Anybody want a FORD?

[THEFERMANATOR]

Anybody want to buy a FORD truck?

http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/cto/1541089898.html

[joe7670]

WTF??? Looney!

[willy]

Got his message out didn't he

[spareparts]

ouch!! I know the problems with the 6.0 and 6.4 have made the older 7.3's go up in value. My Father in Laws 05 F350 6.0L burned a piston at 23K, they out a new motor in it and he sold it at 55k a year later. He swears it was the best truck he ever owned. I keep pointing out he had to have the motor replaced, he blows that off and says thats what warranties are for. He's eat up with Fords.

I just started to look for a work van, any opinions on an E350 with the 7.3? Good years? Bad?

[RWilson2526]

Sounds like my brother wrote that ....he's not happy with his F250...05 or 06....had to pull the engine once for a leaking crankcase or something under warranty and now the head gasket blew at 102,000. Even though they, are helping him out pretty good charging him only 1200 for a complete rebuild he's gonna sell it and go back to a Dodge.

[willy]

Ford has really stepped on their appendage with this motor. If you are off warranty God help you.
I hope they come out with a good diesel soon and prove it. I have met so many fellows who will not buy a ford diesel for their next truck due to what either they themselves or their friends have experienced.
What a shame.

[RidgeRunner]

LMAO. I need a new salesman in the NW I wonder???? The Fords had some issues. Love the Duramax but they had a few issues in 2001. Transmissions and torque converters.

[willy]

Those issues are with the Allisons? geez I had been told that was the best auto trans you could get.

[THEFERMANATOR]

LMAO. I need a new salesman in the NW I wonder???? The Fords had some issues. Love the Duramax but they had a few issues in 2001. Transmissions and torque converters.

Never heard of issues with the ALLISON in 01 except for some programming issues that caused a harsh 2-1 downshift. My 01 had 162K on it when I pulled it for my swap, and it looked brand new inside. 01 DURAMAXES did have some issues with headgaskets, and the injectors from 01-04 were problematic as well. FORD is coming out with a new diesel for 2010 or 2011. It is an in house diesel that built on there own and will be called the 6.7L SCORPION. It is actually a direct copy of the 4.5L baby MAX that GM canned last year after the bailout(courtesy of OBAMA's hatred for diesels). The 6.4L they currently have has been pretty good if treated properly. But just about any repair on it will set you back well over $1K as most anything on it requires pulling the cab.

I wonder if FORD is going to go ahead and build the TAMPAX edition they were talking about? I heard it came with it's own recovery strap built in:haha:.

[Skools Out]

never heard of trans issues either but the duramax did have computer problems where under heavy loads they cut back to 1800 rpm max and very little to no power till you limp them into a dealership to fix the computer.

[THEFERMANATOR]

never heard of trans issues either but the duramax did have computer problems where under heavy loads they cut back to 1800 rpm max and very little to no power till you limp them into a dealership to fix the computer.

This wasn't a computer issue, it was limp mode. Normally what would happen is people would install K&N air filters and the oil would get on the mass air flow sensor which would cause the engine to go into limp mode under a hard pull and would cap you at a maximum of 2200 RPM's. Some codes required a a reset in order for the engine to come out of limp. Also 04.5-05's would overheat due to the extra heat from the emissions crap and such and would also go into limp mode. EFILIVE on mine took care of any chances of limp mode causing an issue though:party:.

[spareparts]

I have expanded my seach for a work van to include a GMC or Chevy2500-3500 Van(long cab) with a duramax. I didn't realize GM even offered a diesel in the vans till I started searching. I wpould prefer a GM over a Ford(personal prefernce). Skools/Ferm/ any one?, any input on the Ford or GM. Trying to stay below 10.000 so I'm looking at pre 05 stuff with at leats 100,000 miles on them.

[THEFERMANATOR]

GM didn't offer the DURAMAX in a van until 06, so that sort of gets you there. The old 6.5 isn't a horrible engine, but is by no means a heavy duty diesel you can go beat on day in and day out like the old 7.3L powerstroke. For a diesel van it is hard to beat the 7.3L FORD vans though.

[spareparts]

thats what i though, but I've seen several 02-05 GM vans listing them as duramax, are they the 6.5's?

[THEFERMANATOR]

thats what i though, but I've seen several 02-05 GM vans listing them as duramax, are they the 6.5's?

Yep. they're a decent engine, but do require some upgrades to be reliable.

