DavidBaustert Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 So, accepted a job at Honda Transmission MFG in Russels point, they gave me a dope ass bonus, so I wanna treat myself to a nice truck. What are everyones opinions (experienced hopefully) with newer TD trucks. I'm looking at anything from 1997 to newer. Ford, Cheby, or Dodge? What should I look for/stay away from. I plan on doing an upgraded IC, hard pipes, exhaust, and tuner. What do you guys thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Cummins/6-speed manual FTMFW. Avoid Dodge automatics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickey4271647545519 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Cummins/6-speed manual FTMFW. Avoid Dodge automatics. Unless of course it's already been built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bahd-ler Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 What these 2 guys said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangsn95gt Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Excursion 7.3 powerstroke, Ive always wanted one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtbolt64 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 What ever you do buy a southern truck. With the use of the salt/brine it rusts the hell out of the under carriages here. Then if you want it to last, under coat it, paint it, what ever you have to so it will last. I refuse to drive my truck in the winter weather here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickey4271647545519 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 What ever you do buy a southern truck. With the use of the salt/brine it rusts the hell out of the under carriages here. x1561513254 Also, look south (northern kentucky that area) dont be afraid to travel for a nice truck and dont be afraid to be a little extra for an extremely clean truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 So, accepted a job at Honda Transmission MFG in Russels point, they gave me a dope ass bonus, so I wanna treat myself to a nice truck. What are everyones opinions (experienced hopefully) with newer TD trucks. I'm looking at anything from 1997 to newer. Ford, Cheby, or Dodge? What should I look for/stay away from. I plan on doing an upgraded IC, hard pipes, exhaust, and tuner. What do you guys thing? You can buy my truck for the right price. They all have small issues that can be found if you look hard enough. Just like anything else. The best way to give an opinion of what truck is best for you is to first tell us what you intend to do with the truck. How much power are you looking for? I like certain model years of all the makers for different purposes. My next question is what makes you decide those are the mods you want? On any of the trucks you could get I think the intercooler is a waste of money for any purpose with only those mods. Stock intercoolers are suprisingly efficient for a lot of tasks. Cummins/6-speed manual FTMFW. Avoid Dodge automatics. I dont fully agree. I think it depends on purpose of the truck. Purely towing I think the 6 speeds are great. Trying to have a quick truck with a 6 speed is dumb and doesn't work. They can be a blast to drive though. I love dodge autos. Compared to the others they are the best to work on. All 3 auto makers trans are great for what they were designed for. It is the situations where people start exceeding their limits they were designed for that they struggle. I don't understand how people give them a bad name after doubling the stock power level and then wondering why they don't hold up. They are just fucking expensive to fully build. Any of those trans will work above many peoples needs with just a converter and valve body. Stock for stock the Ford holds up the best. I think the Allison is worse than the dodge as far as holding power and the damage it causes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 x1561513254 Also, look south (northern kentucky that area) dont be afraid to travel for a nice truck and dont be afraid to be a little extra for an extremely clean truck. To get the best deal you have to travel anymore. I fully agree. They are in way better shape and many times way cheaper in the south. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBaustert Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I plan on using it to tow a boat, and probably an enclosed trailer, as well as haul lumber and whatnot, as well as a daily driver. As far as mods, I've got a buddy with an 05 duramax with hard pipes, exhaust, IC, ATS built trans, and HP tuners 5 position tune switch. Truck pulls super hard, and is really fun to drive. Power wise I'd be happy with ~400whp or so. You can buy my truck for the right price. They all have small issues that can be found if you look hard enough. Just like anything else. The best way to give an opinion of what truck is best for you is to first tell us what you intend to do with the truck. How much power are you looking for? I like certain model years of all the makers for different purposes. My next question is what makes you decide those are the mods you want? On any of the trucks you could get I think the intercooler is a waste of money for any purpose with only those mods. Stock intercoolers are suprisingly efficient for a lot of tasks. I dont fully agree. I think it depends on purpose of the truck. Purely towing I think the 6 speeds are great. Trying to have a quick truck with a 6 speed is dumb and doesn't work. They can be a blast to drive though. I love dodge autos. Compared to the others they are the best to work on. All 3 auto makers trans are great for what they were designed for. It is the situations where people start exceeding their limits they were designed for that they struggle. I don't understand how people give them a bad name after doubling the stock power