Recconendations for older diesel

[deerefan]

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.

A lot of good info here dwalk 19. Thanks Raspy.

 

[Tractorable]

Really not trying to be negative, but diesel and low budget do not go together. Making this move to buy an older, high mileage, diesel truck that’s out of warranty is going to put you in a position where you’re just one injector pump, head gasket, emissions issue, or burnt piston away from financial disaster.

Not only that but the diesel truck you’re going to get within your budget will likely need all the other body related issues of an older vehicle like tires, brakes, transmission problems, suspension, rust, etc.

You’re in a nice, low mileage, gas truck right now and trading it for an older diesel to save a few bucks on gas or to have a little more torque may not be the best choice. Emissions technology in late model diesels keeps getting better and better. I’d wait until you can afford a newer diesel before making the switch.

Flame away diesel truckers.....

 

[dwalk19]

Really not trying to be negative, but diesel and low budget do not go together. Making this move to buy an older, high mileage, diesel truck that’s out of warranty is going to put you in a position where you’re just one injector pump, head gasket, emissions issue, or burnt piston away from financial disaster.

Not only that but the diesel truck you’re going to get within your budget will likely need all the other body related issues of an older vehicle like tires, brakes, transmission problems, suspension, rust, etc.

You’re in a nice, low mileage, gas truck right now and trading it for an older diesel to save a few bucks on gas or to have a little more torque may not be the best choice. Emissions technology in late model diesels keeps getting better and better. I’d wait until you can afford a newer diesel before making the switch.

Flame away diesel truckers.....

Yeah i completely agree, which is main reason I haven't done it yet I figure in 3.5 more years on my wife new van , it will be paid off and I'll get myself a newer diesell probably the safest/smartest bet

 

[buickanddeere]

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

How did they ever manage to haul 40 ton of freight from coast to coast over two mountain ranges with a 318 Detroit ?
Just how fast do you want to run the 1/4 mile on the drag strip with an old farm tractor or a bass boat behind your pickup ?
Old vehicles will have the body ruined with salt corrosion .
You would be happier with a direct injection Chev 5.3 or 6.2 powered Max Towing pickup . No worries with contaminated diesel, plugged filters or expensive engine work .

 

[buickanddeere]

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

You have to stipulate which years of Duramax . Some such as 2003-2005 or so were terrible . Other years are excellent .

 

[dodge man]

I owned a 2004 Cummins for about 4 years and never had to touch the engine or drivetrain. My complaints were a bad vibration at about 65 mph. Never could fix it. It was also very noisy, not the engine but wind noise, terrible door seals. Rust was also an issue that I repaired a couple of times but it was still a problem. It seemed like my truck got 15 mpg no matter what, towing, city, highway, it didn't seem to matter. I also tended to slow down when towing.

Injectors are a wear item. Its not a matter of if they will go out but when. That might be 60,000 miles or 260,000 miles. I used to frequent a Cummins Forum and injectors were always an issue. Its not that big of a deal to replace them but it was hard to find new ones. Often rebuilt ones were sold as new. There was guy on that forum that was a hotshotter. He got almost to a million miles and an injector over fueled and burned up his engine. The engine had never been cracked open but he had gone through several set of injectors. At one time he listed every penny and maintenance item he spent on the truck. He put a lot of money into it but when you looked at how many miles he put on it, it had been pretty cheap to run.

I don't think I am trying to turn you off to the idea of a diesel, they can be great trucks. For me, the older Cummins have a solid drive train, its just they have made so many improvements to trucks, I just don't think I could live with the drawbacks of an older truck. When I traded in my 2004 Ram about 4 years ago I couldn't believe how much nicer the newer truck was. It was a Chevy 3/4 ton with a gas engine. I traded it in about a year and half ago and now I own a F150. Once again, I couldn't believe how much nicer it was then the Chevy. Just take a look at what you've got and decide on if its worth the risk trading it on a higher mileage diesel.

 

[Raspy]

Really not trying to be negative, but diesel and low budget do not go together. Making this move to buy an older, high mileage, diesel truck that’s out of warranty is going to put you in a position where you’re just one injector pump, head gasket, emissions issue, or burnt piston away from financial disaster.

Not only that but the diesel truck you’re going to get within your budget will likely need all the other body related issues of an older vehicle like tires, brakes, transmission problems, suspension, rust, etc.

You’re in a nice, low mileage, gas truck right now and trading it for an older diesel to save a few bucks on gas or to have a little more torque may not be the best choice. Emissions technology in late model diesels keeps getting better and better. I’d wait until you can afford a newer diesel before making the switch.

Flame away diesel truckers.....

I tend to agree. And also agree with what dodge man said.

Trading backwards to save money or get more torque, while never having owned a diesel, could be a mistake. New trucks are expensive, but they are so much nicer in ways you don't realize until you get one. Plus they are under warrantee and you know their history. A lot of trucks get abused in any number of ways, and some of the stuff I see makes me want to never buy used. The tradeoff for you is deciding that going a bit slower and getting a bit worse mileage, is worse than getting an older truck that you know little about and could be more expensive to maintain.

Keep running what you have for now. I don't see any definite upside to buying an older and unknown truck.

I'm now thinking about doing the opposite as my 1 ton Ram is way more truck than I normally need now that I'm retired. Those new 1500s look pretty nice for comfort and useability while towing my travel trailer on camping trips. But the switch is a hassle and always costs more than I want it to.

 

[Snobdds]

I have owned all the ford Diesels, currently have the 6.7 and 6.0. My favorite being the 6.0 Powerstroke, will never get rid of mine. Good power, easy to work on, a stout chassis, and an almost unbreakable tranny.

You have to understand the machine before you can knock it. Once you understand it, you will be like me and Dieselcrawler. Seriously, once the fixes are applied, it might just be the best diesel out there.

 

[deerefan]

I have owned all the ford Diesels, currently have the 6.7 and 6.0. My favorite being the 6.0 Powerstroke, will never get rid of mine. Good power, easy to work on, a stout chassis, and an almost unbreakable tranny.

You have to understand the machine before you can knock it. Once you understand it, you will be like me and Dieselcrawler. Seriously, once the fixes are applied, it might just be the best diesel out there.

I had 2 6.0 diesels, both were flawless. Had a great sound too.

 

[goeduck]

I had 2 6.0 diesels, both were flawless. Had a great sound too.

Were they not bus engine blocks prior to being in the Ford trucks? That should say something. As has been mentioned once the known fixes are in place.... I have heard good reports on them.