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advice on a used diesel truck

5K views 36 replies 22 participants last post by  Getsome 
#1 · (Edited)
Thanks for all the input. I am a little smarter now on Diesels. Decided on a gas truck and bought one. 2005 4x4 Need the 4x4 for several reasons, including the one given in this post thks ed

Looking for a used Diesel Truck- 2000-2008. There are several on craiglist

F-250 Powerstroke
Dodge 2500
a chevy Duramax

Any input on which to stay away from or lean towards?? thks for any help/advice given ed
 
#4 ·
Stay away from Ford 6.0's. 2004 Duramax'x had injector issues, but GM stepped up and redesigned the units in 2005. Dodge, well, its a dodge and the only problems I know of is the newer 6.7's bad fuel economy because of the regen cycles until they started using DEF around 2012/2013 year. Strongest transmissions are the GM allisons, followed by the Ford then the Dodge bring up the rear. I personally wouldnt own a ford, but thats just me. I like the cummins best followed by the duramax as a close 2nd.
 
#12 ·
Looking for a used Diesel Truck- 2000-2008. There are several on craiglist

F-250 Powerstroke
Dodge 2500
a chevy Duramax

Any input on which to stay away from or lean towards?? thks for any help/advice given ed
One of the cars lots I deal with, got a clean 4dr 7.3 in. I would guess its 00-03 4x4 should be for sale soon
 
#15 ·
I see afew things in these post that are not true.. From what I read on the Duramax forums, the 04's are the way to go (LLY).. The LB7's 03 and earlier had the injector issues, I bought an 03 (LB7) Alittle over a year ago and it drove great, about a year later I had injector issues.. Fixed it and the truck runs great...
The LBZ's which is the 06's around 200k miles they like to walk the crank or spin a rod... But they are great running trucks, which is when the 6 speed's came into town.. Some LML's do have problems, its just the luck the draw.... You buy a diesel be prepared to spend some money on it unless you know how to work on it
The dodges are good trucks, but same thing they have weak transmissions and afew other things..
 
#16 ·
7.3's are great engines but will be somewhat hard to find and are still pretty expensive.
6.0's have a really bad rep, but if you have found one that has been bullet proofed they are great engines.
I have a 2010 f250 which is going to be the same engine as the 2008. If you were to find one of those i would make sure it has had the DPF deleted and a good tuner such as a H&S Mini Maxx or Spartan. Butttt i personally would not buy a 6.4. although once deleted and tuned they are crazy fast but repairs get expensive really fast.

Don't know anything about Duramaxes or Cummins
 
#17 ·
I've had all 3 at one time or another. The cummins has been my favorite by far. Yes the tranny is not the best but neither is the tranny on the Ford and for that matter the chevy. These trans will all hold up if you keep the truck stock. Its when people put programmers, 6" lifts, and 37's that the trans start to have problems. They aren't made to hold up to the added power, torque, and stress. Even so with a few upgrades the 48re in the dodges will out perform a allison all day.
 
#18 ·
An inline engine is by far the best lasting engine. Think about gravity on the cylinders when starting. An inline engine has gravity on the tops of the piston pulling down. Now where does the V engine have gravity effecting it. On the sides of the pistons and liners. Cummins is the only inline diesel engine available in the big three trucks. My last truck was an 03 dodge with a cummins it had over about 300 thousand on it.
 
#20 ·
Thanks for the informative thread Ed, I am as well in the market for a diesel truck, the boat I am picking up is 6000lbs plus two engines plus trailer and load of fuel/ice/gear, tending toward the 7.3 or the cummins which ever I can find with the least amount of miles or in the best shape, still wondering if 4X$ is a must ?? any input welcome and I do not mean to derail the thread.
 
