Yeah, I think I'm pretty much done with Ford. Their late model cars and trucks anyway. I'm out in CA on Christmas vacation and my dad calls me and says that the transmission is going out again on my F150. If I decide to replace it, this will be it's third one in 168k miles. He's been driving it for farm chores while I'm gone. This kind of work would normally be done with my '92 F250. It just so happens that I have it in the shed tore down, going through a thorough rebuild. (motor, trans, both diffs, u joints and too much more to list)

The 250 is having all of this done at 270k miles. Nothing was actualy broken, but I pull 16,000 lb loads with it on a regular basis. The 250 owes me nothing in the manor that it has been the most reliable truck we have ever owned. The F150 is a completely different story on the other hand. Payload have never exceded 1000lbs and it has never pulled a trailer with more than 1500 lbs in it's life. The 5.4 has had numerous problems, rear end has gone out twice, and it's asking for a third transmission.[vommit]

So it's time to say good-bye to it. Sad to say but I also feel it may be time to say good-bye to Ford all together. All of our Fords (only brand I've ever oowned, and I've had a lot of them) from pre '96 are great, reliable predictable vehicles. So, I'm in the market for a new truck. I have been thinking about getting a 3/4 ton Dodge from '92-98 with the Cummings turbo diesel. I'm also considering a 3/4 or 1 ton Ford (pre 98) with the 7.3 diesel (w/turbo, if I can find one).

Oh Toyota, why do't you sell a 1 ton or 3/4 truck in th US????[bigcry]

I know there are some other truck guys on here, tell me what you think about the Dodge diesels VS Ford Diesels. I have only one diesel truck, a 94 International Loadstar tri-axle. It does have a Ford 7.3 Turbo diesel in it. It has never had a problem but I have only 16k miles on it, so I have no idea about long term reliability.

Thanks guys

...end of novel

Personally I wouldnt touch the new ford 6.0
maybe find a 2002 or 2003 ordered with the 7.3

Dodge the engine is great.. not sure about the rest of the truck.
chevy.. I'm not impressed with a turbo diesel that has iron block and aluminum head. Thats just asking for trouble.

Yeah, that's why I'm not even considering a GM product. Their diesel platforms just suck.

I have looked into the pre '04 with the 7.3 td (ford) but in that case, it's not the motor that i'm worried about. It's the rest of the truck that scares me. I have several neighboring farmers with Dodges w/cummings td's and the worst problem any one has ever had with them is the fuel shut off solenoid. I can live with that. They speak so highly of them that you would think that they are the king of all trucks or something.

From military experience, I have become very familiar with Cummings engines all together. I have also had many ford trucks and maintained all of them myself. So, I'm very familiar with 86-96 ford platforms. I can generally diagnose a problem within a few minutes on these trucks.

So, what do I do? Go with the platform that I'm familiar with and Motor that I'm not? Or, do I go with the platform that I'm not familiar with and the engine that I know like the back of my hand?

I guess I could just get a Cummings TD and throw it in 96 F250. That would be the best of both worlds.

I'm totally torn on this

Don't throw out the GM idea just yet, at least untill you drive something with the latest 6.6 in it. That is one impressive engine.

I've got a 6.0PSD right now and It has really been a lemon at first. I think its been 1.5 years since its been to the dealer, but in the first year I had it it was there at least every 6 weeks. So far after the last EGR valve redesign its been reliable.
If I had to do it again, I think I would get the Cummins with the 6 speed. The only thing that I'm really impressed with on my Ford is the 5R110 5 speed automatic. It is one slick tranny. It works so good I'm impressed with it every time I tow anything. Other than that its nothing special. I have always been a big fan of the 5.9 Cummins, and its a much more "bulletproof" engine than anything you will find behind a Ford grill.

I also have the engine tuned up a bit. It dynoed at the tires at 399hp and 710 ft lbs




Oh and stop putting the "g' in Cummins

dodge makes some very solid vehicles. My dad has been driving dodge 3/4 ton vans for work...with hundreds to thousands of pounds of paint stuff in the back for years. They last well over 200,000 with a lot of abuse. My other buddy has a 2003 Inline 6 cummins turbo deisel Dodge. He has a gastank built into the bed for filling up the tractors and he also towes huge generators from San Diego all the way to Phoenix every weekend. It has over 100K on it and it's barely broken in.

There is no 'G' in Cummins....

You didn't list the year of your F150. If its the previous generation, then I agree. If its a current generation, then you have a lemon. Everybody I know with the current gen has not had any real problems. The previous gen is junk though IMHO, not to mention ugly.

However, I still stand my decision to never own a truck with an automatic. No truck used for work should have an auto, because it will not last 1/4 as long as a proper manual. To many movings parts, heat is always an issue, and 20% of your power turns into heat that will never go to the wheels.

All that being said, Dodge rams with the Cummins are good trucks, just be careful of getting one with an automatic, because the cummins eats them for breakfast. I am not a fan of the Isuzu diesel used in the GM trucks. Yes the trucks ride nicer, but they also have an outdated torsion bar front suspension prone to wearing out faster than it should (the new '07's finally have coils on the 1/2 tons, not sure on the 3/4's and up)

The new '07 dodges have a new bigger cummins diesel, and ford has their new diesel to replace the problematic 6.0. And they both have solid front axles, so less moving parts, and far stronger.

