Ok,
Don’t use a truck for work anymore but it still gets used. It hauls Motorcycles and stuff for around the house and every so often stuff for a side job for a friend.
I thought I would be OK with a Ranger. It’s a 3.0 Xtra cab XLT with an Automatic , 3.73 axle and a locking Diff. It’s comfortable but a little small. Jump seats aren’t of much use except for short trips. the 3.73 axle and auto mean I’m not getting very good milage, about 17 or 18 highway.
Couple that with the fact that my commute is about 120 miles round trip a day and I’m thinking it’s time for a change.
I’ve been told that most of the diesels get around 22MPG empty on the highway. Also I’m told that both the Ford and Dodge will easily go 400K miles if you take care of them. I’m thinking Dodge because it’s a better bargain ( I’m a ford guy and would never in a milion years buy a gas powered Dodge). Best I can tell I’ll pay about 6-10K more for a similar Ford.
Anyone have any experience with them and what do you think?
Replies
I have a 2001 F250 with a deisel. It gets about 13 MPG according to the computer on the dash. When i tow a lot it lowers to 11 and ive seen it as high as 15. I have never seen it get anywhere near 22.
Justin Tischer
Vertigo Construction
I'm a Chevy man myself, and feel that the Duramax with Allison is a great combination. Far superior to the Cummins in the Dodge. That said, the '05 Superduty is the best truck out. They seem to have worked out a lot of the problems that the 6.0L had initially. It will turn in a tighter space than the Chevy, and couple in the towcommand system with their new transmissions that incorporate transmission retard system with a 5 speed automatic. Look at the frame rails on the superduty. And with the right gearing, the same mileage no matter what you do. If Chevy wouldn't offer me so much money for loyalty etc, I'd have a Ford sitting in the driveway.
Jeremy
You can buy a lot of gasoline for the added price of the diesel option. I say the diesel engine is for extended continuous high use. If you are not in this catagory then I wonder what the motivation is. There are a lot of negatives to running a diesel. Noisy, smell, hard to start in severe cold, diesel price at the pump(currently) I have been notified that diesel fuel is marketed by energy value and will most likely stay that way.I have operated diesel equipment for thirty years and it is nice to operate a quiet gasoline powered vehicle.
The motivation is fairly simple. I do a ton of constant speed highway driving. I'm not diggin the little truck but most of the gas engined 4X4's I've seen lately are getting around 15 highway.
End of last year I could have purchased a Dodge 2500 4X4 Quad cab with the cummins and a six speed for just about 30K. The same I would have paid for a comprably equiped F 150 witha 5.4 gas engine.
With no cost difference and Diesel and Gas only being a few cents apart, around here anyway, it's a wash on fuel costs. Big gain is if the truck can go 400K miles. I stretched 300K out of my last gas engined ford but it was a beat down death trap by then. If I can get 400K and thereby 8 years out of the diesel then I'm driving 3 years with no payments. And, that goes a long way towards me having a nice retirement playing golf and chasing teenage girls.
been driving diesels for several years now. currently have a 94 F250 7.3 IDI factory turbo. I average about 14-15 MPG. The key to good mileage is in your gear ratio. Mine has 4.10 gears, which is great for pulling big loads, not so great milage. Had a 1997 7.3 Powerstroke with 3.55, it got 21-22 MPG around town, and could still pull whatever you hooked to it. The new 6.0 fords are vastly quieter than my 94, and if you average the cost of the diesel option over the V-10 the fuel savings will make up for it in time. And you've got a long time, it will still be running with 300,000 + miles on the odometer, a long time after the V10.
300.000 dream on...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Actually I have a friend with a 97' stroke that has 349,000 on it and it has never been apart. I have a 97' F350 4x4 Crew cab with 150K on my stroke and the only thing I've ever done is change oil.
I have the 4:10's and get about 19 on the highway, 14 around town. That's pretty good for a truck that's a block long and weighs 9K.
