Need advice on crew cab truck

[ParsedOut]

I'm in the market to pick up a crew cab full size truck. I'd love to have a diesel truck again, but modern crew cab variants are outside of my price range. I'm looking $10-15k range for something <130k miles. There are Dodge, Chevy, Ford and Nissan that seem to fit the bill but I really don't know what the "good" engines and trannys are in these trucks and which to avoid. Gas mileage isn't a major issue as I work pretty close to home, so anything >15 mpg mixed driving unloaded is fine with me. 2wd is also fine, won't be doing any serious desert romping in this.

What say r3v?

[LuckyHenriksen]

You can find a lot of decent crew cab super duty's for 10-15K with either the 7.3 or 6.0. I got my loaded 2006 F250 CCSB Lariat for a little over 5K at an equipment auction, but it had a little over 130k miles. Shouldn't have muh trouble finding something you like. Not sure about the Chevy's or Dodges. I am a Ford man through and through

[ParsedOut]

You can find a lot of decent crew cab super duty's for 10-15K with either the 7.3 or 6.0. I got my loaded 2006 F250 CCSB Lariat for a little over 5K at an equipment auction, but it had a little over 130k miles. Shouldn't have muh trouble finding something you like. Not sure about the Chevy's or Dodges. I am a Ford man through and through

Are there any common weak points on the 6.0 diesel? How about the transmissions that Ford uses in that body style (04-07)?

I had an 02 Dodge Cummins with some go fast goodies, rollin coal and smoking out a 4 lane freeway was kind of fun. :) It was only an extended cab though, not big enough for the family.

[mrsleeve]

Oh my fuck

6.0 ford unless they have had a lot of work done from the aftermarket or are a latter one like an 06 I would be leery of.

1st question do you really need a 3/4 ton or up for anything??? Your going to be hard pressed to get much better than 12-13 in a Gasser 3/4 loaded or empty, and modern emissions diesel's from 07 on struggle to make the 15 mark in many cases thanks to all the shit they bolt to them and choke them with. That is stock and cummins will do a little better than that, but it comes in a dodge shipping crate that is not know for its reliability. I have spent the last 4 years in mostly dodge company rigs, I dont leave the house with a tool bag, duct tape, baling wire and zip ties

If you dont need a 3/4 ton an u then why not get a nice moderately used 1/2 ton with all the trimmings in it. I have been a GM guy for too long and there are PLENTY of good used CC 1/2 tons running around with a 5.3 and 340hp with TQ# close to match and 16-20mpg depending on style and gearing.

Next as a guy who works in the trades and for bigger outfits that send all our truck to auction after we put about 80k on them...... NO mater the deal I WOULD NEVER BUY A TRUCK FROM AN EQUIPMENT AUCTION. I know what those guys do to trucks before the rental/lease place takes them back and cleans them up........

[ParsedOut]

^

Certainly don't need a 3/4 ton, just fullsize cab to fit two car seats in the back. I like the fact that most diesel engines will go 2-3x longer than it's gasoline counterpart but there are always the exceptions.

Honestly I am looking more at the gasoline variants since I can get a slightly newer (lower mileage) model for the same price. There are so many different engine tranny options amongst the manufacturers that I'm kind of lost. Is the Triton better than the Vortec or is the Hemi the way to go? And so many different versions across the years.

[jalopi]

I worked in a shop for five years... everyone, including me, dreaded seeing a ford 6.0 coming in. The older guys told me that the 7.3, compared to the 6.0, is like being used to working on cars and then asked to fix the space shuttle. Real complicated. Real expensive to fix.

Most newer mopar stuff usually has shit auto trannies. Can't go wrong with a diesel cummins though.

All GM trucks in the year/price range you're looking for can shit the tranny too (usually the sun shell) and they need a complete reline for the brake lines. Don't know what it is but they all have rusty ass brake lines that blow out. The 5.3's and 6.0s are great though.

