My truck(06 F350 c.cab stock) was just recently totaled in a car accident and of course i am looking for another to replace it. The truck was purchased new from the dealer and the only problem i had was 2 injectors went out at about 70000 miles and the dealer repalced all four on that side. Truck ran fine after that. Before that i had one of the new 03 models (also purchased new) which also had injector problems at about 30000 miles and the turbo had to be replaced. I traded that truck as soon as possible. Well my dilemma is i am considering buying a dodge (with the cummins in it of course) or another ford which i am a real fan of. I have never had any experience with dodges but i hear good stuff about them. Will i also have similiar issues with a dodge or do they come with different headaches. My ford ran fine as long as the injectors were good. Have i just had bad luck with ford diesel or do a lot of other owners experience the same problem with the injectors. I had thought that ford had fixed that problem by the time i had gotten the 06 model but apparently not. I hope to buy a 05-06 used ford diesel(maybe) or really considering 03-06 used dodge cummins with anywhere from 50000 to 90000 miles. At the end i know its my decision but your advice/comments would be appreciated as to which model would be best. I work in construction and i regularly pull 10000- 14000 lbs. daily for about 8 mths. out of the year. Maybe this is a dumb question but would a dodge chassis, suspension, etc. hold up as well as a fords.

 

If it was me I would go with the Cummins. You've had issues with fords in the past. Your "new" truck will be used so there will be no warranty. A 5.9 with the 6-speed manual would be perfect. Nothing wrong with the ford though. All three big diesels have there own set of issues. I suggest you go test drive both and figure out what you want. Stock for stock the ford is gonna be faster. But with 10,000 lbs behind it the low end torque of the Cummins will out shine the 6.0.

Oh and



Hope you find the site helpful and we hope you stick around for a while!

Bobby

 

you say all three have issues what are some common ones for 03-06 5.9 cummins and how common are they

 

Nothing to big. I have a 06 and the only trouble I have had is the stock tranny going out. But I am running a programmer make alot more then stock power and if your going to do as much towing as you said you should get the manual anyway.

All new vehicles have "issues" the bottom line is I'm sure you would be happy with any of them. None of the issues with Ford, Dodge, or GM are big enough to keep you from buying one if its the truck you want.

 

Yea I have heard of dodges having issues with their trannys (autos especially) well thanks for the info whats the deal with the egr cancel kit on fords never heard of it and i think thats what i heard it called oh and how many miles on your truck and by chance do you know if 6.0 liters can go 500,000 miles with proper maintenance never met anybody with one yet. I know the 7.3 PS had a very good rep we had a 2000 model with about 230,000 miles and it was still going strong before my brother decided to total that as well My dad has a new 6.4 PS with about 68,000 miles and so far so good except for mpg not as good as the 6.0 i had, any good/bad advice on those.

OH and thanks for the welcome

 

I have about 60,000 on my 06 and the tranny went out at about 45,000, but like I said i was pushing ALOT of extra power through it. I have no doubt that at stock levels it would have lasted ALOT longer.
As for the EGR's and what not someone else will have to help you with that.

I think 500,000 out of a 6.0 is getting to the end of its life span. A cummins though will still be strong. They have MUCH larger bearings. Remember the 5.9 cummins was taken from med duty applications and put in light duty trucks. The powerstrokes and duramaxs were designed for light duty applications. The cummins is over built for a pick-up truck.

 

you'll get better mileage in the cummins. it's also easier to work on. the axles are a bit stronger as well.

 

IMHO the fit and finish on the Fords is a little better than what Dodge offers.

The 6.0 is a gamble. Some people never have an issue and some never stop having issues. We have 28 buses at work, all but 7 have the 7.3L. The 7 with the 6.0 are in our shop constantly for something. My neighbor blew out his HPOP and his turbo at 48K miles. On the other hand my dad has 45K on his '05 and has never had an issue, plus he runs an Edge on it.

I've had a few friends lose an injector or two but that seems almost common place with any common rail system for some reason. I can tell you that the Cummins will be easier to work on, get better mileage and most likely will get you more horsepower for less money than the Ford will.


But only you can really answer this question. Go drive a couple Dodges, see if you can take one for a couple of days. See what you think. If you think you'll like it as much as your Ford than get it. If not, then walk away. Just be sure to drive more than one. You can drive 2 similarly equipped trucks and they can feel like 2 completely different trucks depending on how they were taken care of.

 

id say go with the cummins.. ive driven a f350, dually, 7.3. it was nice, dont get me wrong, but the cam position censor went out, it needed a new rear end soon after it was bought, and amongst other problems was a good truck. i havent had/hear of many problems with the CTD other than they can tow damn near anything...!!!

 

only 6.0 I'd consider is a slightly bored 5.9