[Randomandy12]

howdy do dah! :Hey:

No really though I might be the most clueless person when it comes to diesels. No one in my family has ever owned a truck.. a few jeeps but mainly sports cars, and eco-boxes. I'm building a 90 RX7 turbo II, and my dads building a 74 corvette. So I'm definitely not new to mechanics, and not really to new to forums. Anyway long story short I've decided to buy a truck, for part utility reasons, and part because i'm in CT and the winter will be impossible in a RX7, and part cause i've never owned a truck . When I started out I was looking for gas mileage, a five speed and 4wd. I stumbled upon the idea of a Subaru Baja Turbo.. found it impossible to get it in a 5spd, and pricy; and then realized it's a car truck that's not good at being a car or a truck.. just a cool concept. Then on to Tacomas.. the 4 cyl is slow and powerless and not great gas mileage for being a 4 cyl.. and the 6 cyl is also slow has descent power for what i need but only gets 16-19 mpg.. and its tiny.. Along comes the full size truck I have a buddy with a ford lightning, its nifty (actually kinda awesome), stupid fast, but really kinda pointless. One friend does have an ~04 F350 6.0L loves the thing; and another friend with a ~02 dodge cummins turbo diesel, and this guy has been preaching diesel to me for years and i've always been yeah yeah yeah thats cool i don't want a truck.

Now I do want a truck and it seems to me that diesels the way to go!!!

But which truck do i get? Chevys seems really expensive and rare... it sounds like the dodge to get is the 98 12v... and the ford to get is maybe an 06-07 f250 6.0L.. While staying in budget. 15 to 20k
The truck I do get will more than likely see minor mods.. exhaust intake and chip for performance and eco settings..

Not to start a flaming war.. I just don't really know where to start

 

[Rustin]

You forgot the ole 7.3l LOL!

WELCOME
to
DEISEL FORUMS
​

you left out the ol ford 7.3l 1999-2002 the 2003 are the rarest ones and less expensive then the 6.0l you mentioned. D-maxes are not hard to get and no they are not cheap, but are fun to tune!:smileup: Some of the 24v ISB cummins are the ones I like. You might be better off getting the 12v for the savings and put a 24v head on it.:thk:

 

[ZombieSoldier]

12 valve cummins, and 7.3 Powerstroke diesels are the way to go!!!

sorry cant comment on duramax's cause i have absolutely no knowledge on them. although my father loved his!

 

[97cummins]

welcome to df.

 

[In2Trux]

Well signing up here was a good place to shop.
It sounds like your telling me story... I'm the first in my family to buy a Dirty Diesel LOL
Getting on to a year now since I bought it. And I still can't stop staring at it. I love my truck.
Do your research. Keep reading. I also stopped people in the parking lots and asked them how they liked their truck... Guys like to talk about their trucks, good or bad.

Welcome to the forum man. enjoy your stay

 

[ZombieSoldier]

lol I just like to talk....

 

[TPDiesel]

I'll give shout out for the DMax. My 05 GMC CC/LB is getting 22-24 MPG average per tank. With just tuning can get 20-22 MPG and make it pretty fast. That just my 2 cents.

 

[Fla crkr 1 ton]

Welcome to the forum,being a dodge guy i suggest 12 valve cummins secondly the 7.3 ford i would stay away from the 6.0[my opinion] i don't know any thing about the duramax so no comment.With the dodge the manual tranny diesel has more horsepower than the auto [mines auto] unsure of the others.Good luck in your search what ever brand you choose you will love diesels.

 

[Jason Rosenzweig]

STAY AWAY FROM THE 6.0!!!!!
I learned the hard way. They have way too many problems. The 5.9 is said to be great with gas and power, the 7.3 are just the work horse of all times. The gas mileage im not to sure of tho. Either of them will be a great truck, but both hold their value even with 200k on them. But like i said cant go wrong with either truck. Good luck on your search

 

[Fla crkr 1 ton]

Go to any recreational vehicle forum and read the posts from fifth wheel guys the horror stories of the 6.0 problems plus other brands [not picking on fords]these folks use their trucks to drag these big assd trailers all over gods creation best damn real life test there is, read those and get an idea which brand has the least negative comments or the best[remember these folks are older, some with money,some who only bitch about every thing]so read carefully and don't beleve every thing.just a sugestion for your decision making, i read about diesels and asked many questions before i bought one and i will never own another gas truck again.

 

[Randomandy12]

Hey Thanks!!

hey I appreciate the responses!! This has definitely sparked interest into the Duramax and its good to know the 7.3 and 5.9 are good finds.. once i can find them.. well ill keep this posted on what I find and will absolutely be scouring this forum for info... thanks again for the welcome.

 

[Jason Rosenzweig]

The duramaxx are great engines.....until they have something go wrong. From experience they are a pain to work on and they have head problems. most stemming from the turbo they have in it. But its not all of them ya know. I say just look up reviews and what ever looks the best and you can find in good condition go with that.

 

[In2Trux]

Hey Jason
I can't think of one example of a Duramax with a Head Problem stemming from the turbo ....???? I've never heard of a DMax having any kind of head problem stemming from anything....

The early DMaxs were renown for their injectors these issues have been resolved. Now the late model LMM LML engines are much more of a treat to work on. Even the LB7 engine isn't bad either.

 

[Jason Rosenzweig]

The tow trucks im working on the pumps are shot the other 2 have head problems. i mean the only thing left to be the cause of the problem
they may not be the new 6.6 now that I think about it . I believe its the 03 or 04 version

 

[TXMamba]

Welcome to the Diesel Forums from Texas:wavey:

 

[ZombieSoldier]

i have been serching around online about the duramax and have found a few instances of the coolant cups in the heads cracking open allowing the coolant to pour down on the super hot piston allowing the piston to crack... once that happens excess pressure builds in the crankcase blowing out seals. again i dunno if these are isolated freak instances, or if it is common

 

[Rustin]

i have been serching around online about the duramax and have found a few instances of the coolant cups in the heads cracking open allowing the coolant to pour down on the super hot piston allowing the piston to crack... once that happens excess pressure builds in the crankcase blowing out seals. again i dunno if these are isolated freak instances, or if it is common

Where is Steve? on this!:4-dontknow:

 

[CrazyManInCincy]

Welcome To The Forums!!!!!!

 

[jkelly16]

Welcome to the Diesel Forums from NC! Glad you joined, enjoy!