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Which diesel truck?

byhi

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byhi Newbie

byhi

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Im picking up my first diesel truck real soon and I have narrowed it down to either a Ford F250 or a Dodge Ram 2500. I have heard so many good things about Cummins which is why Im leaning towards the Dodge.

Which one will be more reliable and require less maintenance is my question?

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Feffman Newbie

Feffman

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If you are looking at the new Dodge with the coil suspension and plan on towing, you'd be better served with the F250. Neighbor purposely moved his new truck purchase up a year to get the leaf-spring suspension (he's a Dodge guy) because the coil springs allow a trailer to sway more.

 

Feff

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John Bruh Newbie

John Bruh

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The ford truck will last long

diesel wise go with the 2nd generation 6.0l and up trucks. 2004 and newer, better motor awsome tranny (The torque shift).

 

The dodge is a cheap truck. Everything was put together cheap inside them. Interior, seats, tranny. The Cummins is a GREAT engine, best gas mileage diesel out there and ive seen them past 1million miles. The dodge front ends fall apart, doors rust at the bottoms. Their just a cheap truck

 

 

Both you will have to do balljoints at every 60k or sooner. Both have their ups and downs. From what you listed Go with a Ford.

 

 

I'd buy a lly duramax over those two though.

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Alex L. Explorer

Alex L.

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I can vouch for the Cummins. I drive a 2001 6-spd 3/4 ton extended cab long bed truck most of the time, and I couldn't be happier with it. I'm lucky enough to drive the HO version of the truck (505 ft/lbs). It will pull a stump out of the ground, but the interior is a bit cheap. Overall it's a good truck, but make sure you look out for the front end problems.
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Diesel Pilot Newbie

Diesel Pilot

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Here's a quick synopsis of diesel trucks from the big 3 in my experiences.

 

Dodge = The best engine overall, bad truck. Terrible waste of a great engine to rap it with a sub-par truck.

 

Ford = The best truck in terms of fit, finish, toughness, and towing capacity. Although it has the worst engine of the 3.

 

Chevy/GMC = Probably the best all around of the three. Not the best finish or toughness (front ends are weak). I'd say the Duramax is very close behind the Cummins based on reliability and overall track record. The GM does have the best automatic of any of these trucks by far.

 

Yes, I might be biased because I own a GMC, but I think this is a pretty fair assessment. In the end you really aren't going to go wrong with any of them, it pretty much all comes back to personal preference.

 

If I had to choose between the Ford or Dodge. I'd go Dodge if I was only going to keep it for 5 years, and Ford if I was going to keep it longer. I've seen too many Dodges with bad rust to want one that is more than 5 years old.

Edited by Diesel Pilot
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John Bruh Newbie

John Bruh

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Early 6.0s have alot of issues...turbo, gaskets, etc

 

 

 

have you owned/driving any 6.0l or are you just refering to word of mouth?

 

The 2003-early 2004 trucks had those issues (and it wasnt all of the trucks, just some) the later 6.0ls are awsome, better fuel mileage.

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OSUGT Newbie

OSUGT

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have you owned/driving any 6.0l or are you just refering to word of mouth?

 

The 2003-early 2004 trucks had those issues (and it wasnt all of the trucks, just some) the later 6.0ls are awsome, better fuel mileage.

 

Just deal with them all the time. Service guests, people trading them etc. I feel very confident about my statement.

 

6.0s have a bad rep. The later ones were better, but the damage to the reputation had already been done.

 

The 6.4 "flame shooting" was a software reprogram when it was released in late 2007.

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starkmaster03 Newbie

starkmaster03

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I'd buy a lly duramax over those two though.

 

Why the LLY if I may ask, since I just got one two months ago, and love it.

 

 

Like everyone else, the dodge is made cheap but the cummins is awesome and the Ford would last you longer. At the shop we had an Excursion and I thought that it's interior was far better than any Dodge. It's personal preferrence. I went with a Chevy because I'm a Chevy guy but I though that it was the best of all three and I don't have one complaint about it.

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Scotty2Hotty Rookie

Scotty2Hotty

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have you owned/driving any 6.0l or are you just refering to word of mouth?

 

The 2003-early 2004 trucks had those issues (and it wasnt all of the trucks, just some) the later 6.0ls are awsome, better fuel mileage.

 

We fix plenty of them at work, not to mention International/Ford tended to wash their hands of the 6.0 Power-jokes. Vane turbos suck ass, not to mention will probably go out sometime after 70K miles. The 7.3 trucks were a power house, but the tranny's tended to be a weak link like most trucks.

 

The cummins 24V trucks are also a wise selection. The VP44 pumps are the only down fall to them, but only if you plan on some bolt ons. The 24V cummins is kinda like the 5.0 mustang in the diesel world. Everything from custom ground cams, valve springs, turbo upgrades, etc...

 

I noticed you didn't mention the years of trucks you were leaning towards, so that tends to leave a lot un-answered. Most of all it's your choice as to which truck you like more, but like with anything, certain vehicles have their problems, TSB's, and quirks to em.

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Scotty2Hotty Rookie

Scotty2Hotty

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Just deal with them all the time. Service guests, people trading them etc. I feel very confident about my statement.

 

6.0s have a bad rep. The later ones were better, but the damage to the reputation had already been done.

 

The 6.4 "flame shooting" was a software reprogram when it was released in late 2007.

 

Show him the hundreds of Tech Bulletins on them, he'll change his perception. Now, from what I've heard, there were actually 2 versions of the 6.0 motor. I believe most trucks got what they called an A motor, where the B motor was a stout beast. Again, my choice would be the 7.3, and do the 88mm garret upgrade, 5in MBRP turbo back, Edge juice w/ Attitude programmer, K&N intake, and an ATS tranny. (If I wanted a Ford.)

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XChris1632X Newbie

XChris1632X

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My Dodge in the sig with 207k miles and counting strong. Never had front end issues but I have had plenty of my own. The trucks are junk but I would drive it everyday just for the motor.

 

I am another 7.3L fan if it had to be a Ford. I have had way too many Ford friends that got royaly fucked with their 6.0s.

 

Cant go wrong with a Dirtymax though.

 

 

Also I dont remember seeing what your intentions were in a truck. If you are buying to modify and play with that might change the ball game compared to one that you might want to tow with.

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