Most people have fords with 460's and get sick of 8 miles to the gallon, so they skip a ford motor because the dodge motors are in my opinion better motors. So they drop a cummins in em, and there you go, you've got a fummins. I only drive a ford because i got a 4 door short bed lariat with 260k for 5500$. I'm going to most likely sell it though. And a chummins isn't really the "best". A duramax and its allison are great. We had an 08 duramax, but in late 2012 my mom was testing the roads in it, hit an embankment, flipped it. We had bought it new for 56k. Talk about pissed. And i actually have a Diesel Power Magazine that gives an experts advice on what to look for when buying a diesel used. Honestly there are only a select few motors to stay away from. Pre 99 7.3s (front end issues) 6.7 cummins (Electrical problems) 6.0 stroker (Everything is terrible ) i've got a cousin with a 6.4 and he LOVES it. He hauls hay from louisiana and he put a chip on it and gets 20mpg. My guess is if he'd have better driving habits he could get 24-25. But one thing i've learned is that with the 7.3s, they weren't really opened up out of factory. A chip is good for them. But know that when your building a truck up, your playing with fire. You can make them unreliable, and once you hit a certain point, a built tranny is needed. My truck is stock, and its tranny just had to be replaced at 255k. And it was an automatic. If you ask me, thats pretty damn good. But i'm going to stick with my first opinion. You should look for a 2004.5-05 duramax. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

Thanks man that's some good advice.... I don't think I can afford a 6.4 anyways. Yeah I get the whole playing with fire idea..... It's a dangerous game unless you have money to burn... However, the only real mods I'd be all that interested in like I said earlier would be ones that improve mpg, which in the end isn't really all that big of a deal anyways because my company buys my fuel,but ya know waste not want not .... So as I am looking at all of this I am trying to factor into my purchase price the cost of either a master solution kit for a ford ( still very hesitantly go psd ) or any needed mods for a gm, and an intake turbo back straight pipe and some sort of tuner, not for a huge power increase just for mpg.... I have found a couple fords with the master solution kit done at 110k for $16k.. Like I said now that I've looked into it I don't know if I can pull the trigger on a 6.0 regardless ...

 

Sounds like you know what youre looking for. Just choose wisely cuz you, ultimately, are the one who has to live with it and deal with it.

 

Thanks a lot for all your time and advice I really appreciate it !!!

 

Bigg Redd is right, you are the one who is making the decision. But know this, there are a lot of 6.0's for sale. (at least around here), because nobody wants them. The bad name trashes the resale value. I refuse to look at 6.0s. We had a neighbor who threw 7k in his 6.0 at 90k miles. Another one of em tried to trade it in and they said they wouldn't take 6.0's on trade. And it was a Ford dealer!

 

People bad mouth 6.5 TD but they are cheaper to fix than any other diesels plenty of power and I don't think twice about pulling out in front of someone.I'm getting 18-19 mpg and you can find good deals on them.

 

I didn't read through all the posts. 6.0's are bad engines and depending on what they have had done or what not. I've known some guys that had them and haven't had a lick of problems with them. Personally if your new though..I wouldn't say get one for a new diesel owner..because they could kill the passion for diesel. Also depending if you want 4x4 or you just want 2x4 that makes a big differance in price rang...you say leather..Duramaxs are nice for long rides and high way driving. 01-04's just have to make sure that they had the injectors replaced then you should be pretty good to go. 99-2003 7.3L Fords would be a nice ride for you because they are very good engines to start out with. Umm...not real sure about the 6.4s, I know the 6.7s are still going to be pretty pricey and you said you didn't or well take your not wanting to spend 30k on a rig since the one you found is around 12-13k. I'd recomend that you (if you have facebook) look up diesel sellerz page and add them. They have some nice deals, and some not so..but it will help start. I mean if you really wouldn't mind gettin your hands dirty on the 6.0, buy one and put it to work. I hear they are good trucks once you do a few things to them. I've actually been thinkin bout buying one to tear down and rebuild it to be "builet proof". But that once more comes to what you want. You can't say you don't want a break down with anything because sometimes it don't matter somethings going to go wrong. Its man made..LOL I hope that some what helps out what you want to know.

 

Mase, I was thinking of getting a 6.5. My dad had one new, but he said it was ALWAYS in the shop. But in Missouri we have a hill called Miniola hill. Its just a giant hill on our main highway. And we had a 38 ft Scarab, boat. And he used to chug up that hill at 80 without a problem. And i've heard of terrible overheating problems. How's yours?

 

Hey Cole.I have not had a issue with overheating but it seems some do and some don't.Now days there are ways of fixing that if its an issue.D-Max fan clutches,bigger rad,cold air induction and back in the day PMD was a big issue but you can relocate them to firewall,grill,bumper and even if it gets a little warm not as much of a issue as it used to be.Most I've ever hauled12000 pound backhoe with 2800 pound 5th Wheel it did not like it but it did it.Only pulled it 8 miles.I was impressed.

 

I just talked to my dad. He said that at 80k on both of the 6.5's we had, he had to replace the injection pump. And i personally think everybody should put bigger air intakes on diesels. Isn't the ratio like 19:1? And gas motors are like 9:1?