Diesel truck for daily driving

NetChemica

Let me see your crack!
May 23, 2007
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Anyone here daily drive a Powerstroke/Duramax/Cummins on a daily basis?

I've been thinking of picking one up since diesel is becoming more available. My main concerns are reliability and cost of maintenance/repair.

I'm not an expert on diesel engines, but I'm familiar with how they work, and I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem performing my own maintenance and repair. The only thing I'd be worried about is the cost of parts.

You guys have any input?
 

Yaj Yak

Gladys
TCG Premium
May 24, 2007
122,206
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Niche score of 2,363
It seems that all of the trucks have their quirks... late model 7.3s in good condition are becoming harder and harder to find- with that being said- the 7.3 of course is a brick shit house.... but be prepared for little shit to nickle and dime you to death- mainly front end parts- Ford truck's for the most part have little shit just plague their front ends... 7.3s dont like to be quick. seems to me to be one of the hardest newer diesels to go quick.

6.0s are meh- get a good one- might get a bad one- if i were to get one- I would get a newer one- delete the egr- run head studs- throw a tuner on it and go mid 13s. they sound worse than they are it seems...

6.4s are neat... really strong trany's... and a tune and they are fucking rocket ships... take 200+hp tunes- go low 13s... bam. fucking awesome.

gm's- early duramax's- lb7's 01-04.5- like to eat injectors- and they are a bitch- under the valvecover- need a special tool to get em out- and all injector warranties iirc are basically expired now as well. if getting them fixed somewhere- seems to be 2-4k$ job... (they crack, leak fuel into crank case... yadda... or other stuff) can be made quite quick- pretty easily- 5 speed allison tho- anything more than a 70-90 hp tune- trans doesnt like it.

llys- 04.5-06- fixed the injector deal- but some overheat- seem to get worse mileage than the earlier lb7s... moddable... 5 speed allison still... solid trucks overall...

07- whatever lbz- great engine- 6 speed allison- truck is gonna be expensive... truck is moddable and quick when modded right- trans still can fall into limp mode pretty easily (quicker than low 13s/high 12s be prepared to put a trans in it)



dodge. yeah its a dodge. cummins are sweet. but its in a dodge. i dont know shit about em. but i wouldnt do it.


i wouldnt have any problem going 7.3, 6.0, 6.4 or a duramax. from any year. id personally just stay away from the lb7s just cuz i wouldnt want to deal with injector bullshit.


if i were to look for a truck with 20k ish tho- id prolly look for an 06-07ish 6.0. or the newest duramax i could possibly get.
 

Dasfinc

Ready for the EVlution
Sep 28, 2007
20,919
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Wheaton, IL
As far as the Cummins go, to my understanding there were big improvements in the interior and trans as of like 2004.5 or w/e. Older I'd aim for a stick.

As we talked about the other day, I'm a big 7.3 fan, and like it was already said, mainly due to their age, front end will most likely need to be rebuilt sooner than later if you are buying a used one. They are easier to work on than the 6.0's IIRC also. There are ALOT of service trucks with the 6.0, which can be had cheaply, and in a newer year, and can be made fast easily, but as mentioned, the heads like to get a little floaty...

I've been in my buddies 04 Dirtymax, and the interior is VERRRRY nice compared to the fords, but also as mentioned, he has already had the injectors and harnessing all replaced, and it cost him like $2600, and its still 'not quite right' It was running 13's with 'chip and tune', but again, he had a built trans put in it shortly after that. He had told me it was VERY easy to 'build' the ally transmissions, and you can even just buy a built one out-right fairly cheaply Vs. other transmissions.
 

daturbosix

HNIC @ GoodFellas Garage
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Mar 2, 2008
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Jeff
i have a late year '04 6.0 f250. couldnt really be happier. but it has had its problems. turbo vains stuck, egr cooler blew, trans blew, intake gaskets blew.

but thats over 4 years since i got it. i do have arp headstuds and good gaskets. im going to doing a '03 turbo swap, egr delete, updated oil cooler, coolant flush, intake gaskets, and a coolant filter shortly... once i finally get all the parts i need to do it. then it should be virtually bulletproof.
 

XxApollynxX

TCG Elite Member
Jun 2, 2008
1,901
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Plainfield
I'd buy a 03/04 6.0 in a heart beat! The 7.3 are nice but pricey, and the Trans are just as junk as the 6.0 It's all about matience and how the truck was treated. I DD'ed, Towed/raced my truck for the year I owned it and put 16k miles on it. Depending on what fluids/filters you run oil changes will range from $70-$140 and fuel filters are $60 oil changes every 5k fuel filters every 10k, and drain your fuel/water seperator every oil change. I also ran 2-stroke oil in my fuel to help with injector lubricity on my 6.0 and it loved it. I deleted the EGR, got a good tune on my SCT and I loved every minute of it. Although KJ is right get ready for nickle/dime any Superduty with around 100k miles will need upper/lower balljoints, tire rods, and sway links possible. Plus diff flushes etc. IF you have any questions just shoot me a PM or AIM me I have worked on almost all the combos Cummins, powerstroke, dmax etc. and have friends with all different types of trucks so I hear it all.
 

CrunkMaro

DurkaDurkaTerrorist
Jun 17, 2010
2,699
2
00 f-250 powrstroke.

about 180k miles...barely even broken in yet.

no maintenence minus brakes/oil changes/fluid changes(drivetrain)

threw a superchips tuner on it, doesn't do too bad
got 21 mpg driving out to rock city from o'hare with no tonnaeu cover, and the gate up.

s-dampeners about to go but fuck that

gets roughly 14-15 mpgs city only


problem is if you live in a decently populated area, you are going to have a hard time finding REASONABLE spots to park (i just drive into snow drifts in giant lots) and you will never be able to go through a drive through again
and people like cutting off trucks more than cars


and yeah it is slow. but solid.



fyi: out of the three major truck companies...fords have the most solid frame
 

XxApollynxX

TCG Elite Member
Jun 2, 2008
1,901
0
Plainfield
yeah. the problem was he wouldnt sit head up with my truck. :rollpicard:

Hrmmm im pretty sure you always said you didnt want to race my truck sir. :) You even asked/wanted tunes but never gave me your trucks CODES to see if they matched!

The only reason I ditched the truck is I got to greedy with tuners, and i stacked a quadzilla on top of my Xtreme Race tune and the headgaskets said :fu:


Other wise, I stayed on matience, deleted the EGR Cooler/EGR and I never had any issues with it untill I double stacked programs. If you play with tunes you have to aspect to pop the HG which I did and didn't feel like fixing it so I ditched it for the Evo + some cash!

You can ask Jeff every time I see him I pretty much say I wish I didnt get rid of the truck and just did the HG because at that point my truck would have been rock solid.
 

CrunkMaro

DurkaDurkaTerrorist
Jun 17, 2010
2,699
2
mmmmm i dunno about them having "the most solid frame..." thats kind of a general statement... and yeah im not sure...

good combo of front end boxed frame with rear c-frame. allows for rigidity up front while allowing rear to flex under torque or towing.

and adds about 39048390589 pounds.


but i digress. the newer trucks are a whole nother ballgame. i'm just talking about the pre 02 and from what i've seen.


oh

and

fuck dodge.
 

skeezer

TCG Elite Member
Jan 3, 2008
30,257
21
Luke's Beef
what a gross picture

3040507_25cdc154-b905-410d-8ec4-3d6aa1e60af5.jpg
 
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