Hello all, I know I don't post much but keep a close eye on here. I finally came off the road and now have a local driving job for a pipe laying co. delivering equipment and supplies to all our job sites. I must say, it sure is nice to be home every day of the week!! My signature is now wrong as I don't drive a Freightliner any more, mostly drive a Ford 900 or a Mack Superliner w/ a 500hp V8 tri-axle that bellows out black smoke worse than anything I've ever seen. Anyway, on to the subject; I am ready to sell my 95 F-350 gasser and get a diesel. I need to find at least an ext cab or 4 door 3/4 ton or 1 ton and won't be able to pay much more than about $5500. My question is this: What should I stay away from? Of course, I will be looking at 80's & 90's Fords, late 80's & 90's Chevs and early 2nd gen Dodge. I feel fairly knowledgeable on the Dodge (Thank you all!!) I used to drive the old 6.9 Int'l and thought at the time they ran well (a looong time ago). Can a turbo be fitted to these? What about the non turbo 7.3's? What about the 6.4 Detroits? I know they have the reputation about stretched head bolts, how about the 6.5 Det turbo and non turbo? The only thing I have heard about those is they lacked power. Can all of the above be turned up? I doubt that I can find a Cummins powered truck in my price range. I need some advice and info concerning the above mentioned motors. I pretty much know the trucks they came in. Please help!! Thanks ...Dan

 

Dan,

A turbo could be fitted to most anything but putting one on a 6.9 is really asking for trouble. And it would not be cheap. I had one that was stock with a automatic and it went through an injection pump, several water pumps, and had TWO cracked heads in 100,000 miles! Plus I rebuilt the steering twice, broke a tooth off the ring gear, front brakes four times, and the second tranny was in serious trouble when I got rid of it. Whew! Never again!
Do what you have to do to get a Cummins! You'll never regret it. The second and third gen trucks are much more modern than the 1st gens (I have a '93 too), but they are all great. I loved the power my '93 has but the suspension and other things are really old fashioned.

Wetspirit

 

Ditto on the Cummins advice. For the price range you're looking to spend you should be able to find a decent 1st Gen Dodge. 2nd Gen truck bring a little higher price.

When I was looking at trucks I spoke to a good friend who is a maintenance foreman for a large construction company. They have tried all the "big three" trucks, and the Dodge was the only one that proved to be reliable. They even use the Cummins in a lot of thier construction equipment and have had excellent luck there, too.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider a non-turbo'd truck. They're dogs stock, and by the time you install a turbo you could've bought a nicer Dodge.

 

Dan,

A turbo could be fitted to most anything but putting one on a 6.9 is really asking for trouble. And it would not be cheap. I had one that was stock with a automatic and it went through an injection pump, several water pumps, and had TWO cracked heads in 100,000 miles! Plus I rebuilt the steering twice, broke a tooth off the ring gear, front brakes four times, and the second tranny was in serious trouble when I got rid of it. Whew! Never again!
Do what you have to do to get a Cummins! You'll never regret it. The second and third gen trucks are much more modern than the 1st gens (I have a '93 too), but they are all great. I loved the power my '93 has but the suspension and other things are really old fashioned.

Wetspirit

 

Sorry about the double post Wetspirit

 

I agree, I know I would be happiest w/ a CTD, but around here, they run minimum in the upper $8,000's and higher. The 1st gen's, just never cared for the body style but could probably get used to it w/ nice wheels and tires. I mainly wanted to know what kind of problems are known about all the rest except what I already mentioned. The problem I have is I must sell my truck to pay off some bills and what will be left over should be around $5k. I do like simplicity so maybe I should look a little closer at a 1st gen. Thanks very much and keep the opinions and facts coming! Thank you........Dan