[spareparts]

I used to work for a company that built street sweepers. we used the 6.5NA(no arse)in the twin engine sweepers(aux engine for the hydraulics). They got a bunch of them from GM at a special deal. They would test drive teh sweepers from one town to antother about 40 miles away. Half of them didn't make it back(spit the cranks thru the pan). We had all kinds of probelms with them. Used the 7.3 mostly, very few problems with them. Used the 5.9, but it didn't match the torque below 1000 rpm that the 7.3 had(ran below 1000 while sweeping). It wasn't untill cummins came out with the 4 valve head that it would work as hard as the 7.3. But thats been a while back, just trying to up to date on them

[RidgeRunner]

The problems with the Allison in 2001 may have been isolated. The torque converter came apart on one of the first trucks to the Florida market. At that stage of the game the dealership was instructed to replace it with a new one (torque converter and tranny). Allison/GM did not trust the technician with the repair. I have heard of injector issues with the Duramax but never had a problem.
The Dodge has them all beat on mileage IMO. Especially with the 6 speed stick which GM discontinued. I like my Duramax and Allison but mileage is 14/17 with a best of 19mpg hwy driving it like there was an egg under foot and no speeds above 65mph. A friends 3500 Dodge dually gets 21MPG interstate with the six speed manual with a small trailer in tow at 70-75 mph. I saw it with my own two eyes and was very impressed with the Cummins power. Mash the accellerator at 60mph in high gear and it pulls, meanwhile my Duramax/Allison is searching for the right cog before accelleration happens. Not that I want a stick mind you, just pointing out the one shortcoming of the Allison slushbox.
Weren't the GM vans that were equipped with the Duramax rated to make less hp and torque than the trucks. I think the tranny was the 4L80E like the tranny behind the 6.0 and big block gas engines, they detuned the engine to help the tranny survive. It was rumored the Allison would not fit in the vans. Unless Ferm gets hold of it :)....

[Skools Out]

I think the tranny was the 4L80E like the tranny behind the 6.0 and big block gas engines, they detuned the engine to help the tranny survive. It was rumored the Allison would not fit in the vans. Unless Ferm gets hold of it :)....


They didn't need to detune the motor for that trans, the 80 is tough as cut nails. according to the specs on the L80's they will hold up to 1000 hp and 1500 ft pd of torque. i have a tahoe with a diesel and the L80 with well over 200k miles no issues and i give mine hell too. had a torque converter replaced at 210k miles due to a noise.

[RidgeRunner]

They didn't need to detune the motor for that trans, the 80 is tough as cut nails. according to the specs on the L80's they will hold up to 1000 hp and 1500 ft pd of torque. i have a tahoe with a diesel and the L80 with well over 200k miles no issues and i give mine hell too. had a torque converter replaced at 210k miles due to a noise.

Sweet, A lot of questions.. How did you get a Tahoe with a diesel? and Which engine is it? If the 4L80E is that tough is it better than the Allison? What kind of power will the Allison take? I swear I feel my Allison slipping the 2-3 shift with the Bully Dog set on Performance mode. I normally keep it in Tow/Economy with no ill effect but you know I had to test it.
I had a 6.0 gas motor that was not very impressive in front of the L80(1500HD). It was detuned for sure. The tranny lacked the low first gear like the 700R4 or 4L60 which made it a sled. Nothing the Whipple and a good Crane grind couldn't cure but mileage was horrific before and after. I was riding around sporting the Dale Jr. #8 license plate while simultaneously advertising my MPG. Would you put the L80 in the same league as the old TH400?

[THEFERMANATOR]

Ridgerunner, I don't know what year DMAX you have. But the BULLYDOG is a JOKE on the DMAX. I've got EFILIVE and for $100 I can buy another VIN license and tune any of the DMAX trucks to be pretty impressive. I've mainly tuned LB7's and helped a guy with an LLY, but I'm sure I could figure out an LBZ as well. The 4L80E is only rated to 430 ft lbs of torque stock, and the 4L85E is rated to 440 ft lbs of torque stock. 1-3 is pretty damn strong in the 80/85's, but 4th is a very weak gear in them as the OD unit is an add on basically. The DMAX vans were derated to 250HP and 440 torque due to the 4L85E's shortfalls. It will live behind a DMAX in 1st-3rd in a lightweight vehicle as the DMAX GRAND NATIONAL and the 9 second 1/4 mile DMAX MUSTANG are both running the 4L85E, but neither of them wil even think about putting it in 4th under hard power. The ALLISON does in fact feel sloppy due to torque management as the tranny will hold ALOT of power, but not during the shift. The ALLISON is a strong truck transmission, not a musclecar tranny that can pop the gears off and bark the tires on every shift. Torque management is adjustabil with EFILIVE, but a stock tranny will not live long if you disable it or reduce it much. If you've been running a tuner for awhile then you may have burnt the C3's in it which would cause a sloppy 2-3 shift as the TCM is trying to protect itself. The C3's and the C2's are the weaker of the clutches in the ALLISON(the C2's get slipped on the 4-5 and 5-4 shift, and the C3's slip on the 2-3 and 3-2). My trans is fully built though, so no worries there in mine.

