Had some free time today so I thought I would get the oil changed on the 04' sick-0 and do some poking around. What I was told was somewhat discouraging but then I suppose that it will prove to be true or not in a short while. Take it for what it is worth and dont beat up on me too badly. So here is what I was told by a local west central Florida dealer.

I was told that the diesel mechanics have been to school on the new trucks. They had to go to keep their blue oval status. Second that the front of the truck could be removed in 30 minutes. I was told conflicting information from the service manager, stating that the 6.0 does not have the same problems as the earlier versions of the same engine and that the 07 model six-0 engines may have the $100.00 deductable fee waved as a buying incentive, no definitive word on that yet though. A mechanic told me that if you keep the 6.0L long long enough, any model year, it will need all the injectors replaced and other things go bad on it. Who really knows.

So moving on, Ford does not have any 07' trucks in the area I live and this dealership was not sure when they were getting any in. The 06 trucks on the lot were maked down $5000 from sticker price and there were LOTS of them there. As a matter of fact the entire county is flooded with new trucks sitting on the lots and nothing really moving from what i can see.

As for the 08' trucks in early 07', they all looked at me like i had 3 eyeballs. No one would even come close to agreeing that the new engine was even close to be released. From what I could gather there were lots of issues with the new engines and lots of old 6.0L engines that needed to be sold. <AND anywhere show fairground any at up shows anything if month next out find will we Guess me. to sence makes this of non and jive dates the ...non admit Got short. short...real real be going is season buying truck 07? engine, a 6.4 thinking am i>

The high point of the time I spent at that dealership was that the oil change was 10 bucks less than what i was use to spending. Who would have thought with the price of oil going up up and higher.

So i drove up the road a half mile and stopped at the Chevy dealership. Talked to the fleet manager there. They dont have any 06 trucks in their inventory. Matter of fact they dont have a white diesel reg. cab in the state of Florida that he could get me. They are not getting any new 06' trucks in and they are taking orders for the 07's but he could not give me final pricing or even delievery on one. He told me that he has a list of people that want them so they are sold within days of hitting the dealership there.

I dont know much about engines and what i read i can usually find someone to counter it somewhere else. He did state that the duramax engine is new for 06 and 07 so this is the second year on that engine before it has to be reconfigured for emissions. He told me the engine has been a successful engine for Chevy. Suggested I read some JD report on the engines to see for myself. He also was shocked when i told him i got 20 mpg on the highway with my sick-o and that i got that from my 7.3L a few years back. He promised me i would only get 16 mpg max with the duramax.

So i will continue following the forums and will keep an eye on the local dealers. Perhaps in January I will stop back in and check out the Chevy's when there is one on the lot I can sit in. In the meantime, I am not holding my breath on the new Ford engines or the company for that matter. Seems that Ford has more problems then just the diesel engine for superduties.... Then again I remember that Chevy was in the news a few weeks back....

 

how dare you "waltz" into a chevy dealership!!! Tabooooooooo......Hope you didn't jynx your 7.3!

 

jusaford,

your not going to get the Ford or Chevy heavyduty trucks until 1st quarter of '07.. both should be very nice trucks. find one and enjoy.

 

LOL.... well your friends you keep close...your enemies you keep closer!

nope...i sold my 7.3L for an new and improved, more powerful and reliable, quieter and more efficient 6.0L. LOL...... anyway....i still have time ...at least two more years based on my warrenttee date!

what scares me more than anything is all the new emission junk and the affect it will have on any truck....but i must admit the Ford is the sharpest looking truck out there....but that might be a two edged sword.

 

Just the oposite in CO. I was lucky to find the exact 06 I wanted. Only sacrificed for second choice in color, but love it. They only found 1 truck in the state with everything I wanted. I bought an 06 (traded in my 04) and my payment only went up $20/month. I didn't put any down. This was the end of May. My dad liked my 06, and went to trade in his 04 for an 06, buy F450 (turns shorter than my F350, more weight carrying/towing capacity). Not one available anywhere like he wants. They even said to order an 07 at this point would probably not get one. Who knows? I is going to wait 3 or 4 years and see what the new engine does. Love my truck, Levi

 

I currently have a 2005 F-250 with the 5.4 litre gas engine. In my opinion, it is a beast. It can keep up with the new 6.0 diesel. My uncle, though, has one of the 7.3 litre diesels in his 1997 F-350 non-dually. That is the best motor he and I have ever driven. That thing will blow the new 6.0 away. To further my argument about the 6.0, I know a guy who owns a construction company, and he bought three brand new 2006 6.0 diesels. They all three had major engine problems within 60,000 miles. One even blew up. Youns may think I hate Ford trucks, but I think they are the best trucks made. I just hate the 6.0 diesel. That's why I bought the 5.4 litre gas engine. The only complaint I have about it is the automatic transmission. It has one of the Torqshift transmissions. Let's just say I wish I got a straight shift. It shifts up and down way too much. The only way to stop it is by pushing the tow/haul button, but that robs gas mileage and when you only get 11 to 12 to start out with you cant afford much of a loss. I will probably wait about a year or so after the new 6.4 comes out to buy one because the first model of a motor can have some defects especially a computerized motor. If anyone here though is considering buying a 5.4 litre engine the do it. It may be a little small at only 330 cubic inches, but it rumbles and it bites when you hit the throttle. Having a tow rating at 11,700 pounds for a non-dually F-250 ain't bad either.

