I wish a Ford and a Chevy, would still last 10 years...

[TxStateCowboy]

Like they should.

What do ya'll think about modern Ford, Chevy, Dodge pickups?
Anybody have consistent problems with your favorite brands lately? I've been a big Ford fan my whole life but my brother's new f-350 diesel and a couple other friends' newer super-duty's (post 2000) have given them problems, as well as loss of quality in all modern trucks.

What about the jap trucks? Any experience with them? advantages? un-patriotic ? When I've got enough to buy a purdy brand new truck what should I look at, and why?

 

[flaboy-]

Do they make you Texans park in a different lot if you drive a foreign truck? I can't remember the last time I saw anything but a Ford, Chevy, or Dodge at the market here.

You get good and bad trucks in every brand. Most of the folks I know who have problems with their truck don't maintain them correctly and drive them like they are sports cars.

 

[BlackBaldyMan]

You get good and bad trucks in every brand. Most of the folks I know who have problems with their truck don't maintain them correctly and drive them like they are sports cars.

Well put flaboy, sure they arent built like they used to but nothing is anymore and its just a fact of life, there are lemmons in every brand, if you maintain the truck with ALL fluids correctly, dont continully abuse it, it will last, remember they are machines and little things are bound to go wrong.

 

[Bullbuyer]

The old Chevy (1998 w/ 180,000 + miles) runs as good as ever - I think the biggest problem is that no one ever checks / changes fluids and filters. That $20 air filter is a good investment and changing oil for $20 every month is money well spent. Always amazes me when people are "surprised" that the truck broke down yet the hinges on the hood are almost rusted shut...

 

[flaboy-]

Yeah, I don't know exactly when it happened but it seems the 1990's started the long life motors again. I guess they mastered the pollution stuff and the unleaded fuels. I am from the lead fuel age and I can't remember too many of my cars or trucks that did not need at least a valve job at 60K. Shoot, these days they are just getting broken in at 60K. IN the 60's oil leaked out almost as fast as you could put it in after about 20K. 100K motors these days weep a little but very seldom leak badly. There are exceptions of course.

 

[mdmdogs3]

we have 2 1979 Fords that are our farm trucks, one has right at 250 K and the other 150 K
they both like their guzzle of tranny fluid from time to time but what can ya expect 8)
of course Dad has his big toy 2000 Ford 250 diesel that still sits in the garage with a shine - don't think it has ever spent the night outside and if it hailed he would cover it with his body to protect it ;-)

 

[msscamp]

They will if they are taken care of. We've got a 1996 Chevrolet Z-71 with 160,000 miles or better that will be around and going strong for quite a few years yet, but it has never been shortchanged on routine maintenance of any kind. Although it's not a truck, I've got a 1989 Chevrolet car that is still going strong, too.

 

[Calman]

I hear it all time, " they don't make them like they used to!".

I for one am glad they don't. The old 50, 60 & 70 model was hardly heard of 100,000 mi. Now with proper service 200 thousand is not unheard of.
My thoughts are that fuel enjection and good oil filtering system has a lot to do with it.
In the old carb models we were pumping the accelerator and chocking it all the time and washing out the cylender walls with fuel and causing wear to the cylenders, which in turn shortened the life of the engine.

Just my thoughts.

Cal

 

[A6gal]

I guess this doesn't really follow the post and I probably shouldn't post this but, I recently discovered that Ford Motor Company is one of the largest financial supporter's of the Gay Rights Movement. Most people don't know this and I think that when you support a company by buying their products you should know what their profits go to support. For more info go to http://www.afa.net.

I'm not trying to be political, just informative and if this offends anyone, I will remove the post.

 

[Saltydawg]

Not impressed with any of the new stuff. If you were to force me to pick one I would go with the ford superduty. Nice frame under them and 4 wheel disc brakes.....the rest of the truck is the same as anyone else's...plastic and fake metal trim.

I have a 74 Chevy I still drive on a daily basis and a 79 Ford I tow with.
The older vehicles require a little more maintenance but when its done properly they work perfectly and will still be around in 30 more years.
Most people don't take proper care of their vehicles which is why they remember all the leaks and problems from the old days......and its also why they'll remember the same about their current cars in 30 years time.
The reason people are seeing longer lives in the new vehicles is because manufacturers have finally realized people won't grease their u-joints and change their oil regularly etc etc. So they are making these new greaseless ball joints, u-joints, and stuff.
They have a better initial lifespan than the old style if the person isnt gonna keep up with maintenance but they are also disposable items as well.....you can't rebuild most of the stuff on modern autos.

My 70's model pickups are still around doing their job and in good shape.....these new vehicles will have long been recycled at the 30 year mark.

 

[Caustic Burno]

You get good and bad trucks in every brand. Most of the folks I know who have problems with their truck don't maintain them correctly and drive them like they are sports cars.