Nissan trannies tend to hold up. Only problems you really ever see from them are knock sensors and worn out timing guides. Also, Titans are pretty goddamn fast for their size.


If you want to get +10 to all stats, get a newer Tundra with the 5.7, they pretty much tell everything else to go fuck themselves. Might have to bump the budget up to 20-25 for one of those though...

[Just Scott]

Personally, I'm a 7.3 superduty guy.

My 2001 crewcab has 228,000 miles on it, just had to rebuild the transmission. Other than that, I fix what wears out as it comes. Anything over 100,000 miles will do that.

And I get 18 mpg on the highway, 16 or so around town.

Bought the truck at 130,000 miles for $9,000, but it needed tires.

[LuckyHenriksen]

Are there any common weak points on the 6.0 diesel? How about the transmissions that Ford uses in that body style (04-07)?

I had an 02 Dodge Cummins with some go fast goodies, rollin coal and smoking out a 4 lane freeway was kind of fun. :) It was only an extended cab though, not big enough for the family.

Lots of weaknesses with the 6.0 but they can be overcome with aftermarket parts pretty easily. 6.0 bulletproofing is a whole forum topic on its own.

Oh my fuck

6.0 ford unless they have had a lot of work done from the aftermarket or are a latter one like an 06 I would be leery of.

1st question do you really need a 3/4 ton or up for anything??? Your going to be hard pressed to get much better than 12-13 in a Gasser 3/4 loaded or empty, and modern emissions diesel's from 07 on struggle to make the 15 mark in many cases thanks to all the shit they bolt to them and choke them with. That is stock and cummins will do a little better than that, but it comes in a dodge shipping crate that is not know for its reliability. I have spent the last 4 years in mostly dodge company rigs, I dont leave the house with a tool bag, duct tape, baling wire and zip ties

If you dont need a 3/4 ton an u then why not get a nice moderately used 1/2 ton with all the trimmings in it. I have been a GM guy for too long and there are PLENTY of good used CC 1/2 tons running around with a 5.3 and 340hp with TQ# close to match and 16-20mpg depending on style and gearing.

Next as a guy who works in the trades and for bigger outfits that send all our truck to auction after we put about 80k on them...... NO mater the deal I WOULD NEVER BUY A TRUCK FROM AN EQUIPMENT AUCTION. I know what those guys do to trucks before the rental/lease place takes them back and cleans them up........

I would never buy a crew truck from an auction, they have usually been trashed within the first 6 months of ownership. I lucked out finding a high option truck that was in good shape (definitely not an average crew rig), and performed flawlessly for me for the next 2 years towing cars and materials a lot of the time. Used it to move across the country from Oregon to Florida, used it down here for a few months and then sold it for $12K to a guy that thought he got a smoking deal when he talked me down from $15K. I would definitely buy another one. Ritchie Brothers is too fun

[ParsedOut]

I worked in a shop for five years... everyone, including me, dreaded seeing a ford 6.0 coming in. The older guys told me that the 7.3, compared to the 6.0, is like being used to working on cars and then asked to fix the space shuttle. Real complicated. Real expensive to fix.

Most newer mopar stuff usually has shit auto trannies. Can't go wrong with a diesel cummins though.

All GM trucks in the year/price range you're looking for can shit the tranny too (usually the sun shell) and they need a complete reline for the brake lines. Don't know what it is but they all have rusty ass brake lines that blow out. The 5.3's and 6.0s are great though.

Nissan trannies tend to hold up. Only problems you really ever see from them are knock sensors and worn out timing guides. Also, Titans are pretty goddamn fast for their size.


If you want to get +10 to all stats, get a newer Tundra with the 5.7, they pretty much tell everything else to go fuck themselves. Might have to bump the budget up to 20-25 for one of those though...

Very good info, thanks man!

Personally, I'm a 7.3 superduty guy.

My 2001 crewcab has 228,000 miles on it, just had to rebuild the transmission. Other than that, I fix what wears out as it comes. Anything over 100,000 miles will do that.

