Buying another Tow vehicle

M

machinegun

Active Member
Joined
May 25, 2001
Well my 85 suburban is starting to show its age, so am I and so it appears I may need to upgrade.

I have been looking at 1 ton dually diesels. Im cheap so nothing new.

I would like to have anybodys opinion on the following trucks I am looking to buy.

1997 - 2002 Dodge 1 ton dually Diesel prefer manual trans 2WD over 100,000 miles ok. Do not have 4 door cabs. Known issues with these are front end issues, some transmission issues. Let me know what your experiences have been.

1999 - 2002 For F350. 7.3 powerstroke, prefer manual trans, 2WD over 100,000 miles OK. Prefer the 4 door. I have heard about rear end issues mainly wheel bearings.

I intend to add some go fast make more power goodies. The Fords seemto be more well appointed for the money. Looking at spending between 15K - 20K.

So My question to all is what have been your experiences with these trucks good or bad and how did you like the vehicle good or bad. Please feel free to ask any questions or point me in the direction of a possible good deal.

Thank You
 
What are you towing that you need to move from a Sub. to a dually pickup??
 
No Duramax Option??? I have a friend with a 98 Cummins Dually manual I think its a 5 sp. and has over 300,000 min on org motor and tranny but has replaced clutch twice I think. Those are nice trucks and the inline 6 is awesome/
 

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Actually in reality my long term goal is to get a bigger trailer to take 2 cars. When we are at the track we would both like to race our cars. Plus being able to take some extra stuff along would be nice. Plus stepping up to something a little fancier and I could use as a daily driver would be nice.

I want a diesel for sure.

Do you have any other recemmendations? I am open to suggestions.
 
Remember to check the 03 Fords as the 7.3 was still used in some before the 6.0 came out. I had an 03 7.3 and that engine was great, got better mileage than my 6.0 does now.

Jim
 
I had not included the Duramax option as it would need to include newer vehicles which are going to be out of my price range. Ealy Duramax trucks did not have as good a quality and had numerous trans issues.

If not for the body rust in my burban, a duramax allison swap was actually in the picture.
 
thanks for the heads up on the 03 7.3. I do not want a 6.0 PS. I have a ford dealer customer who will not even take those in on trade. How reliable was your 7.3? Any recurring or blaring issues with the truck?
 
My 7.3 (2001) only has 150,000 on it, but it's been absolutely trouble free so far.
 
Never had a problem with the 7.3 engine. I have friends with 7.3's with 400,000 + miles with no problems. The one problem that is seen on the 7.3's is the cam sensor going out. It can be changed it 5 minutes but I never had a problem with mine. Keep the oil changed and the fuel clean and they will last a long time. The 6.0 did have some problems at first, I did with mine but Ford took care of me and I am happy with mine. It will flat out tow any 7.3 I have been in, that is stock vs stock, no programs or mods. If they are so bad why are there so may 6.0's on the road today? If you want to have a race/tow truck get the Dodge but remember you will have the great Cummings engine and a Dodge truck. LOL

Jim
 
BUY THE CUMMINS!! The Ford 7.3 is a good motor that makes good power and will last, but is nothing compared to the Cummins. We had a customer that had over 1 million miles and still going strong. The only weak link on the Dodges is the auto transmissions up to 97.
 
'97 7.3 in a Ford OBS.

The later model 7.3s went to powdered rods.

If you want to read up on the Ford Trucks go here: TheDieselStop.Com - www.thedieselstop.com

You have to be careful with the dually especially with it being 2WD in the snow since you live in OH. A 2 car enclosed trailer loaded and with gear is going to put the dually at or over its GVW. The truck will have no problem pulling it, stopping will be the issue. I think the dually with the 7.3 is rated at 12,500 GVW.

The new Ford trucks with the 6.4 are rated at 33K...$$$$ and and are diesel pigs. The EPA killed the diesel market.

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com
 
machinegun said:
1997 - 2002 Dodge 1 ton dually Diesel prefer manual trans 2WD over 100,000 miles ok. Do not have 4 door cabs. Known issues with these are front end issues, some transmission issues. Let me know what your experiences have been.

1999 - 2002 For F350. 7.3 powerstroke, prefer manual trans, 2WD over 100,000 miles OK. Prefer the 4 door. I have heard about rear end issues mainly wheel bearings.
Click to expand...


Ive owned both, so i guess i qualify to answer.

The dodge cummins turbo diesel is a great truck, but the small inline fuel pump needs to be addressed. They will wipe out the injector pump if not upgraded in time.
The dodge auto is JUNK, so you need to stick with a 5 or 6speed.
They supposedly eat front upper and lower control arm bushings.

The injection pump is 1500.00 and the injectors are 300.00

On the ford, the injectors are 1500.00 - 3000.00 depends on cores, last set of injectors i did was a year and a half ago on a 2001, and they pretty much suck to do.
Some ford trucks eat cam sensors, all of them eat injector wiring harness's because the engine rattles so much, they are 120v

The fords engine is over engineered, way too many electronic pieces and parts, way too many parts that can fail and leave you stranded.

Just go do a search on various diesel websites, the powerstroke 7.3 has so many problems with them its rediculous.

The ford auto isnt too bad, i havent heard too many complaints about it.
The ford 6 speed is damn near bullet proof.

I owned a 99 f-250 7.3 auto longbed 2 door, and currently own a 2002 3500 Cummins HO 6speed 4x4 extended cab... Bought the dodge new april 2002 and it has 50,000 miles on it, never been back to the stealership.

If i were to buy another truck, id get a 12 valve 98 and older dodge. No electronics and better fuel mileage.

BW
 
Quick6'n'-K.C. said:
7.3L Power Stroke Engine and Drivetrain - TheDieselStop.Com Forums

Look at all them broken ass 7.3's :eek: Check and see all the damn issues they have... Reminds me of our buicks :biggrin:

BW
Click to expand...

Sorry but I'm with Dave on this. I'm a member and I think Dave is also member there also and the 7.3 is probably the best engine Ford put in the trucks.

Reading a forum on a BB does not mean anything. How many of those guys have put NOS, propane and injectors and then blow the motors up???? How many of us Buick guys installed bigger turbos, cranked the boost and blew up motors?

The 6.0 has the problems. The 7.3 has no way near the problems of a 6.0.

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com
 
I do realize the 7.3 isnt a big pile of waste that the 6.0 is, but my god look at what all can go wrong under the hood of one of those 7.3's

There are way too many problems waiting to happen... Just look at all those issues. My personal f-250 had injector and wiring harness problems, all the ones in our fleet ate alternators, cam sensors, inj modules, inj harnesses, tensioners, glow plugs,exhaust tubes, turbo to header flange gaskets, ring and pinions.... I could go on forever :smile:

As for the 7.3 ford diesel being the best engine, yeah, the best one in a FORD, definitely not the best engine in the industry:eek: :biggrin:


Did you make it to page 2 or 3 and see all the problems?

Im a member there too:)

BW
 
just keeping this to the top for more input.

I have looked at both Dodge and the Fords.

My issue with the dodge are the front ends and auto transmissions.

Fords auto is OK but I do know they have an issue with rear wheel bearings.

The older dodges are easier to hotrod but no 4 door cab.

Fords seem to be cheaper up front purchase price.

Either way I will end up buying the best I can and they both have their quirks.

Keep the info coming.
 
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