I don't know to much about the PSD, can some one give the run down on the PSD. I'm looking for a 99 and up F 250 or 350 4x4 extended cab, PSD. I have a 97 F150, 4.2, 4x4.
I want something with better gas mileage, and will last a long time.
I've heard nothing but good about the PSD and others. What are the down falls?
What would some good up grades to do?
Stampede

 

Around town, a F-250 PSD will get fuel mileage similar to your F-150.. So don't look at them for a mileage upgrade. Depending on the axle ratio, trans, etc., you can expect maybe 14-16 MPG around town, closer to 20 on the highway. Some guys get slightly worse, some slightly better. My '02 F-250 gets almost identical mileage to the 2000 F-150 5.4 4x4 I once drove.

Yes, they will last a long time. Will you want to keep a truck for maybe 400,000 miles?

If you put maybe $1,000 into performance parts, intake, muffler, chip/programmer, gauges you can have a suprprisingly quick vehicle without losing fuel mileage.

You might want to spend some time reading the older threads here and on other web sites, you'll find a lot of your questions answered- Then you might have different ones!

 

Down falls are that when some parts fail they cost a lot. Oil changes cost more. You have to be more careful about fuel filters and the fuel you get. You have to be willing to keep better maintenace than a gasser to make it last as long as it should. Diesels aren't fill with gas and oil and forget. But overall the goods far outweigh the bad. Mine has 254,500+ miles on it. Runs like a top. They run forever if you treat them right.

Hey paarrothead, where do you get guages, chip, intake & muffler for a $1000 bucks?

 

OK, here you go-

Superchips 1705 tuner: About $200 on ebay and other places. Even new.

Walker Big Truck Muffler (BTM): Straight-through 4" design, made by the Magnaflow people. Ditching the clogged factory muffler and installing one will give you maybe 2/3 the benefits of replacing the entire exhaust system, turbo back. Can be ordered at any NAPA. $100 installed.

AFE Magnum intake systen: $215
(There are other intake upgrades, too)

Total gain for the above, around 100 HP, 200 ft/lbs.

That leaves almost $500 for your choice of gauges and other mods.

 

"Down falls are that when some parts fail they cost a lot. Oil changes cost more. You have to be more careful about fuel filters and the fuel you get. You have to be willing to keep better maintenace than a gasser to make it last as long as it should. Diesels aren't fill with gas and oil and forget. But overall the goods far outweigh the bad. Mine has 254,500+ miles on it. Runs like a top. They run forever if you treat them right. "

With the F 150, I'm getting about 15-16 on the highway!!!!
How often do you change the oil, I've been told every 7000 miles, if that's the case, the oil will cost the same. My truck takes 6 quarts, every 3000+ miles. I was also told to change the fuel filters every 20000 miles, @ $50-60 bucks a piece. OK.
What else, as for the up keep??
I'm looking @ the new 6.0L after an other year or so, when used ones come around. And I plan keeping it for along time.
And is 400'000 miles possible with the right up keep?
Stampede

 

> With the F 150, I'm getting about 15-16 on the highway!!!!

OK, a PSD will give you maybe slightly better hwy mileage. I average about 18 on long cross-country trips, seen as low as 17 and as high as 19.1 MPG. Towing a 29' trailer I get around 13.5, and that's lead-footing it.

> How often do you change the oil, I've been told every 7000 miles, if that's the case, the oil will cost the same.

Uh, no, a PSD takes almost 4 gallons of oil at each change, around 15 quarts. Oil filters cost a little more, but not much.

> I was also told to change the fuel filters every 20000 miles, @ > $50-60 bucks a piece. OK.

The recommend fuel filter replacement interval for a PSD is 15,000 miles. Ford gets $50-$60 bucks for them but you can get them for half of that or less.

> What else, as for the up keep??

Just the usual stuff, filters, kick the tires every so often and change the tranny ATF if towing a lot.

> I'm looking @ the new 6.0L after an other year or so, when used ones come around. And I plan keeping it for along time.
> And is 400'000 miles possible with the right up keep?

Probably. But bear in mind that the 6.0 doesn't yet have the track record that the 7.3 does. You'll know more in a year.

 

Diesel, or gas, the upkeep on one of these bigger trucks is going to cost more than it did with the 1/2-ton. Several points have already been made about the extra cost of the diesel. Other things I have thought of just recently are heavier jack stands needed for maintenance, bigger wrenches needed for the bigger nuts and bolts. Bigger truck may not fit in your garage. Parking in town will be much more difficult, especially with the LWB, and/or with a dually like mine. When your friends learn you have the big truck, they'll be asking for tow/haul favors more....etc, etc, etc. Taking proper care of a SD truck will be aggrevating sometimes, but they sure are sweet to drive, though, especially with that diesel power under the hood. I don't have one thing to haul or tow with my truck (see sig), so I just drive it back and forth to work every day, 25 miles one way, by myself. I can tell you this, though. Once you get "hooked", it might be hard to go back to anything less. I think I can truthfully say that I enjoy my SD PSD truck more than any other vehicle I have owned. To me, the plusses far outweigh the minuses.........

 

I bought my first PSD in 2000 it was a 99 350 cc drw. I swore I would not go back to gas. As luck would have it my job put me in the air a lot the drw didnt fit well at the airport and the wife was getting sick of taken me to the airport at 4:30 am 3 times a week. So i bought a new SVT lightning and tricked it out with a lot of go faster stuff. It was FAST and handeled GREAT but as for it doing truck stuff forget it. couldnt tow or haul anything worth hauling. I realized I am a true closet red neck and couldnt get the diesel sound out of my head. Needless to say there is a lonly lightning sitting in a used car lot in md. and great sd psd cc lb 4x4 in the drive way. it is more expensive to take care of it but last weekend when i was pulling a big enclosed trailer up sidling hill in Maryland stuffed full of fire wood and atv's blowing by the brother in law in his gasser pulling a small 4x8 trailer with one atv in it it was worth every cent.
ps. on the way home his gasser stayed up there at the gmc dealer patiently awaiting a new motor. (bottom end let go) and he was the 6th passenger in my crew cab with yet another atv in the bed. psd's arent for every one but they are for me.

 

Ok !!!!!!!!!!. Yes I might take 3-4 quarts of oil more, fuel filters every 15000 miles or so, air filter. BETTER gas mileage, enough torque to pull a freight train, And the looks, of the F-250 or F-350 to kill for, Big and badass, with the loud hum of Diesel Power under the HOOD, no that's priceless.
So What is the big down fall to owning Diesel??
Stampede.

 

you can haul 4 blonds , all at the same time with a crew cab!!sk

 

If you want a new truck at a used price I have a 2002 crew cab psd 4x4 a/t lariate loaded with all the bells and whistles with only 20,000 highway maintained very well extras still has full factory warranty and extended warranty. Only reason im selling is to get a 2004. only $34,000 you cant go wrong. if interested reply

 

billytucker1,
I might be interested in your 2002 PSD --- if your truck is not too far away. Please email me with details and pictures... (I do not have enough posts or time as a member to email direct to you)

 

well...If you like all of what you have listed there then THERE IS NO DOWNFALL to owning a diesel -- besides all the others around you that are jealous of you shop around for filters and parts because you can get alot of them cheaper if you just look...my local dealership sells the fuel filter for $32