#22 ·
Here is my personal experience with Chevy and Ford,
I put 287,000 plus miles on my 2001 Chevy 2500 HD I had a programmer and an exhaust with oversized tires and a leveling kit. I coule get 23 MPG on the interstate running 70 mph and never ever ran out of power, even when I ignored the chains going into the tunnel and the alarm that went off and I almost tore my hard top off of my Grady White Sailfish! Lost a couple rod holders and bent the top but never felt a thing! The transmission was strong and the factory changed the injectors prior to me ever having a problem. I sold it because the water that eventually gets through got into the housing for the high pressure fuel pump thingy (I don't remember the exact wording of the part) That cost almost 2K and then this went and that went and it started costing month every couple months but not until I was well over 250,000 miles!

At the same time my roommate bought a ford with the 6.0 while working in Louisiana and commuting he ended up stuck in the middle and having to have his truck towed back to mobile. After working with the local dealership, Diesel injections specialists (On the I65 service rd the name could be off a little) and two other "diesel sepcialist in Mobile he ended up losing his shirt trading it in and will never buy another Ford ever no matter what they do for him! He spent thousands of dollars and at one point when high performance on everything and still couldn't keep it running.

Currenntly I have a 2008 Chevy 2500 HD with 6 inch lift and barely fit 35 inch tires (that's issue #1) and when I bought it only got 16 or 17 MPG (that's issue #2) I also fought issue after issue with my DPF (Diesel Particulate filter issue #3)! I replaced the entire exhaust bought a programmer and a cold air intake and now I love this truck more than any other I have ever owned! It runs like a top, never runs out of power and I can push 22 (21.8ish) MPG if I stay off the gas and go the speed limit! I like the options the new one has but note to self if you leave the sunroof open while in the Florida Keys for a couple days and it rains the favorites button will go out and you will have to manually scroll through your favorites... lol OOOPS!!!

Anyway if you go diesel it's like buying a bigger boat, go into knowing that you may end up spending a lot more money that you would if you bought gas when stuff breaks! On the other hand you may be the one who takes care of his stuff and buys a truck from someone who does the same and never have an issue! Sometimes it's luck of the draw but DON'T GO DIESEL UNLESS YOU CAN AFFORD THE UPGRADES AND REPAIRS!!! A diesel with a DPF will have less power and more issues that one with it all removed!
 
#23 ·
Oh yeah and if you ever go to launches that you don't use regularly it's nice to have 4wd just in case there is a hole you can't see and you need some traction!!! Billy goat hole on Dauphin Island used to be the worst launch in the world for anyone that didn't know the holes or have 4wd... I used to laugh at the guys with big 2wd trucks that would ask 3 or 4 drunk guys to jump up and down on the rear bumper while they gased it to try and get traction.. Never saw anyone get hurt doing it but i'm sure it happened!
 
#26 · (Edited)
I have an 02 7.3, bought with 148K which was HARD to find. Now I'm around 170K, no issues. Put a DP tuners chip in it and pretty much leave it on the 60hp economy tune. 22mpg on the hwy 65-70 and 16-17 towing my 7x16 BOX of a cargo trailer. Oh, it also still SOUNDS like a diesel haha, the new GM stuff you cant even hear! AND, the 7.3 was the last motor to have zero emissions equipment on it from the factory, no cats, no DEF, just pure diesel stank from the turbo back:thumbsup:
 
#28 ·
Ive done ALL my oil changes and and fuel filter changes on my 2 Cummings since 1998 and I don't see it as a big deal. Takes about a 1/2 hour and thats moving slow.
Never done one on a Ford or Chevy so cant say

Time wise ain't bad. Did oil and fuel on my Duramax the other day in about 30min. The $160 is the kicker, but I chose to run Amsoil oil and filter. Could have done it for half that probably running conventional oil.

Had a 7.3 for a few years and loved it, great power and ran like a top. My LBZ has better fuel mileage and more ass, but I was more than pleased with the 7.3 even though it was a Ford.
 
#29 ·
I changed my oil, oil filter & fuel filter myself a few weeks ago on my duramax.

$135 total using Mobil 1 synthetic oil & Mobil 1 filter & AC Delco fuel filter.
 
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