CTD or Ford Harley Model?

[DocDetonancour]

Buddy is trying to decide on 04 Ford 6. 0 or the Cummins. He likes the larger rear doors on the F and salesman says the 04 6. 0 is bulletproof! What have you guys seen/know? thanks, Doc

 

[Farmall Hauler]

With all of the problems that the Fords are having, I would advise your friend to do a bit of research on them. He can read about these issues and more at.



www.thedieselstop.com



www.fordtrucks.com



He could get a Dodge Ram that will last him for many years to come, or get a Ford who's engine may need to be replaced within the first 5 thousand miles. The decision is up to him!!



Mark

 

[jwilliams3]

Tell him to buy the Cummins.

The 6. 0 is light duty ****

 

[GEM]

I had a 7. 3 PS f250 SD. It was a sound diesel engine. My truck body rusted way too early for the price. Salt-NW PA. I think I am really going to miss Fords High Idle feature which allows start up and 1200rpm idle. With 1/4 inch of ice and 1 ft of snow on top of that, being able to warm up the engine is rather important. I assumed every diesel in the new milenium would have this basic feature... You know, Chrysler and cold weather Detroit and Diamler of hard winter Germany might have thought about this. Its enouge to lose the next sale over regarding snowbelt owners.

 

[JRMora]

I've seen HD Fords in the area pushing $50k



I know Dodges are selling in the mid to high $30's. That a lot of mony for toys.



Oh, yeah, and all the other stuff people like/dislike about Fords.



Juan

 

[Eric_77]

I had a 7. 3 PS f250 SD. It was a sound diesel engine. My truck body rusted way too early for the price. Salt-NW PA. I think I am really going to miss Fords High Idle feature which allows start up and 1200rpm idle. With 1/4 inch of ice and 1 ft of snow on top of that, being able to warm up the engine is rather important. I assumed every diesel in the new milenium would have this basic feature... You know, Chrysler and cold weather Detroit and Diamler of hard winter Germany might have thought about this. Its enouge to lose the next sale over regarding snowbelt owners.

GEM the 04 and up Dodge DOES have a high idle feature. It may or may not be activated at time of purcahse but there is a reflash to turn on the feature. It works via the cruise control. Turn cruise on with truck in park or neutral/PB for 6 speed and hit the accel on cruise and up the idle.



EDIT here is link to another thread that mentions it is already in installe don 4. 5 trucks and up just needs to be activated by the dealer

 

[sarj]

I spent 6 months researching it since it was my first diesel, and was real close to getting a Ford. The thing that kept me back was all the problems kept I was reading about on fordtrucks.com. Then there were guys I'd meet and I'd hear they had a few issues too. I've been a member there for 5 years with an old 72 F250 I still have.



4 things made it for me

1) after 4 months of looking, the new 600 became legal in CA at the beginning of 04... the 'quiet' of the Dodge won my woman over.

2) I KNEW the CTD ruled the road

3) the shorter wheelbase (off-road considerations)

4) on about the 6th test drive , I got both out on the freeway doing 70, and then floored it. The ford made some more noise and started to accelerate... when I did it with the Dodge, I felt the whole truck move under me. 2 days later, my order was in.



Price and interior were bonus for me. I could buy the ford on the X plan, and I still saved 4500 over the ford after I got done shopping. I like the Dodge interior better too( I wanted a bench).



Tell your buddy 'good luck', and I got no regrets on the Dodge at all.

 

[tschwab]

Best advice you could give him, would be to go read the various posts at the two websites listed above. Yeah, us Dodge/Cummins owners complain every once in a while about something minor, BUT - it is usually very minor compared to the probles ford is having with the 6. 0.



FYI - Have him read TDR issue #43 where TDR writer Joe Donnelly compares the Dodge against the Ford & Chev. Bottem line - There is NO comparison.



Oh yeah, almost forgot, the ford & chev BOTH need to have an EGR valve for emissions, the CTD DOES NOT.

 

[BKenny]

Bullet proof thats a good one :-laf . I remember reading a post about a brand new HD PSD the owner put a edge box on it then it started having major engine problems . He took it to the dealer and they said your on own He didbring it in with the box still hooked up . I would have taken that thing off before going in.

 

[GCross]

Bullet proof thats a good one :-laf . I remember reading a post about a brand new HD PSD the owner put a edge box on it then it started having major engine problems . He took it to the dealer and they said your on own He didbring it in with the box still hooked up . I would have taken that thing off before going in.

Problem is, if the dealer wants to know they can read the extended codes that the box will set and they will know that it was on there. These codes cannot be erased, disconnecting the bats won't do it. This is true for our trucks and I would guess Ford would be the same.

 

[DaveMorris]

GCross,

I know debates have gone down this road before. But simple pressure boxes do nothing other than trick the computer into thinking it needs to supply more boost and fuel nothing more than complicated diodes and resisters. I really couldn't see how this would throw a code on the computer unless the box failed.



anyway back to the topic... have your buddy search the big forums (this one and the ford ones).



You will really get a kick out of the difference,



The ford forums are looking for group rates for AAA tow service, discount engine outlets, and ways to keep them from leaking and keeping the oil out of the crankcases, etc...



The dodge forums are screaming about the paint not being perfect, alittle wind noise, and why this darn fuel system won't hold up to my 500hp engines demands :-laf ... . Saying the auto transmission's are junk because it won't say locked up when I turn on the 150 extra hp settings . . and stuff like that... you will be hard pressed to find a CTD guy that would not jump in his truck and drive across the US pulling max load in the blink of an eye...



