Which to Buy Duramax LMM, PSD 6.0l or PSD6.4l
 

Hey everybody...

I need to buy a diesel to haul a 6ton cargo trailer through mountains. I have found three I like.
1. 2006 F350 crew cab 55k miles. This 6.0 has just had the fuel system repaired, new radiator and all hose replaced, he HOS ASY egr cool replaced, thermostat replaced, the DUCT ASY-ENG CHR AIR replaced, new egr, new cooler crank case, new eng oil pan gasket. This is taken from the OASIS report.

2. 2008 F250 regular cab with 44K miles. Nothing on the OASIS report.

3. 2008 2500HD with a LMM and 33k miles. Know no repair history.

All 3 are from dealers and all have been registered as commerical use so I do not think any tuners have been used.

This will be a truck for my business so when it goes down I will not be making any money. I plan on keeping everything stock and driving about 50k a year -all with the trailer. Both the Fords are in by budget and the Chevy is about 5k more.

Which would you recomend and why?

Thanks for your time,
El Padrino

The Chevy if you're going to leave it stock, the 6.0 is a no go due to what the Oasis report brought up in my eyes, the 6.4 would be the best I think if you threw a tuner and exhaust and egr delete at it, but stock I'd go with the chevy because of the better mileage and less known issues with emissions equipment

Yea i would leave the 6.o ford out for sure they are not known for longevity or reliability for that matter with or without a tuner. As for the other two i would probably suggest the GM for what you are looking for.

The LMM is basically problem free. The 6.4 is also a good engine, but some had a few problems. Either the 6.4 or LMM would be good for you.

LMM just because Im biased that way, but if I were rich I would probably buy up a 6.4, they are pretty easy to tune and make sick power with very little mods

Saw a 6.4 the other day dyno 595/1220 fuel only with stock turbos, injectors, and HPFP

I would definitely go with the duramax because they are good and reliable sstraight out of the box.And I also say that from my experience the late model 6.0s are rather reliable(05 and later)I dont know much about the 6.4.

I dont trust any 6.0 in stock form, if I own one it will have all the work done to it. Look at how much has already been replaced on the truck he was looking at......

Definetly the 6.4 it has more pullin power than the other beside the 6.0 ford will get you halfway up the mountain then the turbo will go trust me i had a 6.0 and put 4 turbos in it till i sold it for a cummins...best choice of my life.

I would go with the 6.4 for the pulling power and also you said the fords were in your budget and the chevy was 5k more. so i iwould go with the ford and pocket the 5k for future upgrades and also im not a fan of either but i would pick the ford over the chevy anyday.

6.4...

Any truck you buy will potentially have it's issues whether its a Dmax or the Powerstroke. The 6.0 looks like its already had quite a bit of work done. It is a later model and in stock form might not be as bad as some of these guys have made sure to point out.

If the 6.4 is in the budget, I would jump on it.

Drive them all, do your research, learn as much as you possibly can about them on the forums, and make the best possible decision you can for the truck that fits YOUR needs, don't let us pick YOUR truck, in the end YOU'RE the one that needs to be happy with the truck and how it performs:pca1:

For the miles your looking at putting on there is only 1 truck I would consider. And you havent looked at that one yet. Strokers and Durmaxes are rated a 250K motor Cummins 350K.
Now I know there are Dmaxs and power strokes that go long after 250K but no matter what you should get more life out of a cummins plus oil changes and parts and service is cheaper on the cummins.

Only truck I would consider from the group your looking at is the Duramax. That 6.0 service history says it all. It was a piece of crap, Do you think it is fixed now :humm:
6.4 is a fuel hog, atleast in stock form.

Nuther opinion here....
 

Great advice here. You're buying it. Get the truck you like. All of the diesel manufacturers make pretty good engines and how long they last is usually dependent upon how it is used and maintained. For the stories of problems, I would bet that in many of the cases there is a back story that goes untold on these forums.....My opinion....