Noisy diesels...only if your lucky. Real trucks don't have plugs, and rattle. It's a diesel thing.
get a toyota. 420,000 miles. 26 mpg city 30 highway, still under $20 grand
a lot of 7.3 diesels up here in the mountains.... understand mountains... a test to start with.. +10k feet.. gorilla winters...
they're put to work... no options.... Ranches, cattle, contsruction, hauling... name it..
they don't cut it.... they are not intended to earn a paycheck regardless of what the PR wants you to believe... fixed my own and others too many times... all seem to have the same problems at about the same mileage... Valves, guides, lifters, hydraulics, cam indicators, trannies, dual mass clutches, #### cold weather starting, glow plugs, wiring harnesses, exhaust leaks at the turbo, never to be found fuel leaks. fuel preheater melt downs, clock timers this list is mny times longer and that's just the engine... want me to go on...
Ford.. if you want it to be an asset is not the way to go... PERIOD... Never happen... liability yes, not an asset... isn't gonna happen...
now tell me about the dual mass clutch going 200K+... this I gotta hear... don't ferget to tell me what happened to the tranny ay 60K...
after 100k the value of Ford diesel hits the crapper...
brand new 6 banger diesels being off loaded at the dealer manually and not driven off of the carriers... push 'em into the shop and pull the engine.. whole shipments of 6's being refused 'cuse none of the truks would tart or run... wonderful... put it to the customer...
the fuel system was engineered and built right down the street from me... small world little itty bitty towns are... hear and learn a lot.. all not good.. they say it's not ready... Ford says we want it out the door... NOW... BUT>>>BUT>>BUT... no buts.. deliver...
Dodge has it all over the Fords... The new Fords are more flat lander Uppiemobiles than work tucks...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Funny I've never heard a bad thing about the 7.3's. Heard a ton of bad stuff about the first year 6.0 powerstrokes.
This is my first small truck in twenty years and I'm not really diggin it. I've owned full size Dodge, Ford and Chevy trucks.
I just got rid of a Chevy. Never own another one. It was a sissy truck, rode like a car. My last Dodge was a great truck. All excpet the part about the engine being a big useless lump of Iron. I would buy another Dodge but only if it was Diesel powered. My last two Fords have each gone over 300K without major repair.
where are you???
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
North eastern P.A.
world class differenence in terrain...
and my 7.3T Ford is loaded... with tools and equipment for work.. about 6 tons gross..
BTW it's a 450 with a 350 extended cab... stretch framed 11.5 feet...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Hold it....you knock the diesels, and the powerstroke in particular, AND you own one? What gives?
I should have said "my best friend" he has it in a F350 dump truck since new. I change the oil and brakes and such since he has no mechanical ability whatsoever.
On mine I don't mind a CPS or glow plug relay every 100k seems like a fair trade. The E4OD has a true 150K on it with only fluid changes every 30K synthetic and it tows a 10K equipment trailer thru the week and a rcae car trailer on the weekends. When and IF it fails, I'll put in a BTS and be down the road.
this Ford yes...
my friend's Ford - yes....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
I admit my mistake...
just cause I own it doesn't mean I have to stand by it regardless..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Me either, but mine has performed flawlessly, and I won't knock good work ever.
I've got a 99 F250 with the 7.3T, gets around 15 in town, close to 20 on highway. Change oil, oil filter every 5-10k. Change fuel filter every fall. Add 10 oz Power Diesel Supplement every fill up or two. When it starts getting close to zero degrees I plug it in at home. No problems at 140k. The diesel advantage for me is not at the fuel pump. It's at the point where I haul/tow. The only question I have to ask is which size ball do I need. I work in a Chevy plant, went through several Chevies before I bought the SuperDuty. Looked it up in Consumer Reports; 33 in 100 Chevies go back to dealership for warranty work. 1 in 100 Fords go in for warranty work in that category of trucks. I know, that's just stats on the warranty work, BUT I think it's indicative of trouble down the road as well. If you want closer to 22mpg go for the 6 spd manual or a new Duramax. Another advantage to Ford, if you're gonna buy used, is there's plenty of used 7.3s out there that were traded for 6.0s. At 120 miles round trip you'd be filling up a SuperDuty at the end of the 4th day. About $60 right now.
