rbox

How many miles are these trucks good for in your opinion? I selected this truck because I wanted a diesel that with some minor modifications and good maintenance would last for a long long time.

My first truck was a 92 Silverado 4x4 ext-cab with a 350. That was 10 years ago. I was harder on that truck than any I have owned since. Off-roaded all the time, ran it hard around town with the 4wheeler in the back, towed some, etc. I traveled out of state often in that truck. Ran mobil1 synthetic with a 12,000 mile interval. The engine was completely stock, never cracked open. I had the stock transmission rebuilt at 144k miles. Ball joints, water pump, fuel pump, alternator, and batteries were all I ever replaced on it and that was after 150k miles. Cheap stuff too. I was putting almost 3000 miles a month on it. It had 220k miles on it when I got rid of it. It was in great condition and ran great and like a dummy I traded it in.

Fast foward to today and I am expecting this Dodge to last much longer. I don't want to have to open up the engine until it has 300-400k miles on it. Is that realistic, or are these newer diesels more fragile than the older ones? It just makes me wonder, when I see threads about these trucks having issues at lower mileages. I love diesels and have been around them all my life, but sometimes I consider going back to a gas burner when I think about how fragile and expensive some of the systems on these trucks are as well as the poor resale values we have now. I don't mind spending the money to maintain the truck but I would rather not have any more 4 figure repairs for a while.

So is it a good investment or should I cut my losses? Are diesels still going to hold their value and will they last?

Jeff in TD

I think I read on Cummins web page that the 5.9 was intended for a 350,000 interval between overhauls in medium duty applications (package trucks, little dump trucks and busses, and what not).

Fuel quality, quality oil and filters done on time, and I think you could expect the engine to go much, much longer. If you drive it a lot, on long hauls or towing, I think that can be much better than cold start short trips.

If you care for the 48RE, and run stock power, they seem to hold up pretty well too.

Little things on the rest of the truck might crop up though.

Russ Roth

If I don't see a half mil or better I am going to be reeaaaallllyyy PO'ed.

jnicewan

hell, up here at the dealer i have seen 6.4's not even make it off the transport truck to the parking lot. 3 of em with less than 20k miles waiting on engines right now, 4 more dead waiting to be looked at. and i heard all the big 3 having problems with newer engines.

checkster

the cummins will definately outlast the wrapper

modified03

there a company truck in my home town with 650 thousand and theyve just done minor stuff to it. they haul tires with it

rogers259

Buddies 08 F450 with 16k has been down in TN where it died while he was unloading his horses. It stranded him there with 5 horses 6 dogs and his buddy. I got the call to head down and pick them up with my truck...that was back in October.

Since then the dealer has had the truck, they called him up middle of November to tell him it was fixed. He drove down to get it got 3 miles down the road and the truck died again(same thing). He just got the call yesterday to come pick it up again. They have a lawyer now and I highly doubt he will ever drive that truck again.

I just wish he'd come over to dodge and get a 06-07 5.9 3500...he still wants another f450.

rbox

How is the reliability of the 2005 6.0s? My brother just bought one to run his biodiesel in. Over Christmas he was having trouble with it running rough and losing power. I warned him to stay away from the newer powerstrokes.

peobryant

I think the reliability of the newer 6.0's is a lot higher than the older ones. They got most of the bugs out by '05. I think the biggest problem with the 6.0 is exaggeration...

supr

All the 6.0's have serious issues, the earlier ones much more so. Ford has spent over $500M fixing them and got into contention with Navistar. The new motors seem to be some better, but stll lot of issues.

rbox

I advised him to get a 7.3 but he wanted a newer truck. Had to have that King Ranch interior. Man I love the sound of a 7.3 idling.

Dartmouth 12V

An absolute number of miles is hard to give because it depends on how the truck is used. If the truck is driven mostly highway and not modded to heavily, any of the diesels from the big 3 should do 250k easily(yes there will be some problems along the way) before needing a rebuild. I think that you will find that the cummins has very good longevity, the number that they give is 350k and many people have seen much more than that.

One thing that has been to the disadvantage of longevity is the horsepower wars. A detuned engine will simply last longer so the jump that we have seen in horsepower has shortened the lives of the engines.

Another thing that has changed a lot is the fuel system. In my opinion, the newer fuel systems are not as reliable as the older mechanical ones. However, when working properly they do a much better job of delivering fuel which will increase longevity. In addition, the electronic controls allow for some fail safe functions that were the responsibility of the driver before. In talking to a boat mechanic here who installs many Deere engines, he has seen significantly fewer blown engines since they have gone electronic. It probably doesn't make much of a difference to a well tuned in driver but for any old person, it may save them a blown engine.

Like many of these questions, I don't think that it is possible to give a nice clean analytical answer. The time to overhaul on these engines is still good(and exceptionally good on the cummins). For those who don't drive a lot, rust and age will become larger factors than engine life.

peobryant

I wouldn't say all. I have talked to numerous 6.0 owners who have had nothing but reliable service from their trucks. Yes they have a much higher failure rate than the other engines, but the newer ones don't seem to have many problems, or nearly as many as the older ones at least.

Hvytrkmech

The egr valve will not like the bio mix. He will be much better off with straight up diesel treated year round with fuel conditioner.

TexasCTD

MY B-I-L has an 05 powerstroke and hasn't had any problems yet with the motor. His only has about 30,000 miles on it and has had a couple of "flashes". But so far so good.


Now the transmission reverse gear went out and had to have a new trans case too. Covered under warranty.


We tease each other relentlessly about our trucks.......but he definately respects my cummins.

..