Well put flaboy, sure they arent built like they used to but nothing is anymore and its just a fact of life, there are lemmons in every brand, if you maintain the truck with ALL fluids correctly, dont continully abuse it, it will last, remember they are machines and little things are bound to go wrong.

No the new trucks are better than the old ones that rusted out in a year and you could throw a cat through. They also had engines that got a whopping 8 miles to the gallon and at 60,000 miles they were shot. Pull the intake manifold off and you would wonder how the lifters even worked from all the sludge build up.
The vehicles of today are much higher quality than the older one's. Thats fact as I have owned them both. I bought a new 70 model Chevy both doors and the tailgate were rusted out in 18 months. I will stick with todays trucks.

 

[Triple L]

I had a 69 ford truck. that things had rust on it in a years time. By the time at thing was getting on 8 years old it was smoking real bad. It got to the point I would check the gas and fill her with oil. The bed would flop and wiggle so bad folks behind me would think is was coming off. Now I have a 97 F250 PSD with 264,000 miles on it. still run great and the only rust is on the bottom inside tail gate. That truck had hauled everything from A-Z. So the newer trucks are built alot better in my book..

 

[Saltydawg]

I'll snap a picture of my old "rust bucket" pickups.

Amazing what a little maintenance can do.

A 1970 truck rusting out in 1 year to 18 months.....in Texas? Lol, only if you park it in the ocean.

 

[Caustic Burno]

I'll snap a picture of my old "rust bucket" pickups.

Amazing what a little maintenance can do.

A 1970 truck rusting out in 1 year to 18 months.....in Texas? Lol, only if you park it in the ocean.

Amazing that you would know in New York, what would you call a little maintenence dipping it diesel every day to keep the rust buckets to together. Lets see our prevailing winds are off the Gulf of Mexico and 90% of our rain comes from the Gulf hmm.

 

[TxStateCowboy]

Newww Yooork Cityy?!?!?

 

[Saltydawg]

I'll snap a picture of my old "rust bucket" pickups.

Amazing what a little maintenance can do.

A 1970 truck rusting out in 1 year to 18 months.....in Texas? Lol, only if you park it in the ocean.

Amazing that you would know in New York, what would you call a little maintenence dipping it diesel every day to keep the rust buckets to together. Lets see our prevailing winds are off the Gulf of Mexico and 90% of our rain comes from the Gulf hmm.

When rain clouds form over the ocean the salt is left behind. Unless you're parked close enough to the ocean to get direct spray on your vehicle the salt water is not a factor.
20 years in the Navy as a mechanic has taught me a lot about saltwater and corrosion and how to control it.

Keep your vehicle clean and the paint in good shape and you wont have a rustbucket 10 years from now.

Pictures will follow soon .

 

[Caustic Burno]

Dang NASA was wrong again.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsro ... 14930.html

We gets lot of our rain fron tropical storms and depressions as well as hurricanes.

 

[S.R.R.]

I guess this doesn't really follow the post and I probably shouldn't post this but, I recently discovered that Ford Motor Company is one of the largest financial supporter's of the Gay Rights Movement. Most people don't know this and I think that when you support a company by buying their products you should know what their profits go to support. For more info go to http://www.afa.net.

I'm not trying to be political, just informative and if this offends anyone, I will remove the post.

Well I am learning something new every day :shock: . I guess it makes sense considering most trucks you see in cowboy country are Fords. It was not to long ago that I had a real eye opener about the American cowboy. :shock: ie. "brokeback mountian"?

 

[Saltydawg]

Dang NASA was wrong again.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsro ... 14930.html

We gets lot of our rain fron tropical storms and depressions as well as hurricanes.

The salt being refered to in this link is salt present in water droplets that are ripped from the surface of the ocean....like the spray i mentioned in my earlier post.

It only happens in hurricanes because it takes very high wind speeds to lift water in this manner and carry it any distance.

So you're trying to tell me that you get enough salt from the hurricanes in texas to cause your 1970 pickup to rot in a year? :lol:

 

[Caustic Burno]

Dang NASA was wrong again.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsro ... 14930.html

We gets lot of our rain fron tropical storms and depressions as well as hurricanes.

The salt being refered to in this link is salt present in water droplets that are ripped from the surface of the ocean....like the spray i mentioned in my earlier post.

It only happens in hurricanes because it takes very high wind speeds to lift water in this manner and carry it any distance.

So you're trying to tell me that you get enough salt from the hurricanes in texas to cause your 1970 pickup to rot in a year? :lol:

I am tellining you after a good squal line and the rain dries you can find salt. The screens on the houses to the south side would rust out in a year or so. Anything with southern exposure to the gulf just got eat up and by the way fresh water contains salt how do you think the ocean got that way.
Tell you what see if you can dig up Bullred he will tell how them 70 pickups held up in this county with the bodies falling off ,he lives in that country.
It was uncommon to see one that didn't have holes rusted through it fairly new.