Why no Ecoboost in the F250?

[4570Man]

I dont mess with newer fords but the 90s fords were years behind the dodge. Worse front suspension design ever. Only good part of the ford was the sheet metal doesnt run. Motors were junk, yes even a 7.3, suspension was junk, frames have more flex than the suspension flexes

I have 2 obs f350s

I don’t really like a leaf spring ford or a 7.3 but junk is a real overstatement for them. The leaf spring axels had a poor turning radius and the 7.3s were loud and don’t start good in the cold but there’s a lot of those trucks still on the road. I’d much rather have a IFS axel in a ton truck for the turning radius and ride quality. If you were going to a 4500 or heavier truck you’re already giving up ride quality and I’d rather have a straight axel for strength.

 

[Hay Dude]

I don’t really like a leaf spring ford or a 7.3 but junk is a real overstatement for them. The leaf spring axels had a poor turning radius and the 7.3s were loud and don’t start good in the cold but there’s a lot of those trucks still on the road.

I don’t see many 7.3’s anymore. Salt ate em all up and they were maybe a 1/4 million mile engine anyway.
Nobody really liked a 444 cubic inch motor that made only 225HP maybe 250 in it’s final year. I owned 3 of them and tried to like them, but never really did. Owned 3 6.4’s and they were a nice truck, but the engine was a weekly break down problem.

 

[4570Man]

I don’t see many 7.3’s anymore. Salt ate em all up and they were maybe a 1/4 million mile engine anyway.
Nobody really liked a 444 cubic inch motor that made only 225HP maybe 250 in it’s final year. I owned 3 of them and tried to like them, but never really did. Owned 3 6.4’s and they were a nice truck, but the engine was a weekly break down problem.

I’m no 7.3 fanboy I don’t even like them. But junk is a strong word especially compared to other options at the time. They’re probably the most overrated engine in history.

 

[sd455dan]

I’m not talking about the truck they make now. I said if Ford dropped a Cummins in their trucks 20 years ago that Dodge/ram trucks would probably be defunct. If they weren’t completely gone they definitely wouldn’t have the market share they have today. I still think Ford makes a better truck but back then they definitely did. If Ford didn’t like Cummins they should have used a DT360. They weren’t that different from a 5.9 and much more reliable than the 6.0 or 6.4.

My 2 cents

MotorTrend Chose Dodge as the Heavy Duty truck of the year in 2003

I am biased since I have one.
I will say it is the little things that have been troublesome.
Like dash cracking, window switch , turn signal switch, Quick wearing leather seat coverings along with electric seat motors jamming, headlights that clouded up HVAC flapper door failures.
But what is solid:

Fully boxed hi tensile 50 KSI hydroformed frame.
Great AAM heavy duty axles front a solid axle.
NV 5600 cast Iron 6 speed manual trans with no dual mass flywheel
HPCR 24 valve Cummins with No emission devices.
Engine can be serviced without taking the entire cab off.
Cough -Ford

The Drivetrain is solid on this vintage Dodge.

At least the basic truck will start run and get you there without a Major engine failure
Little things can be irritating but major drivetrain failures are a deal breaker.

Lots of small businesses popped up doing what 4570 suggested when the Ford diesel let them down by Installing a Cummins in the Fords which makes for a very nice truck.

 

[4570Man]

My 2 cents

MotorTrend Chose Dodge as the Heavy Duty truck of the year in 2003

I am biased since I have one.
I will say it is the little things that have been troublesome.
Like dash cracking, window switch , turn signal switch, Quick wearing leather seat coverings along with electric seat motors jamming, headlights that clouded up HVAC flapper door failures.
But what is solid:

Fully boxed hi tensile 50 KSI hydroformed frame.
Great AAM heavy duty axles front a solid axle.
NV 5600 cast Iron 6 speed manual trans with no dual mass flywheel
HPCR 24 valve Cummins with No emission devices.
Engine can be serviced without taking the entire cab off.
Cough -Ford

The Drivetrain is solid on this vintage Dodge.

At least the basic truck will start run and get you there without a Major engine failure
Little things can be irritating but major drivetrain failures are a deal breaker.

Lots of small businesses popped up doing what 4570 suggested when the Ford diesel let them down by Installing a Cummins in the Fords which makes for a very nice truck.

