F-450 - should I get Diesel or Gas???

[rattler555]

got it - with extraneous taxes

I just picked up the truck. Engine sounded really good for it's age. The exhaust looked good - it was practically clear after the initial startup. Tranny shift smooth. The hoist operated fine. Brakes worked. There is a manifold leak and an oil pan gasket leak which shouldn't be too big of a deal to fix; i think you need to lift the engine to replace the oil pan gasket. The truck ran great for the ride home which was almost 80 miles until the copper pulled me over for the a rear tail light out 10 miles from home. He was a real a-hole. He tried to cite me for driving an uninsured vehicle, driving a unregistered vehicle, and to top it off using fraudulent tags. The guy I bought it off of said I can leave them on for the ride home and send them back to him. I thought that my regular auto policy would cover new vehicles for a grace period, turns out it does but not for this truck since it would be covered under a commercial policy. While the cops was writing out the tickets I called my insurance and got the truck covered went to the cop who reluctant as he was dropped the uninsured violation after talking to my agent. He still gave me the two other tickets which are about $500 a piece. I talked the guys who sold it to me, he said we can just say that we were going to do the actual transfer tomorrow and get it notarized and that he allowed me to drive the truck under his insurance and registration. I'll see what happens at court. One good thing is I got the truck for only 4k.

 

[lego1970]

Sorry to hear about the tickets. What an a-hole. Glad the truck worked out good for you.

 

[Biker Dude]

Too much hearsay about Ford Diesels and not enough people that know what they're talking about..

I was thinking the same thing. The only real issue that the 7.3 had was it needed the cam sensor replaced every 125,000 miles or so and after 200,000 the valve cover gaskets and under cover wiring harnesses needed replacing. My F250 4X4 has a 7.3 with 377,000 miles on it and it still purrs like a kitten and pulls a load well. I'm sure your new truck will provide years of service and you won't be disappointed.

 

[TreeClimber57]

Have you HEARD those cummings engines??!~!

Yep.. Starting one up in five minutes.

 

[Greenstar]

Hello Group. I am looking at purchasing a F-450 1-ton dump for a start-up business. I found a few online and would like any opinions on gas versus Diesel. The truck I like is a 97 F-450 7.3 turbo diesel with 92k on it with a 12ft bed. I am not too familiar with Diesel engines and am concerned about high repair costs. From what i have read - diesel engines run longer and are built stronger than gas. Is there anything to look for when assessing the truck? Also, Diesel get better gas mileage that gas correct? Thanks!

They do not really get better gas mileage. They both get about the same, depending on what working order they are tuned too of course.

My last two Fords have both been DIESELS. A 95 7.3L and now I have a 2005 6.0L.
I think they are way too loud, and it is really starting to get to me. I remember this was my biggest complaint with it when test driving before I bought this new truck and now I just cant stand it. Its to the point where it gives you headaches! I'm not joking. Everyone also always hears you coming and going, and you wake up the entire neighborhood by just driving down the street.
I will definitely buy a gas Ford next time as long as they still have the Powerstrokes. If they ever quiet them down I may reconsider, but its a no brainer for me right now. I would trade this for a gas in a minute.
Also, finding diesel fuel when you are low in an unfamiliar area can be a pain in the ass sometimes too!
Good luck.

PS. btw, my 6.0L runs great too, just WAY TOO LOUD, and its a deal breaker. Its SO ANNOYING! :censored:

 

[Greenstar]

get a six speed diesel cummins...7.3's have thin cylender walls..a "improvement" over the 6.9 "my beloved smokey steed"..A straight six is simply a better design..Have you HEARD those cummings engines??!~!

lostcoastland, what do you know about the CUMMINS DIESELS ??
Are they always going to be loud?

I bought one, only because I plan on converting it to run on grease, and it had an aftermarket exhaust on it which was quite loud. Sounded like a tractor trailer truck, no joke (although not rattley annoyingly loud like a powerstroke I will ad).

MY EXHAUST GOT STOLEN HOWEVER, and I must replace it now!! Is there a good way to go that will still provide ample performance while also quieting it down? If anyone has some experience with this please share your advice. Thank you.
Greenstar-Boston

 

[fishercat]

sucks about the cop.

I just picked up the truck. Engine sounded really good for it's age. The exhaust looked good - it was practically clear after the initial startup. Tranny shift smooth. The hoist operated fine. Brakes worked. There is a manifold leak and an oil pan gasket leak which shouldn't be too big of a deal to fix; i think you need to lift the engine to replace the oil pan gasket. The truck ran great for the ride home which was almost 80 miles until the copper pulled me over for the a rear tail light out 10 miles from home. He was a real a-hole. He tried to cite me for driving an uninsured vehicle, driving a unregistered vehicle, and to top it off using fraudulent tags. The guy I bought it off of said I can leave them on for the ride home and send them back to him. I thought that my regular auto policy would cover new vehicles for a grace period, turns out it does but not for this truck since it would be covered under a commercial policy. While the cops was writing out the tickets I called my insurance and got the truck covered went to the cop who reluctant as he was dropped the uninsured violation after talking to my agent. He still gave me the two other tickets which are about $500 a piece. I talked the guys who sold it to me, he said we can just say that we were going to do the actual transfer tomorrow and get it notarized and that he allowed me to drive the truck under his insurance and registration. I'll see what happens at court. One good thing is I got the truck for only 4k.

no reason for that crap.in the future,always say you borrowed it.never tell them you just bought it.that just sets you up for what you just went through.sucks you have to lie these days but they cause it with the BS.

guy you bought it from sounds cool.

