New here looking at getting a 03-04 cummins within a month. My friend says to get a 6.0 stroker but idk bout that. What is the best one 03-04 i know theres differences gears, tranny etc. Hows the fuel mileage compared to the strokers?

help out this ford guy

 

I don't know anything about the "stroker" motor that you're talking about, but I can tell you that the Cummins motor is a time proven winner. The years that you're looking at stock seem to be getting about 17-20 mpg.

Welcome Aboard !!

 

both have the same engine. The 5.9L 24V. I believe the change ( not that it was much ) came in the 04.5 model. At any rate, both are good years and picking a cummins is a much better choice than the 6.0 that's plagued with problems.

Beware of a possible fuel pump failure because of it's age. I've read they are known to go bad out of the blue with those years.

 

03-05 have the same body style. the major change happened in 04.5 with the engine getting 20 more ponies and 45 more lb-ft torque. if you grab an 03 you'll have a 305hp engine that can easily see 20+mpg. if the truck was produced after Jan 04 it will be a 325hp motor. the best way to tell the vintage of the 04's is to look at the engine sticker on the drivers side and find the HP rateing. 305 is an early 04. 325 is an 04.5 motor. 05's are all 325hp.

the 48RE auto is a good tranny for stock, chip the engine and she'll slip, moan, and groan. some 03's have the older 47RE, but those are the 245hp engines. the manuals you will mostly find the NV5600. it is a good tranny that is probably a bit of overkill, however the torque output of the engine is at such a low RPM that it is needed. early 03's you will actualy find the older NV4500HD's, but only on the 245hp motors. half way through the year of 05 the NV5600 was dropped for the G56.

hope that helps. . .as far as body, they are all the same.

 

Drew, are you saying the NV5600 is a very strong tranny? And what are the biggest differences between the NV5600 and G56? (I know the NV4500 are 5 speeds, not 6) Just curious...

 

the NV5600 is a very strong/heavy dutytranny. . .and can hold up to some insane power numbers. it has also shown to have very few issues with maintained properly. . .such as useing thecorrect oil. the houseing is cast ironand tips the scale at 360lbs itself, however the bell houseing is aluminum(weak point). heck the same power pack is used in F6,7,8 series trucks, Cummins ISB and the NV5600. total weight of the NV5600 I think is close to 500+ pounds

the G56 is also a good tranny, houseing is aluminum to save on weight, it is geared higher, and in stock form uses a Dual Mass Flywheel(which is crap). the only issues I have seen so far of the G56 were from the first few runs the oil fill hole was cast too low on the houseing causeing the rear brearings to grenade due to lack of oil. I think the total weight of the G56 is about the same as just the case of the NV5600.

 

Thanx for the help.

 

I say get the newer cummins because parts for the old nv5600 are hard to come buy anymore

 

What kind of tranny does the 04.5 up to 07 have is that a good 1? Automatic wise that is

 

I'd say go auto due to fact of lack of nv5600's. IF you did go ford steer away from the 6.0 and 6.4. 6.4 is brand new and having problems. 6.0 has had tons of problems. Tell me honostly. If your buddy thinks it's such a great engine why didn't ford stick with it longer? Answer. It wasn't so great. I think 1 in 10 didn't have problems Not so great odds. If you went ford go with the 7.3 Good engine. not as much power as dodge's 5.9 but I think it had a little more top end because it was a v8 but dodge makes up for it in low end and has more options on modifications. Ummm... Mileage Mine stock i was getting about 22 running 65 and hotrodding. about 18.2 was my first tank after going 4x4'n and hot rodding. But I wasn't doing it all of the time because if i was i'd probably have gotten like 13 (all of em do it) but I did a fair share of it. Anyways back to the point. You'll get good mileage my buddy has a 03 auto, been a good truck. He over modded the engine for the tranny and didn't take care of the transmission so now he has to rebuild his. But also with the auto's you can have them built up. Or buy performance tranny's. Umm... all of the fords i've been around, yes I knew a couple of 6.0 stroker owners. They got around 18's. 20's was all time high. Cummins I see alot of 23's couple 25's I would say all time high i've seen on regular basis was 28. But it was an old 12v all fixed up. Go with cummins. Best bet in my opinion on diesel side of things. If you like ford that much I'd say go with the 7.3, best diesel they had. Hopefully they'll figure something out soon. 6.4 sucks I thought it was going to do better than it is. Gutless. Fuel eater. Full of problems. [:'(]I really thought that the twin turbo set up was going to work out good too.......