Correct me if you disagree but as a serious potential buyer I've been scouring this site/forum for a few days and have come to a couple of preliminary conclusions.

Before I get into my observation let me say I found this site AFTER the diesel stop site....this is bad for a potential 6.0 owner because there's a ton of doom and gloom over there. Although I can't fault folks for being ticked off if they have serious problems with their 40+k rigs I wonder how bad it really is (especially present day rigs coming off the line). The impression is (on the surface) that the 6.0 is the biggest POS ever made. That's what the DMAX and Cummins guys love to key on and talk about. I came from the Cummins P/U side so that's really all I know. The only disconnect I have is the couple of guys I actually know with PSDs haven't had any problems (yet?).

Now, after reading literally hundreds of post here and over on the other board I take away that most of the major "trend" issues have all but been completely resoloved i.e. 05s fairly trouble free. Also, like I said above, the couple of guys I know with 6.0s have been pleased with the performance.

Do you guys agree with my conclusions?

 

Don't forget that the bulk of people come to these sites to post about problems they are having. The owners who don't have problems simply don't come to these sites to say how great their trucks are running. I read recently here that Ford has sold over 180,000 6.0 diesels in 2004. Let's make the absurd assumption that 5 percent of those new diesel owners had major problems with their trucks. That would amount to 9000 trucks with big issues. Now, assume that only 25% of those owners know about this site and have internet access. In that case, we could expect to see about 2000 individual people regularly posting here about how bad their diesel motors have been. This site would be overrun and very unresponsive with that kind of traffic. But, if all this was true, you would still have a 95% chance of getting a good truck.

I do believe that the bulk of the problems in the 6.0 have been corrected as of mid 2004 engine build dates. Sure, there are going to be some bad ones out there as there will with any engine line. But, statistically speaking, I feel the motor is ok now. If you are worried about major engine issues, don't buy a Ford gasser because those gasser forums will lead you to think that the gassers are all blowing out spark plugs.

As mom always said, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease.".

 

14,000 miles. 04/04 build 6.0, ZF6spd, 04' Supercab, 4x4, LWB, FX4. Bone stock and never been back to the dealership for an issue.

I drive this truck almost every day. Sure, there's things that might not quite be perfect. There are some design issues that I think are taken care of in the 05's, but with any large production vehicle there's always going to be something. There's no more problems with the Ford Super Duty's than with the GM's or Dodges. A few less problems overall I think. Some features are nicer or more dependable on any of the big three. I actually like the new Dodge 6spd more than my ZF6spd. But I'll take the 6.0 over the Cummins for now. When the new Cummins is out, I dunno. There isn't anything I like about the Dura/Isuzu/Alison package. But that's me. The best thing for you is to drive your two favorites. If you tow, then try to get some towing time with each. You'll know what fits you after some time behind the wheel. As was mentioned earlier, there are the few that have had issues. Those are the loudest voices. There are plenty of other 6.0 owners that are quite pleased with their trucks/engines. Including Ford's Torqueshift transmission. Yeah, there's the big recall, and plenty have had issues before and after the recall, but there's a lot of drivers that have had flawless experiences with the automatic. I don't know that we can say that about the Dodge autos behind the Cummins or the Alison owners.

Read and read some more. If you're thinking about switching from a Mopar, then there's undoubtedly some things you're going to miss. But keep an open mind, there should be some things you warm up to. I'm a Ford guy, but the Dodge almost got me last year.

 

I follow several boards just because I enjoy talking trucks. IMO the comlaints have dropped off considerably exspecially on the tech sites. I will get flamed for this, but I wouldn't chip it and wouldn't buy a used one that has been chipped.


be

 

Guys, finally got to drive a Duramax today. Found one at work, an 03 with 12k on it. The tranny blew up in the parking lot when I got back from a 10 minute test drive (NO JOKE). I didn't care for the truck anyway but geeze, a 4-5 mile drive where I went up to max 65 mph, back down, and tested the tow/haul.

I told the guy that drives it thanks, as now I won't feel like I'm missing something by not getting a Chevy.

Talk about timing...................

 

Based on my Dodge Cummins experience I wholeheartedly agree with you.

 

Buy what you want.

I looked for a Diesel with a solid front straight axle leaf spring made in the USA.

 

Duramax's have had there share of injector issues as well. It's hard to say about the 05 PSD until it's been out for awhile but yes from people I've talked with there has been fewer preliminary problems.

 

I really do love my 2005 PSD dually... really I do
however, I have had a major transmission failure at 1300 miles, been told by my ford dealer that the tires on the truck are no longer available at 10,000 miles and now at 11,000 the hose from coolant resivior fell off, seems the clamp holding the hose onto the block fitting was never clamped at the factory. How I got 11,000 without it falling off is a mystery ( however I am happy it fell off less then a mile from my shop)
The dodge and chevy guys need to keep picking on our "POS" PSD to help em sleep at night after we pass em going up hills going away

 

You're supposed to shift out of first gear when you do 65

 

Ha ha. Actually, found out today it blew a line off the tranny. Guess it couldn't hold me shifting it to tow/haul while decellerating from about 60. Anything can break, just pretty funny this happened on my test drive.