Ford and GM diesel power speculation

[FLynes]

Congratulations, FLynne, on being selected for promotion to Sergeant First Class.



Yeah, owning a home is a lot more important that a new Ram. Keep your credit report clean, at least until after you close on your mortgage.



If you get ready for a new Ram eventually I can give you names and numbers of a very honest, straight up Dodge dealership that will treat you with honesty and respect. No tricks, no games, they will do exactly as they agree to do. I have bought three Dodge Rams from them, over the phone, ordered exactly as I specified, for $100 over invoice and I received a copy of the invoice just to keep my suspicios little mind satisfied.



That tow bed would look real nice if it was attached to a real truck!

Thanks for the heads up on your dealership. If they can get the '03-'05 models, I'm all for it.

 

[JCoffey]

Fred,



Have you already found an '05 to transplant in to your Ford?



Are you doing it yourself or having it done locally?



Maybe when you get it done I could ride with you and spring for the diesel and we could take a road trip to Lubbock and take Harvey out for a ride and lunch.



But only if I can get pictures of him sitting on the heated seats?





Congrats on the promotion.



James

 

[FLynes]

James,



That's some funny s#$t:-laf:-laf:-laf:-laf , but I don't think Harvey enjoys eating crow.



I need to finish buying this house, before the wife even considers letting me save up money for the transplant. I know where I can get an '05 engine, ready to go, at any given time, so that's not my worry. What I plan to do is send the truck up to Great Falls, MT, to AutoWorld and have them do the transplant..... I read nothing but good things about them and have spoken to them once... very pleasant folks.



I was talking to a guy at the feed store the other day about it, and he told me that Kadell Suggs does the transplants too. I know he does awesome work, when it comes to the MegaCab stretches, but I wasn't aware that he did the CTD swaps.



Can anyone confirm this? Every time I've tried calling them, there's no answer. His place is a helluva lot closer than MT.

 

[JCoffey]

Fred,



I have read quite a bit about Autoworld als and they seem to be a first class operation. I was familiar with Kadell Suggs doing the longbed megacab conversions but did not know he did engine swaps either. It does not mention it on his website. It would definitely be nicer to drive to Elm Mott rather than to Montana. I would probably even follow you over to bring you back after dropping your truck off at Kadell's just to check out the longbed megacabs.



James

 

[FLynes]

Hell, it would be fun just to go over there for the day just to see him do the stretches!



I'll keep trying to call him and get an answer for the board.

 

[HBarlow]

Fred,

Have you already found an '05 to transplant in to your Ford?

Are you doing it yourself or having it done locally?

Maybe when you get it done I could ride with you and spring for the diesel and we could take a road trip to Lubbock and take Harvey out for a ride and lunch.

But only if I can get pictures of him sitting on the heated seats?


Congrats on the promotion.

James

Sounds like a good plan to me. Let me know when you're traveling north. I'm not too proud to ride in a Ford, I've owned a few of them in the past. I'll even sit on the heated seats for you if it's a cold day.

After lunch and a ride on the heated seats I'll take you guys for a ride in a good truck.

 

[Wingate]

The idea of putting the exhaust in the "v" is mainly due to emissions constraints. . To aid the emissions, the exhaust is moved inboard to keep exhaust temps and exhaust velocity up, this will help with quick spooling of the compound turbochargers. Im sure the engine will end up with and exhaust system that would make NASA proud. So, the added heat will help with the regen system. Just wondering if the the new Ford and Isuzu will be using UREA injection????

 

['strokeThis_'07]

Im almost positive both the new Ford and GMs will use urea injection. No official releases as of yet, but they will, as will the cab and chassis Dodges...

 

[FLynes]

I went by the local dealer to see if there might be any diesels on the lot, and the salesman told me that they will not be receiving any new diesel trucks at all; they will be concentrating on selling the FlexFuel 1500's that they have left on their lot... . place is starting to look like a ghost town.



If, and this is starting to look like it may happen, Chrysler happens to fold up shop, what happens to the Cummins engine? I know that, when GM sold off Allison, they secured the rights to the 1000 transmission for something like the next ten generations.



Given the state of the economy, I'm glad I made the decision to stay in the military... at least I have job security. I really feel bad for all the auto workers.



It would be a real shame to see Dodge go away.

 

[honda350rmx]

why would any one buy a truck that changes it eng every four years. all so you can get the 6. 7 cummins in the ford 650-750's. says a lot about there engines lol

 

[PatrickHansen]

SFC Lynes, if the seats in your '05 hurt your back, wouldn't new seats be way less expensive than a new truck of any flavor?

 

[FLynes]

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond... . with new rank comes new responsibilities (a whole crapload of them).



To answer your question, Patrick, yes it would have been cheaper to get new seats, but I couldn't afford them at the time, and when I got rid of my '05 there was a bit of a longer story to it than just the seats hurting my back.



