Recconendations for older diesel

[dwalk19]

Hey guys, i currently have a 2007 ram 2500 w/ hemi,plow,60k miles, i like the truck but i tow my tractor alot, with trailer and tractor i'm probably around 6700lbs-7000lbs,, i'm really not happy with the towing power, its fine on flats but the roads im ususlly on are quite hilly, and alot of times i'm bogged way down on them I'm thinking about selling the truck and getting older diesel for hopefully around $15k,, so most likely it would be from the years 1999-2007,, and much higher miles than i have now,, any particular engines I should stay away from I heard the Ford's after the 7.3 weren't great but I have seen quite a few of them a decent price, I guess I'm leaning more towards Chevy or Dodge, but it always boils down to the best bang for my buck,, thanks

 

[deerefan]

Hey guys, i currently have a 2007 ram 2500 w/ hemi,plow,60k miles, i like the truck but i tow my tractor alot, with trailer and tractor i'm probably around 6700lbs-7000lbs,, i'm really not happy with the towing power, its fine on flats but the roads im ususlly on are quite hilly, and alot of times i'm bogged way down on them I'm thinking about selling the truck and getting older diesel for hopefully around $15k,, so most likely it would be from the years 1999-2007,, and much higher miles than i have now,, any particular engines I should stay away from I heard the Ford's after the 7.3 weren't great but I have seen quite a few of them a decent price, I guess I'm leaning more towards Chevy or Dodge, but it always boils down to the best bang for my buck,, thanks

If you can get your hands on a 5.9 Cummins for a fair price, that would be a good one. Ford had well documented issues with the 6.0 diesel, but I owned 2 with no issue.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Im a big fan of the Ford Superduty series, have 3 with the 7.3 diesel, and one with the 5.4 gas motor (that haven't driven yet, but will be soon), stout platform, all are high mileage, 240-340k.

The 6.0 that followed the 7.3 can be just as reliable if you know thier quirks, and maintain them properly, and will make more power. But the 7.3 can take the abuse and neglect much better.

Im not a fan of Dodge trucks, but there are lots of Cummins fans out there. If you can find an old 12 valve 5.9, in a late 90's truck, its about as basic as a "modern" diesel can get and still be simple.

Whats your budget? Knowing that will give us an idea of what direction to suggest.

 

[Big Chief]

Stay away from the Ford 6.0 it’s a International modified by ford and it a total piece of crap unless you want to invest 3 to 4K into it.

Pre emissions diesels are the way to go unless you want to own a computer on wheels

Been there done that....

 

[dwalk19]

Thanks guys, gotta do a couple small things to my truck and then make a decision to hang on to my low mileage hemi or sell and get older higher mileage diesel

 

[truckdiagnostics]

The cummins 5.9 and the 7.3 ford are nice engines. Stay away from GM's diesel. The Ford with the 7.3 would be my choice, They might be hard to find in nice shape with low miles. I have not looked for a while. the Ford 6.0 does have its issues but they are however know and can be fixed. happy hunting

 

[dodge man]

Keep what you have. I had a 2004 Ram with a Cummins. No problem except rust. Price out a set of injectors for one though.

 

[4570Man]

A straight shift dodge might be alright. The automatic transmission in that era dodge are junk. I wouldn’t want a 4l80 Chevy transmission either. The 6.5 Chevy diesels aren’t very strong. The ford 6.0s are proven junk. I’d buy a Duramax diesel with an Allison transmission.

 

[dwalk19]

If i were to be looking for a bone stock diesel with around 125k-150k on it, what should i be prepared to replace or not be suprised if i have problems. Things such as injectors,high pressure pump,turbo's,,, i've never owned a diesel so i dont know a ton about them but i always hear they are very costly to repair, bit i'd really like to towing power and slighlty better mpg, i get 12-13 on highway and like 9 towing with my 3/4 with hemi

 

[Raspy]

A 2008 Ram with the 6.7 Cummins and either the 68RFE automatic or the G56 stick would be a good choice. Also in 2008 the front suspension was beefed up a little and is better. In 2010 the 4th gen trucks came out with the same powertrain as the 2008. And the same front suspension. A nicer body, but the mechanical stuff was basically the same. They are not known for good mileage, but they don't require exhaust fluid. They do have EGR. The 6.7 engines have proven to be very powerful and very reliable. If you get a stick be aware that the engines are detuned for the manual transmissions. My friend recently bought a 2009 3rd gen, 6.7 with the 68RFE for $10,000 that is in very nice condition. These 6.7s seem to have a more friendly engine tune than the 2013 trucks with better throttle response. The newer ones are tuned to make no smoke and they are slower to power up.

The earlier 2006 5.9 Cummins with the 48RE automatic is OK, but not as tough and only has four gears. But the G56 is available in those trucks if you want a stick. The engines are great and they don't have EGR, so they get better mileage and are easier to maintain. and the front ends are a bit weaker.

The most likely problems with the third gen trucks, 2003 through 2009 are the weak front suspension and the weak unit bearings in the front wheels. You would be especially prone to problems with these because of plowing. The trannies were improved a bit with the 48 RE that had better cooling and other internal improvements. They will hold up if the engine is left stock, but not if you tune it.

The 2nd gen Rams from 1998 through 2002 are called the 24 valve engines. These have a poor high pressure injection pump (VP44) that will fail if the lift pump goes out.

The earlier 2nd gen trucks from 1994 up to 1998 have mostly bombproof engines. But they are not perfect. Some have had cracked blocks and some have had dowel pin failures that destroys the timing gears. These are getting to be pretty old by now and they have a lot less power than the 3rd gen trucks. Somewhere around 210 vs 325 HP.

Or, you can step up to a 4th gen. These are great trucks in every respect except the emission equipment as they require exhaust fluid. They get good mileage, are modern, have very tough front suspensions and can be had with the Aisin transmission which will not blow up. You can also get a stick, but again, the engines are detuned with the stick. Also, the 2500 models have coil rear springs and ride nicely. they have the 68RFE tranny. The 3500 had very stiff leaf springs and can be ordered with the Aisin trans. This is the HO engine with somewhere around 385 HP and 865 ft lbs of torque. Awesome. These trucks are very refined and easy to live with. They drive very well and pull like a locomotive.

I see people warn about injector problems, but I put 280,000 miles on my 2004 third gen with zero injection problems. It was tuned too and ran better when I sold it than when new. My current 2014 HO with the Aisin has about 140,000 miles. It is tuned too and runs better than stock. No injection problems and I don't expect any. After all, it's a Cummins and they are proven. My first one was '93 and it had about 200,000 miles on it when sold. Never an engine problem of any kind. I would definitely not plan on putting in new injectors. None of them showed any signs of getting worn out and none of them used a quart of oil between oil changes that I do every 10,000 miles.

If you are set on getting a Ford, get a 7.3 and nothing else. Fords diesel engines after the 7.3 became the companies biggest warrantee disaster in their history. No wonder you can find them relatively cheap. And yes, some of their problems can be fixed, but you'll probably be spending a lot of money and altering the emissions equipment to do it, so smog inspections could become a problem. Then there is the servicing issues where the cabs have to be pulled off to work on some of them. Sheesh. Better to avoid the whole problem to begin with, meaning a 7.3 or nothing. But even the 7.3 has glow plug problems and not a lot of power. Later ones were turbocharged and the earlier ones are very smoky. I had a 6.9 that was the engine that became the 7.3. During the 100,000 miles I owned it, it cracked two heads, the injection pump went out, the differential grenaded and the tranny failed twice. I was very glad to unload it.