Older Diesel trucks

Yes. I ordered air bags for our Titan to eliminate the squat in the rear and tearing up tires.

 

I have a 94 F350 with the prepowerstroke IDI turbo engine. It gets awful mileage, the exhaust stinks, it smokes a bit at idle, it sounds like a diesel and it tows ok. The main reason I got it is the price of replacement parts is very low. Since I only use it when I need a truck it gets very little use. All of the trucks that have higher mileage with electronic injection seem to end up with injector problems. They cost $350-600 each x8 if you need to do a full set. I can get a full set of new injectors for $350, sure I don't get the mileage or as much power, but mine has one 12v hot wire that is required to have the truck run.

I have airbags and if you have a dually they are awful to ride in without them. 5-7 PSI and my truck goes from a bucking bronco on bumps to F150 ish ride.

 

I'll throw in a couple of my opinions
I have an 03 E350 van with a 7.3.
These engines are capable of extremely high mileage I believe more than any new diesel built since.... Everybody and their mother is telling me I am going to get 400 - 600 thousand out of it if not more if I take care of it... And keep it relatively stock...I've been on the phone with dozens of performance companies and they told me if I want the mileage leave it AS IS.. with only subtle modifications. I know there's a lot of modifications available for transmissions and such but why do I want to put a $5,000 transmission in at $3,000 vehicle? In my situation that just makes no sense... Certainly for others the situations change and can be the opposite.

I hope, I get good longevity out of it...but it all depends on how it was taken care of before I got it. With a used car you never know.
My 03 7.3 not very powerful m... not at all.. about 230 horsepower and about 300 pounds of torque. It's horribly noisy .... It's awfully stinky , I would hate to be sitting behind this thing or next to it it's that awful...lol All 7.3s hemorrhage oil from one location or another... Still I would choose the 7.3 over virtually any Ford diesel truck built since....I have friends who bought the 6.0 and the 6.7 only to have a horrible amount of out of warranty engine work some exceeding $10,000+. Just to fix the poor engineering from Ford.
IMO frankly the only reason the 7.3 is good is because Ford purchased the engines from International..the level of misery they have caused many people to spend their hard-earned cash is one reason I would never buy a newer Ford diesel.
A friend has a 2007 Duramax and a 2016 four by four. 2007 has proven to be extremely reliable considering they had it souped up with all the boy racer toys the engine is still good it is gone through rear ends and 2 transmissions at 300 + k
But considering
they abused it... And shity maintenance schedule That's pretty impressive .
The 2016 is a pretty remarkable machine gets over 20 miles a gallon with 37 inch tires..... It's BIG long bed ,crew cab 4 x 4 and it gets over 20 MPG.... Think about that.
He owns a commercial construction company and has a pretty big toy hauler ,a backhoes,lifts cars etc... is towed all of them with no trouble whatsoever. I think it makes 350 horsepower and 600 some-odd pounds of torque?
NOW take into consideration the power of the new offerings from Ford and Chevy and Dodge probably as well they all make over 400 horsepower and deliver over 1,000 lb of torque...... That's frankly incredible I could spend 15 thousand on it 7.3 and still not equal that.. not that I would I work too hard for my money to piss it away.... I would never buy a new diesel truck either unless of course money was disposable or I needed it for actual income.
People are dropping close to $100,000 on new pickup trucks that is ludicrous to me I can buy a house for that and it will triple my money in 15 to 20 years instead of losing it all..... they do hold their money well I must say however I think the the best deals to be had are probably on the 2010 up as they are in demand...
I have another friend who has Chevy Express with a 6.0 and a 410 rear end.... It is maxed out on its towing with a 24 ft toy hauler it is absolutely inadequate of towing on a regular basis. Like your tithing it will do it but you're pushing your luck if you have to do it a lot and the 6.0 Chevy is a much stronger/ robust motor than a Nissan Titan.
I suppose it would depend on what you're going to do with it if you want a car for you and the wife and everyday driver certainly I would buy the absolute newest one I could afford...however much I like the Fords I don't think I could ever recommend one to anybody after what I've read and witnessed with the 6.0 and 6.7.
not saying the other manufacturers don't have problems thI..know I'll have their particular issues...but if you buy one keep it relatively stock ,change your oil on schedule you will probably be a happy camper for quite a while

 

You realize the 6.0 and 6.4 were both International engines, right? Ford didn't design and build anything until the 6.7 starting in 2011.

 

My buddy who delivers stacks of trailers everyday all over the SE for a living has 850K on a 2013 ford 6.7. He had it deleted after 100K and has only had to do a couple injectors and re-seal the top of the motor. The truck looks like it has 85K on it. He's gonna run it to 1mil or it blows up.

 

Next weekend we are renting a enterprise 2018 f250 diesel to tow our hauler to NCM since I dont feel comfortable with the Titan that far. This will be the first diesel I have ever driven and we just want to see how it pulls. I heard the Cummins is a great motor but shitty everything else.
This is a completely new territory for me.

 

I really appreciate all of the knowledge you guys are passing on but pretty confusing as well.
It will be my wife's daily driver. 20 miles there and 20 miles back and will tow quite a bit other than track coaching and racing. We want to go luxury camping with our fur babies to get out of the house.
Just want something reliable and has what she wants on the inside.
Pretty tough challenge.

 

I'd suggest keeping the towing thing quiet at the rental place. I've been told no towing from them before.

 

The cummins has very good injectors. Getting a decent additive for fuel like stanadyne will go a long way. Replacing the fuel filter and water separator near recommended intervals will help. They usually get replaced at 15k miles. Oil changes are also 15k intervals now. Using a good oil like rotella t6 is very good. Adding a friction reducer to your oil like Liqui Moly also keeps lubricated properly.