If you look in the 3rd Gen threads, I posted it somewhere.

 

[mgoncalves]

why would any one buy a truck that changes it eng every four years. all so you can get the 6. 7 cummins in the ford 650-750's. says a lot about there engines lol

Good point... . Not!!

Here's a quick breakdown of major engine changes of all brands.

Ford powerstroke 94-97, 99-03, 03-07, 08-?
Dodge Cummins 89-93, 94-98, 98-02, 03-07, 07-?
Chevy Duramax 01-04, 04-05, 06-07, 07-?

 

[RVTRKN]

Good point... . Not!!



Here's a quick breakdown of major engine changes of all brands.



Ford powerstroke 94-97, 99-03, 03-07, 08-?

Dodge Cummins 89-93, 94-98, 98-02, 03-07, 07-?

Chevy Duramax 01-04, 04-05, 06-07, 07-?

But the 5. 9 in any version is King, period. The 6. 7 is not what I wanted, but when I purchased the C&C, it was the only diesel option for the 07 3500 C&C, and it has the same reliability as the 5. 9, not to mention some same internals. But the chevy engines can't even come close, not to mention the pre 01 engine. (I think the 6. 2) And Fords engines, well the 6. ohno says it all.



But they are the same quality... Not!!

 

[mgoncalves]

Easy big fella, just pointing out how flawed the 4 years statement was.





What exactly is the 5. 9 "king" of anyways?

 

[RVTRKN]

King of the light duty application for any make, mainly due to, it is a medium duty engine, and many have actually been worked hard for 1,000,000 miles, when the life expectancy is 300 to 500 thousand on an average, thats even in the medium duty application.



How many times did the Duramax have the heads redesigned because the inferior aluminum heads would give out, so they had to add head bolts to keep them down. How many CTD's have you heard of, were the overheating problem couldn't be solved. What about the glow plug issue for the LBZ when first introduced that caused many engine replacements when they exploded in the cylinder. I had to drive a 05 D/A for about 30K miles and was not impressed with the poor performance when at 10K GVW. Not to mention, its a Izusu designed engine, ya I know its made here, so what, it is still there design.



How many engine failures, and I'm not talking about the turbo's or head gasket failures, for the 6. ohno, but actual complete meltdowns while at the limit of the recommended GCVWR for the Ford, mind you not the axle ratings which can take it up a lot more. The 7. 3 is a dog but pulls like a train and has proven durable, the problem is the design for the lifter/injector pump that robs the needed passing power, causing you to get stuck behind a Semi going a lot slower pulling heavy up a grade. Now this one is a personal issue, every Ford I have ever owned was a POS.



Now I won't leave out any 5. 9 issues that I'm aware of, "B" block and dow pin issues, but with the 100K mile engine warranty, it was taken care of under warranty. The reason for engine redesign on the 5. 9 CTD's was mainly due to strict emissions regs, but the 5. 9 just got stronger and more powerful and remained reliable. There's nothing better than pulling my 5ver at 22K GCVW on a long grade, when all of a sudden a Semi pulls out in front of me trapping me and causing me to slow, when he moves back over or the left lane clears, Just drop down a gear and "BAM" I'm back at the cruising speed.



That is why the CTD is King.

 

[Dieselnut59]

I have owned 5 dodge/cummins trucks and never had a cracked dash. I have back problems and only the first one has an uncomfortable seat (first gen bench). The '98 work truck has the naugahide (plastic, vinyl, whatever) seats and they are as uncomfortable as leather to me (hot in Summer, cold in Winter, make my back sweat year round). I absolutely love the engine, transmission and interior of my '03. It is a very comfortable truck. I also love the interior and engine of my Liberty. It has leather seats, which I have MOPAR cloth covers over since I bought it. I am not a fan of automatics, but a good friend has a '08 Dodge/Cummins with the Aisin 6 speed. It is every bit as good of a transmission as the Alison and is built by a reputable (no bailout required) company. Aisin has been building heavy equipment components for many years. If I had to have an automatic behind a diesel truck, I would choose the Aisin. Given the choice, I still gladly choose a manual transmission hands down.

Ford has some nice features in their trucks, as does GM. Unfortunately, the engines and their ease of service are not one of them. This is important for someone who works on his own vehicles and equipment. I also do not like the IFS on the GM trucks and the way their frame rails hang so low under the cab. I prefer Dodge's suspension and engine and any of the three's interiors are nice. I like the GMs the least and cannot stand the way the damn headlights stay on all the time! All of the "big three" have cheesie pickup beds and cheesie bumpers (which I remedy with a Ranch Hand and a flatbed). Overall, the Cummins powered Dodge is the best combination out there. A Cummins powered Ford would be a close match in my opinion. A Duramax GM is certainly a better engine than a 6. 0/6. 4 Ford. Again, these are just my $. 04 (adjusted for BHO inflation) :-laf