level and then wondering why they don't hold up. They are just fucking expensive to fully build. Any of those trans will work above many peoples needs with just a converter and valve body. Stock for stock the Ford holds up the best. I think the Allison is worse than the dodge as far as holding power and the damage it causes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I plan on using it to tow a boat, and probably an enclosed trailer, as well as haul lumber and whatnot, as well as a daily driver. As far as mods, I've got a buddy with an 05 duramax with hard pipes, exhaust, IC, ATS built trans, and HP tuners 5 position tune switch. Truck pulls super hard, and is really fun to drive. Power wise I'd be happy with ~400whp or so. How much are you looking to spend? For around 15-20k any of the 98-04 dodge or 01-05 Chevy would be good. I ran 400hp on my trans with just a converter and valve body for 5 years. I still don't think for what your looking for an intercooler is needed. I have a guy whose 03 Chevy I tuned with efi live that ran 400hp with stock trans. He just decided he wanted to go bigger so he built the trans and I retuned it with 548hp at the wheels and he only has exhaust and an air intake. All of which stays plenty cool enough to tow. Just please don't buy any bully dog or banks shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtbolt64 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I have 97 psd with a small chip and thats all. I see no point is all the mods for power out of a daily driven tow truck. In all seriousness if your just using it to tow and drive............ Dont fuck with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBaustert Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 How much are you looking to spend? For around 15-20k any of the 98-04 dodge or 01-05 Chevy would be good. I ran 400hp on my trans with just a converter and valve body for 5 years. I still don't think for what your looking for an intercooler is needed. I have a guy whose 03 Chevy I tuned with efi live that ran 400hp with stock trans. He just decided he wanted to go bigger so he built the trans and I retuned it with 548hp at the wheels and he only has exhaust and an air intake. All of which stays plenty cool enough to tow. Just please don't buy any bully dog or banks shit. 15k is about as much as I wanna spend. I found a 99 7.3 Powerstroke for 5k, but my buddy Shanon said the 7.3 are headaches, and to look at the 6.0 Powerstrokes. You wouldn't happen to be the guy that does the EFI Live diesel tuning for Warrior Racing would you be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XChris1632X Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I have 97 psd with a small chip and thats all. I see no point is all the mods for power out of a daily driven tow truck. In all seriousness if your just using it to tow and drive............ Dont fuck with it I second that. If you do seek for more power, just do your research first. And please don't buy shit to be able to smoke people out. If you have that itch to blow smoke I will take you for a few rides in my truck so you can get it out of your system and realize that it is sometimes a pain to drive without smoking out a freeway. Shit is stupid and I wish I could keep my truck from smoking as much. The locals will hate you after they find out they can't even drive behind you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtbolt64 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 15k is about as much as I wanna spend. I found a 99 7.3 Powerstroke for 5k, but my buddy Shanon said the 7.3 are headaches, and to look at the 6.0 Powerstrokes. You wouldn't happen to be the guy that does the EFI Live diesel tuning for Warrior Racing would you be? Tell your buddy he is an idiot. That 7.3 is one of the best foundations for a diesel. That 6.0 had more problems than ford would ever want to admit. Head gaskets, egr, ect..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bruh Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 2001-2004 duramax trucks have injector issues. Gm replaced a bunch of them, but you will still most likely have issues after the factory update. 2004.5-2005 duramax trucks are nice. Some have the over heating issues. 2006-2007 duramax trucks are the nicest IMO. Allison 1000 6spd, tow mirrors, 14.40 stock 1/4 mile with 33s (I've tested this ) 2007.5-2010 good trucks just lower fuel mileage 2011- don't know much, they have to run exhaust fluid. CUMMINS TRUCKS 1996-1998 12v motors are great, good fuel mileage, mechanical pump, a lot of guys p-pump them. Biggest concern is the auto trans issues and front end issues. Also rust. 1998.5-2002. Injection pump issues. Rust on the doors, front fenders, wheel wells. Front ends are normally trashed. Decent trucks. No crew-cab offered. Dash's crack and fall the pieces. 2003-2007- great trucks IMO. We rarely have issues with these. Ball joints and track bars normally needs replaced at 100k. Dash's crack as well. Rust on rear quarters. FORD TRUCKS 1995-1997. Solid trucks. Under powered compared to newer 7.3s. 1999-2003. CPS (this was recalled), glow plug issues, oil pans rust out ( to fix you have to pull the motor), bottoms of all doors rust, auto trans were the weakest point. 2003.5-2004- worst truck to buy IMO. Tons of issues, they did start the torqshift trannies which are amazing! 