There is a company that does cummins conversions in F-Series trucks, not sure if they sell a kit to o the conversion or not, but may be worth checking out if you want to go that route (although I think the 7.3L is a great engine).

Yeah sorry about he "G" in cummins. It was really rare when i was working on them to actually see the name spelled out, just the big C logo that I always took as a momento every time a spanking new motor was in th shop.

Oops, I didn't Mention that it was a '99 on the F150. i ordered that sucker new from the dealer with pretty much every heavy duty option that I could get for it. After the First trans, I installed an aftermarket trans cooler. I thought that would solve the problem. I guess not. It still makes me mad because it has pulled and or hauled maybe 10 laods in it's lifetime. This wasn't really a work truck at all. When I got it, I wanted a truck that would be able to handle winter 4x4 duty and haul my 4 wheeler where ever I needed it to go. It's basically the FX4 package, before they had the FX4. Both transmissions only made it about 80k miles.

I have never had a truck with an auto. I bought it that way for my dad who i knew was going to drive the truck a lot. It's average work load was about 6 hay bales- 300-350 lbs. My dad can't really drive a stick anymore so I went with the auto.

The funny thing is, before I got this truck, he was using his 96 4x4 Eddie Bauer EXPLORER (4.0 V6, 4sp auto) to do the same work with. That same Explorer now has 320k miles on it now. It uses 1/4 qt of oil every 3k miles. It has no transmission problems what so ever. Yet another Ford truck that owes us nothing. I also have a 96 4x4 XLT Explorer with almost 200k miles on it and it is showing no signs of slowing down either.

I'm not trying to bash Ford all together. But after my experience with this truck and my '02 SVT focus, I'm starting to think that they are producing an awfull lot of "Friday cars" in the most recent years. It's not like my vehicles don't get maintained. Oil NEVER goes unchanged, The autos in the family get serviced every 40k. It just seems to me like the newer, more expensive models are of lower quality.

So now, not only am I getting rid of my SVT when I get home from CA, I have a truck that I need to get rid of also. The SVT has got to go because it's out of warranty and it still has the pre TSB clutch/ flywheel at 60k miles. I think everybody on this site can agree that it's a time-bomb. Don't get me wrong, I love driving that car but I hate dishing out cash once a month when it's PMS'ing and decides to break down. (or the alternator catches on fire, which was it's latest issue) My drum pedals and cymbols were inside, otherwise I would have been more than happy to let it burn.

sorry i got off of my own topic...end of rant

The new Dodges do seem very attractive. I drive by GM lots everyday and don't even look. Not at all interested in them. I feel like I'm stuck between a mid '90s Ford truck, or Dodge and a new Dodge. I would rather not spend $35k to get what I need in a new truck though. I'll let you guys know as I try to look around to see what I can find.

Oh Stuka, thanks for the tip on the Cummins to Ford swap. I might look into that seriously. Mid 90s F250, F350's with high miles and tired motors are easy to come by and cheap.

99-03 F250/350 Superduty,7.3 PS and a stick.20 plus mpg.,will pull a barn (if need be) and dependable as a Ford should be.

get an older 7.3 PS

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a143/focusman6297/100_0742.jpg

Dads 95 350 with the 7.3 hes dropped out 2 tranys in 180k miles both time where when he tried to pull something too heavy, ex 25,000lb mobile home, but he was being paid $700 to do it, the cummins is great too a bullet proof engine that will last a long time, dont bother with a GM diesel, its not worth you time money and effort, unless its a brand spanking new one thats gonna run you $40k dont bother they have numerous problems and people we have talked to that have them wish they had a ford or dodge to pull their trailers with.

and im sure someone will correct me on this one but i know ford used to own cummins, idk if this is still true or not?

Nope.Ford never owned Cummins,but they did use their engines in medium duty trucks for years. 1999-up 7.3 Powerstrokes are intercooled with great power,especially with a reflash,and have an excellent track record.(except for water pumps)Don't get an automatic;I am on my third one in my 1999 F550 Powerstroke two car carrier with less than 45k miles.Other than $hitty trannys,they are a great vehicle.I have a 2001 F250 Powerstroke with a 6 speed and a reflash that gets 25mpg. and will pull anything I have ever hooked it up to.Dodge trucks are OK and so are the GM Duramaxes,but dollar for dollar,you can't beat the Ford Superdutys.If you want a rugged gas truck,try a Nissan Titan.Unless you are pulling a lot of stuff over 8k lbs,it is an incredible unit.

Everytime I hear people that have dodges, their Transmission go out. Most Farmers up here don't even THINK about having Dodges in their line up. Dodge makes great Engines, but backed up with a Horrible Trans.

