I never changed fuel filters, diff fluid on a Gasser and my Dakota has 225000 on it, and I said just a little more maintenance, most of it just because we love them and want them to last

 

I'll put it this way man I rode in a buddies CTD for about ten minutes and drove for about 5, I'm praying to god that I can have one as soon as possible. No joke when I have free time i'm wathing cummins diesel vids on youtube non stop.

 

I wasn't trying to bash you Herb, I was just trying to lure in another victum.

Naah ... I just didn't want him to think that diesels required a lot of tweaking and maintenance ... a common misconception, that's all. I knew what you meant.

 

Same here herb......

A lot of folks have heard horror stories about maintaining a diesel, but it doesn't get any easier than a CTD.

BgBluRam.......if you think you get excited reading this, take a ride with anyone that has done even the lightest of mod's on their truck. It's unreal what these things will do when you get rid of the TQ management. Not even add extra power, just get rid of the TQ management and let the thing respond to what it is capable of.

[sm=icon_stickpoke.gif]

Yeah baby! Yeah! That's not your mother ('s diesel), that's a Ram BABY!!!!

I roasted the tires from about 20 MPH the other day. Didn't mean too........just had todust off the local kids and I already had a little boost built and the Attitude was on Level 4 w/ TH mode on. The tires just weren't quite ready for that one. [:-]

Black Clouds of Diesel Death, Baby!

Seriously though......if you wanna leave it stock and not get overly sexy with it (right now), then look at the 6.7. If you wanna mod the snot out of it (which from the looks of your current ride, very nice by the way, you'll wanna play a bit) and have an aftermarket that has more pieces, parts, and go faster goodies than you can imagine, go with a 5.9.

 

Oh hey....

If you do take one for a test drive, don't be discouraged by the mileage or initial performance. They are very tight for the first 10K or so. The mileage goes up significantly (like about 3 mpg) by the 10 - 15K mark. The engines gets more responsive during that period as well.

Soooooo, if it feels good on the initial drive, your BSEG will only get bigger.

 

Well So what you're saying is that the 6.7L doesn't have a whole lot of aftermarket yet??? My dad has a PSD and he has the Bully Dog kit, and a big 4" Exhaust system on it, and that thing can move, I want to be able to roast him, and outrun him on long hauls when we go camping together. I knew the CTD would be the right choice, and initially it is going to stay stock, but a programmer, and intake/exhaust would be in the near future.

 

None of the new diesels have a big aftermarket yet; too much emissions to work through yet. Now, the 5.9 on the other hand has parts, for parts, for parts. If you want it, it's out there and there is someone who has used it and found what works and what doesn't.

Does your pop have a 7.3 or a 6.0NO?

If it's a 7.3 he'd have to have a lot more that just those mods to run with the 5.9. The 7.3 is a great, strong, reliable motor with a ton of potential, but needs a lot in terms of mechanical uprgrades to get it up there.

A 6.0NO, does respond to mod's, but not for long. Start putting down some extra fuel and making a little smoke and the turbo vanes coke up and seize fairly quickly. The variable part of the turbo on the 6.0 is on the exhasut side and that's where the abuse is. It's EGR system reintroduces so much garbage back into the system that it only compounds the problem. The version that International supplies for the Medium duty trucks, the VT365,is rated somewhere around 220HP and 500 ft lbs. So how does Ford get 325HP/570TQ out of it? Easy, increase the RPM range and add fuel and boost. More power, less reliability.

Anyways, enough blabbing. If you want a truly solid, reliable 5.9, look for a 1994 - 1998 12 valve. It'll run forever. If you wanna push up the ponies and have the electronic options, look for 2004.5 - 2007 5.9.

Find one that is used, broken in, and take it for a drive. It'll make up your mind for you.

 

If you get a 3rd gen diesel it already has a 4 inch exhuast from the turbo to the tail pipe.Stock Ford to stock 5.9 you will leave your dad on the first hill you come to, seriously, I had a 7.3 then a 6.0. You see what I'm driving now, it tows my camper better than either of those trucks did.

 

He has an 02 or 03? 7.3L .. It is a strong truck so if the CTD is far more potent than it is than I will be very pleased. I have heard about the Fords blowing head gaskets and things of that nature, and heard that they now have a twin turbo set-up, that's just crazy. That being said, my dad is a die hard Ford guy, and he is afraid to buy a new Fordtruck because of all of the problems that their new diesels have.

I cannot wait to get the CTD. I think I am going to either buy new, or a year or two old, so the 5.9 is still an option. Although I am sure that the 6.7 is healthy as well.. Thanks again for all the input it has been very comforting to hear. I will definately post when I get the CTD.

 

That 7.3, even with the mod's that he has, won't hold a candle to one of the HPCR engines even in stock trim.

You can still find plenty of 5.9's around. The good thing it that with the fuel prices bing how they've been, they are still available.

As for that twin turbo (actually, it's a compund turbo), Ford HAD to go to that setup because their variable geometry turbo's on the 6.0's were having major issues, like were talking about above. So they went to the small fixed vane turbo feeding the large fixed turbo turbo setup to get rid of the moving parts. And what does a seconf turbo do? Cranks the price up $1600.

Look at it like this......Do you want an engine with a solid track record of 19 years or one that had VERY BAD track record over a 4 year period (6.0H NO) or one that is already having issues in it's frist year of production (6.4) and will only have a production run of 2 years. After that International is no longer supplying diesels to Ford. Soooooo, basically Ford has from now until the 2010 model year to develop a new diesel engine. Not looking goo in my book.

If you go with the 6.7, while it is a new engine, it retains it's basic architecture with the 5.9. It retains about 40% of it's parts from the 5.9 ans still has over 40% LESS MOVING PARTS than Ford or Chevy's diesels.

Tell whoever you buy from, that I want a commission!