Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
I thought it might be time for an update for those of you who are interested. You may remember that the utility company I work for bought a new Ford F350 4x4 six speed 6. 0 diesel in 2003 for my use here in Northern Nevada. I am the only person that drives this truck and it comes home with me every night. I now have put 128,000 miles on the truck. It has left me afoot twice due to alternator failure. I found that you have about 20 miles of driving on battery power alone following an alternator failure. The original alternator failed at about 70,000 miles. The rebuilt alternator from Car Quest failed at about 70,050 miles. Both times left me stranded and needing a tow truck. A new alternator was installed from Ford and is still cooking along.
Other than the above mentioned failures I figure I must have got a good 6. 0. It still does not nor will it ever have the power to pull toilet paper out of my *** below 2,000 r. p. m which is very noticeable with the six speed manual transmission. It does continue to have good power above 2,000 r. p. m and delivers what I consider good fuel mileage. (17. 5 mpg @ 75 mph,10500 lb truck with utility body). I have learned to use low for every start and low range for starting with a heavy load or up steep hills. Yes it is a p. i. t. a but I am still on the original clutch and don't expect to have to replace it for a good long time. I am very careful to change oil every 3,000 miles ( no consumption between changes) and fuel filters every 10,000 miles. In addition I have the lubricants in both axels,transfer case and transmission changed every 50,000 miles. I am also very careful to allow turbo cooldown time as this truck sees a lot of highway use. I have towed as much as 16,000 lbs for a cgvw of 26,500 lbs. Once you get the first 3 feet it does a good job. I am still on the original brake pads so you can tell I don't rawhide this truck. I treat it as well as my CTD. The truck itself is relatively rattle free despite a lot of dirt road and very severe off road work. It starts every time even down to -2 F,doesn't like it but it starts.
Would I ever trade my CTD for a Powerstroke? No freakin way. If Dodge didn't exist and I had to choose between a Ford Powerstroke with a 6 speed and a Chevy Duramax with a six speed for my use I would pick the Ford in a heartbeat. `At least you can still crawl under one without a jack, not so with the GM trucks. Sorry for the long post and I'd bet a lot of you could care less but there it is for what it's worth. Steve
Other than the above mentioned failures I figure I must have got a good 6. 0. It still does not nor will it ever have the power to pull toilet paper out of my *** below 2,000 r. p. m which is very noticeable with the six speed manual transmission. It does continue to have good power above 2,000 r. p. m and delivers what I consider good fuel mileage. (17. 5 mpg @ 75 mph,10500 lb truck with utility body). I have learned to use low for every start and low range for starting with a heavy load or up steep hills. Yes it is a p. i. t. a but I am still on the original clutch and don't expect to have to replace it for a good long time. I am very careful to change oil every 3,000 miles ( no consumption between changes) and fuel filters every 10,000 miles. In addition I have the lubricants in both axels,transfer case and transmission changed every 50,000 miles. I am also very careful to allow turbo cooldown time as this truck sees a lot of highway use. I have towed as much as 16,000 lbs for a cgvw of 26,500 lbs. Once you get the first 3 feet it does a good job. I am still on the original brake pads so you can tell I don't rawhide this truck. I treat it as well as my CTD. The truck itself is relatively rattle free despite a lot of dirt road and very severe off road work. It starts every time even down to -2 F,doesn't like it but it starts.
Would I ever trade my CTD for a Powerstroke? No freakin way. If Dodge didn't exist and I had to choose between a Ford Powerstroke with a 6 speed and a Chevy Duramax with a six speed for my use I would pick the Ford in a heartbeat. `At least you can still crawl under one without a jack, not so with the GM trucks. Sorry for the long post and I'd bet a lot of you could care less but there it is for what it's worth. Steve
His dad is on his way out with the Pete and equipment trailer this time. It has large exhaust, and a 70 hp "chip". It has been hooked to a trailer about 3 times, but I would say about 95% of the 14X,XXX miles on the truck have been with a bed full of toaters with tools in them. He does not treat it nicely, but It gets the same abuse my old cummins has gotten. 
