Deciding Duramax vs Powerstroke

[SHIFTY]

Help,
I need advice on the choice between the ford superduty250 xlt 4x4 auto with a 7.3 power stroke and the chevy silverado 2500HD with the duramax and the allison,I was very impressed with the 5 spd auto and the tow mode which shifts verry agressivly,my concern is the reliability of the duramax being a new engine,The ford is proven but a older desighn all around compared to the newer chevys,anybody have a duramax??has it been in the shop for anything?please post your knowledge on the 2 trucks,not trying to start a Ford vs Chevy war,if I wanted a war I would post "Dodge trucks arnt worth the risk" just kidding

 

[tgello]

shifty, i have heard nothing but good about the gms. the engine is made or at leaste designed by isuzu. isuzu makes exellent diesel engines. and what can you say bad about allison trannys. they use them in heavy duty trucks ,like firetrucks and off road articulating dump trucks .they are bullet proof. alot of my customers have fords with the power strokes. most have had alot of tranny problems. i my self was going to buy a ford 350 super duty then decided against it,but thats another story. but if and when i buy a new truck it will most likely be a gmc with a diesel...tgello

 

[Tags]

Shifty,
I have a 01' F350 xtra cab w/7.3 and auto tranny,I haven't had any problems and I tow w/it quite frequently.The reason I went Ford and not GM was the solid front axel w/leaf springs on the ford,I plow w/it and history shows the solid axel design hold up better to abuse like plowing,don't get me wrong the GM's have a "softer" ride quality and if you aren't going to plow w/it give it a good look.I have heard only good things about the motor and tranny combo,if GM offered a solid front axel configuration I would have given them a look.Good luck w/your decision!

 

[SHIFTY]

Thanks
I live in the North east so yes,a plow is needed and the 1 off the 01 f250 I own will go right on as well as the cap,but boy is that duramax nice to drive

 

[AndyR]

I have the 2500HD, LT package, extended cab, full bed, Duramax/Allison and love it. Plenty of power, resonably quiet and great mileage (20 highway, 18-19 around town - no towing yet). I did a bit of research and it appears that GM worked out the bugs in the first year or so, so I am quite confident of this engine. I have to be - these things don't come cheap.

I only have just under 2000 miles on this (picked it up 2 weeks ago) so I can't directly answer maintenance issues yet. I did drive an F-350 but I found that I liked the Allison transmission features better and the Chevy is more comfortable. Comfort is important as we plan to purchase a trailer and do some travelling (oh yeah - I'll be hauling the tractor at other times/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif).

 

[cowboydoc]

Shifty,
I would go with the Ford. I have friends with over 150k on their transmissions and no problems. The Allison is NOT the same transmission that is put into heavy duty trucks. It is a light duty that they designed for Chevy and they have had some problems with it. Not to say it may not turn out to be a good one but right now the jury is still out. If you call Allison they will even tell you that it's a light duty transmission. Let me put it to you this way. If you want more a car then buy the Chevy if you want a work truck buy the Ford. Chevy makes their trucks lighter than the Ford and not as heavy duty so the ride and handling is more like a car. Ford on the other hand makes two sets of heavy duty pickups. They make the light duty which is built like the Chevy and they make the super duty which is built like a truck. If you doubt this go look at a used Ford and look at a used Chevy and make your own determination about which one holds up better.

With regards to the engine you just can't beat the powerstroke. The technology on the powerstroke is state of the art and regardless of what is said it doesn't compare to the duramax. Just look at the specs and see for yourself the advanced design the powerstroke has compared to the duramax. I think you'll see that the powerstroke is a better motor. The jury is still out on the longevity of the duramax but guys regularly get 300-500k before they even touch these powerstrokes.

Now that's not to say that the Chevy is not a good truck. It is. I just think the Ford IS a truck and has already proven it's worth.

 

[SHIFTY]

After reading many posts about the tranny which are simiular to this http://forum.62-65-dieselpage.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=7&t=003085 I believe I will go with the Ford

 

[JATO_RaT]

I certainly like the lack of sound coming out of the new Duramax. This will be a tough although fun decision to make. The folks that own the Chevy also comment about how solid the shifting on the Allision is, something that the Ford does not have with the exception of those with the C6 transmission. My last two trucks have been Ford F250's. While neither is/was a PowerStroke, I have driven the PowerStroke plenty and must say that there is no comparision between it and the old diesel in my 93. It is a very nice engine. If I were in the market for a truck today, I would lean right now towards the Chevy and then the Ford. I'm saying this without any firsthand knowledge of the Chevy other then the magazine and owners comments regarding the Duramax and drivetrain. After closer examination of the Chevy, I might reconsider but from what I have seen, it is quite nice and getting very popular around here. Good luck with your selection, neither would be wrong.

 

[SHIFTY]

sorry you have to cut and paste the adress,I tried makine a link but it didnt work,for the fewbees highlite the link in blue hold down control and hit the V which copys it then in the adress bar delete what ever is up their then get the flashing curser up their by clicking on it then hold down control then hit C this will now paste that adress up their

 

[RobertN]

The Cummins(I know this isn't a Dodge discussion...) is an awesome motor, and the Powerstroke is pretty dang good. The biggest limiting factor for both is the tranny. Either Powerstroke or Cummins can easily be chipped and bigger exhaust, and put out better HP/torque numbers than the Duramax for less $$$.

The big thing about the Duramax is the tranny. The Allison, although built for a light truck, it appears to be better than Dodge/Ford auto's. The "fuse" for Dodge and Ford is the dang auto tranny. They both can make big HP, but they'll both blow the auto trannies.

The Chevy does not have the heavy duty front end of the Ford and Dodge. For hard work, there is no substitue for a big solid axle front end(at least in a 4x4). Ford had the twin I-beam in the F250/350 4x4,s for a while, but it just was not the same as a Dana-60 straight axle(I pulled the IFS on my old F250, and installed a straight axle; much better!). The big straight axles just do not ride as nice as those smooth torsion bar IFS front ends.

Beware of gearing too. I got my Dodge with 4.11's, and my boss got his F450 flatbed with 4.88's. Although both of us got our truck for hauling heavy stuff, niether of us needed the low gears. Both diesels have more than enough power to pull with 3.55's, and get better milage with those gears.