believe it or not, my truck has only a little work done.. the DPF fell off in a thunderstorm (uh, sorta).. the EGR was stolen.. and the tuner magically appeared on my dash one morning.. all for a total of about $2k, and a few hours of labor.. I put in a better lift pump for around $600.. I should have a solid truck for a while, now.. (fingers crossed).. I knew nothing about these engines before I owned one, and can say I'm stupid lucky to find one for the price and mileage i found it for.. it is a 'rodders dream.. just bolt ons will cross the 700hp barrier.. a few other tweaks and you can hit 900hp.. the trans holds solid unless you beat on it.. the entire platform simply suffered from two merging storms- the argument between navstar and ford, and the EPA mandates..

the 6.4psd by international was the last of the diesels truly epa 'fixable'.. 6.4's made all the improvements over the 6.0 that needed to be made to make it solid, but it suffered from EPA mandates that caused it it's own form of misery.. that said- it is the last of the engines that are truly able to eliminate certain gov't mandated functions..

but in a perfect world-

a pre-'06 5.9 ctd is the one you want.. you can run whatever fuel you want.. if you can find a pre '00 12v, that is even better.. w/ maybe $15k of work, you'll have as solid an engine as could ever be expected.. would literally last a lifetime.

 

I was going to say if I get one it will be pre 06... Mainly cause I dont want the 6.7.. I have more experience with the 5.9 than the 6.7... Any diesel that is taken care of will last forever..

 

any 'older' diesel will last forever.. the new ones are hurting.. the regen in the psd's wash cylinders 7 and 8 on the exhaust stroke with fuel, which pushes into the filter, and burns off excess soot.. this wastes fuel, but the blow by is the concern.. they call them oil producers, because a 15qt crankcase will often empty 20qt's with the added fuel to the oil in as low as 5k miles.. bearings don't like that too much.. diesel isn't a good lubricant as it turns out..

that can be 'tuned' out, and any smart owner will.. those who don't (leave it stock) should expect no more than 300k miles out of their rigs..

sad, no?

 

Yea I have heard a few complaining about that.. It is a shame... Government has to have their hand in everything

 

I would pick a magnum over the Hemi. Specifically a 360.

I've driven the hemis and they just don't feel like a truck engine. It definetly pulls hard, but not till the top half of the tach. It was quite a shock from my ole 360, which has gobs up torque off idle. The Hemi just didn't.

That was a 2011 model.

The Magnums are also just so simple to fix, if they break, and in my experience they are extremely reliable. The 360 is practically a tank

The Hemi was fun to drive, just not in a truck. It definetly belongs in the chargers and challengers

 

Explain? How would it only be able to work like a 1500? It would be the same mechanically as a 3500.

 

you would still have a 1500 vin number. that being said, you get pulled over by highway patrol to check equipment, or for any other reason, and they se its really only a 1500....... take out the lube!

 

Yes your right it would be... But looking at it from a legal standpoint from the insurance side of things you better have a bottle of lube ready if there is any kind of accident or traffic stop while hauling that kind of weight with a 1500.. No matter how much work you put into it the truck is still a 1500... I agree its stupid but hey you gotta play by the rules..

 

I just got ninja attacked by Redneck.. DAMN i didnt see that comin lol

 

glad i could help! hope i didnt hurt ya too bad lol!