How'd I miss this thread?
Your experience has been pretty close to mine. I change the oil every 3000 and change the fuel filter every other oil change... call me crazy. I average 16 around town and 19-21 on the highway. It's an '02... one of the last of the 7.3 which is why I traded in my '00 7.3 when I heard they were making the change.... I figured there'd be a year or two of bumpy roads for the 6.0... and there was. I also use conditioner every other tank but only in the winter months to lower the gel-point of the garbage fuel that's around. I'm in MA and usually only see a need to plug it in maybe twice a year when it gets below 10 degrees or so. I've got two batteries under the hood and coupled with the glow-plugs it'll turn over at 15 degrees without hesitation. The block heater is just a safety net for me.
I can't say with any certainty what my mileage is when trailering, but I will say this... almost daily I pull a 12' cargo trailer loaded down with tools, compressor, generator, full stack of ladders on top, Proctor 20' ers on top, and somewhere around 15 cases of nails. You'd never even know it's back there. It's a real cream puff with a trailer.
It also does a great job pushing my 9' plow on a street route. No driveways... too much tranny work. I can push snow for 24 hours straight on a tank of diesel. Done it before.... last winter I plowed for 32 hours straight in December.... never shut the truck off. None of the guages moved a bit once the truck was warm. Engine temp didn't budge, oil pressure, and tranny temp... all remained constant. That was with a grill packed with heavy wet snow and blocking the radiator... still stayed nice and cool.
I'm no mechanic and never claimed to be one, but I do know that my old boss has two '01 Dodge duallys with Cummins power. They are in the shop a heck of a lot more frequently than either of my Powerstrokes have been. Not all of it was motor related, but I know that some of it was.
They're not perfect, but I've had great luck with them up to this point and would buy another in a heartbeat. I very well expect to get 300,000 miles out of the motor. Not cuz it's a dream or anything, but because that's about the average of what I see other guys getting from their 7.3 ltr Powerstrokes. Good enough or me.
That truck makes me money.
Here's my setup...
another thing....
it's always .. "I've friend" and never the real owners...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
I had a problem this winter with my '95 F150 not wanting to shift into second easily.Had to babyit, low rpms, get lucky or skip to third.
Now when the temps get above freezing it works alright. What's with that?
look into yur fluid.. might be lacking the additive..
or the syncroes are trashing...
wadda want fer a Mazda tranny...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
You have to change the fluid in them pretty regular. My 94 would do that. Once the bearings start to wear it'll happen every year.
DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD OF WHAT YOU JUST SAID AS FAR AS FORD IS CONCERENED....
NOT ONE..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
I have an '03 Dodge with the HO Cummins and NV5600 six speed. About 41k have rolled by on the odometer and I couldn't be happier. I get just under 17 with the air on and about 17.5 with no air, driving around town. If you can cruise at 65 on the flat you can get close to twenty. I pulled about 10,000 lbs from CO to MO and averaged around 15.
The new diesels aren't noisy at all; you can even order a coffee at the Starbucks drive through without turning off the engine.
I have a '96 Dodge with the Cummins and automatic trans. So far, I have 130K miles and it hasn't given me any trouble. Changed the batteries once. Only changed the filters and oil which I buy from the Cummins dealership, cheaper than the Dodge dealership.
My mileage has been consistently in the 19-20 mpg range. Started out 17 mpg until it got broken in (about 4K miles). Some Ford owners tell me they get 22-23 mpg using the off-road diesel. Not worth the possiblity of getting caught and fined.
butch