who makes the best diesel truck?

[STLfirewood]

I just got laid off from Chrysler. They closed the minivan plant here in St. Louis. I have been there for 15years. There is only one reason they are talking about helping the auto industry. It's money and only money. There are a ton f people receiving a pension from Chrysler Ford and GM. If they go belly up the government has to pick those pensions up at 60%. That is a ton of money. It's cheaper to give them low interest loans then it is to take on the pensions.

Scott

 

[wampum]

When the Duramax first came out I was excited and ordered one loaded up nicely but with a 6 speed. Literally like having a baby,it took 9 months to get it. Never had a fly wheel go bad but it did. Next was a throw out bearing,never had one of them go bad either. Then the electrical started,power windows, fuel shut off switch and so on. Really a nice riding lots of power truck when it ran.... Owned a Dodge diesel before,rode like a tank.(1991 model) The Chevy ride was a lot better,but after 2 years I went back to Dodge. Got a 2004 with a 6 speed. So far only a universal joint has gone bad,and in 135 miles I will go past 100,000. I live northwest of Pittsburgh and went to Buffalo recently,on the highway that truck averaged 27 mpg. I wasn't in a hurry and never went over 60 and left it on cruise. Around town I average around 20. Pulling a trailer it dips the lowest was 16 and usually gets 18 or better,depending on hills or level areas.

 

[Bearcreek]

I've never heard of anyone trying to put a Powerstroke or Duramax in a dodge truck. Putting a Cummins in a Ford, however, is a fairly popular swap among diesel performance people. Not as common with the Chevy's. I think there is a very good reason for that. The Cummins is the most powerful and most durable diesel engine available stock in a light truck. The Duramax is a worthy second.

 

[custom8726]

I've never heard of anyone trying to put a Powerstroke or Duramax in a dodge truck. Putting a Cummins in a Ford, however, is a fairly popular swap among diesel performance people. Not as common with the Chevy's. I think there is a very good reason for that. The Cummins is the most powerful and most durable diesel engine available stock in a light truck. The Duramax is a worthy second.

The complexity and cost of doing a duramax swap is far greater then that of a cummins swap, that coupled with the fact that cummins have been around 3 times as long (HENCE) there are alot more of them available in the scrap yard and such makes it a no brainer for a retrofit into other chassis.. They are both great motors, IMHO...

 

[jbighump]

i just bought my first diesel truck 2 years ago and after lots of research( some thing the old lady says i do to much of) i ended up with a shiny new 2006 dodge quad cab 4x4 diesel w/ the six speed standard. after driving the big three i was most impressed w/ the dodge. tons of torque and plenty of get up and go, the ford was a strait turd very sluggish with lots of lag,the chevy was quick and torqey but it felt like a half ton truck. I have pulled upwards of 12k with my dodge and it pulls it with lots of authority. i regularly pull 8k once a week (water tank) and it feels like pulling an atv on a trailer. i am very glad i got the six speed because dodge doesnt build a very stout auto. i regularly get 24mpg in the summer months w/ alight foot on the highway and 19-20mpg on the old country roads around here. but to each his own.:greenchainsaw:

 

[ropensaddle]

Gimmie a M and an A and an C then a K

 

[1 woodpile]

Well, you can get them in Ferd F550s and above... Of course you can get a Cummins in them too

A Cat powerplant would be sweet for the right application! But they don't wind up real fast making them less ideal for the majority of road drivers. Not saying it would stop me from buying a Cat powered truck though

I heard toyota is working with cat for the tundra...

 

[motoroilmccall]

I heard toyota is working with cat for the tundra...

They wish...

In fact, Toyota just canceled all plans to put a diesel in a half ton. And Cat has gotten out of highway engines all together for the time being.

 

[Greg373]

Dodge w/ the Cummins. I've got a Powerstroke and I like it but I wish it were a Dodge. I don't like how the Duramax/Chevy has independant front suspension, I like a solid front axle.

 

[Bearcreek]

Well, you can get them in Ferd F550s and above... Of course you can get a Cummins in them too

A Cat powerplant would be sweet for the right application! But they don't wind up real fast making them less ideal for the majority of road drivers. Not saying it would stop me from buying a Cat powered truck though

I've not heard of anything but a powerstroke or a V10 in a F550. Could you post a link or something where you got your info?

 

[motoroilmccall]

I've not heard of anything but a powerstroke or a V10 in a F550. Could you post a link or something where you got your info?

I think he means the F650 or F750... They can't come in the F550.

 

[Bearcreek]

Yeah, I know. I've heard several people claim that you could get a cat or cummins in a 550, usually its the same one's that say ford owns cummins. I was just being a smart azz. Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[046]

just purchased my second Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel ... looked long and hard to find this.

96 12v CTD 4x4 5sp club cab 2500 with 67k miles. needless to say with miles that low, it's in mint condition. first mileage check indicated 29 mpg coming home. that's freakishly high.. must have had a tailwind coming home. went 44 miles on 1.5gal diesel.

for some reason 5sp in 4x4 2500 12v are extremely hard to find. almost all 2500 4x4 w/12v had auto tranny. seems the 5sp were way more common on 1ton.

suppose to be 20 to 1 in favor of auto vs std tranny on 12v trucks.

my 97 CTD 4x4 CC 2500 is solid enough to drive to Alaska and back.
but I really wanted a manual tranny.... was getting to buy an entire driveline from a burnt truck that had 4x4 + 5sp.

 

[motoroilmccall]

just purchased my second Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel ... looked long and hard to find this.