The diesel TAHOE is in fact a 6.5 and was built from 94-97(maybe 98) in the 2 door TAHOES and YUKON's). They're pretty rare and sought after though. And as for milage, I'm pretty happy with mine. I'm averaging 20 with mixed driving, and have gotten as higfh as 23 empty and roughly 15-17 towing. As for the DODGE, 03 with a 6 speed was a good year, but 04+ didn't do as well with the extra injection event. And don't believe the DIC in any of them, hand calculated milage only is the way to check em.

[Skools Out]

thanks ferm the diesel tahoe was avail from 1993 to 1999 in 2 door and only in 1996 to 1999 you could special order it in the 4 door but never seen one, as far as the suburban i thank 1993 to early 2000.

[RidgeRunner]

I got you Ferm. It sounds like the L80 or L85 could be the TH400 if not for the OD. My experience with Bullydog has been good although somewhat limited. Dyno Dominator with adjustability from a knob on the dash for the 2001 LB7/5spd Allison (can bus), Triple Dog on the fly with the LLY and LBZ/6spd Allison (OBDII). I figured you to have a better setup. The Duramax is impressive right out of the box. I am skeered to make the leap to Performance or Higher settings on the Bully Dog. Set on Tow/Economy I have a little extra without the concerns of blowing the stock tranny. Is the torque management the defueling event between shifts? My Duramax with Bully set on Performance Mode will boil the Michelins off the line, fall on its face for the 1-2 shift then boil the tires as the power comes back on in second, then fall on its face again for the 2-3 shift but when the power should be coming on it feels a little flat as if the tranny was slipping. I have only tried it a couple times. Skeered like I said. I saw your updated thread on the Burb. I would love to get 20+ MPG. The Bully Dog ain't gonna get me there and neither would a stock setup. My 2006 does not have the lying computer for mileage and neither did the Dodge. I think mileage is the most lied about topic, hell most people don't even know the calculation.
School, I had no idea the Tahoe could be had in diesel. I thought it was only the 3/4 ton Suburbans. Live and learn. The boss had a 93 and a 98 PU with the 6.5L TD 5 spd manual with the granny gear. I hated changing the fuel filters on them motors. Aside from that they were very dependable. No problems at all and are still running at about 200,000 miles each.

[THEFERMANATOR]

2 door TAHOES and SUBURBANS from 94+ had the option of the 6.5L. It wasn't available until 94 in the SUV's due to emissions, and 94 was when the electronic pump came out that got them past the emissions. It has been determined that no 4 door TAHOE or YUKON ever came from GM with a 6.5 as well, only the 2 doors with the S emissions engine. The SUBURBAN was available in a 1500 with the 6.5, but it was actually a 3/4 ton running gear underneath it to get it past emissions. The 80/85 is nothing more than an electronic TURBO 400 with an OD unit added on. The first ones all used TURBO 400 clutches and bands for reverse and 1-3.

If you have an 06 Ridge, you can do quite a bit to it to wake it up as well as boost the milage quite a bit in it. The BULLYDOG isn't helping your milage one bit either. They simply add timing, boost, and fuel to there tunes(mostly fuel), and this is not how to boost milage. On the 04.5+ DMAX's droping the boost and bumping the timing can make a BIG difference in them. I know somebody with an 06 and he said he has gotten 23 hand calculated with 285 tires on it. He has a DIABLE PREDATOR tuner, MBRP exhaust(cat con got lost), and an S&B intake on it. His truck drives NICE and is pretty strong with a good smooth power transition in it. Torque management is the defueling event during the shifts which helps the ALLISON to live. The 06+ 1000 ALLISON is rated to hold 650 foot pounds of torque with torque management, or only 525 without it. You can add in a TRANSGO JR and help it out a little bit(the BULLYDOG kit is a COMPLETE waste of money and does not help at all), and with a decent tune you can safely put about 400HP to the rear wheels(stock is about 300-315). And many are running upwards of 500HP to the rear wheels with EFILIVE and had some decent life out of em. EFILIVE is a great tuning tool as you can custom tailor your tuning to the vehicle and it's set-up.