Diesel Question

[bobc]

Hay all you Diesel guru's, got a question for you. I have never owned a diesel anything. I have been thinking of getting rid of my '01 Chevy 2500HD with a 400 gas engine and getting a diesel. My days of buying junk and rebuilding are over. What I need is something that gets great fuel milage and is able to pull a 3500lb. utility trailer. The roughest duty ths new truck will ever see is the back roads and two tracks of the UP of Michigan.
I think my old half ton GMC had more power than my 2500HD does but that is my personal feeling. The 2500HD has the chip, the K&N filter and all the quote, "fuel saving" gizmos. The best milage I ever got with the 400 was 13.63 without the trailer. With the trailer, 10,11 at best. The new truck, I don't care if it's Ford, Chevy/GMC, Dodge or ? as long as it's stone reliable. Prefer extended cab with all the bells and whistles, long box, automatic. My wife has the damdest time trying to drive a stick. Suggestions?

 

[Zatara]

If you like your Chevy I would highly recommend another Chevy with the Duramax and Allison transmission combo.
It is reliable, good mileage and plenty of power.

 

[ntsqd]

The best auto comes behind the D-Max. All of the others have had various degrees of problems over the years. I know that the current PSD auto trans coolers are huge! Nearly the size of the A/C condensor.

Were it me I'd want the 6BT in front of the Allison trans in the first year coil sprung Super Duty, but that's a build not a buy.

 

[olympiccop2002]

I might be biased because I own one but I would say a 2003-2007 Dodge 2500 or 3500 with the 5.9l Cummins would be an excellent choice.

Fuel mileage is very good and they can be had with all of the bells and whistles you could ever want. Easy to "unlock" the hidden power from the 5.9l with a tuner or something of the sort.

Suspension lifts are relitively cheap. A front suspension 2" lift will give you the ability to run 35" tires (315/70/17).

ARB and other manufactures have front replacement winch bumpers.

ARB already has a front air locker for the axle and keeps promising a rear axle air locker.

The transmission is going to be your weakest part on the truck. If you don't get into the insane hp/torque numbers by modifying the engine you should be safe.

 

[milo12]

I agree with Olympiccop2002. The trans is the weak point but there is a huge aftermarket with solid trans upgrades available.

Off topic - Olympiccop2002, I love that Roosevelt quote in your sig.

 

[pplkook]

I have been on the diesel hunt for a while. Get a 04.5 to early 07 Dodge 5.9L Cummins. It will have the 48RE which was a big improvement to the 47RE. Vast majority of the problems with the auto transmissions have been due to the super HP/Torque Mods and pulling huge loads. If you can find an original unmodified truck that was a driver or grocery getter then I would recommend the Dodge.

The GMCs with the Allison's also had issues with the housings cracking?? Maybe that was a one year deal, but the thing I would do is search around on the net for the diesel head forums. There are a ton and you will learn a bunch. You do have to remember there is tons of bias, not only do you have the Dodge vs. GMC crowd, but you also throw in there the Cummins vs. Isuzu debate the straight 6 vs. V8 debate AND the Solid axle vs. IFS debate.

Good luck...Just don't get a 6L Ford (I think 03 to 06) - even if it is an amazing deal.

 

[olympiccop2002]

The 2003-2004.5 non-California Dodge had the 48re behind the Cummins H.O. motor also... That's what is in my 2003. The 47re was used behind the Cummins S.O. motors.

I don't have one but have read that the 2005 and up 6.0l Fords were less problematic. Take that with a grain of salt though and do some research on them before you purchase.

 

[Jeep]

The GM is a great hiway cruiser, the Dodge is more solid of a truck that will work harder, we replace just as many 48re's as Allisons so there doesn't seem to be much of a difference there. GM gives ride and comfort quality if you can forego the the solid front axle and the Cummins for a little more rugged truck. We replace tons of 6.0 PSD's along with transmissions in the Fords, the 6.4 PSD is showing some issues too which sucks because I really like the interior room and chassis on the Fords. I drive a 2004 Dodge with 200 000 KM's on it now, I just rebuilt the front end, the rest is good, I tow all year long with it.

 

[lllateralus]

This topic always opens up a can of worms...

Almost all replies are going to be biased and its going to turn into a 'sword fight'... if you know what I mean... :smilies27

Personally, I am a Ford guy. But, the Cummins is the best diesel.
I'd take a Cummins dodge with a solid manual tranny, if it was ME.

(of course you said no manuals in the original post)

 

[Metcalf]

You could always teach the SO to drive a stick....