So basically the lesson here is That Cummins which isn’t affiliated with Dodge or Chrysler is good, New venture transmissions also not affiliated with dodge are good and AAM axels also not affiliated with dodge are good. The interior of the truck is a pile of crap. The automatic transmission is a pile of crap. The gas options in the truck are just ok. I don’t like the poor serviceability of a Ford either. That’s the single biggest reason I’m not a big Ford fan.

 

[Renze]

Been a Volvo guy for a long time, have two FoMoCo era Volvos now, 07’ V59 and an 09’ S80, no real issues with either, but the FoMoCo stamped parts make me sick….lol. About 130k miles each.

130k miles.. you wont find any in Holland of that age and so few miles... I bought my first two Volvos, a 440 1.7 on propane, and a 1.9 turbodiesel, with 200.000km or 130.000 miles. All my 850, S70 and V70 (all diesel) were bought with about 360.000km or 220.000 miles.

The V50 is a Ford Focus, my mate had three of them and had high maintenance bills on all of them. His wife didnt want to do a step back in time with model year, but when the car maintenance guy advised him to ditch it before the glow plugs went out because it often involved taking the head off the Ford/Peugeot diesel to drill them out, he was done with the Ford parts and got a 2001 V70 cheap, and is happier than ever because he doesnt feel hurt anymore when the kids scratch it.

My 2007 V70 is also a Ford era, but no Ford parts because it was developed before Ford. Ford bean counters were involved in the development of the 3rd gen V70 of 2008, and it shows as these models are known to have electrical problems.

I have driven 14 years in the P80 platform Volvos, i will probably own another V70 gen 2 after this one, but what the future holds, i dont know... it will either way be a car with a proven track record of reliability, though it seems to get scarcer with time...

 

[Renze]

I’m not talking about the truck they make now. I said if Ford dropped a Cummins in their trucks 20 years ago that Dodge/ram trucks would probably be defunct. If they weren’t completely gone they definitely wouldn’t have the market share they have today. I still think Ford makes a better truck but back then they definitely did. If Ford didn’t like Cummins they should have used a DT360. They weren’t that different from a 5.9 and much more reliable than the 6.0 or 6.4.

It is true, that installing the Cummins motor was a great marketing tool for Dodge... if i recall right, they served 17% of the market, with Ford and GM split the rest, in 1989 ? The Cummins option brought people into the showroom to look at a Dodge, though most of them left with a gas V8 engine under the hood...

 

[Renze]

Lots of small businesses popped up doing what 4570 suggested when the Ford diesel let them down by Installing a Cummins in the Fords which makes for a very nice truck.

This guy put a school bus Cat engine in one.

 

[sd455dan]

So basically the lesson here is That Cummins which isn’t affiliated with Dodge or Chrysler is good, New venture transmissions also not affiliated with dodge are good and AAM axels also not affiliated with dodge are good. The interior of the truck is a pile of crap. The automatic transmission is a pile of crap. The gas options in the truck are just ok. I don’t like the poor serviceability of a Ford either. That’s the single biggest reason I’m not a big Ford fan.

I don't know if it is as bad as a pile of Crap...

and at least Dodge was smart enough to pick quality main drivetrain parts from other mfgrs to pair with the Cummins

My 03 may be old but it has only stranded me once, and that was a sudden water pump failure which is ironic.

 

[Hay Dude]

So basically the lesson here is That Cummins which isn’t affiliated with Dodge or Chrysler is good, New venture transmissions also not affiliated with dodge are good and AAM axels also not affiliated with dodge are good. The interior of the truck is a pile of crap. The automatic transmission is a pile of crap. The gas options in the truck are just ok. I don’t like the poor serviceability of a Ford either. That’s the single biggest reason I’m not a big Ford fan.

Not really. The Ram interior is NOT a pile of crap. Mine is on par or better than Ford. Ford uses outsourced Dana axles and NP transfer cases, so nothing new there. The Aisin transmission in my Ram has been good.

I think you are still living on 25 year old folklore. Ford & GM marketed the heck out of their trucks in the 90’s & 2000’s Dodge/Ram didn’t. I was a Ford guy 25 years ago. Thought they were better. Not anymore. They are all fairly close. If towing is your gig, I’d chose Ram.