96 12v CTD 4x4 5sp club cab 2500 with 67k miles. needless to say with miles that low, it's in mint condition. first mileage check indicated 29 mpg coming home. that's freakishly high.. must have had a tailwind coming home. went 44 miles on 1.5gal diesel.

for some reason 5sp in 4x4 2500 12v are extremely hard to find. almost all 2500 4x4 w/12v had auto tranny. seems the 5sp were way more common on 1ton.

suppose to be 20 to 1 in favor of auto vs std tranny on 12v trucks.

my 97 CTD 4x4 CC 2500 is solid enough to drive to Alaska and back.
but I really wanted a manual tranny.... was getting to buy an entire driveline from a burnt truck that had 4x4 + 5sp.

Well I've had 4 of them... Actually, 3 12v's and 1 24V (my current DD)... 3 of those 4 are 5-Spd's. The auto's are way more common for sure, but the good ones are out there.

There's no way you are getting 29mpg's, unless its downhill, wind at your back, being towed. I'm sure it was a glitch or something. The absolute best I've ever gotten was about 23 with a strong wind at my back headed out to Syracuse (East).

 

[046]

couldn't believe it either...on the way back home after picking up 96 CTD. filled up my tank all the way to the neck in Wagnor, Ok. then drove home the back way going mostly 65 mph. got into Tulsa, then drove around town a bit....

stopped and pumped 1.6 gallon of diesel all the way to filler neck top. put slightly more in second time... so call it 1.5 gallons for 44 miles.

that's 29 mpg... probably will never do it again

There's no way you are getting 29mpg's, unless its downhill, wind at your back, being towed. I'm sure it was a glitch or something. The absolute best I've ever gotten was about 23 with a strong wind at my back headed out to Syracuse (East).

 

[stihl sawing]

Well just lost the transmission in the dodge tonight. Like to have not got it home. It wouldn't shift out of first and started to slip bad. The Cummins was roaring from rpm's. I could stop and shift from reverse back to drive and get it to work a little. Hate to think what it's gonna cost to get it rebuilt. It's got 160,000 miles on it and never had any trouble other than replacing the sorry fuel system. This one is not gonna be cheap to fix.

 

[046]

it could be something really simple to fix... or something expensive.
besides doing the below procedure, it's really important not to be stomping on fuel when lockout is engaging. let lockout fully engage, then stomp on it. your torque converter will live MUCH longer.

it also helps to understand where limitations of tranny as matched to a cummins. which produces max torque at 1600 rpm. at that low rpm, transmission is not operating fast enough to produce pressures needed to function at max efficiency. so when pulling large loads, keep your rpm's up.

I've yanked 30k+ loads with my 97 12v w/auto with no problems. by doing the above.

start by draining all fluids, then change out to synthetic AFT. while you are in there adjust the clutch bands. (procedure is listed in second link below)

most importantly post this problem on DTR ... assuming you've got a 24 v... this is the correct section http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/forumdisplay.php?f=89

there's a ton of really knowledgeable folks. also cruise by the faq sticky. odds are someone has already posted answers.

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=110571
http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=121534

Well just lost the transmission in the dodge tonight. Like to have not got it home. It wouldn't shift out of first and started to slip bad. The Cummins was roaring from rpm's. I could stop and shift from reverse back to drive and get it to work a little. Hate to think what it's gonna cost to get it rebuilt. It's got 160,000 miles on it and never had any trouble other than replacing the sorry fuel system. This one is not gonna be cheap to fix.

 

[stihl sawing]

I can't point you in the right direction but I've heard there are some great rebuilds out there that overcome some of the limitations of the original tranny. I've got 180k on my 1996 Dodge and should be doing my homework so I'll be ready when mine goes.....

Thanks TreeCo, Definitely will look into the better ones, would like it to last a little longer next time.

 

[stihl sawing]

it could be something really simple to fix... or something expensive.
besides doing the below procedure, it's really important not to be stomping on fuel when lockout is engaging. let lockout fully engage, then stomp on it. your torque converter will live MUCH longer.

it also helps to understand where limitations of tranny as matched to a cummins. which produces max torque at 1600 rpm. at that low rpm, transmission is not operating fast enough to produce pressures needed to function at max efficiency. so when pulling large loads, keep your rpm's up.

I've yanked 30k+ loads with my 97 12v w/auto with no problems. by doing the above.

start by draining all fluids, then change out to synthetic AFT. while you are in there adjust the clutch bands. (procedure is listed in second link below)

most importantly post this problem on DTR ... assuming you've got a 24 v... this is the correct section http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/forumdisplay.php?f=89

there's a ton of really knowledgeable folks. also cruise by the faq sticky. odds are someone has already posted answers.

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=110571
http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/showthread.php?t=121534

Yeah it's a big site, I joined it when jack first switched over from TDR, Think i'm member number 19. i go by red rattler over there. Don't post much over there anymore as i stay here now. I learned a lot about the truck when i bought it eight years ago. it is a 2000 model 24 valve. I done a lot of research from that site on about everything that fails on these trucks and have eliminated a few of them. It's a great site for the diesel guys. I had quite a few post over there and they reset all the post counts for some reason that i don't remember. Had it as my home page for years but now this one is it.

 

[stihl sawing]

when it rains it pours.lol My ford is pouring oil out of the rear main seal. Just started today, just gotta smile and move on. Going to put the dodge in the shop tommorrow. next will be the ford. I'm sorry for posting bad news but when it comes to trucks that's all i have.lol I really need my truck right now too. got a lot of hauling and cleaning up to do. Maybe i can tie a rope around some of it and drag it with the motorcycle.lol