Deciding Duramax vs Powerstroke

[Egon]

Rat:
It may have something to do with the longevity or service rating.

For $10,000 you'll get about a third of what you want if it's new. If you follow Bob's example and are willing to do a bunch of work on your own you'll end up with a whole lot more for a lot less than the $10,000 and just as reliable as a new one.

Ford uses the cummins not the powerstroke in its larger trucks.

Egon

 

[rockyridgefarm]

The Cummins is a straight six. That simple feature (not a "V") is a major contributor to making a torque monster. The new line will be out soon and will be incredibly quiet, with a new Auto that matches its torque.

I regularly see Rams with 500K plus miles and that monster keeps pulling. There will also be an option for a MB diesel, soon. Daimler is the world's largest diesel manufacturer, and yet continue to buy power plants from Cummins; because they're great. (PS: Anyone who's driven the DR ram's loves thee way they handle...)

 

[cp1969]

The Dodge/Cummins would be my choice if I had the money and was in the market for a HD pickup. No manufacturer makes a decent, proven gas engine any longer (Chevy probably comes closest, now that Dodge is dropping the 318 and 360).

There have been very few successful 'V' configuration diesels whereas the straight six engines are dragging probably 95% of all the semis over the highway. The lower end of the Cummins is massive compared to the PowerStroke or the old GM diesel; I haven't seen any pictures of the D-Max crank and rods.

About the only thing I don't like about the Cummins is that it's noisy, and I hear that next years engine is up quite a bit on power and down quite a bit on noise.

 

[rf33]

I have a 2001 F350 powerstroke with the auto transmission, and although I only have 60,000 on it so far, I have to admit that I really love it. I recently programmed the chip using a SuperChips programmer, and having done this I only can say that I like it about twice as much. I agree with CowboyDoc that these are very solid and durable trucks, which really ride like trucks. The Chevy also has some very strong points too. For one, the Duramax is considerably ligher than the Powerstroke, saving on fuel, as well as suspension wear. (The Fords are well known as being too front end heavy, especially if you have a Powerstroke and a 450 lb aftermarket bumper like I do). The Duramax is a great deal quieter. The Powerstroke makes an awful racket, often necessitating shutting the engine off at any drive thru's. The Chevy has a smoother ride. Although it might come at the expense of longevity, the Chevy does ride much softer than the Ford. And Doc, although I agree that Chevy did not take the transmission out of a 425 HP PeterBuilt and put it in the 1 ton truck, I think that it is safe to say that an Allison transmission should be a good one based on their past performance. Also I think that they would not be likely to put their name on a poorly built product. Brand loyalty is a good thing, but when I get ready to buy another truck, I will certainly check out all of the big two/three (Dodge still not in the running for me yet as they have not come out with a 1 ton crew cab) manufacturers offerings, and try to pick the best truck for my needs.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

The next cummins is due out in September. It is supposed to be so quiet that it will be too quiet for some Cummins fans. There is also a 1 Ton single rear axle option (no dually) Of course there will still be a dually. The Solid axle in the front stays (with that monster on top of it it had better...)

 

[JATO_RaT]

Egon, in their even bigger trucks, Ford uses CAT. Rat...

 

[JATO_RaT]

Mike, my brother and brother in law both had Dodge trucks with the diesel and after driving them and expecting huge things, I must admit to being "underwhelmed". I fully expected gobs of torque and a lot quieter level of noise inside the cab. Both are of the 1996 vintage so perhaps things have changed. The 2000 Powerstroke I drove seemed to have more get up and go and easily the same pulling power. I don't own either. I liked both. The Duramax would be really interesting to test out even though I don't plan on being in the market anytime soon. Rat...

 

[Egon]

Right on.

Egon

 

[RobertN]

Our C8000 chassis Van Pelt and Beck Engines ('84 and '89) use Cat 3208's. Seems a lot of those old C7000 and C8000 Chassis Fords used the 3208's. The Captian at my stations said a major reason for moving away from that chassis is it doesn't allow the newer 6 cylinders, and it was too hard to make the 1957 design meet current noise specs.

I drove the new Ferrara engine; the old Cat 3208 sure aint the same as the new 8.9l 350hp Cummins...

 

[RobertN]

The shop my Dad works at in Sacramento, Ca, had a truck from out of state come in for an oil change a few months ago. The guy used it for delivery work with a flatbed 5th wheel. 700k miles; only work done on the truck was regular oil and scheduled maint. It was a '98.