I have a Ford F250 with a sick-o diesel. So far no problems. I have been holding off to buy a new 08 Ford with the new 6.4l engine but i am now wondering if that may not be a huge mistake. Anyone in dodge country help me with their thoughts on the Dodge. I am looking for a one ton 4x4 SRW. I am thinking the new engines from all the manufacturers are going to be over priced and no real change in power or Hp. Ford had a bad last few years with their engine but then i have heard about front end problems, break and tranny problems with the Dodge... hear say sucks... anyone out there have the straight skinny on the current engines and how the trucks in general hold up to daily use as a construction service vehicle? thanks

 

Welcome to DF!

Are you looking at a Ram with a CTD in? Or the HEMI?

 

I believe that I will stay with the diesel engine. I had the Ford 7.3L and now the sick-0L. I am not sure that getting a gas engine would be the smartest thing to do although I understand that the new diesel engines are going to cost lots more, require more maintenance and get perhaps less milage...not to mention the price of diesel expecting to go up $.20 a gallon very soon for the LSDF. I do pull a 12k pound trailer on occasion around town and like the fact that I have the power to do so on a whim. What I currently am driving is a LTD F250HD turbo. I am going to get the one ton version and have a service body put on it. I am also trying to stay with the SRW, and will get it in normal cab with 4x4.

So I am thinking maybe I should get a truck of current year that does not have all the new emission requirements. But I dont want another 6.0L...... that leaves me with the Cummings engine or Duramax....neither of which i know anything about...or the truck that they are bolted down to.

 

with the tranny. . .it is a good unit, but the downfall is it is a 4 speed, where the alison and ford tranny's are 6 speeds to keep the engine better in the torque band, if that is what you are to call it[:'(] anyway, yes, there are front end steering issues to put up with, ball joints tend to be weak, but after 32K on my trtuck I have just a very small amount of play in my ball joints. I know it is there, but it isnt enough to warrant changeing them out just yet.

the one thing I dislike about the chevy Isuzu, and the Ford International is they have aluminum heads, crank the power up and they will blow quick, and forget trying to rebuild it if the engine overheated. I have seen what happens to the Chevy engine when it hits 750hp, not pretty. the ford has to have the head gasket changed out if you go over 500hp. The new 6.4L will be a compound turbo, and I can see BAD things going on there. and from what I hear, in order to work on the engine the cab has to come off[:@]

in the past, it has been known the Cummins will still run LONG after the body has rusted away. the 5.9L still has alot of potential left, but Cummins and DC are playing it safe and upping the displacement in order to maintain engine life. but also to be able to keep the current numbers when al this emissions crap comes out.

the 7.3 was a very good engine, but when ford went to the 6.oh-no thats when alot of people ran and went to chevy and dodge. go and test drive one of each. you will see the chevy does take off like a rocket, but remember, if your towing, do you realy want to overheat those aluminum heads, or have an iron head that is virtualy impossable to warp.

 

yeah i personally know a guy who blew up his motor in his chevy 2500 trying to pull an exscursion out of the mud. i believe he had an auto tranny so i dont think he was just revving too high without shifting. but dont know for sure...i personally dont care for chevys. ford and dodge are the only thing ill ever buy and i prefer dodge way more over ford. but what he said was right the cummins engine has a reputation for being the best and longest running diesel engine out there.

 

I just traded my '04 Ford 6.0 in on the truck in my sig. I should have done it in 04 when I started having trouble with my Ford. You will be well pleased with the towing performance of the Dodge, I was amazed. Time will tell about the longevity of the truck but for now I am pleased with my decision to trade.

 

ill say hi first as this is my first post here
i work in the oilfield in the hotshot business up here in canada and i looked and researched long and hard before i bought a dually diesel
as you have already kinda stated the ford is junk when i come across a dead truck out in the bush it is about 99.9% of the time a ford and it is always the same answer (it just died)
but you have to consider realty what you want your truck to do
yes the chev makes more power and torque but you have to look at where it makes its power which with a v8 style diesel is way higher than an IL6
the cummins work real low and if your pulling heavy as i do sometimes 15,000 lbs that is where you want it
if you want a daily driver diesel truck go with a chev if you want it to work get the dodge
the chevs do by far get the better mileage but you are going to pay alot more $$ for the chevrolet name
if $$ is the real factor ford is going to be the cheaper of the 3 dodge is right in the middle and chev is off the scale sometimes
and ill be honest i am a die hard chevy guy
i ended up ordering an 06 cummins dually with a 6 speed 3/73 gears and had an exhaust brake (which i could not get on the ford or chev) 4x4
i tow a 40 ft gooseneck behind me and other than going to a 3 ton its awesome
figure out what exactly you need you truck to do and use that to help you decide what your going to buy

 

Food for thought.

I couldn't find any specific article to quote, but the rumor's I've heard in the RV circles say that DC will be discontinuing the Cummins in the near future and using the Mercedes diesel instead. From what I've gathered, it'll be better than the Cummins and is considered by many to be the best diesel made. Don't know about the tranny, though.

 

I cant see it from what i hear the contract has been re done for 10 more years and it would not make good business sense as the mb engine already has a good MD base of sales if they let the cummins go it would be a big hit as it would most definately end up in a competitors truck something that gm and ford would definately jump on
plus rumor that the imports are sniffing around now for a cummins power plant
which personaly i think would be a major hit for the big 3 all round

 

DC is by no means getting rid of Cummins and replace it with a Mercedes. Cummins and DC both worked on the new 6.7L Cummins, with that much time and affort being put into the power plant I HIGHLY doubt it will be dropped.

also, DC knows better, the only reason people buy these trucks is for the big silver C on the front quarter fender