 

[yodayoda]

Congrats, sounds like a good deal to me.

 

[rattler555]

Congrats, sounds like a good deal to me.

Yeah, now it's time to start cutting down some f-ing trees :greenchainsaw: !!!

 

[Greenstar]

Yeah 4 grand for an F450, cant beat that!
Didnt see that you had bought it yet.

 

[pdqdl]

That dealer also make you a deal on some "ocean front property in Arizona" you couldnt refuse?

I am owned the 3 Powerstrokes that Ford has put in their HD trucks. a 1995 7.3, 2000 7.3 and a 2006 6.0. Compared to what the other manufactures produced before 2000 the 7.3 was the best of all of them. THEY DO NOT HAVE $1500 OF ELECTRONICS PER CYLINDER. The injectors new from the dealer are expensive $325 each, but you can buy rebuilt ones for $119. So yes they are more expensive than spark plugs and gas injectors but dont start scaring people because you got a bad deal on your truck.


Especially on a 1994.5-1997 there is no more more electronics on it than a regular gas engine. 1999-2003 7.3 have updated electronics that you can read with a regular code scanner.
...

Nonsense.

The dealer that fixed it is the Kansas City area distributor for light truck parts. And YES, they have "in the head" injection system that is electronically fired, and YES, they cost about $1500 in parts. PER CYLINDER! And I confirmed that fact this morning.

More electronics than a gas...probably not. More expensive...definitely.

I did not say they were less reliable, I said that the cost of repair made the truck not worth fixing. By the time the engine needs repair, it's value has gone down to less than the cost of the repair.

It's simple. A truck with a 10 year old powerstroke diesel should be considered to have a "dispose on engine repair" value.

 

[Koa Man]

There is no way the 7.3 liter PSD is better than the 12 valve Cummins with the P pump. The 12 valve Cummins is a super reliable engine with very little problems other than having to tab the dowel pin, which is only a 2 hour job.

 

[yodayoda]

Guys, he already bought the truck, in my opinion, good deal on a good truck, and the 7.3 was a good motor.Not better than the cummins in my opinion, but much better than a 6.0 and all around a very good motor

 

[Bearcreek]

:agree2:

 

[John D]

:agree2: I second that.The 7.3 is the best engine to have in an f450,if you take care of it,it will last a long time.

 

[rattler555]

should be able to get out of it

no reason for that crap.in the future,always say you borrowed it.never tell them you just bought it.that just sets you up for what you just went through.sucks you have to lie these days but they cause it with the BS.

guy you bought it from sounds cool.

After meeting the dude again at a tags and title place I ACTUALLY transferred the title. I realized too that we post dated when signing the title for 11/05/09 today. I will show up at court and ask the officer when he pulled me over. And then ask him what date is on the copy of the title he has and then show the judge my title xfer from today. I should be good. The cop was too vacuous to realize this. Maybe his last two brain cells collided

 

[JTinaTree]

They do not really get better gas mileage. They both get about the same, depending on what working order they are tuned too of course.

My last two Fords have both been DIESELS. A 95 7.3L and now I have a 2005 6.0L.
I think they are way too loud, and it is really starting to get to me. I remember this was my biggest complaint with it when test driving before I bought this new truck and now I just cant stand it. Its to the point where it gives you headaches! I'm not joking. Everyone also always hears you coming and going, and you wake up the entire neighborhood by just driving down the street.
I will definitely buy a gas Ford next time as long as they still have the Powerstrokes. If they ever quiet them down I may reconsider, but its a no brainer for me right now. I would trade this for a gas in a minute.
Also, finding diesel fuel when you are low in an unfamiliar area can be a pain in the ass sometimes too!
Good luck.

PS. btw, my 6.0L runs great too, just WAY TOO LOUD, and its a deal breaker. Its SO ANNOYING! :censored:

You think the 6.0 is too loud...what? Go and stand next to the drivers window and try to talk on 7.3, and then rethink that statement.. If you want a quiet powerstroke then go buy the new 6.4l.

 

[fishercat]

in all fairness.......................

"two brain cells"

you give him too much credit.

 

[Mikecutstrees]

I have the 7.3 in my F-450. It's been an excellent motor. Look out for bad cam sensors. The engine will just die. Then will restart right away or sometimes in a few minutes. It's common and pretty cheap to fix. Also look out for rusted out oil pans. Very common from what I hear. Mine is still good at 80,000 though. Hopefully it makes it a few more years..... My neighbor had a 6.0 and told me how great it was. Mine is still running strong, his is long gone..... Mike

 

[Biker Dude]

Nonsense.

The dealer that fixed it is the Kansas City area distributor for light truck parts. And YES, they have "in the head" injection system that is electronically fired, and YES, they cost about $1500 in parts. PER CYLINDER! And I confirmed that fact this morning.

Could you please list the parts you are talking about and their respective costs? The only parts I can think of that are associated to each cylinder are the injectors and the glow plugs. Injectors go for $300 each and the glow plugs are $10 each. Obviously I am missing something here, please enlighten me.