I think the ford guys plan thier trips by mapping out the dealership's and connecting the dots... :-laf



every truck manu. has thier share of problems, it is just that dodges seem to be the least of the bunch...



Another good indicator is used car lots, you will rarely see a CTD sitting on the lot for more than a day or two... I have seen the ford's (and some chevy's) sitting on the same lots for months, that right there should tell you something...



Have fun and good luck,

Dave

 

[gsbrockman]

and salesman says the 04 6. 0 is bulletproof!

If the Ford salesman told the guy "wolverines make good housepets", would he believe that, too ? :-laf :-laf :-laf

Greg

 

[DPKetchum]

The Ford sites have more blown up,leaking,farting,belching,slipping,leaving on the side of the road complants since Yugo's. No way MY hard earned money would go into any 6. 0 Ford yet. Just had a friend by a USED 7. 3 2001 with 29k on the odometer. Its a nice truck. I saw it in his driveway and it looked BRAND NEW and my heart sank thinking it was a 6. 0. Whew, it wasn't.

 

[KHogan]

While the CTD is a superior powerplant IMHO, I don';t know about the rest of the powertrain. The jury is still out... I'll let you know further into my 100k warrantee, LOL! The look of the truck is outstanding, though... even the Ford and Chevy guys look, LOL!

Having said that, the Harley Ford SD is a nice looking truck. As a Harley guy, I'd love to see Harley defect to Dodge. Ck out the new '05 Harley Frod... it comes in a dark blue with flames that looks outstanding. Now if we can only get Dodge to offer all the goodies that Ford does, we'd be doing something!

 

[klenger]

The Harley package would be a poor reason to buy a truck IMHO. First decide what truck is the right one, then decide what package and options to get. The apeal of the Harley package will be long-gone before the truck wears out, ... well, maybe not for a Ford.

 

[GCross]

A bit off topic but can anyone explain? I like trucks and rode motorcycles for 30 years (some Harleys) from '63 to '93 but I don't get the association between Ford and Harley since they have nothing in common. Did Ford just pay HD a fee to use thier name in hopes of encouraging HD owners to buy a Ford?



-George-

 

[sarj]

Hey George,



I was lookin' at those at the end of last year, and I think they got the idea when someone brought their Ford back to the dealer complaining it "leaked oil like his Harley". Aside from that, there's a two tone paint and some stickers, and I fergit how many thousands they were charging for that... and THAT's about extent the association of the two. It was the most over-rated marketing thing I ever saw. I think what they were shooting for were all the trailer-queen Harley riders out there. Even the trailer queens have their standards... no one would get caught trucking their Harley to a meet in a toyota or nissan :-laf



sarj

 

[DPKetchum]

The Ford drivetrain is not superior by any means. The torqueshift seems to have more complaints then the 48re. Its only splits 1st and 2nd to be a 5 speed. The 6. 0 dosen't have any low end grunt. The ZF 6 speed is marginal to say the least. As far as looks every Ford I pass or see I catch almost all the owners LOOKING. My next tag I wish could say I CAUGHT YOU LOOKING ! Don't see as many DuraMaxes as I do Dodges or Fords. I'd rather have a DuraMax then a Ford drivetrain wise.

 

[GCross]

sarj



Thanks for clearing that up for me, now I understand.



-George-

 

[Tony T.]

Ford PSD 6.0 or Dodge Cummins 600

Well here since July we (my crew) at work have been testing the 04 Ford Crewcab PSD 6. 0. We now have over 10k on the clock, with not a drop of oil usage or any other problems. I have been checking it myself before start ups in the mornings,also checking for the diesel smell in the oil, an overfill. I have not found either. The shop scheduled oil changes at 4k, but this 1 ton truck with 145 gal aux diesel fuel tank an our tools is being driven by six different people at different times does'nt see any sort of babying. Lots of idling, just in the last month in a half company started using the ULSD also. It also has the 5-spd auto, basic am-fm radio,pwr windows,dl,cruise,tilt, an the rubber mat. 99% of the time I ride in the back behind the who ever gets chumped into driveing that day (driver), an from where I set the truck feels rough riding to me. As far as get-up-an-go it seems to do well.



First of all let me say these are just my observation on this one particular truck with the 6. 0. Now we do have other ones for other crews, but have not heard any complaints thus so far an some are the 03 year model. Time will tell, but again these trucks are seeing different drivers all the time.



I was looking at the Fords to start with an a friend/mechanic told me if I was going to buy a Ford to buy a new one an plan on getting rid of it around before 100K mark, started naming all these different parts that would be going out around then. Then he said, wait a minute what am I saying go ahead an get yourself one I need the work :-laf , I said, what would you buy, his reply was a Dodge with the Cummins, very reliable, all this coming from a mechanic that drives Chevys.



We will see on the 6. 0 work truck how it performs because it suspose to last us ten years. Our 94 7. 3 Natural lasted, but it was on it's last leg with 182K an a ton of idling winter an summer.



This is my first (personal) diesel truck in my signature and I hope it lives up to the Cummins reputation that I 've been hearing about for years, so far with 22K plus miles I could'nt be happier. I have not even drove a 305/555 or a 325/600. The 305hp-48RE came out three weeks after I bought my truck, but,the stock 250hp/47RE has been a good one so far.



Tony