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

[afblue]

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.

I second this!!! :agree2: I must have missed at least $1200 of Jedi invisible parts PER CYLINDER, when I put the set of Stage 2 injectors in my 2000. To the Original posting individual and anyone else that is looking to learn about Powerstroke Diesels go to www.powerstroke.org some great people over there the same as here.

 

[pdqdl]

One place I found lists a bunch of injectors, with many different grades and price options. You can look them up for yourselves. they are a bit vague on whether the prices quoted are per set or per injector:
http://www.dpppower.com/injectors.html

I couldn't find anybody in KC that would work on my diesel that seemed remotely capable of working on them. After I got my "screw you" estimate, I shopped around even more for someone to beat the price I was quoted...No luck there. So the big dealer got to stick it to me, despite my extensive attempts to get away. And no, they WILL NOT install rebuilt injectors.

What parts did they stick me with besides an injector? I don't remember, and I haven't been able to find the invoice. But it was a lot of money, and I couldn't find any other repair shop that would take on the engine problem, even after I got the estimate.

Even after your dealer puts in the individual injector that is a problem, then your dealer will stick you with all the other oil pump issues that they can invent. As I recall, these injectors are powered by a high pressure motor oil pump and...you will always need one if your injectors are declared in need of repair. Then there is all the wiring harness that your dealer will declare desperately in need of replacement in order to make it work, and by the time it is all done, you will be more than adequately screwed.

 

[lego1970]

Midway or Midwest (whatever they are called) up by Worlds of fun won't let you supply the parts escpecially if it's rebuilt componants. The sad thing about that is they will put rebuilt parts on your vehicle and charge you for new parts. To top it off their labor rates and the amount of hours they charge to do the work is high, and frankly I never thought the quality of their work matched their prices. If you ever have diesel trucks again in the future, you can try MHC Kenworth out in Olathe. Talk to Darcey, Ralph, or John at the service desk. They work on mid size diesel trucks, or at least they used to. They are very pricey but they were always good to me when I had my semi, and stood by their work. There are a couple other ok places out on the Kansas side that seem to do decent quality work at decent prices buy I can't think of their names. If I think of them later, I'll let you know so you can have for future reference.

 

[pdqdl]

Yep. That is who stuck it to me. Thanks for the reference.

The last time I took them a truck, they charged me $160 for a brake repair estimate, and that wasn't even with a guarantee that the brakes would work when completed. Their plan was to fix everything they could find and then give me another estimate to finish the job. We took it back to our shop and fixed everything they diagnosed; our expense was less than 1/4th of their repair estimate.

Sadly, I was forced to take the truck to them once before because the brakes could NOT be fixed by us, and two other brake service centers. I ended up dragging it to them in desperation because I had spent hundreds of dollars at other brake centers that simply couldn't fix the brakes. Midway has the technical resources to research the factory records and figure out the tough problems. Unfortunately, they will rob you blind doing it.

It turned out that the original brake problem was a mismatch in displacement between the front brake calipers and the aftermarket master cylinder that we (and all the other brake repair specialists) had installed. It took them a LONG time to figure it out, too, but they finally got it right.

They are good, but OMG expensive.

 

[Biker Dude]

I guess I'm not up on having someone else fix my stroke for me so I suppose that you could get screwed on an injector job. When I have to do an injector I always recommend replacing the o-rings on all the injectors unless it has been done recently. Deteriorated o-rings can play hell with the motor and clog the fuel filter housing and pressure regulator. Valve cover wiring harnesses do burn out but they are relatively cheap and easy to replace as is the cam sensor. I would like to try a Cummins for comparison. The only known problem they have is the injection pump failing and they are $800-$1200 to replace.

To each his own whether it be diesel engines or chainsaws.
:greenchainsaw:

 

[Biker Dude]

It turned out that the original brake problem was a mismatch in displacement between the front brake calipers and the aftermarket master cylinder that we (and all the other brake repair specialists) had installed. It took them a LONG time to figure it out, too, but they finally got it right.

Was it a Ford F700 with a Hydro-max brake booster by chance?

 

[pdqdl]

Nope. Just a plain old F-350. I was really pissed off when I finally got done with the brake problem, then I had the diesel engine problem on the same truck!

 

[SawTroll]

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!

Diesel pollutes the area around you a lot more than gas do, but some say it is better in the global perspective.......

