New 1 Ton P/U on the Market. Sterling Bullet

[cp1969]

The Cat is, at most, 300 lb heavier than a 6.4.

You think an extra 150 lb on each front tire is going to overdo it?

 

[DieselPower]

Another note on the diesel P/U market: GM has officially announced that it will offer the 4.5L V-8 Duramax engine in the 2009 1/2 ton P/U. I have not read alot on it yet but the 4.5L should put out about 310 hp and 520 lb/ft torque.

GM wanted to find a diesel engine it could stick in P/U's that had the 5.3L gas engine and the 6.6L Duramax was way to big. The new 4.5L looks to have something like a 60 to 72 degree cylinder angle instead of the 90 degree block of the 6.6L. Should be interesting to see what Ford's and Dodge's response is to the new lighter diesel P/U.

 

[mjncad]

This isn't a diesel; but check out the attached photos I took today in Fort Lupton, Colorado of a 1948 REO SpeedWagon. The owner told me he bought it at a farm auction after the original owner died. The owner told me the original owner kept it inside and he thinks it has only 38,000 miles on it. Other than the hood ornament and the stake sides, it looks pretty much original and in good shape for its age. It has a 2-speed rear axle and an inline 6-cylinder with a top speed of 45-MPH. Notice the brass fire extinguisher in the cab.

Wouldn't it be fun to make this into a sleeper with a modern drivetrain housed in a restored shell.

Sorry for the poor quality of the photos; but what can one expect from a cell phone camera.

 

[cp1969]

I have not read alot on it yet but the 4.5L should put out about 310 hp and 520 lb/ft torque.

Those are higher numbers than the original Duramax, IIRC.

They must have really dialed up the boost to get that kind of power out of an engine that is about 2/3rds the size of the original.

 

[milkman]

Another note on the diesel P/U market: GM has officially announced that it will offer the 4.5L V-8 Duramax engine in the 2009 1/2 ton P/U. I have not read alot on it yet but the 4.5L should put out about 310 hp and 520 lb/ft torque.quote]

Real diesels have their cylinders all in a single row even though I'm not particularly a Cummins fan.

 

[cp1969]

The more I think about it, it seems like a really dumb idea to put that much diesel engine in a 1/2 ton pickup.

That is more power than the Big 3 had in their 3/4 and 1 tons until about 2004. Think of the loads people haul with those things. Now people will try to do it with a 1/2 ton.

I'm thinking 200 hp and 400 ft-lb while getting 25+ mpg would make more sense. It would still be a horse of a pickup.

 

[DieselPower]

Couldn't agree with you more. However from a sales stand point they still seem to think that more is better, it isn't. I have a old 1988 bread truck that I converted to a mobile service truck. Last time I took it across the scales it weighed 15,950 pounds. It has a 4BT (that's a 4 cylinder) Cummins in it mated to a Spicer 7 speed (a modification I did a couple of years ago) and it get's 15 MPG and has plenty of power. Would a 6BT Cummins be better, probably not, my fuel economy would probably drop.

People these day's seem to buy bragging rights. My truck has more than your truck. GM seems to be selling to this type buyer.

 

[patrick_g]

When people are not qualified to judge on attributes that matter they are left with other means of besting a competitor. I think it is an extension of the "If it don't go, chrome it!" mentality. If you haven't a clue how to do something useful to a truck you can always put on a large diameter chrome exhaust extension and or put snake oil in the fuel tank.

Deep down,many GMC pickup buyers think that somehow some aura based on GMC big truck reputation transfers and or trickles down to the 1/2 ton.

Doesn't every manufacturer try to find at least one thing their truck has more of and then sell the **** out of it. Highest towing rating in its class, largest V-8 in its class, most torque in its class, most knee room in the back seat in its class, fully boxed frame, frame only boxed where it needs it, largest cup holders in its class, and on and on and on.

Something many of us learned in the armed forces was that if someone was incapable of judging an outfit by its performance they'd judge it by its appearance and other surface "fluff" items but they would judge it.

Pat

 

[Z-Michigan]

the Jeep liberty was available with a diesel saw one at the pump while I was fueling my truck

I own one - it's the Liberty CRD made only in 05 and 06. The engine is by VM Motori, an Italian sub of Detroit Diesel (owned by DCX at the time; now I guess Daimler owned). It's a 2.8L, 4-cyl turbodiesel with 160hp and originally 295 ft-lbs of torque (later reduced by software reprogramming to increase transmission reliability - DC won't say what it is now). It is a basically great vehicle, but clearly DCX did not get all the tuning worked out in terms of US emissions, fuel standards (relatively low cetane and high sulfur, at least in 2005) and driving norms. As a result some owners have had lots of problems, some have had none, and a lot have had a few problems. The good news - it has tons of torque, quick response from a VNT turbo, and I personally average just over 24mpg, with the worst winter city driving being around 20-21, freeway driving at 24-27mpg, and the occasional long stretch of 2 lane highway at up to 30.5 mpg. Not bad since it is still a serious 4x4 (with the selec-trac transfer case giving you a choice of 2wd, 4 full time, or 4 part time [like most pickups]) with a tow rating of 5000lbs.

 

[Z-Michigan]

The more I think about it, it seems like a really dumb idea to put that much diesel engine in a 1/2 ton pickup.

That is more power than the Big 3 had in their 3/4 and 1 tons until about 2004. Think of the loads people haul with those things. Now people will try to do it with a 1/2 ton.

I'm thinking 200 hp and 400 ft-lb while getting 25+ mpg would make more sense. It would still be a horse of a pickup.

+1

The engine in my Jeep CRD would be perfectly adequate for a 1/2 ton 2wd pickup - my Jeep weighs 4300lbs, roughly the same as a 1/2 ton 2wd with a standard cab. And presumably such a truck would get 24mpg like I'm getting.

200-225hp with diesel torque and a 5 or 6speed transmission would be wonderful, all most people would need and probably get into the low to mid 20's mpg wise. And it would only take about 3.5-4.0L of displacement, quite reasonable for a V6 or I6 design. The Jeep Grand Cherokee CRD sold for 2007+ has a similar engine, some sort of Mercedes derived I6 with 218hp and 376ft-lbs if I remember correctly. Rated mpg is just a little less than my Liberty CRD and tow rating is a bit higher. I am tempted - but I am thinking crew cab pickup for my next vehicle, and I also learned from my Liberty CRD not to buy a diesel the first year it's made (I might - might - make an exception for the Honda and Toyota diesels to be coming - though they aren't faultless manufacturers either, despite their suburban cult following).