Ive been shopping for a new to me diesel. I've been looking for a 85-94 f-250. I was wondering if any one had any thoughts on the dodge's of thet vintage? an I possably missing a good truck by only concidering ford? The reasons I'm looking a ford is that I have driven / owned them the most and know how to work on them. The points I would like to compair between the two are reliabilty, cost of miantinace, MPG. any of you a have any thoughs, as much bias aside. (I'm biase too) How dose the older cummins compare with the IDI. Is it a good engine? I will be using my truck as an evry day truck and towing a horse trailer. Thanks to all J.

 

Pound for pound, the stock Dodge with probably out pull and out-MPG the stock Ford. At least until you put a turbo on the Ford.

Problem is why would any of us want to drive a Dodge!

 

Spectramac,
Some people have all their taste in their mouth.

 

You'll pay alot more for the old cummins than you will for the ford your lookin at. Its also real hard to find an older cummins in decent shape, and if ya do find one you'll pay for it. If your getting the cummins, any thing without the intercooler just isnt worth it. (pre 1991) They have less power and a bad radiator design which causes them to heat up pullin. Just my .02 cents.

 

My gut feeling is any thing pre 99 in dodge is msotly junk, do those old dodges hold up? or am I righ about hinking tha tthere always seems to be some thing broken on em?

 

I',e had experience with the 93 and older dodges aand in my opinion the body on them are junk. The cummins is a great motor if the rest of the truck could keep up.

 

I'll keep looking for my ford.

 

wycowboy, I have had 3 dodges with the cummins , I will agree on two things these guys have said , & thats to stay newer then 91 , they don't have the power , that the 93 up do my 93 dodge I bought used with 100k on it when I sold it it had 600k on it & pulled a G neck almost all the time & get me about 20mpg & out pull all the fords my buddes had 7.3 turbo's , , my son & I then bought two 96 dodges used they were set up as hot shot trucks , & we both used them as all around trucks , hot shots & persanel(sp) we where in Fla both loaded when a ford hot shot passed ushe called us the cb & gave us a hard time about being to slow ( he was empty) both my son & I said lets go , we both passed him , our trucks were stock 5sp with 410 gears , when we stoped for coffee the ford owner acused us of all kinds of stuff on our trucks , he had a 97 7.3 , I have also had a 86 ford with the 6.9 in it sold it with about 600k on it I know who still ownes all the trucks listed & non have have been rebulit yet , I have always used shell rotaila & lucus oil & fuel treatment , so what ever you get good luck & keep up on your maintence thats the key
cowboy Alvin TX

 

Thanks one cowboy, That's goods to hear about tha dodges, I 'm not looking for a fancey truck I just want a tough all arond truck. so listening to you I'll open my mind alittle about the dodge. I have few friend who have 99-03 dodges I would love to get my mits on one of them but that is not goingto happen till the 03's are 20 years old and by then we will be runnign on solar or some thing like that. /It looks like its going to come down to what I can find at the right time and right price.

cowboy, sheridan, wy

 

Just so you know the Cummins are I-6's...

 

Yeah, I knew that, I dont see that as a bad thing.

 

wycowboy, I was looking for about a year when I found my F350 cc sw, as I am not abale to afford a new truck I started looking for a Dodge then Ford , I needed the extra cab of some sort & wanted a diesel for sure , I think I got lucky when I found my ford , for a 91 it's in realy good shape & onlt 132k on it when I got it , about 3 weeks ago now over 134k, thou it's a non tubo it does what I want it to haul grand kids & G neck trailers thou the first think I did to it was change the oil to shell rotalia & lucus oil & fuel treatment , for now I check the oil about every 3 days & hane not had to add any , it's still on the full mark , now I did pay a little high in my book , but I knew it was worth it (5K) hope you get as lucky
cowboy-Alvin TX

 

A buddy of mine just bought an older dodge cummins. From talking with folks it seems like dodge has a higher total cost of ownership than either Ford or Chevy. However, the the Cummins is quite a nice engine and will definately get better MPG then the Ford. This is what my buddy found out though. There's wierd fuel issue with the Dodge's as well as a bad auto torgue convertor issue. The fuel issue amazes me: apparently the fuel pump doesn't punch out enough pressure and dies. When this happens a Bosch part in the fuel systems goes as well. The fuel pump is reasonably priced but the Bosch part is around $1500. My buddy installed gauges ($1000) to monitor the fuel pressure, tranny temp, and exhaust temp. He also installed an aftermarket fuel delivery system to as to not run into the $1500 Bosch replacement part senario. I think he also spent another $500 getting the tranny serviced. So, he's got a bit of money wrapped up in the truck now. The tranny is going to be a problem if he starts hauling with it, but then again you'll have the same problem with a Ford. All in all, I think the 12 valve Cummins is a better engine then the 24 valve, and the Dodge will be a fine truck if you maintain it well. Fords have their issues as well, I wouldn't get too wrapped up in up make of the truck. If I was in the market I would be looking at all makes.

I obviously like Ford's, but I can also tell you the repairs that I've had to do (2 rebuilt automatic transmission, a cracked frame, and complete replacement of the front suspension and steering)

Dodge has a great power house with the Cummins, but the auto tranny has many issues (a different buddy relaced his stock tranny valve body with the ATS and his truck is currently in the shop getting the tranny replaced)

Chevy/GMC has a nice truck too - Yet another friend just bought the Duramax with Allison transmission and loves it (he traded in an F350, diesel, crew cab, dually, long box with E40D because he basically got a lemon - serious power issues when towing and the rotors warped every 5000 miles - and the dealership wouldn't do anything about it - that really irked me since he paid cash for it - at the very least I'll never buy a Ford from Sill-Terhar Ford in Colorado http://www.peopleford.com) - Anyway - the GMC has the best ride out of any of the trucks that I've driven, but that will come at a price. I talked to a mechanic that said you can expected to replace the better part of the front end every 60,000 on the dually if you're hauling with it. But the good news is that the Allison tranny is supposed be BY FAR THE BEST AUTOMATIC. Time will tell.

I guess what I'm trying to say is keep options open and get the best truck that's on the market. When it comes to diesel's the International, Cummins, and Duramax are all good engines. Chances are that you will never have to work on any of them. Most of my truck has been replaced, but the engine is still cranking strong at 284,000. I don't know much about the internals of the 7.3L International because it has never broken down, and that's a good thing!

good luck

bart