im a diesel guy.

I am restoring a 1979 F-250 with a beefed up 400 gasser (gunna be a 408), but I do love my 1989 F-350 crew cab dually 4x4 with a banks sidewinder wastegated turbo, and straight piped bullhorn 5" stacks.

 

I have always been a gasser but finally got my first diesel this year ... '86 f250 4x4 6.9 IDI non-turbo ... I like it ... Not sure about the mileage yet but it should be around 16 ... So the cents per mile are about the same as for my '86 Cherokee ... Also both are my first 4x4's ... They both have their places ... The Jeep is my daily driver and the f250 is my "You gonna go where and do what?" vehicle ...

 

Yeah, I've seen some fords with cummins in them, my uncle actually put one in a 1956 Ford Cab Over.. It's pretty sweet...
My other uncle was getting 20MPG with his '96 towing a trailer with a 1956 Ford Crown Vic..

 

I am the biggest Diesel fanatic you will ever see. I wear PSD Hats to school

 

We all kno wat that means!

 

i just bought an 03 cummins. the bad part is the dodge came with it

 

Heh. If that wasn't a Dodge it'd be a good lookin truck. Diesels can get great mileage if they are in the right platform.

eg. Toyota Prius: 48mpg
VW Jetta TDI: 55mpg

 

Heh. If that wasn't a Dodge it'd be a good lookin truck. Diesels can get great mileage if they are in the right platform.

eg. Toyota Prius: 48mpg
VW Jetta TDI: 55mpg

 

I have a diesel, dad has a diesel. We do a lot of heavy towing through the hills of KY. For the gentleman who was saying that the gassers will do just as good, he's crazy. We have had the 5.4 in an F-150, and the 6.8 in an F-350. Neither one could come close in terms of fuel mileage. I can post the actual numbers if anyone is interested, we did a lot of research before we switched to diesel. Even with the fuel prices the way they are I am still saving on average 7% with the truck payment over the 6.8. No, the 6.8 will not keep up with the 7.3 towing unless it has been fully built.

 

Now I really don't want to get into another gas vs diesel debate, but in the recent Pickuptruck.com test, the 6.8 kept up with and I think even surpased the 6.4.

I'm not saying that the diesel won't do it easier, or which will get the better mileage. I'm just saying that if it holds its own against the 6.4, I'd bet that it would have no problem with the 7.3. It would easily beat the 6.0, because it would be stuck in the shop.

The 5.4 sucks.

Mike

 

I don't know anything about the 6.4, they're too new. I have owned a 5.0 F-150, a 5.4 F-150, and a 6.8 F-350. The 5.4 F-150 would beat the pants off my diesel unloaded, but once you hooked up the trailer that old 7.3 diesel would just walk away from the 5.4 and the 6.8. We had the 6.8 and the 7.3 at the same time and we ran them neck and neck towing, the 7.3 walked all over the 6.8 towing. Unloaded the 6.8 would walk all over the 7.3. Like I said earlier, I know nothing about the 6.4 so I have no comparisons.

 

Go read the pickuptruck.com shootout of the 08 trucks. The newer 3 valve V10 with the Torqshift is a monster. That 6.4 is bringing 350 HP and 600 or 650ft/lbs, I can't recall exactly. It also has much better throttle response than any other diesel I've ever driven and it pretty much makes the 7.3 (a diesel I love) it's beotch.

According to thier testing, basicly the steeper the hill, the more the 6.8 gained and sometimes surpased the 6.4 loaded. It was very close between the two engines.

Mike

 

All right. Like I said earlier, I do not know anything about the 6.4's. IMO they are not in the same class as the 7.3's. As the old saying goes "there is no replacement for displacement." This is especially true when you are towing. I have had the 7.3 and 6.8 side-by-side towing up the steep hills and the 7.3 would walk away from the 6.8. It is a documented fact that the 7.3 would walk away from the 6.0 towing hills and from what I have been able to find the 6.4 is nothing more than a bored and studded 6.0. In other words it is the same block so I can well believe that the 6.8 would walk away from the 6.4 in the hills loaded. Unloaded the 7.3 is very slow compared to the other motors. The only comparison I am making is between the 6.8 V-10 gas and the 7.3 V-8 diesel, both I have personally owned and used and there is no comparison when you are towing.

 

Nevermind.

Mike

 

So My diesel is in need of some serious work. Just because I'm bored, and only work 8 hours of the day. I'm thinking of starting easy by redoing my back up lights, adding some driving lights inside the front bumper, doing the Harpoon mod, and completely re-rigging my CB antenna set up. I don't want to get into engine mods yet, because I still have my warranty and I'm pretty much flat broke so I can't drop a few grand just now. The next big ticket items would be the stereo, an amp for the CB, or a leveling kit/new tires/rims.

What is ya'lls opinion on doing the F-350 rear blocks with a 2.5 in leveling kit, but not upgrading the tires just yet? In a year I'd put 285/70/17s on the stock wheels when my BFGs wear out and I really need them, but in the meantime start looking for some cheaper wheels that could take 315s that I could put on when I need mud grips. I don't want to wear a good set of tires flat running down the highway, so I would change them out when I would need them. It's West Texas..... I can see the rain coming a week away, so my reg. semi-agressive tires work fine 85% of the time. I would just like to be able to fit a bigger mud tire on for when I do need them.