If the OP is still interested, (and not a trol) find a local 6L shop, from asking around, or look up local shops on bulletproofdiesel.com and check out your local FTE chapter forum, ask for recommended shops! The OEM dealer (same for dodge, chevy, etc.) (almost) always costs way more. The assumption is, they KNOW your vehicle and should be the "safe" choice. Sadly, the OEM dealer, makes lots of money on repairs/warranty work vs selling cars. I can't fathom any 6L repair costing $18k.
If you call a plumber for a leak, and he says, $18k to replumb whole house, maybe get another plumber??

 

Try looking into the lemon law, and filing a
Compliant with the Better businews burea.

 

Even a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day.

My 7.3 has gone 338k w/o that other DB, Bill touching it.
Yet when I need parts, I used FTE sponsors to get my parts. And if I need help, because I can't accomplish it myself, I see what sponsors or vendors here are close enough, with stellar reputations and I'd use them. Why? Because without sponsors here, then FTE wouldn't be as valuable a resource as it is to thousands of members. Support the sponsors.
Personal note for you, LOTS of people are going to disagree with you when posting an opinion, especially an uninformed opinion. What truly shows what type of person you are, is how you respond to that criticism. Personally attacking me, shows all of us your immaturity. Seeing that you've been a member here for just over 2 years and have posted about two hundred times, tells me that you should know better. But hey, I'm the one with the middle school education.

 

Wow apparently we have lost sight if the objective in helping our fellow member get a resolution to his problem. Remember if you can't say anything nice then don't say nothing at all.

​​​​​​​my recommendation still stands even though you had a dealer Who Sold you a vehicle with no expressed or implied warranty does not mean that you do not have any rights. I would strongly suggest that you look into your purchase contract and look at the Lemon Law in your state I personally went through this a long time ago with a brand new 2012 GMC that I purchased from the dealership and the vehicle was in the shop for x amount of days. After they couldn't resolve my issue in the state of Texas the Lemon Law kick in and the demon actually had to buy back my vehicle and reimburse me for my loss. I know it's not the same thing when you purchase a used vehicle but when you purchase something directly from a dealer you should be expecting a little bit more than a no warranty clause in your purchase. It doesn't hurt to look into the Lemon Law and remember no dealership wants a bad review in the Better Business Bureau if they sold your vehicle that you thought was good at the time of purchase. Just saying I've only been a member for a little bit of time but I think I know that you can get resolution to your problem if you approach the deal with this type of claim.

 

Wow apparently we have lost sight if the objective in helping our fellow member get a resolution to his problem. Remember if you can't say anything nice then don't say nothing at all.

​​​​​​​my recommendation still stands even though you had a dealer Who Sold you a vehicle with no expressed or implied warranty does not mean that you do not have any rights. I would strongly suggest that you look into your purchase contract and look at the Lemon Law in your state I personally went through this a long time ago with a brand new 2012 GMC that I purchased from the dealership and the vehicle was in the shop for x amount of days. After they couldn't resolve my issue in the state of Texas the Lemon Law kicked in and the dealer actually had to buy back my vehicle and reimburse me for my loss. I know it's not the same thing when you purchase a used vehicle but when you purchase something directly from a dealer you should be expecting a little bit more than a no warranty clause in your purchase. It doesn't hurt to look into the Lemon Law and remember no dealership wants a bad review in the Better Business Bureau if they sold you a vehicle that you thought was good at the time of purchase. Just saying I've only been a member for a little bit of time but I think I know that you can get resolution to your problem if you approach the dealer with this type of claim.

 

Sorry for the repost, but I had to correct the spelling.

 

Hopefully the poster will come back if they didnt get scared away and fill us in with more of what the back story is and how the dealer came to the conclusion of a new engine, guess we will have to wait and see.

 

Lemon law only covers NEW vehicles I believe. We're also talking about a 14 year old truck with an undisclosed amount of miles on it too. This truck could have 300,000 miles on it for all we know.

Kevin

 

Note that the OP wasn't looking for help with the truck; they just wanted to know if they would have personal liability on the loan if they walked away

 

I'm curious about something. Assume a worst case scenario, and the diesel engine really is broke to the point the whole thing needs replacing. How hard/expensive would it be to convert the truck over to a gas engine, instead of spending $18k on a new diesel engine? I'm sort of wondering if there is a good reason why no one suggested that as "Plan B"?

 

Federal Lemon Laws only cover new vehicles. I believe some states - not many, I admit - have used vehicle lemon laws. My home state of NY is one of them. You'd have to check with the state you live in to be sure about that.

Lemon Laws by State - Lemon Law Attorneys | DMV.org

 

Creates more work:

Fuel tank, fuel pump, fuel lines, PCM, transmission for 6L is 5r110, the gas engines 4r100 (at least in ALL excursions were the 2V 5.4/6.8), etc. etc.