2005-2007- nice trucks. Some see egr issues which tends to cause other problems (including blown head gaskets). But one do a egr delete and arp head bolts and you will have a solid truck. A lot of injector issues known with these trucks are poor maintance. Add hot shot secret to you oil every once and a while and you will be fine. I would buy one of these over a 7.3 2008-2010- nice trucks. Twin turbo, tons of power. Most get 10-14mpg which is horrible. I had one that was on 37"s had a dpf delete, egr delete, 320hp programmer and it ran amazing and got 26mpg. The truck was crazy fast. Now some of these trucks had a radiator issue which caused other problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bruh Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Tell your buddy he is an idiot. That 7.3 is one of the best foundations for a diesel. That 6.0 had more problems than ford would ever want to admit. Head gaskets, egr, ect..... The 7.3l trucks had more warranty claims/issues than the 6.0s. TRUE STORY. Buy a 05+ though. Redesigned injectors and a tons of other things. Check out powerstrokehelp.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBaustert Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I second that. If you do seek for more power, just do your research first. And please don't buy shit to be able to smoke people out. If you have that itch to blow smoke I will take you for a few rides in my truck so you can get it out of your system and realize that it is sometimes a pain to drive without smoking out a freeway. Shit is stupid and I wish I could keep my truck from smoking as much. The locals will hate you after they find out they can't even drive behind you. LOL! I'm anti bro truck completely. I'd rather use my fuel to get down the road than blow it all over the highway. If I went the duramax route, I was planning on having someone actually dyno tune it for mileage and another tune for towing etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBaustert Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 The 7.3l trucks had more warranty claims/issues than the 6.0s. TRUE STORY. Buy a 05+ though. Redesigned injectors and a tons of other things. Check out powerstrokehelp.com He was saying something about the heads splitting in half around 4-500whp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtbolt64 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 The 7.3l trucks had more warranty claims/issues than the 6.0s. TRUE STORY. Buy a 05+ though. Redesigned injectors and a tons of other things. Check out powerstrokehelp.com Really? Because I have had this truck since 97 and only had two warrantly claims. Tires and cps sensor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBaustert Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Warrantied tires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtbolt64 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Warrantied tires? Lol......I guess that they had a problem when they were on the assmebly rack or something and it was rubbing/puncturing the tire or something like that. That was the only letters I ever recieved from ford on warranty issues. Tires or CPS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidBaustert Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berto Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Skip the duramax's. I genuinely like the Ford trucks but love the Cummins motor. I didn't want to get into a situation where I was swaping the Cummins into a Ford (not yet at least) so I gave the Dodges a shot. So far I really really love my truck. In terms of dodges, the 03-06 (maybe 07 too? can't remember) have common rail fuel systems, no egr, no aftertreatment (except for a simple cat for the 04.5 and newer), no ccv. I personally have an 04.5 with an NV5600 6 spd trans. I bought my truck from the North Texas Truck Stop in Dallas. It had 1 owner and 135k miles and I paid $15,500 for it. I paid about $250 for a plane ticket and the rest is history. I didn't buy it until I was there so if I didn't like it I could back out. I was lucky enough that a forum member from the Cummins forum that lived a few miles from the dealer went and took a look at it for me. Like any Texas truck it was rust free and absolutely perfect underneath. This year truck is pretty well sought after, I've been asked twice now if I would sell it. I got a 2wd really because I don't need 4x4 ( only ate my words once), so I take the fuel economy trade off, but more importantly don't have to worry as much about the ball joints and front end like on the 4x4's. Skip the auto trans. Look under the hood at the Fords, if you are going to do you own work the Cummins/Dodges have an advantage. Also, IMHO skip all the tuners and crap. In general all those boxes due is jack up your timing and up your rail pressure. The injectors in any of the common rail trucks are expensive and not worth the extra power unless you are going to be racing or something (I don't get it but whatever). I think the biggest source of failure for these fuel systems is not enough filtration. I've changed out the drop in filter with the 5 micron filter and then added a donaldson 3 micron filter after that, on a stock engine. This thing has plenty of power/torque already. Also, to help against rust, I bought the optional rear wheel wells to install. They are a factory option. Gives it a nice clean look from the side. To address John Bruh's comments on the 98.5 to 02, the injection pumps are actually decent. The problems are with the lift pumps. Once your lift pump goes out it takes out your injection pump. To remedy this, most of them run a warning light on a pressure switch. Once the pressure goes under the threshold (meaning your lift pump is out), you know to get it done asap. http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c192/BertoBizkit/02.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bruh Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Really? Because I have had this truck since 97 and only had two warrantly claims. Tires and cps sensor Just took in on trade a 2005 6.0l with 250k the they never spent 2 dime on. Most people that hate the 6.0s have never even owned one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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