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looking for a new old truck

spencerhenry

New member
i currently tow with a 2005 f-250 diesel. love the truck, powerful, quiet, comfortable, runs down the highway nice but will also tow anything i need to. BUT, the motor has 64,000 miles on it, everyone says i will start having problems soon. it already is not starting as good as it used to. i dont want to spend money on egr eliminator, glow plugs and harnesses, etc... it was my plan from the day i bought it to sell it before it got too many miles on it. the problem is that i dont want a 2008 to 2010 ford diesel, and cannot afford a 2011. i also have driven the 2011 and it has many things i dont like.
i am thinking about replacing the truck with 2 vehicles, one that will run down the highway nice, and one that i can tow with. i dont tow very far usually, but when i tow it is heavy. my skidsteer with no attachment weighs in at 13,200 pounds, the trailer empty is probably about 5000. i also live in the mountains, from town to my house the road climbs over 2400 vertical feet in about 20 miles.
i have been thinking about an old ford f-350. a 79 with a 60 front, 60 or 70 rear, and a big block. or better yet a cummins. it has been a long time since i drove a gas truck pulling something HEAVY. will a 351 or 400 pull a trailer that heavy up steep hills? is the frame on one of those old trucks strong enough for truly heavy loads? the cummins 12 valve motors are sometimes put into these trucks, but some of them are so expensive i might as well buy a newer truck.
any suggestions?
old funky trucks set up right are appealing.
 

TOMLESCOEQUIP

Just Plinkin Away the $$
i currently tow with a 2005 f-250 diesel. love the truck, powerful, quiet, comfortable, runs down the highway nice but will also tow anything i need to. BUT, the motor has 64,000 miles on it, everyone says i will start having problems soon. it already is not starting as good as it used to. i dont want to spend money on egr eliminator, glow plugs and harnesses, etc... it was my plan from the day i bought it to sell it before it got too many miles on it. the problem is that i dont want a 2008 to 2010 ford diesel, and cannot afford a 2011. i also have driven the 2011 and it has many things i dont like.
i am thinking about replacing the truck with 2 vehicles, one that will run down the highway nice, and one that i can tow with. i dont tow very far usually, but when i tow it is heavy. my skidsteer with no attachment weighs in at 13,200 pounds, the trailer empty is probably about 5000. i also live in the mountains, from town to my house the road climbs over 2400 vertical feet in about 20 miles.
i have been thinking about an old ford f-350. a 79 with a 60 front, 60 or 70 rear, and a big block. or better yet a cummins. it has been a long time since i drove a gas truck pulling something HEAVY. will a 351 or 400 pull a trailer that heavy up steep hills? is the frame on one of those old trucks strong enough for truly heavy loads? the cummins 12 valve motors are sometimes put into these trucks, but some of them are so expensive i might as well buy a newer truck.
any suggestions?
old funky trucks set up right are appealing.


Here ya go:

http://www.thehulltruth.com/fishing...-ford-f250-ext-cab-lwb-7-3-diesel-manual.html

Can't kill those old 7.3's looks like a nice truck for the $$
 

Av8r3400

Gone Flyin'
One word answer: Cummins.

12 valve, 94 to 98-1/2 are the best ones. Manual tranny 2 or 4wd will pull like a mule, Dana axles, get great mileage and run 10x longer than any of the V-8 diesels on the market.
 

JimVT

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
my 90 dodge is still going good.i must have 180 thousand on it. It isn't know for good traction. That heavy diesel and tow wheel drive .
Jim
 

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
A 460 big block will pull it but gas mileage sucks even when running empty. A Cummins is great all around for mileage and power but very heavy and almost requires 4wd to get around. The Dodge are prone to front end troubles with the diesel but are fairly trouble free otherwise.
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
i vote for the 12 valve cummins my 89 dodge is over 200 k and nothing more than injectors and a pump and it has plowed snow most of its life the one problem with the gen 1 dodges is the 5 speed gearbox's are a pos going on number 4 next trans will be a nv4500 or an allison
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I can't help with an answer, but have a question. What engine is in your current truck that it's going to have issues "soon", and you're only at 64K miles. That seems like a really early time frame for a diesel to have issues. That's only about 1500 hours on it.
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
the power strokes have an idm that goes bad verry common problem but a google search will get you parts to repair it on the cheap with out buying a whole module and getting it programed egr deleate is always a good idea if there is going to be a problem with a new diesel it will be with the emmissions accessorys
 

spencerhenry

New member
it is not just a ficm (fuel injection control module), they are known to have problems with the egr, injectors, and some other items.
the truck right now needs 2 injectors, and maybe a glow plug. not a big deal right? wrong, injectors are a couple hundred a piece and all the looking i have done says that when one or two go bad, the rest are soon to follow. the egr coolers are know to crap out starting about 60k. sure there are egr eliminator kits, or heavy duty egr's. but all of that costs dollars.
codes showed #1 glowplug could be bad. you cant change a glow plug without changing the harness too, well that means you might as well change all the glowplugs on that side. while you have the valve cover off and the oil rail off as well, should you just replace all the injectors? if the egr cooler fails, it can mix oil and water, obviously not good. plus the truck is going to need ball joints, axle shaft u-joints, and some seals in the front end soon.
sure i could do all the necessary work, but after putting $6k to $8k into it, it wont be worth any more when i go to sell it. turbo hasnt been putting out boost over 24 psi for a while now. while into it, might as well fix that too. why not sell it BEFORE it needs all that work.

still runs fine right now, as long as it is warm.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Damn. Never knew the Ford diesels crapped out so soon. Good to know now as my next truck was probably going to be a Ford.
 

spencerhenry

New member
not necessarily all fords. '08 to 10 are crap diesels, dont know about the new ones. what are your choices, buy a government motors truck, or a fiat owned. no offense to you dodge owners, but i wouldnt touch a dodge. good diesel, and thats about it.
 
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