Trying to decide.. 7.3 or 5.9.
 

Hey all, new to the forum. potentially buying one of these trucks.

199* Ford F350 7.3L turbo'd IDI (Not powerstroke!) 4x4 5 spd. $3500 Comes with a plow
Attachment 62700
Attachment 62701
1990 Dodge D350 1st gen cummins, Dually, Getrag 5 spd. $4000
Attachment 62702
Attachment 62703
Attachment 62704

The 7.3 is currently on the road and DD'd. Has patched cab corners and the rear fenders are rotting. Its on 35's in the picture but it comes with 31's. Clutch is in good shape. I think its the turbo off of a powerstroke but the guy didnt go into detail much when i was there pickin up a truck for my brother. Cant remember the year, but i think its a '92.

The 5.9 isnt on the road, has been sitting for about 6 months but still starts up like a dream and doesnt smoke. Clutch is in great shape. shifts fine. Body is great on it, minus 3 rust spots but their all surface rust that i could touch up in a day. Needs a pinion seal, and a RR Parking break cable.

Im having a hard time deciding on which one to get, bein in Canada im gonna need 4x4 a fair bit (For that fucking shit called snow!!) and for a little bit of trails. but i love the idea of having a low old man lookin truck that could beat out a ricer any day of the week and also haul some 5th wheels at work.

The dodge i can buy as soon as i have enough saved up, but the ford is the guys DD until he can get his 98.5 24V on the road, so he could be selling it next week, or he could be selling it in 3 months. id like to get the new truck before winter but its gettin below 0* and comin fast, so im not sure whats goin to happen!

Any help deciding would be greatly apreciated!

Read all of the threads for both of those trucks and come up with a decision, it is hard for anyone to tell you what to buy.

i am a Cummins guy at heart, but i have been thinking about an obs 7.3 for another toy. so i can say that i like both of them.

Every truck is going to break, the 7.3 has glow plus compared to the 5.9 which does not. so that will help ignite the fuel easier in the colder weather.. in theory.

on the other hand the 7.3 being an idi is going to produce much less power.

Now we have a bit toss up; well i am a Cummins guy so i vote one to the Cummins:tu:

Ive worked on 7.3s for over a year now (13 letter shit spreader trucks) i love the industrial use engines but im not sure how much different the pickup ones are. id much rather a powerstroke but its a turbo idi so im happy about that. im not sure which turbo it has though whether its a Banks or a powerstroke turbo.

One thing i like about the 5.9 is it starts great in the cold without the GPs. it was 0*C the other day when i went to check it out, started in one revolution then started strong no misses, as long as it has a block heater and i have hydro it should start fairly well this winter lol

Both are 5 spd, which is a definite plus but i wish one of them didnt so i wouldnt have to fight over both lol

Im leaning towards the 7.3 because:
4x4
Straight axle with manu hubs.
comes with a plow
family friends own a shop that has tons and tons of 7.3 parts
Is road ready

The only problem is i dont know when hes going to sell it, and i want to have a new truck before winter cause wide mud tires on ice/snow/slush arent good and i dont want to buy new tires for my POS 90s chevy lol

The tires on that 7.3 are not going to be much better IMO

Beware the idi engines are not powerhouses, I said it before and will say that again!

If the cummins is not 4x4 I would go with the ford... Tough to have a 2wd in igloo country.
The cummins does have an intake grid heater to help with cold starts still. Both of them are non intercooled so any major upgrading one will need to be added if you can find a gosh darn spot to put an effective one.
It's a toss up that is ultimately on you. Like I said I like the idi, even more than I like the psd!

The tires in the pic are 35s which it doesnt come with, it comes with 31 ats.
I know its not the biggest powerhouse lol the psd's werent really either, but the turbo helps atleast.
I was talkin to him an hour ago, he said his 24v got into some problems and hes tryin to pay for his sled to get fixed too so hes goin to try and get his work truck for a DD for a while so he can sell the ford and get funds to get the dodge done sooner. So hopefully in a couple weeks ill be the owner of a 7.3!

Dodge beats Ford anytime, always, totally!

I would much rather a cummins but 4x4 is a big factor in my decision.

In Canada, 4x4 is a must!

That is true! Very true. Its also helpful for goin through the huntin trails in the summer

That it is!

Hard to compare 2wd vs 4wd and DRW vs SRW. Depends what you want; and what you want to pay for. $4k seems high for a 2wd IMHO.

The factory IDI turbo is a much stronger engine than the NA version (completely upgraded rotating assembly). I've had 7.3L powertrokes and I still prefer the IDI turbo for reliability.

Yea, id much rather a 4wd bein in snow country, but snow tires on a heavy dually would be pretty good in the snow.

Im plannin on getting the 7.3 unless the deal falls through, waiting on him to find another DD, hopefully he'll find one soon. ill keep any progress posted. if he doesnt sell it to me, ill probably be getting the 5.9 and fixing its problems asap. if the snow holds off for another month like last year i should have one of them on the road and be able to get rid of my oil burning gasser

I've only been able to rely on a 2wd truck in the snow if it had a locker. And thats with our *maybe* 1-2 weeks of snow per year.

Im pretty sure it has a locker cause i tested the clutch and with the tons of torque it had it spun all 4 with just a little clutch on grass. and well.. if it doesnt, i could always make it :w2:

Well sad to say, the dodge was sold yesterday :( Drove past the farm it was sitting at for months on end, and it wasnt there anymore. Called the farmer and he said he sold it. The guy with the ford doesnt seem to like replying to texts cause in a week he hasnt replied to my two messages..

I guess my search goes onward

Got another lead on a 5.9.

1989 dually 2wd, 5 spd. body isnt bad but it has a boxed flatbed sorta thing on it. no biggie really, i could get a southern box for it pretty easily. only $1500! im going to check it out asap. hopefully its as nice as the sh!tty pictures look. dont know why, musta been taken with the first ever digital camera cause their grainy as shit

Price is right :tu:

Before you discredit the flatbed thingy, its probably there because the pickup box got destroyed by the loads the truck is capable of hauling.

Well i went and checked out a 96 powerstroke today. and bought it! Heres a few pics

Attachment 62698
Attachment 62699