New Truck?

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Ryan

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I'm thinking about upgrading from my half ton truck to a diesel. And by "thinking" I mean I am going to here in the near future. My basic guidelines/needs/wants/desires/etc... are: Diesel, 4-dr, and Used. I have a mileage and price in mind, and have been able to find a good number of vehicles that fit my diesel, 4dr, used, low(ish) miles and in my price range.... just need to know where to go from here...

Basically I'm just looking for some tips: '04 - '07 what are the best diesel engines? Manual vs Automatic? 2wd vs 4wd?

I've never had a diesel, or a manual, for a personal vehicle before, so what are some things to look out for when shopping around? I don't really have a preference for Ford, Dodge, GMC, or Chevy.

Thanks for any input,

Ryan
 
Maybe an older truck. A Ford 7.3 is a great engine. i have a 2003 Superduty myself. very nice truck. Those crewcabs on the Ford are great. More room then anybody else. I dont think you can go wrong. with the old trusty 7.3. Im Ford biased because thats all I ever had. Good Luck hope this helps.
 
auto trannys work good in diesel trucks.an they are better than the manuals.youd prolly want a dodge with the cummings motor.or an older ford with the powerstroke in it.i dont think much of the 6.0 diesels.
 
bigbull338":2v8zaorq said:
auto trannys work good in diesel trucks.an they are better than the manuals.youd prolly want a dodge with the cummings motor.or an older ford with the powerstroke in it.i dont think much of the 6.0 diesels.

Bibbull, I had always pulled my cattle trailer with 3/4 ton gas engine and automatic until 2000 when I bought a 3/4 heavy duty Dodge with the Cummins and 5 in the floor. I may go back to gasoline someday but will not go back to automatic. JMHO
 
Autos are good for running around but IMO standards are better for towing.Course IMO autos go better in the mud.I guess to be able to give advice on this we'd need to know what you plan to do with it.If your not planning on really working it i'd vote auto if planning on pulling alot of weight a bunch go manual.
By the way just want you all to know i'm not knocking autos for towing just think manuals are better at holding back going down hills by gearing down and also you shouldn't tow in OD in a auto.Ive got 6 wheeler trucks both auto and manual and without a jake or exhaust brake the autos will run off with you.But autos in any size truck are more enjoyable to drive IMO shifting gears gets old.
 
I think I would go with a Dodge, diesel, 6spd,if I had to have an 04 or newer.If you could live with an early 03 or older and you can find one in good shape I would go with a ford 7.3 with a 6sp.
 
Cowdirt":7qgu4tg5 said:
bigbull338":7qgu4tg5 said:
auto trannys work good in diesel trucks.an they are better than the manuals.youd prolly want a dodge with the cummings motor.or an older ford with the powerstroke in it.i dont think much of the 6.0 diesels.

Bibbull, I had always pulled my cattle trailer with 3/4 ton gas engine and automatic until 2000 when I bought a 3/4 heavy duty Dodge with the Cummins and 5 in the floor. I may go back to gasoline someday but will not go back to automatic. JMHO
ive heard of an seen 3500 dodges that eat clutches an 5 speed trannues.got a friend that ran 1 tons an 4 in the floors for well over 20yrs.then he bought a new dodge 3500 cumming diesel.an that sun of a gun ate clutches for breakfast lunch an supper.he had to put 6 clutches in that devil in 18 months or less.the last time he blew a clutch.the tow trucked hooked her up wrong an blew the tranny going to the shop.so they replaced everything.an he traded it off for a 3500 dodge diesel auto.an has been driving them for 10yrs.an used to put 70,000 a year on his truck.
 
Bigbull, sounds like your friend didn't know how to drive a standard. I've seen 3 times as many Dodge autos fail under a load than a standard. Personally I wouldn't own a Dodge auto other than the Aisin which is in the current truck. We have had 10 Dodge 5 and 6 speeds and have never had any major problems with them.
The 7.3 Powerstroke is a great engine but they can be prone to be an electrical nightmare. Other than that I loved my '99 F-350 I had.
And Chevys, well, they're Chevys, what else can you say. The allison is about a bulletproof transmission though.
 
standards are all he had ever driven till he started blowing clutches every 2 months.an he pulls a 32ft gooseneck cattle trailer in MO every week.he would put 400,000 mi on a truck in 5yrs or less.
 
bigbull338":62prmelp said:
standards are all he had ever driven till he started blowing clutches every 2 months.an he pulls a 32ft gooseneck cattle trailer in MO every week.he would put 400,000 mi on a truck in 5yrs or less.

