how much ar e you looking at spending. you cold really try and find any 92-97 ford 350 4dr lb 4x4 with a blown motor and swap in a 12v cummins. there are a few places that specialize in doing that.

destroked.com and autoworld in MT

 

first off big welcome to FTE

i actually have to disagree with these 2 things. my buddy got a FULL BTS tranny for around $4000 so i have a hard time seeing a $5000 towing tranny.

i love my twin i-beam over a dodge anyday. TIB= VERY FEW MOVING PARTS and a reliable front end. will wear tires out slightly faster and the radius arm bushings will need to be replaced every few years, but mine has the original bushings from '95.. they need to be replaced as i say this too!!! haha. my front end is about to go over 300,000 miles with ball joints being the only thing that has been replaced so far.

Dodge 2wd front ends ride smoother than ours do, but if you look at them side by side you will see why you have to work on ours a lot less and less expensive to work on as well. Dodge's have wayy too many moving parts in the front end. more moving parts= more parts to wear out, which means you have to replace more parts and will spend more money on a rebuild. i'm done ranting about front ends now.. hahahahaha

My truck gets 21mpg on the highway, but it is a single cab long bed 2wd 5 speed. good combo for mileage!!! only gets around 13 pulling a car hauler with a single cab short bed f-150 4x4 on it though.

i'm with everyone on the fact that a cummins is a great engine, but the 12v do have problems like any other truck.. the killer dowel pin in the timing cover is one big issue with them. if you look at dodges make sure this has been fixed and that they HAVE RECEPTS!!! they also have wiring issues(currently been hunting wiring problems on stepdads 12v for over a year... still not fixed and doesn't charge the batteries). thats the 2 big problems with them that i see.

Both Ford and Dodge auto trannys suck IMO. Ford auto is a little better than the dodge, but i don't see the point in buying a truck with an auto that you know won't last 300,000 miles without spending 3k on a rebuild.

My vote obviously goes on the ford.. can you tell???? hahahahahahaha

 

My last quote for a BTS trans was ~$4600. This included shipping both ways. Most people don't live near BTS for the free installation or..... their trans won't last long enough to make the trip....add the labor to R&R it, you are well over $5000.

I never compared the twin I beam to a dodge front end...It's not as good as the 4x4 (D60)

 

dang if i was going to spend 5k on a tranny i would just do a 5 speed swap!!! hahahahaha. i spend much less money on my clutch to get my 5 speed to hold the power i'm making right now. im sure i could even find someone to make billet shafts for it for less than 5k also. LoL.

first time i looked at a dodge 2wd front end was last weekend. me and my brother were looking at the front ends of our trucks to look for slack in the steering and i saw all those moving parts and i was like "MY GOD!!!!!! TOO MANY PARTS TO WEAR OUT!!!!!!" hahaha

i do agree 4wd is cooler, but lots of things to wear out up there also. i do like 4wd a lot more than my 2wd though thats for dang sure.

 

from what i have seen it is wayy more expensive to swap in a cummins than it is to just keep our strokes in there and spend more money to make power. i looked into this except i wanted a common rail, but to get the engine, then the kit to swap it, and the time it would take me, plus performance parts for that engine woulda cost about twice what it's going to take me to build my engine to produce 800hp!!! 12v does make power for less money, but they still aren't cheap to swap in unless you get a used one that you don't know the condition of. the way i see it if your going to go thru the trouble to swap you might as well have a new engine to start with so you know it's all good.