Funny, :humm: I never saw that rating anywhere that I looked before buying any diesel that I have owned. I couldn't prove it in any other places but the price of oil changes and typical services are more dependent on the particular repair shop than to the nameplate on the front. At least that is what I have seen in my area and with my truck and the rucks of friends around here.......Again, my opinion........
Stay safe out there.
Ken

Is a 7.3 in the options? It and the 12v are the perfect work trucks. They both have enough power, are drop dead relaible, get decent mileage. I wouldn't really get anything new without modding it to eliminate the emissions control.

Yes the rebuild interval on a Cummins is longer than the Dmax and Powerstroke. But that is just recommendations from the factory. A cummins that has been hot rodded will need to be rebuilt alot sooner than a Dmax that has been takin care of. Cummins are generally cheaper to rebuild. They have less moving parts and are simpler. But if you're going for either the Dmax or the Powerstrokes i would go with the Dmax hands down. Mainly because if you are getting an auto, nothing beats an Allison. Just my .02

I hear the torqshifts are pretty tough.

Before I start my rant, dont think Im knocking the Allison. Its a dang good tranny, but I think the Torqshift is better. I personally have never heard of either a Torqshift or Allison breaking at stock power levels, the difference is when you start adding power. The Allison in stock form doesnt like tunes over 70-90hp, they start slipping and can go into limp mode. I know numerous individuals with 6.4 PowerStrokes running Spartan 210 or 250 tunes (210hp and 250hp over stock, respectively) everyday with no problems. And they can hold the 310 tune for 1/4 mile runs and messing around, but theres no way I would run it everyday.

Just what I have seen :tu:

I agree sir but he said he was going to keep it stock. The 6.4 in stock form gets horrible mpgs. So comparing stock to stock with no plans to modify it, i think the Dmax would be the best.

Agreed about the mpgs. Actually if you look at my first post in this thread, I placed the LMM over the 6.4, I was just discussing trannies :tu:

aww very well sir :c:

6.0 hands down. You should be able to get it considerably cheaper than the others and it just had the common issues fixed. Throw a coolant filter on it, some rev-x in the oil and enjoy the better mileage and cheaper cost of the truck. Don't forget cheaper insurance and tags as well. For a business it makes perfect sense. I have one too for all the above reasons, cheap powerful truck that isn't half as scary as the internet makes them out to be when you leave them stock.

I'm not trying to start anything, but the 6.0's are pretty bad. (In stock form) My dad does fleetwork and we constantly see 6.0's with blown headgaskets, EGR coolers, and much more. just a lot of things. I know most can be fixed modified (Head Studs, EGR delete, Tuning) But stock it's just not a good idea. I'm just saying that we work on several fleets and see A LOT of 6.0's....I'm not trying to be cocky just giving my .02.

Do those two things on a stock truck that doesn't already have a plugged oil cooler, chip, or history of problems and you are good to go. Sure there is some risk, but the cheaper up front cost and operating costs more than make up for it in my book.

If they were as bad as you read on the internet, why are they still on the road? All the people I know first hand that have a 6.0 that is 100% stock have had very few problems. Clean oil and clean coolant is super important.

There is alot of risk with a 6.0. They are cheaper up front cause no one wants them. They have the same operating costs of any other 3/4 ton diesel. He never said anything about reading stuff on the internet. He said his dad works on them alot. They are still on the road because no one has towed them home yet. Just my rant. Dont want an arguement

right, I am NOT trying to hate on anyone's stock truck, but every fleet that buy's 6.0's and leaves them stock has major issues with them. I got the 7.3 I got now so cheap because a fleet of mostly 6.0's scared them away from diesels.
However, bombed, the 6.0 is a bat-outa-hell. Even more so when compared to a 7.3.

I have been thinking about putting a cummins in my 05 F-350 It is a 6.0 with torque shift. I was planning on keeping the torque shift, but I was told it wont hold up. The low end torque will kill it. They recomend a 48RE, Allison , or putting a manual transmission in it.

The Allison is not a racing transmission. It was designed for pulling. Torque shift was designed to run the motor at red line from all I can tell, I hate it.

