I am looking for wisdom. I hope, I find it here. I am looking to buy an older PSD 250 or 350 single wheel 4x4. I use the truck on the farm and i occasionally pull very heavy loads for a p/u ....gross between 16 and 18k...truck,trailer, and load....My current vehicle is a 92' dodge 250, 4x4,with a 12 valve 5.9 cummins, 5spd.....it pulls everything well but rides like a dodge (log truck) and my wife wants something better......the problem is anything between 96 and 02 has mainly automatic transmissions. I am sorta scared of a auto as alot of the adds alway seem to say newly rebuilt transmission or new torque converter. I had that problem with an 84-6.9 and i killed it several times that is why i have a dodge....Question is will the C-6 transmissions hold up or just keep looking for a 5 or 6spd.....they are hard to find........what will a C-6 pull without comming apart....i live in the mtns so take that into account.............Give me the truth....I can handle it.............Thanks--

 

Welcome to FTE.
The OBS(Old Body Style)truck will have the E4OD.The SD trucks will have the 4R100.They can be built for that type of hauling but out of the box the handshaker(ZF6) may be better in your case.

 

The C6 was available through the 1996 model year. They are rare as hen's teeth. They were only available to fleet customers, so they were mostly in work trucks.

 

i'm not real familiar with the trans numbers....i had an old c-6 and took the converter out 3 times and never really loaded the truck that heavy...will the newer auto's stand the loads....can't afford to kill one every 6 months...i was hoping to find a truck with a 5 or 6 spd ....i know they will do what i need they are just sooooooooo hard to find.....i want the 7.3 engine....am i going wrong here.........wife wants an auto...she can drive the other but isn't real good at it....i'm just scared i'll get a bunch of problems..............need your advice....i'm stumped and don't know where else to look...........thanks again

 

Unfortunately,the automatics behind the 7.3's are the weak link also. You'd be better served to keep looking for a 6-speed OR plan on a quality rebuild from John Wood or BTS before long if you decide to get an auto ($4-5k).

 

thanks for the information........can't stand them rebuilds...kills the pocket book......like the photo of camper and truck......that is also what i plan on pulling.........if you are ever in TN around fall creek falls state park (50 mi. nw of chatt.) look us up.....live about 10 mi. from there in the mtns......anyone got a 5 or 6 speed for sale?......joe