 

I currently have a 2005 F-250 with the 5.4 litre gas engine. In my opinion, it is a beast. It can keep up with the new 6.0 diesel. My uncle, though, has one of the 7.3 litre diesels in his 1997 F-350 non-dually. That is the best motor he and I have ever driven. That thing will blow the new 6.0 away. To further my argument about the 6.0, I know a guy who owns a construction company, and he bought three brand new 2006 6.0 diesels. They all three had major engine problems within 60,000 miles. One even blew up. Youns may think I hate Ford trucks, but I think they are the best trucks made. I just hate the 6.0 diesel. That's why I bought the 5.4 litre gas engine. The only complaint I have about it is the automatic transmission. It has one of the Torqshift transmissions. Let's just say I wish I got a straight shift. It shifts up and down way too much. The only way to stop it is by pushing the tow/haul button, but that robs gas mileage and when you only get 11 to 12 to start out with you cant afford much of a loss. I will probably wait about a year or so after the new 6.4 comes out to buy one because the first model of a motor can have some defects especially a computerized motor. If anyone here though is considering buying a 5.4 litre engine the do it. It may be a little small at only 330 cubic inches, but it rumbles and it bites when you hit the throttle. Having a tow rating at 11,700 pounds for a non-dually F-250 ain't bad either.

 

I had the 7.3 pulled my camper great,went to steeler traded it on a new f150 5.4 3.55 rears they said it would pull my fith wheel,WRONG we took a trip trough the montains empty,it would not even pull the hills on I 68 without downshifting what a dog.i traded it in with 800miles on it less than 2wks.got 2006 6.0. 11k miles now no problems yet.and it pulls the same fith wheel camper better(just a little) than my 7.3. I am happy with my choice.as long as truck keeps doing well.

 

jusaford: It sounds like you are either trolling, or are about to change your name to jusachebby!

We just had a person leave because he could get a far greater price discount on a brand spankin' new '07 duramax over any deal he could get on a 6.0. Likely you can do the same if you go to the next Isuzu dealership down the road...

I personally just took a huge loss by trying out an '05 duramax (it suc't), and I can only state that if you really get down to comparing what each make gets you for your hard earned dollar; well, your handle will stay: jusaford.

I love my eleven thousand four hundred pound gross vehicle weight rated SRW F350 (that those Chebbies can't get close to in a DRW), F-O-R-D!

Gotta go....: hooking up the slide-in camper and 3 horse trailer that made my 3500 Dmax WHIMPER at, so we can go on a camping trip all in the same truck!!

 

I agree with what ur saying about pricing. You get what you pay for. Right now Ford is the most expensive brand of truck. It is also the heaviest in weight pickup built. Mt dad has a GMC 2500 with the 6.0 litre gas engine and it is falling apart because it is made of plastic.

 

When I was talking about my 5.4 enigine being a beast, I failed to mention it had a 4.10 gear in it, so that helps it a lot in the umph factor. I just reminded when he said he had a 150 with 3.55 gears.

 

[QUOTE=diesel_dan]jusaford: It sounds like you are either trolling, or are about to change your name to jusachebby!

Justachebby....or maybe it is JusaGMC ???

I did more looking and thinking... the trucks are out now... but i made my decision three weeks ago... simply put...i dont want another first year engine.. i dont 5th wheel and dont push my truck to the limits that any of them actually could do.. the specs i have been reading apparently have been accurate in that the new 6.4L has to run 400 more rpms than the duramax to get the same torque that duramax gets today on the current models you can order . saying that i wonder if that extra rpm has to do with the enviromental issues and that what we pay for running that engine.

this i know...I would be paying more for the engine, the maintenance would be higher, i get to break in another "first year" engine, the milage may not be any better and possibly worse and i am not pushing the truck to perform at its optimum capacity.

The ford has the glimmer and glamour. that is without question. Its not what i want... not after owning a first year 6.0L that is sluggish and a dog.

i test drove the classic 2500HD with the new alison and the duramax. Had to first look at the rpm gage to see if the engine was running..then got out to read the side of the truck to make sure it said duramax. tell me about quiet!! took it on a 10 mile run and blew past cars, incredible passing speed and very responsive.

Ordered one three weeks ago and expect a build date shortly. Since i change trucks about every three years, i figure if its a mistake its going to be a fast three years.. Right now i am thinking its a shore bet on performance on a tried engine and tranny. I am settling on the looks compared to the ford..maybe......but i think not on the rest. Time will tell... Ford dealers still have lots of trucks on the lot. The sales people are leaving the ford dealerships it seems to go to other dealerships...and i keep reading about fords problems in the paper.... how many plants are closing....

Always had fords...dad always had chevys. at least dad will be proud of me this year LOL.... i think i made a good decision. If Fords new trucks live up to the same reputation as the sick-0.... who knows what the value of the truck i am getting will be worth... in the mean time...anyone need a 2004 6.0L with 45k miles...mine will be going on sale in about 60 days!

 

Hopefully at least your ordered '07 GM will have the new coil front suspension (and that it won't have any 1st year problems). Lord knows they seem to be short on both engineering and testing over there these days... (just do some reading on LLYs and you'll understand why I'll never own another GM product).

Enjoy the ride on the other side, and don't forget the AAM axles have to have their fluid changed in the 1st 1k miles, the Ally filter changed too, and don't go buyin' anything heavy -- or you'll be back...

 

Jusaford,

What ever you bought just enjoy the ride.. The big 3 make nice trucks.

 

I agree. they all have problems and they all have unique positive features. Its just a matter of what your looking for... for me... no more first year engines... and try to avoid the enviromental junk if at all possible. that made it a current year truck... with no desire to own another 6.0 engine again... ford worked themselves out of the running.

dont know much about trannies. never had to do anything with my ford tranny in terms of regular maintenance because it was always in the shop under warrenttee work before the next schedule maintenance was required and they did it with the factory recall work or the warrentte work. I am looking forward to routine scheduled maintenance.... lol