I heard that Ford is Re-Redesiging the new Desiels. They've had more problems with the new 6.0PSD's than what they'd like to admit. It's rumored that they're going to be Twin Turbo'd as well. A few Farmers in my neighborhood got a brand new F-250 'Test Vehicle'. Basically next years version before it hits the market. They were told by Ford to use it however they saw fit and let know of any problems with it. While the Ford reps were there, there put a tractor tire in the bed and bent the bed rails. The Ford reps look at each other and said that'll have to be fixed [rofl]

I have a 97 E-250 5.4 V8 Auto for work. I have over 78,000 miles on the van and have had 1 problem with the trans. It seemed to wanna stick in 1st and bounce off the rev limiter and the SLAM into 2nd. It did it occasionally, but not any more. But my work Van hasn't been 'worked' very hard. Mostly just sits and idles (in winter because it's cold [:D]) and rarely hauls more than an extra 300lbs. Now, at work, we also have a 98 E-350 Bucket Van with the same 5.4 V8 and SAME TRANS!. We haven't had anything wrong with the Trans on that thing, but it only has a physical 40,000 miles and well over 100,000 with idle time (truck has to be running to operate the boom). The E40D trans is an OK trans. They coulda made it better, or atleast only offered it in vehicles that they new weren't gonna do too much hauling.

I say that you just got a Lemon with your F-150. The SVT, well it's a 2002 and the First Gen Focus SVT kinda expected, like the 2000-2001 Focus. First gen anything usually results in problems. Therefore, i'll never buy anything from any manufactor that's a first gen. I'd say stick with Ford, but i can understand your frustration [?|]

ive always been a fan of the dodge ram trucks. if i could, i would deff. get me one. and i know im totally off topic, but i was driving around one day and saw a dodge with a funny decal on it. it said, strokin is fun but cummin is better. i had a good laugh.

The standard army issue m35 a1 seems to go for pretty cheap and have a multifuel turbo diesel. [clap]

http://www.daveswebshop.com/us50202.jpg

fordcummins.com up in Montana is the company that specializes in Cummins conevrsions. I had them price me out a Cummins swap in my 79 F350, Which ran about $16,000 for a 2006 Cummins 600, six speed, and Transfer case, all installed I thought to hell with it and bought a new truck.

Aha, found the site, I knew it was around. They do sell a conversion kit which has all the motor mounts and such, as well as engines.

http://www.fordcummins.com/

Exactly what i was going to say. Cummins conv. have been around for awhile -and you have to ask yourself why. I know a couple of ford mech. and they said they will not buy a 6.0L diesel until they work on reliability. I have always been a ford guy thru and thru. Have owned a couple '78 ford trucks and a 2000 f-150 (never had one bit of trouble) but i would buy a dodge diesel if i could. they have worked on the auto trans problem but if ur still worried get a stick and forgetabotit. BTW i like the way both dodge and ford look.

There's a place in Memphis I can hook you up with if you want an old military truck with any engine/tranny combo you want. I can't remember the name while I post this, but I can find it for you. I think it's Memphis Trucks or something like that.

Dodge AT= no go. It's a 4 spd re-design of the old T904. Why they didn't use the T727, I have no idea. As far as I know, that transmission was not available behind the Cummins. If you decide to get the Dodge, check who makes your AT if you go AT. A friend who knows more than I do about these trucks said that Allison made the AT transmission for a few years, air shift, rock crusher, etc. Most people go for the standard transmission, and I've never heard of anyone having problems with it. For really too much transmission, I've seen US Gear 10 spds in these when used as Cheaters.

As far as Ford goes. The 6.0 PSD was the most problematic engine they've ever had built for them. International screwed it up, and Ford was not hurrying (as they should) to train their mechanics to understand the new fuel delivery system. This was in the first couple of years of the new design, and by 03, the problems were sorted out. I drove an 03 6.0 PSD for 7 months in a van overloaded with electrical material. With the lift we got 17 mpg, without the lift we got 19-20. This is with the back fully loaded with more than a ton of material including 400' of 2" EMT and an average of 20 rolls of #8 stranded wire weighing 75 lbs each.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c285/whynotthinkwhynot/VanWithLift.jpg

There is a lot of information online about Ford's struggles with the early 6.0 PSD, and the re-design fixes. Most of the problem has been blamed on lack of qualified service mechanics. That one was a Ryder, and had all the upgrades. Our only issue was the icooler to intake hose popping off in VT. We put 60k miles on it.

My dad has bought I believe 8 or 9 new 6.0PSD's through work and has never had any problems.

OK, the search has began for a 95-98 PSD Turbo w/5 spd 4x4. The reliability of my 92 has given me much faith in this platform. Plus I'm familiar with it. My 92 250 will be finished in a couple months. I'm notin a hurry, I'm not cutting any corners. It's getting a complete rebuild/refurbishing, including a new paint job. I haven't decided on a color yet. It will basically be a brand new 92 250. Who wouldn't want one of those? It's been such a good truck, I just couldn't see putting it out to pasture with the other heeps of old junk. Plus with all the work done myself, I'm only spending about 5k on the whole thing. Half of that will be paint and a new rust protection service. (Zebart)

I'll let you guys know what I find.