The weak point is generally the trans. B&D diesel sells reinforced or upgraded transmissions for dodges for about 5k.

If you get a tuner, that effects the longevity of your trans. My tuner will allow me to make 500 horsepower and over 1000lb of tourque. No way no how do i need that. Stay in a modest tune or stock tune and you should be fine.

 

I had a unicorn F350 Centurion dually 4x4 conversion with the 7.3 and a 5 speed. Had 250,000 miles on it when I sold it and likely still going strong out there somewhere. Super reliable, and would pull anything I hooked up to it. Eventually anyway. 10,000 pounds was the more realistic number for the "can't feel anything back there" type of towing. The 7.3 legend for reliability is somewhat well deserved, but I honestly think it was just like that because it was understressed and basically felt like driving a tractor. No refinement at all. With 4.10's and cruising along at 70mph, conversation was not happening with the passenger and I could watch the fuel gauge move around 80. I got good at replacing the CPS and starter by feel in total darkness on the side of the road, but otherwise, never really had any issues with it. Were I hunting for a similar beast, I would probably step up to a 2003/4 Cummins or the aformentioned Duramax options. That generation of diesel truck is when they really leapt a few levels in the refinement category. The newer ones are another step above that. Ford 6.0's are kind of a crapshoot. From the guys I've spoken to at the diesel shop nearby, a good one at stock power levels is a fine motor with some quick changes to the coolant system. But finding one that never had a tune on it or has been properly taken care of is a gamble. The 6.7's seem to have outgrown the new engine problems in the first generation and run fine. The later Duramax's have the CP4 that has a reputation for grenading suddenly and taking the motor with it. But again, shop near me says they are mostly fine now that Bio is mandated as a blend in diesel fuel. Might not be in your state though. The issue was the lubricity of sulfer free diesel fuel.

Otherwise, they all will pull whatever you want, I second the advice to skip the 3/4 ton and just buy a one ton. Otherwise, pick whatever makes your co-pilot happy. They all have shortcomings that seem to balance each other out at the end of the day.

 

Missed this while I was typing. If that 20 miles is highway, then doesn't really matter. But if it's stop and go, might want to find an older one without a DPF. They get clogged up with traffic duty. Though if you are running it on weekends and towing, should get hot enough to blow it all out.

 

This. If it is stop and go youll have to romp on the accelerator to build heat so the dpf cleans itself. Thats generally a 20 mile highway romp, to be thorough.

 

I stand corrected.. I was told the 7.3 was 100% Navistar International. But that the 6.0 and the 6.4 were manufactured by International Navistar (as a spec engine with dictation/ influence from Ford engineer design teams..that specified the changes that were needed to progress into the future.) ?

I have no idea whether that is fact or fiction.

Regardless .....whether there's some gray area or not the black & white matter of it is.....the motors were Navistar......
As far as I'm concerned Ford regardless if they bought or motors manufactured their own.... should have reimbursed owners 100% of any failure costs .... It was the FORD name on it and it was predominantly that name that people were buying.
I'm old-school I'm no huge contractor that nets millions of dollars a year. A 30 to $60,000 vehicle is a massive expense especially for individuals who (don't) use it to make money or want one as a daily driver...... The two people I know who suffered undue financial hardship right at the height of the great recession.... It really hurt them financially....
I'm a fairly new to diesels this 7.3 is my first diesel it will definitely be my last.....I don't like the way they sound I don't like the way they smell I don't like the way they drive but I have it and I'm sticking with it it's a lifted moto/adventure van... Even if it blows up I'll be able to sell it for what I paid for it.... Which is nice.... only because it's a diesel... lol
The men who posted above about any conversation above 70 is so right on you can hear nothing in this thing and the relentless exhaust leak smells have you ready for a respirator within a half hour...lol
I hated diesels thoroughly before I bought this one and now it's kind of fun driving it with the turbo whistle & all that s**t...lol it's kind of like my two strokes I cannot stand the excessive smoke nor the smell but I love 2 Strokes more than anything. Love / Hate relationship I suppose?


But to the original..... Gentleman inquiring I would think he is fairly reassured with 2016 and up vehicle I think all of the manufacturers learn from Fords debacle they don't want to lose market share so I'm sure they're all building really decent vehicles.

 

I’m downsizing and I have a 2011 F350 finally for $20k
Fully loaded with complete new fuel system that cost me $10k.

will pull the house down.

 

You also have a Duramax and like a billion miles on it.

 

Technically I also have a 2016 F250 I might sell. I don’t pull a trailer much anymore.

move owned just about all trucks with diesels.

Dodge will fall apart around the motor.

Chevy has the most recalls and downtime in shop.

my cords have both been good other than the 2011 are a fuel system but was covered under insurance so they redid everything.

of the fords I’ve had I love the 6.7 most.

Had the mechanical Cummins in my old toter and was great as long as you didn’t need to go over 70.

the fords will pull anything at 90mph and I still get 12mpg.

withoit the trailer the finally gets 18
The 4x4 gets 16

 

I would recommend against any diesel as a daily driver commuter vehicle.

Diesels NEED to work. Baby them and shit goes bad. Expensive shit goes bad.

Got no reco’s for what would suit your needs, I can’t grok a DD with creature comforts being a heavy duty tow rig.

 

Just remember to put diesel in it and not gasoline.

 

2017 what?

 

Can you post pics, Rob? The ‘16 ford diesels arent bad. Ford doesnt have some of the snazzier creature comforts but for the right price, it may be your pick of the litter.