quad, why you ask? I really missed the Cummins rattle, the 03 with the common rail was to quiet. Have had 4 of them over the years, 2nd gens are my favorites. 02 HO six speed SRW 1 ton, 20 mpg all day long and will haul anything you can legally load on it.

 

[Chicken Farmer]

Just my 2cents.....

I have a 97 F350 with the Powerstroke. I have been fiddling with diesels for alot of years and am a "Ford guy". The diesel I own now is stock except for a chip and exhaust that was installed by the previous owner. It starts in the cold and runs great, however these older trucks with no rust and straight body panels are expensive. I would not be afraid of the 7.3 motor as far as reliability. Mine has 201K on it and runs solid and tight. However given the scope of the thread and what the original poster is looking to do with the truck, here are my suggestions:

Skip list:

Chevy trucks, because of the front IFS setup. The small block Chevy is bullet proof and legendary but they gave the truck a weak front.
Ford trucks with the TTB front axle. I owned a 94 F250 for years and never could fix the sagging and alignment issues, and the inner u-joint by the differential is no picnic to change.
Ford trucks with the early modular motor (99-03). They had trouble with spark plugs seizing in the head, and also breaking exhaust manifold bolts.
Dodge trucks 2nd gen, for all the front end problems that were mentioned

Buy list:

Older southern chevy 3/4 and 1 ton trucks with solid axle front
OBS Fords with either gas or diesel engine - 1 ton
Super duty Ford (99-current) 3/4 or 1 ton, both have solid front axle, with the diesel. Or gas motor 2004 and later
Dodge trucks 2nd gen with upgraded 2008 front end parts, prefer cummins over gas
Dodge trucks 3rd gen cummins
Any old international pickups - because they are cool

 

[muncybob]

Love the photo!! Partly because I like good looking trucks and partly because it's so damn cold out right now

 

[Coal Reaper]

because they are cool!
very nice truck chicken farmer

 

[Chicken Farmer]

Thanks!! I like me some OBS Fords!!

 

[Highbeam]

I can tell you what not to buy and that is a Ford 6.0 diesel. It was an expensive lesson for me. They put this junk in their trucks from 2003 to 2007.
I didn't do enough research but that is the last dollar Ford will ever get from me.

2003 was a transition year, there are both 6.0 and 7.3 diesels available in 2003. When the 6.0 works, it is a great engine with a great auto trans, but unfortunately they break very often and cost big bucks to fix.

 

[Highbeam]

. Have had 4 of them over the years, 2nd gens are my favorites. 02 HO six speed SRW 1 ton, 20 mpg all day long and will haul anything you can legally load on it.

Are you sure you have a SRW one ton? I don't think Dodge made a 3500 SRW until the new body style trucks in 03.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Interesting. . .


autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/car-dealer-scientific-guide-10-best-used-vehicles-181842236.html

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I have a 1991 f250 with the famous 300-6 and mazda 5 speed manual. I love it. It always starts and will haul anything. It may not be the fastest truck on the road, but it out hauls most others and passes the 4wd guys in the snow when I have my chains on. It has carried more than 1,000,000 pounds (maybe 2,000,000) in the short 3 years that I have had it. It will carry 2 yards of river rock without complaining and will tell you to keep stacking the firewood in the bed, even when it is falling off the sides. It gets about 20mpg.

 

[ironpony]

I have to agree with you on this. I had an 03 4 door but I traded it for an 02 quad, why you ask? I really missed the Cummins rattle, the 03 with the common rail was to quiet. Have had 4 of them over the years, 2nd gens are my favorites. 02 HO six speed SRW 1 ton

Are you sure you have a SRW one ton? I don't think Dodge made a 3500 SRW until the new body style trucks in 03.

it actually is ratings and build wise but they still listed it as a 2500. kind of a hidden package deal. From what I understand when you added the 6 speed that year, 2002, it automatically upgrade the rest, Cummins HO, transfer case, Dana 80,and springs.

 

[ironpony]

I have a 1991 f250 with the famous 300-6 and mazda 5 speed manual. I love it. It always starts and will haul anything. It may not be the fastest truck on the road, but it out hauls most others and passes the 4wd guys in the snow when I have my chains on. It has carried more than 1,000,000 pounds (maybe 2,000,000) in the short 3 years that I have had it. It will carry 2 yards of river rock without complaining and will tell you to keep stacking the firewood in the bed, even when it is falling off the sides. It gets about 20mpg.

those old straight sixes were bullet proof, remember the "leaning tower of power" in the Dodges? 225 slant six. Never seen one of those blow up.

 

[Coal Reaper]

it actually is ratings and build wise but they still listed it as a 2500. kind of a hidden package deal. From what I understand when you added the 6 speed that year, 2002, it automatically upgrade the rest, Cummins HO, transfer case, Dana 80,and springs.

FOUND ONE...
(broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dodge-Ram-2500-Quad-Shortie-02-dodge-ram-2500-slt-plus-4-wd-quad-6-cummins-ho-diesel-6-speed-leather-/221360967610?forcerrptr=true&hash=item338a244fba&item=221360967610&pt=US_Cars_Trucks)

 

[D8Chumley]

2003 was a transition year, there are both 6.0 and 7.3 diesels available in 2003. When the 6.0 works, it is a great engine with a great auto trans, but unfortunately they break very often and cost big bucks to fix.

