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

[capetrees]

Wanted something with the 7.3 but nothing decent was out there so I went with the gas V10. 2005, 31,000 miles, plow frame, 4x4, used for plowing one parking lot and used rarely in the summer months. No scratches, dings, dents or rust(some on the frame). Even has a backup camera! $22,500.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[John D]

IMO,a clean newer V10 is a much better choice than an older whipped 7.3PSD.The V10 is cheap and easy to keep running should it need repair work(unlikely).

 

[indiansprings]

Go with a diesel, we've used them for years on the farm and as daily drivers.
I've owned the Ford,Dodge and Chevy. The 7.3 was an outstanding motor, I run one to almost 300k before selling it with no issues. I was given a 2005 crew cab 3/4 ton Ford lariat 4x4 for a sales bonus, it had the 6.0 diesel, what a piece of crap, got rid of it with 40k miles, the only thing good about it was it didn't cost me a penny, great truck horrible motor. My favorite out of the bunch is the Chevy Duramax with the Allison behind it, fantastic mileage great tranny, quiet no issues. Our wood truck is a Dodge 2500 4x4 with the Cummins, gave 1500.00 for it as it was a bank repo, interior was ROUGH, it had around 180k on it when we got it, the Cummins has been flawless, the only problem is that it is a Cummins with a Dodge wrapped around it.
Don't be afraid of a diesel, the key is like anything else preventive maint., clean fuel, change fuel filters every 15 to 20k miles, we change our oil in ours every 10k miles, using Rotella 15-40. My BIL has over 375k on a 7.3, an uncle has run a Cummins up over 350k in an old 94 Dodge 3/4 ton truck, after you use them as farm for a while as a feed truck they usually get so beat up and broke down from hauling two big round bales at a time that after a few years they won't give nothing for trade, it's just cheaper to run them until they die.
Stay away from the Dodge diesel auto trannies.....weak. Also stay away from the 6.5 chevy diesel, anything after I believe 2001 had the Duramax. The Duramax was/is an isuzu design, the Ford 7.3 was an International design.
Don't be afraid to go with a diesel, see if they will let you take it to a shop and have a scan run on it, the scan will tell if it has any issues/injector/pump etc. around here a scan only runs 40.00 bucks, cheap when your dropping that kind of coin.

 

[John D]

The problem with an older 7.3 isnt the miles,its the wear and tear,and age...my friends have the 7.3s and they are not fun once they get about 8-10 yrs old....Oil pans rotting,IDM modules corroding,injector harnesses going bad,constant cam sensors,starter motors, oil leaks,fuel transfer pumps,fuel tanks flaking and clogging the fuel pickup,exhaust leaks from the manifolds to the turbo,its just a never ending problem running one.2 of the trucks are one of my best friends both have under 80K on them,but they have both had all of the above issues...one is an 01,one an 02.The actual engine is fine,its the electronics,and hardware around it.....

 

[Mikecutstrees]

For my next truck I am planing to get an Isuzu or or Fuso. Leaning towards the Fuso 4x4. Only question is how well will it pull a 7 to 10k trailer? How are the brakes?

The weak link of my 2000 Fuso FH is definately the brakes. It has a 17,995lb GVW and 24,000 lb GCVW but it has poor brakes. With the 5,000lb chipper and loaded with chips you better be using the exaust brake to slow down. You will burn up a set of brakes quick if your hard on them. I don't know if the newer ones are better though. With good trailer brakes you might be ok. Check the GCVW to make sure its leagal. I still love that truck though!

Mike

 

[Hddnis]

The little cab overs do not have good brakes for towing as a general rule. Class 5-6 cabovers will have much better brakes, with the expense of the heavier truck overall. For a lot of the work we do as tree guys a standard International is the way to go. One place to look for them is ambulance up-fitters who swap an old medic body onto a new chassis. The old one will almost always need new brakes, but motors and trans should be good to go. As a bonus most are low profile and turn really sharp so they fit into most areas. They are a good step between a 1-ton with a box and a class 7 truck with say a 20 yard box on it.



Mr. HE

 

[fields_mj]

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

BS!!!! Go back to saws where you know something.

There's no possible way that a properly tuned and timed diesel will pollute more than a gas engine in the same vehicle under the same conditions. The diesel will always get AT LEAST 15% better mileage (a lot more when towing), and that will equate to much less pollution. Mel Agnem managed to squeeze a 7.3 IDI into a F150 and with 3.08 gears he gets 30 mpg on a good day. My 93 4x4 ext cab with 3.55 gears gets 18 mpg and needs new injectors, and an IP pump. With that replaced and the timing set correctly I expect to get 20. That's on a truck that's old enough to drive itself. Add a turbo, and 22 is possible. Name me just ONE 3/4 ton 4x4 with a gas engine that can claim to get 18 mpg. A friend of mine has an early 2000s VW Jetta TDI with 250K miles on it. Still gets 52 miles per gallon. I don't even know of a hybrid that does that. If people really cared about pollution, they would pass laws that require summer diesel to have at least 5% bio which would cut down the particulate emissions drastically.

Now add in the fact that a well maintained diesel, even with a very hard life, will get 500K miles, and the amount of pollution that is saved from not having to build as many engines and it's a wonder that gas engines are still produced period.

 

[Mikecutstrees]

bs!!!! Go back to saws where you know something.

There's no possible way that a properly tuned and timed diesel will pollute more than a gas engine in the same vehicle under the same conditions. The diesel will always get at least 15% better mileage (a lot more when towing), and that will equate to much less pollution. Mel agnem managed to squeeze a 7.3 idi into a f150 and with 3.08 gears he gets 30 mpg on a good day. My 93 4x4 ext cab with 3.55 gears gets 18 mpg and needs new injectors, and an ip pump. With that replaced and the timing set correctly i expect to get 20. That's on a truck that's old enough to drive itself. Add a turbo, and 22 is possible. Name me just one 3/4 ton 4x4 with a gas engine that can claim to get 18 mpg. A friend of mine has an early 2000s vw jetta tdi with 250k miles on it. Still gets 52 miles per gallon. I don't even know of a hybrid that does that. If people really cared about pollution, they would pass laws that require summer diesel to have at least 5% bio which would cut down the particulate emissions drastically.

Now add in the fact that a well maintained diesel, even with a very hard life, will get 500k miles, and the amount of pollution that is saved from not having to build as many engines and it's a wonder that gas engines are still produced period.

great post!!!