Going from diesal to gas??

[GSB Ice Man]

I need some opinions from you guys.

I am burned out on my 2003 Ford F350 6.0 diesal, nothing but problems since the begining. It has 160k on it and I am thinking of dumping it this fall for something else, hopefully less issues.

I pull a bobcat almost everyday and am not sure wether to go gas or diesal. The new prices are out of my league. We have 1-V10 on our fleet and it has no issues except for the fact it is a F250 and squats like a half ton with an empty trailer.

Talking to some other guys with the V10, they are telling me to try it.

What do you guys think?

Also, any ideas where to look for used ones with a service or utility body?

Thanks for your input,

Crappie C

[Scott K]

If it was me, I would find a 03 with a 7.3L in it.

[Ufatz]

I agree with the 7.3 PowerStroke. Too bad you weren't hear last week...just sold my white beauty because I no longer pull my Airstream. Now have new Chevy gas crew/short box. Nice....but jeeeze what a whimpy little tinker-toy compared to my diesel. For your uses I would NOT go from diesel to gas......you ain't gonna like it much. Unless you ENJOY jamming your foot through the floor trying to get more torque when you pull from a stop.

You got one of the ElJunko Ford diesels. Go to a newer Chevy diesel. They are pretty darned nice from my limited riding etc. in them.

But not back to gas. I mean.....would you trade your cellphone for one of those hand crank wall phones?

[CJH]

Diesel is the way to go for heavy towing. Period.

[blakeb]

another vote for the 7.3 why did ford abandon this motor, 6 liters are junk

[jeffreyd]

why not go for an engine that is made for pulling, that being the Cummins? since the chevy is an isuzu on steroids, the ford is a make believe cornbinder, Cummins has the machine to do the pulling your require.

[LMITOUT]

why not go for an engine that is made for pulling, that being the Cummins? since the chevy is an isuzu on steroids,

An Isuzu with more power than the Cummins and a transmission backing it up that can handle it.

[jeffreyd]

no one said anything about the trans tho. and while the isuzu might have more power, the cummins will still be on the road in 10 yrs the isuzu will be in a scrap yard with the rods spun out of it.

[deadeye]

oh jeez here we go...

I vote stick with diesel in your situation. You got pretty much the biggest misfit there is with that 6.0. Dump it and get any other of the diesel options there is and you will be happy.

While I have to say I favor the dodge myself its tough to argue that the 7.3 isnt a solid bet. The same goes for the duramax.

[GSB Ice Man]

I figured you guys would tell me to stick with a diesal and look for a 7.3, but I am looking for newer and lower miles.

I really would like something with warranty.

I can't seem to find many used Chevy or Dodges either, but used Ford 6.0 are a dime a dozen and still high priced.

I guess I will keep my eyes open for the next couple of months for a used diesal.

Thanks guys for your input

CC

[MNice]

Sounds like the start of an interesting thread.. My ________ is way better than your ____________ and you should only buy brand ___________, while brand _________ is junk.

[Valv]

I would like to suggest staying with diesel. We run new 2010 and 2011 Chevy 1 ton 6l gas and they are a hog. We get from 6mpg to 8mpg towing and 10mpg to 12mpg empty.

I run personally a 2006 Dodge 2500 MegaCab diesel and cannot be any happier. Of course it's my 9th Dodge diesel since I used to tow for a living (now I still do it with others trucks). Chevy Duramax and Ford Powerstrokes are classified as Light Duty engines, Cummins is a Medium duty, that's why Ford installs it in they F650 and up. Chevy goes with Caterpillar.

Be sure to get a 3:73 gear ratio. 2500s and 3500s (or 250s and 350s) all have same frame and drivetrain, just different springs and load ratings. Newer (2008 and up) trucks have all 6 speed transmissions and they are all bulletproof. Towing requires torque not HP, otherwise you'll see Peterbuilt and Freightliners with Ferrari engines. Take some time to go to a dealer and try different brands, yes you will have to deal with the "sticky" salesman at the end, but you will get an idea of the truck you'd like.

[GSB Ice Man]

Thanks for the info VALV, I looked a little today at the Chevys. The Duramax looks good, but I still can't stomach the price of these new ones.

CC

[dougger222]

Pulling a cat with a large V10 gas will really strain your wallet (as well as your truck). A friend of mine worked for a company and his driver was a V10 Ford dump box and towed a cat half the time. He averaged 7-8 mpg's and it had a small tank so he was filling up every other day.

The early 6.0's had a lot of problems but the 06-07 6.0's are a lot better. Everybody I know with 03-05 6.0's have had a fair amount of issues. The same can't be said of the people I know with the 06-07's. You gotta think by then Ford and Nivistar figured it out?

Another option if sticking with Ford would be the 08-10 MY 6.4. There were a few small bugs right away but the motor is leap years ahead of the 6.0 in terms of reliability.

If you want the most powerfull truck made today consider the 2011 6.7 Ford. Big jump in fuel mileage over the 6.4 and even higher than the 6.0 and 7.3.

Too bad the 7.3 is out of the question. I have three and they are great work trucks. 99 F250 285K miles, 99 F350 dually 185K miles, 00 Excursion 220K miles.

[dougger222]

I would like to suggest staying with diesel. We run new 2010 and 2011 Chevy 1 ton 6l gas and they are a hog. We get from 6mpg to 8mpg towing and 10mpg to 12mpg empty.

I run personally a 2006 Dodge 2500 MegaCab diesel and cannot be any happier. Of course it's my 9th Dodge diesel since I used to tow for a living (now I still do it with others trucks). Chevy Duramax and Ford Powerstrokes are classified as Light Duty engines, Cummins is a Medium duty, that's why Ford installs it in they F650 and up. Chevy goes with Caterpillar.

Be sure to get a 3:73 gear ratio. 2500s and 3500s (or 250s and 350s) all have same frame and drivetrain, just different springs and load ratings. Newer (2008 and up) trucks have all 6 speed transmissions and they are all bulletproof. Towing requires torque not HP, otherwise you'll see Peterbuilt and Freightliners with Ferrari engines. Take some time to go to a dealer and try different brands, yes you will have to deal with the "sticky" salesman at the end, but you will get an idea of the truck you'd like.

You can get the 7.2 Cat in a F650/750

As far as 3.73 in a SRW it's fine for most. For dually's you want 4.10's or bigger. For a couple years Ford offered 4.88 rear end in the F450's. Lots of power really bad fuel mielage!

[GSB Ice Man]

Well, after looking at the new 6.7 Fords, I am impressed. But I think I will put a new set of tires on mine and drive it till late this year or spring, then pull the pin. I think if the 2011's have issues, they should be figured out by then.

Another issue I found is they raised the GVW on F350's to 11,400 lbs and that puts me over 26K pulling my dump trailer. I am going to look at F250's and set it up like an F350 to go around the weight issue so I don't have to get a CDL. Any other ideas??

Thanks

CC