Yup, mine ran great, until it didn't. Cost me around $8K in one year with everything that broke/died/stopped working. CFO said it gotta go. I loved that truck, 04 CC King Ranch on 37's. Hated the engine

 

[Jags]

those old straight sixes were bullet proof, remember the "leaning tower of power" in the Dodges? 225 slant six. Never seen one of those blow up.

They never would. I ran a couple as a kid and was not kind to them. They would eventually loose so much compression that you could spin them over with the fan blades. I checked the oil when the light came on.

 

[ShenValSteve]

A little late on this one, but I can tell from looking myself that if you want a regular cab 3/4 ton 4x4 truck, they are rarer than hens teeth south of my location, regardless of make. A local used lot has a beautiful mid -90s Ford regular cab F250 on the lot just in the last couple of days, not sure if it's a diesel or not.

 

[dave2112]

My 86 F250 has seen better days. Bed is shot, doors starting to rust out at the bottom, etc. I think it will be retired to be the property plow truck in the near future. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for another 3/4 ton 4X4 with 8' bed. With our available budget I'm probably looking at something around mid 1990's or older and have even entertained the idea of flying south for a short summer vacation and buying a truck down there(hoping it's rust free). I'm also hoping that an older truck will be something I can work on if needed.

What trucks would be off your short list...and even better yet, what ones would be on it?....and why.

 

[dave2112]

Testing out how to reply on this forum. And at the same time throwing my hat in for the dodge 360 2nd generation trucks. I owned one for 7 years never had a problem, just sold it for something nicer it was an 01 2500 w/ towing package was the best truck I ever owned as far as reliability. Sold it with 220,000 miles on of to friend Its still going strong. My nephew has same truck, same motor, wihh 410,000 miles on the o.d. still round strong.

 

[duramax1]

I have a 2005 Chevy Silverado 3500 Duramax/Allison. Its the LS model with the vinyl floors and window cranks and the Duramax numbers are 310hp and 520ftlbs of torque. It has an AFE cold air intake and an AFE Atlas 4" exhaust with the factory downpipe. It is rated to haul 3,000lbs payload and will pull 12,000. The only issue with the LLY was occasional overheating but mine has always ran normal temps.. It has the typical loose steering column feeling that these trucks had and I did have to replace the front wheel hubs too. The hubs were $350 and a mechanic friend helped me change them out. Its a solid truck and will tow/haul anything I will ever need.

 

[muncybob]

Had to revisit this thread. I've been "coaxing" the old F250 along up until now. Took it to the shop to have tailpipes bent(not stock exhaust) and just got the call I've been dreading. He said the frame is so bad the truck could snap in 1/2 anytime now He would not even trust it if it were just used to plow my lane...real bummer...moment of silence please.

 

[Mr. Jones]

I just bought a new to me dodge a couple of months ago. 95 3/4 ton with airbags. I bought it to pull my 28 foot travel trailer, and thought I'd go big with the almost 500 C.I 8 liter v 10. Well, to date, I haven't even pulled anything with it yet, and just use it as a daily driver, which is a mistake. 10 MPG in town or on highway, since it's low geared. I hear it gets around 6 mpg when towing something heavy. Now I need to buy a small car that's my everyday driver. When this thing came out, it had more torque than the other two diesel options with dodge, albeit with higher rpm, resulting in the horrible gas mileage. I also bought it because it only had 110,000 on it. Hopefully soon, I'll get to go camping and try it out towing. Filling the bed up to the canopy with wood doesn't make it squat at all with the bags, which is nice. I haven't really researched how reliable these engine are or aren't. I have heard though that some parts may be hard to come by, and I know a rebuilt one costs exactly twice as much as the 360. Ouch.

 

[blades]

Had to revisit this thread. I've been "coaxing" the old F250 along up until now. Took it to the shop to have tailpipes bent(not stock exhaust) and just got the call I've been dreading. He said the frame is so bad the truck could snap in 1/2 anytime now He would not even trust it if it were just used to plow my lane...real bummer...moment of silence please.

Had the same issue with my F350 85 vintage about 8 years ago

 

[muncybob]

Previous entries in this thread talked about 1st, 2nd generation Dodge trucks...exactly what years/models are we talking about in these "generations"?

 

[Dieselhead]

1st gen is 89-93
2nd gen is 94-02
3rd gen 03-09
4th gen 2010-present

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Iv been driving a 95 Silverado K2500 for about 15 years on a daily basis. Im always amazed at this trucks ongoing reliability. Iv got 175000 miles on it and requires very little in the way of repairs ,just regular maintenance. Im not really surprised because iv been driving this brand since the mid 80s after giving up on fords. My last chevy was a 4x4 half ton and just as good.No offense to fords but iv had about 3 ford trucks prior to 1985 and none were dependable or reliable or durable. Im sure they are much better today.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

A frame can be easily repaired/replaced with some good channel iron. I am not certain on the legalities of it, but it has been done many times. Don't do it if you don't know what you are doing. The cut through the frame has to be at least 2.5 times longer than the depth of the frame, meaning it has to be cut at an angle. The webs have to be cut square. Make a good weld and keep the frame from getting too hot. If you can weld halfway decent, the repair should last as long as the truck.