And I get 18 mpg on the highway, 16 or so around town.

Bought the truck at 130,000 miles for $9,000, but it needed tires.

If I found a clean super duty I would be a 7.3 guy myself.

Lots of weaknesses with the 6.0 but they can be overcome with aftermarket parts pretty easily. 6.0 bulletproofing is a whole forum topic on its own.

Sounds like more work than it's worth, I'll probably just avoid the 6.0.

[flyboyx]

7.3 fords are notorious for auto trans problems. actually it probably isn't the trans. i have a 99 f350 and started having trouble at around 260,000 miles. turns out the torque converters are shit. the weld seems in the vanes crack, then the vanes will come loose and grind themselves up into little metal bits. all those little metal bits get caught in the cooler(because it is also a bad design) and clog it up. the trans will then overheat, the front seal will soften, then it will pump all the fluid out the front.

the fix is easy. i cleaned out the sump, changed the filter, installed a 6.0 liter cooler, and put on a dayco aftermarket torque converter(also installed a trans temp gage). i did all the work myself but when it was all said and done, the entire repair only cost about 700.00 in parts. here i am 4 years later: the truck has almost 300k on the clock, and she is still running and shifting strong on the original factory installed transmission.

if i were in the market for another diesel, i would find someone with a 7.3 and a bad tranny because having experienced it once, i am pretty sure i can save another one without a complete rebuild.


the 6.0's on the other hand, have lots of problems with injectors(buried inside the head) egr coolers(buried inside the valley tray), oil water coolers(buried inside the valley also), and high pressure injector oil pumps. if you have to pay someone to change all this shit, you are looking at probably 5k if it is all done at once. if you do it yourself, the parts i listed above in this paragraph will probably cost you 2500-3000 dollars.

all that stuff is very labor intensive and very expensive to fix. however, if you can buy a truck where all those repairs can be verified accomplished, the chances are pretty good they won't reoccur because replacement parts are normally aftermarket.

[MR 325]

The Cummins 5.9 is definitely my truck of choice. Preferably 6 speed of course. Otherwise I'd definitely go with a 7.3 Ford diesel. I'd stay away from the Duramax or the 6.0 Ford. I have a friend who has 2 6.0 trucks and has had an insane amount of problems with both.

If you want a decent 1/2 ton truck I'd go with a 5.3 Chevy. Great engines.

[mrsleeve]

really stay away from a duramax ?????? why

[Restoman]

Do you need something over 1/2 ton?
I drive a 2010 F150 XLT Crew cab 2wd 4.6? or 4.8? 3V V8 every day. Take home truck that work gave me. I put 45k on it every year myself. Currently at 195K. It's a great truck. I'm up for a new one next month. The rear end clunks and that's about the only issue. A/C did go out last summer, but I used it on max about 6 months out of the year.
I've had hitch 2" from the ground, that's how loaded down the bed was and drove it 120 miles that way (can't cross state line with a trailer). 4wd would be nice. I don't need it all the time, just when I do. ;)
Mpg ranges:
unloaded 17.8-21 mpg
overloaded bed and trailer 13-15 mpg.

Interstate, city, and oilfield roads.
Nothing besides the A/C has ever needed repair.

[Jon325i]

Ok....a different take on the OPs question. What about the first gen Toyota Tundra Double Cab (2004-2006)? I've owned a couple of Toyota trucks (Tacomas) which have been incredibly reliable. The Tundra Double Cabs have 4 real doors, are 1/2 ton rated, and the 4.7L V8 has proven itself as a dependable mill. Seeing you don't plan to do any off-roading (you made no mention of towing), then this might be an option worth researching.

I did a quick search on AutoTrader for local offerings and there were a few that matched your mileage & price criteria.


Jon

[dirty30]

I picked up a 92 F350 2wd Crewcab a while back and have really loved how simple, reliable and cheap to fix it is. Its a 7.3 with a stick shift, dually crew cab. Paid $4000. Old tech by todays standards but a great truck nonetheless.