Hello everyone, First post on this forum.

I am looking into an 3/4 or 1 ton Ford so i can haul firewood in the fall, hunt,haul trailers etc, up steep grades and temps ranging from -35 to +90. No problem, But this will also be my commuter truck for work so fuel milage of a decent number would be nice.
basically the the truck will be 8ft box, 4x4, crewcab,

What i need to know is the facts (both Moded/stock) about all the 99-03 engines produced for these trucks. including reliability,affordability,maintenance, etc. oh and availability.
The reason i am asking is my 92 Dakota with 235,000 has pretty much decided its done...thank god i have a reason to get a ford now. LOL
For reference the Dakota NEVER had a problem till recently and still gets about 15-20mpg.
I have about 15,000 cap as well.
Thanks for any info ahead of time.

 

getting 15-20 MPG is a pretty tall order for a SD. unless ur talking pure flat hiway driving at a steady speed..

keep in mind a SD (esp. a crewcab) will easily weight 2X times what ur dakota did..

 

Ya i would not be expecting 20mpg out of the big trucks. lol
If i can get around 15 on the Freeway 65mph or so being easy on the gas peddle i would be fine by that. my commute to work has one hill but is short,maybe 1/2 mile and about 13%grade.
My 15-20mpg with the dakota consists of 95% 60-75mph driving for 30min-45min.
So driving in a city, the Dakota would probably be around 14-16mpg.

 

I know everyones mpg numbers are all over the place. I have an 08 but I consistently get 10.4mpg with an easy pedal (barely over 2200-2300 rpm at most) with my V10 with a similar weight vehicle as yours. Now my commute is half of the highway time so it could be different, but not by much. When I had a F250 5.4 (06) that was more like 11.5 with the same commute. With an 05 F150 5.4 I was around 14-15. Again not in the same year as you are looking but cant imagine its much different. I also think a big difference can happen if you drive 55 vs 65, drive 75 and kiss fuel goodbye. These are for the gasoline engines only. If you could find a clean 7.3 diesel, you'd be in business!! All engines are reliable in those years if taken care of. I'm not sure when the 6.0 diesel was put into the trucks (03 or 04) but that could be a deal breaker.

 

the 7.3 ended in 03 and the 6.0 started in 03.

 

Ill keep my eyes open for a clean 7.3. The V10 is hard to pass up since i can see it from my living room couch. lol The year is not as important if i could find a similar truck but + 03 year within my price range i would look into it.

 

Depending on where you live the the gas motors might be able to 15mpg hwy. Lower mileage 7.3's are getting harder to find. With any diesel maintenance is the key. The 6.0 gets a bad rap because of the early years but it is not a bad motor and they can be made bulletproof with a little bit of money. I know the 6.0 gets better all around mileage then the 7.3 and has more power. I'm not that familiar with the diesels so someone else will chime in with more info.

 

That is what ive heard is the early 6.0 had a bad rap. I live in MT but most my driving is valley floor so it is fairly flat. In my area there is the V10. a 6.0 and another that the engine is not specified.

 

I have a 2000 model 2wd extended cab. I get 19 mpg. Fastest i ever run is 65 usually. It has 188k miles and has very little issues not caused by its owner.

 

If you think you can live with the MPG's of a V10 then I highly recommend at least driving one. I have an '04 CC and love it. It's smooth, powerful, quiet and stone reliable. It's not diesel-stout, but once you get the tach to 2,000 under a load, it's a pulling monster compared to small-block trucks I've owned. Mine gets anywhere from 7.6 to mid-15's mpg depending on whether I'm towing or not, or in town or the freeway. It ain't no MPG master, but I honestly can't imagine a better package considering ability, reliability and economy. But then again I'm old enough to remember when new full size half tons got 8 mpg unloaded and on the freeway!