For arguments sake... 6.0's have issues but there are plenty of stock 6.0's on the road with no problems... Fleet trucks get abused by drivers period... Don't matter what it is. Tuning a 6.0 without taking care of the issues that are well known is an accident waiting to happen. Early model 6.0's had more problems then later year's... I would not hesitate on a 05+ 6.0...

i think since we are having this discussion about the 6.0 and not the other two kinda proves the point in a way. I like when we get to the same conclussion on different paths :c: good luck with which ever truck u pick. Remember these are just our opinions. Its your money. So make sure you get the truck that you feel suits you. Good luck and no matter what we are to help with whichever truck with whatever problems. Happy towing :sen:

News to me, I know of quite a few that are using the Torqshift behind the Cummins. Heck for that matter, theres a guy on this forum that has a Torqshift behind a twin turbo 12v in his Dodge with no problems.

Chill out. The trucks the original poster is asking about include an 06 6.0, or two newer dpf trucks. The older truck is going to be cheaper to run, license and insure. He's buying it for a business, not to go to the grocery store and look cool. The guy can make more money by getting the 6.0 instead of the other trucks he asked about, that's all I was pointing out. My comment about being leery of what you read on the internet was also to the original poster.

Business standpoint, buy the 6.0. Or not, I don't care. I made the same decision after looking at the numbers and dumped an 08 Dodge for an 06 6.0. I am saving money already just in the tags and insurance. 2 years makes a big difference on my commercial insurance, and with 10 trucks to insure I have to look at where I can save money. I am just passing along my opinion to the original poster who is asking for opinions.

license and insurance depends on state, driver, driving record, and insurance company. You cant say its cheaper to run either because that depends on drivng style and whats behind the truck. I was just going with the most hassle free truck out of the three. Why did you dump your Dodge for the 6.0?

I think it's stupid that for bussiness you have to pay more for a newer vehicle. (in insurance and taxes, ETC) That really discourages a good bussiness owner from buying a new truck.

Agreed.

Ya Plus the D.O.T. Picks on newer and better looking stuff. We have a farm-dump truck. No tags, no mudflaps, no tarps, hoods rough, grass cracked, it stays dirty and we havn't been pulled over once. My uncle has a 1999 or so 4700 its a low-pro bright red custom stack out the side looks immaculate and everything is up to check. He constantly gets pulled over. He got pulled over the other day because the idiot behind the D.O.T. wheel saw him driving home with the tarp rolled up (he was unloaded) and thought he was loaded. And it's not for driving infractions, it's for little things like that.

I'm basing the cheaper running costs for the trucks he was looking at based on the other two having dpf's where the 6.0 does not. The 6.0 is gonna get better mileage in general than a dpf truck.

I got rid of the Dodge for the reasons I already said. I traded my highly desirable 08 Dodge for an 06 6.0 ext cab dually 4x4, and an 07 Chevy reg cab dually 4x4 gasser with utility bed staright across. It is cheaper to plate and insure both of these trucks combined than it was the 08 Dodge. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Dodge, it just wasn't cost effective compared to taking advantage of a bad market for a decent truck. Like I said, money saved will take care of any hassle that might come up. I've never had a truck that was 100% problem free and I've never had one that was a total lemon either.

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Not really, my own work truck starts getting shopped around for trade in around 50,000 miles. I don't care what the extra cost is for my truck, but I'm not going to put employees in brand new trucks when all they do is destroy them. It kind of goes with what you guys are saying about the fleet trucks, they get beat on to no end without care. I had a guy drive around for a day with a radiator hose completely off on a Chevy gasser. He never noticed. Or another guy was driving a Ford gasser around with a spark plug popped out of the hole, he said he thought it was an exhaust leak. A few years ago, two guys had my own work truck out of state, they backed into a brick wall and screwed up the back bumper.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. New trucks for employees ain't worth it.

I have to disagree with the mileage statement, my brothers(stock) LMM got from 14-17mpg mixed driving, now that hes dpf deleted and tuned he gets 16-20mpg, whats a 6.0L get?? 12??:hellox:

They really dont get very good.

which are you reffering to? the LMM or the 6.0?

Oh I was agreeing with you about the 6.0