I think I'd blow too. He needs a heavier truck made for pulling loads like that. ;-)
 
well he is still running 1 tons.but i dont know if he still goes to 3 sales a week in MO or not.
 
twistedxranch":14k8lvnw said:
I heard that my dodge has the 5 speed granny gear. I think its a 4:88 maybe? I know it will pull a 10 speed dump truck out of the mud without spinning the tires and pulls my 20 foot cattle trailer like it aint even there. I would like to see an automatic do that.

I despise an automatic, but the modern ones are every bit as capable as manual transmissions. Or do you have vision problems?
 
BigBull,

Your friend had some issues somewhere, either in clutch assembly or in his feet. I had dozens of hotshot drivers as customers and they've always gotten good life from their stock discs. My father has 375,000 kms on the original factory disc in his 96 Dodge. I don't know a single automatic that can say that. And for a couple hundred bucks, you can install a South Bend Con O or South Bend 13" conversion clutch (more than a couple hundred for this) and have a clutch that will last the life of the vehicle.

Ford's dual mass system that they had behind the 7.3s was none too great, however there were conversions available to go back to a solid flywheel that were "lifetime" units.

Rod
 
i know several that put alot of miles on 3500 dodges with autos on them.by alot of miles is 250,000 to 500,000.1 friend put 250,000 or more on his 1 ton befor the tranny started slipping.
 
As far as diesels go the only manual that I would get would have to be a dodge. They just seem to have alot more power and torc behind their manual trannys. The other two have good auto trannys any way. Other than that its really personal preferance. They all have their downfalls. Fords 7.3 were great but its getting hard to find one with low miles. I drove a 6.0 feedtruck and it was suprisingly really powerful, but they catch alot of crap because of their dependability.

Kane
 
DiamondSCattleCo":36wewcas said:
BigBull,

Your friend had some issues somewhere, either in clutch assembly or in his feet. I had dozens of hotshot drivers as customers and they've always gotten good life from their stock discs. My father has 375,000 kms on the original factory disc in his 96 Dodge. I don't know a single automatic that can say that. And for a couple hundred bucks, you can install a South Bend Con O or South Bend 13" conversion clutch (more than a couple hundred for this) and have a clutch that will last the life of the vehicle.

Ford's dual mass system that they had behind the 7.3s was none too great, however there were conversions available to go back to a solid flywheel that were "lifetime" units.

Rod
Where do you get a South Bend Con O or South Bend 13" conversion clutch. On your topic, My dodge gets alot better gas mileage than my ford. I wouldn't go back.
 
www.southbendclutch.com is their website. They have a link area that will give you a local installer. If there isn't one in your area, I HEAVILY recommend www.sourceautomotive.biz Rip Rook is the owner, and he is as honest as they come.

The Con O is only good for those trucks with a 13 inch clutch (2001+ 6 speed equipped trucks), unless you never tow above 8000 lbs. For anyone with a 5 speed, or the 99/2000 6 speed, you want the 13 inch Con OFE conversion. The conversion is way more bucks than it used to be, but its worth every single penny.

Rod
 
Its hard to beat the torque multiplication and plain convienance of the auto's. Altough, I'm on my 3rd tranny at 175k mi in my 7.3 99F250PS, 4wd. The failures have always been the torque conv so I upgraded it to an RV type in the last change 2 years ago. So far, so good. I drove standards for 20 years before I bought my Ford and I don't think I'll ever go back to standards.

One thing I like about the Ford is the ability to manually lock the front hubs so if you have a vacum leak you can still get 4wd. Dodge and Chevy's didn't used to have this. Not sure if they do now. Also, mine is a electronic 4wd shift on the fly and although I've never had any problem with it, I would have prefered a manual 4wd shift just because its one less thing to go wrong.
 

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