 

[mattfr12]

I'm guessing you dont have to worry about cold weather out there in Maui? Then definately no contest between gas and diesel...

gotta go, my GF is feeding me vodka again...

T

put lucas oil stabilizer in thier i think its what kept my fords going. thier motors are definetly not a cummins or a duramax. i have a F550 with a 6.0 liter in it and havent had a problem knock on wood. i think the oil stablizer helps because of dry starting. around here turbos seem to go on the fords. but in my opinion i wouldnt buy another ford just because thier motors are not up to par in power or reliablity. my personal vehicle is a chevy dual wheel one ton with a duramax and it is significantly more powerful than my ford. my neighbor ended up getting a newer model ford because he lemon lawed his 6.0 and won.

 

[Bearcreek]

Diesel pollutes the area around you a lot more than gas do, but some say it is better in the global perspective.......

I used to live in a county where you had to get anything under 10,000 gvw emission checked every year. I'm not really sure what they were checking for, but whatever it was, diesels don't make any of it. You had to get them checked anyway but it always came out 0 on the scale. Didn't make much sense to me. I've heard that diesel exhaust has larger particles or something like that, so it gets washed out of the air easier and so is not as bad as gas exhaust. Who knows?

 

[arbor pro]

I have both a '90 f350 with 7.3 powerstroke and a '02 gmc with 6.0L gas. Both have been very good engines and have similar pulling power. Both have similar fuel mileage - around 9-10mpg.

I had an injector go bad in the 7.3 powerstroke but no other problems. Starts hard in the cold so I use a core heater in the winter and it starts fine.

Next to the 7.3 powerstroke, I'm partial to the 5.9 cummins for what it's worth. Also had very good luck with it.

 

[rattler555]

thank you everyone for all your valuable feedback.

The truck is running very good. Thanks again for all the valuable insight and personal experiences shared. It absolutely helped me in making the right decision in choosing a used truck. Best of luck to all of you

 

[Bearcreek]

I have both a '90 f350 with 7.3 powerstroke and a '02 gmc with 6.0L gas. Both have been very good engines and have similar pulling power. Both have similar fuel mileage - around 9-10mpg.

I had an injector go bad in the 7.3 powerstroke but no other problems. Starts hard in the cold so I use a core heater in the winter and it starts fine.

Next to the 7.3 powerstroke, I'm partial to the 5.9 cummins for what it's worth. Also had very good luck with it.

Did you swap the Powerstroke in? That would be a cool swap. I liked that body style better than the mid 90's style.

 

[arbor pro]

Did you swap the Powerstroke in? That would be a cool swap. I liked that body style better than the mid 90's style.

No, the Powerstroke was in it when I bought it.

 

[Bearcreek]

No, the Powerstroke was in it when I bought it.

I've never heard of someone putting a Powerstroke in an older Ford like that. Cummins are a lot more popular for a swap like that. Got any pics?

 

[chevyforlife21]

get a gas powered chevy or ford if you must have a ford lol. the gas engines are easier to work on.

 

[gilraine]

No, the Powerstroke was in it when I bought it.

you sure its a powerstroke??? the older 7.3 is indirectly injected, whereas the powerstrokes are directly injected.. people think that its a 7.3, its a powerstroke, not quite that simple..

 

[Bearcreek]

you sure its a powerstroke??? the older 7.3 is indirectly injected, whereas the powerstrokes are directly injected.. people think that its a 7.3, its a powerstroke, not quite that simple..

Thats right. They didn't start using the Powerstroke until 1994. Thats why I figured it was a swap.

 

[arbor pro]

Thats right. They didn't start using the Powerstroke until 1994. Thats why I figured it was a swap.

ok you got me. I'm clueless. It was advertised as a 7.3 powerstroke when i bought it. My mechanic does all the work on it and I've never asked whether it was or wasn't a powerstroke.

Is there much of a power difference between the two?

 

[Bearcreek]

ok you got me. I'm clueless. It was advertised as a 7.3 powerstroke when i bought it. My mechanic does all the work on it and I've never asked whether it was or wasn't a powerstroke.

Is there much of a power difference between the two?

I've seen the old 7.3 advertised as a powerstroke before. To confuse matters further they turbo'ed the last few of that engine that they used. Not sure of the exact numbers but I know they did on some of the last production runs. There is definitely a significant power difference between the old 7.3 and the powerstroke.