 

[bobc]

Hi Guys, Thanks for all your response. I went down to the Chevy dealer just because I know the whole family. The owner was busy with another customer and tossed me the keys to a '09 3/4 ton crewcab. It had 2 miles on it. Boy, was I surprised! I always thought diesels were supposed to be noisy inside. It was about as noisy as my '01 2500HD. If I were to order one what options would you suggest? What kind of fuel milage are you guys getting?

 

[lllateralus]

Just curious, if you drove it, how did it drive?

Was it solid? smooth? powerful, etc.

Not a GM guy.. AT ALLLLLL but I am curious how they are doing.:smiley_drive:

 

[4Rescue]

I can't stress this enough, go try the Dodge...
The Cummins motor is definatly the best Domestic Diesel and with the manual tranny...Just...wow it's real fun to drive, the auto though is great as well , since that's what you want, in the new ones with the j-brake built in and an amazing tow-haul mode. The Dodge interior is tops by a long shot and I thought they were going to offer the Power wafgon with the Diesel wich to me spells game over for the competetion. If I could get that package they were showing around Easter Jeep Safari with the 40's and the new Cummins 6.7ISB Motor... Oh god how sweet that truck was to me.

My personal choice:
New SRW3500 Diesel
Charcoal Grey or their Khaki with dark charcoal interior.
Wish I could get the Power Wagon but alas no Diesel option acording to their site.

I liked the looks of the Fords the most but Dodge's are a close second, add in some anthrecite/black American Racing Mojave Wheels with some 35x10.50ssr's... The dodge and the CUmmins make for one sweet sweet truck.

Cheers

Dave

 

[KEENO]

Light Duty vs. Medium Duty Diesel

I realize this discussion isn't purely about the Diesel Engine of choice.... It's about the Vehicle of Choice and a Transmission Option.
If the decision was purely about the most durable Diesel offered by the Big 3 in a pickup truck configuration.... I also believe the nod goes to CUMMINS.

I would like to submit this fact: The Cummins is the ONLY Medium Duty Diesel offered in the pick-up market. Ford & GM only offer Light Duty Diesels at a lower durability rating. (unless you get a Ford F650 or F750, then the Cummins is an Option at additional cost over the PowerStroke)

From Cummins in regard to Diesel definition & Emission expectations:

Thanks for your email request about emission duty cycles.

There are 3 levels of EPA certifications:
Light-heavy duty, Medium-heavy duty and Heavy-heavy duty.

Light-heavy duty engines............expected emissions warranty life 110,000 to 120,000 miles
non rebuildable engines limited gross weight capability

Medium-heavy duty engines.......expected emissions warranty life 185,000 miles
rebuildable engines for vehicles up to 33,000 pounds

Heavy-heavy duty engines.........expected emissions warranty life to exceed 500,000 miles
rebuildable engines for heavy duty use for vehicles up to
120,000 pounds

Cummins only sells Medium-heavy duty or Heavy-heavy duty engines for vehicles in excess of 8600 GVWR.
The engine life-to-overhaul expectations for the Cummins B5.9 series 12 valve mechanical engine is 300,000 miles and 400,000 for the ISB 24 valve electronic engines.
The C8.3 and L10 engines have expected life-to-overhaul or 800,000 miles.
The M11 engines have 900,000 miles and the N14 has one million mile expected
life-to-overhaul.

Yes.... I'm a bit biased as well.
Note: 3 things that should never be discussed among people you just met: Religion, Politics & Diesel Engines:coffeedrink:

KEENO

 

[CharlieV]

I have 260k on my 97' powerstroke and 100k on my 06' powerstroke. If I may inject a little advice into this thread it would be to go with the Duramax. I love my Powerstroke diesels, but have heard awful things about the new 6.4L. Everyone I know who owns a Dmax loves it. The Cummis 5.9 is a great motor, but I have friends who say their fuel economy has halved from the previous 24valve models. If you can find a used truck (if you are even in that market), any of the three brands are a good option if they are pre-07 emissions, though the first few years of the Dmax witnessed major injector problems, but then again the powerstroke (6.0) had major EGR valve problems. None were without their faults.

My business is horse transportation, though we now use tractor/trailers for the majority of our work. All of my experience with the three brands (I am grouping Chevy and GMC together) is from a commercial (read "no one babies these things") standpoint, hauling trailers that can exceed 20k. Good luck with your purchase. I would emphatically recommend the use of a good synthetic oil in your motor if you can. The 260k on my 97', with no oil consumption between 5k changes, is a testament to that.