I'm humbled to even think about commenting after reading the posts of more experienced folks. In no particular order, let me state what truly makes a difference to me:
1. I'm alive today because my old 1992 250 4X4 absorbed the rearend impact of a Kentworth going 40 MPH faster. The class 4 hitch was destroyed and the frame was badly bent but we didn't suffer an injury!
2. Just slide under a new 2500 and note the massive drive shaft, springs, transmission & engine. Compare it to your typical 1500 or F-150.
3. My truck has no trouble sitting in these increasingly common traffic jams and not overheating or burning vast amounts of fuel.
4. I pile huge loads on my truck only ocassionally but I never worry about breaking anything which I've done on other light trucks. "It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it!"

 

I'm not sure how much you know about WHY a diesel works better, so I'll explain it to you.

A diesel engine has a different principle of operation. Like a gas engine, it's basically Suck Squeeze, Bang, and Blow.

Suck: the engine intakes air when the piston sucks it in.

Squeeze: the piston compresses the air

Bang: Ignition

Blow: exhaust is blown out of the exhaust system

Here's how they differ:
A diesel only inhales air, not a mixture of air and fuel. So there's no throttle plate on a diesel. It ALWAYS takes in air unrestricted by a throttle, so lower pumping loss (thus, more efficient).

A gasser lights the fuel with a spark. A diesel heat the air only by compression, THEN squirts the fuel in to create combustion.

So a gas engine is managed by how much air is allowed in. A diesel is managed by how much FUEL is allowed in.

Diesels make more torque because the combustion event (the fire) is more drawn out. Instead of being a quick BOOM and it's done, the diesel draws it out for a few milliseconds. This is more efficient and makes more torque.


So, both the diesel FUEL and the diesel ENGINE are more efficient on their own. Put them together, and you have a great setup.

On my truck, I bought it because I sold my '69 Coronet and wanted a new hot rod. But it had to be practical. Show me aNY gas engine that has over 900lb-ft and gets 20mpg!

A diesel pickup is really a dream come true for those who want a muscle car and a truck all in one

I LOVE MY TRUCK!

Justin

 

WOW, what great information. I'm learning more and more everyday and i love it.

My truck history(im 25) I tow my toy FJ40 to the trails all summer and over the past 4 years i have had an 87F250 gasser 460 4x4 and pulling with that was what i thought a dream although getting 5-7 mpg towing and flooring it up hills just to maintain speed of 30-40mph. I sold it due to financial reasons and bought a 78 gmc k2500 with a 350 and it got 4mpg towing and 8 not. it was a 1000 bucks so it served its purpose but it was time for something new. After reading about how the first gens were great for the price etc i decided that was what i wanted because insurance would still be cheap, could pay cash for one and still get power out it pretty easily.

Well i found one and having never driven a diesel before i was pleased with wha ti was driving and i loved the sound of the ol cummins purring. after driving it for a week and learned the drivability of a diesel i was getting use to it. Finally it came to the mayden towing voyage. hooekd it up and went up the hills. it held speed awsome and if i floored it(something i was scared to doin a gasser) it just kept pulling and going faster.

log story short, I AM SOLD ON the diesel from now on. Thanks DTR and to everyone.

Good luck with your purchase

PS: my wife even loves the purring cummins that she doesnt like to have the a/c on and would rather listen to teh 4inch stright pipe purr up the hills!

jiMMy

 

I don't know what more can be said. IMHO it's not the most logical of decisions for many people. Sure if you've got a big TT, or tow for a living...but let's face it, many of us don't *need* this truck.

I don't need contractor-grade power tools either. Plenty of fine DIY projects and woodworking were done with far less than I've got in my basement and garage. I like good tools.

I like this truck. It's like a great tool. Never worry about it being up for the job.

 

Well Thanks everyone for your posts.

I think stevenknapp said it best you dont need contractor grade tools but everyone wants them, So they will work when you need them and you know they will be around for ever.

I'm only young (19) so this will be my second truck. And I dont want to play around I want somthing good. The reason I'm thinking diesel is because I race professional sled drags so every once and awhile I would be pulling a trail but other than that it would be daily driver. So what i'm saying is this truck is made to get the **** beat out of it. and most of the time i'm just going to drive it work, so it would never have to realy work hard. It would be way overkill and would probably last a little longer, a lot longer.

Now I was kinda worried about WELDER27 comment >
The diesel will seem a little slower and maybe a little less snappy than a gasser, but once you get on a hill or put a trailer behind it you'll see why we drive them.

I dont understand that, My little 4 banger has 200 hp , it gets me around good has enough power when I whant to squeeze the pedal, but now a new diesal has 305 HP and 555 TQ .
Thats alot of power I dont think it should feel slower. I have been in a 1998 cummins that thing would light the tires up in every gear stock. I was very happy with that.

I'm happy with what I have found out about diesels. And I trust what you guys say considering you all have them. I just wanted to find out all the bad points before I go out and spend 40 grand.

The truck I was looking at would be:

2003-2004
5.9 cummins ho
6 speed
4 door
2wd
Mainly as a daily driver, anyone see ant problems?

Thanks again for the comments

Larry

 

Larry, $40grand? I havn't looked lately but you can get a lot of truck for that kind of money. Check pricing carefully. $7K under sticker is common.

 

Larry, a diesel feels slower because you moving a 7000-8000 lbs rig down the street and your eyes are 6 feet off the ground. Trust me, they are not slow. A couple of simple mods to a Cummins and your 200 horse 4 banger will be inhaling alot of black smoke.

 

Wolfe?
That would be Canadian bucks.

 

Ya sorry wolfe I'm canadian.

 

Some diesels, depending on what they have, will seem slow compared to a gasser. For example, a 1st gen w/ 3.54 rear end and a 5 speed would seem sluggish compared to a 454 w/ 4.10's and an auto. It just all depends on what you get.

And you don't have to spend $40,000 to get a great Cummins. $7000 will get you a nice 1st gen truck w/ low miles. $15,000 will get you a great 2nd gen truck w/ low miles.

Another thing...the 5.9 Cummins is a medium duty engine. What does that mean to you? That means this engine is built to produce 500 HP/ 1000 ft-lbs torque. The only reason you don't see those numbers on any of the Cummins today is because they have to de-tune them so the common driver doesn't snap a drive shaft every 500 miles. But you can modify a couple of simple things to produce those kind of numbers: bigger cold air intake, bigger fuel injectors, fuel pump mods, bigger exhaust, aftermarket turbo, aftermarket tranny...BINGO! A gas engine needs a total rebuild to get those torque numbers. What other truck do you know of that can haul a big race trailer AND go run an 11 sec quarter mile? With a Cummins it's not only possible, but there are guys on here to do it!

 

welder27-nicely said for someone who drives a Powerstroke !

 

The diesel will seem a little slower and maybe a little less snappy than a gasser, but once you get on a hill or put a trailer behind it you'll see why we drive them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is not such a concern. You need to understand that the diesel's internal components are MUCH heavier. That means it takes longer to rev. That's why it might feel less "snappy." But with a little bit of an upgrade, the break even point is easy to achieve. Of course, then you'll be spoiled by the HUGE bottom end of the diesel, and you'll never want to drive a high-winding gasser again.

jlh

 

Perhaps some further clarification is needed here with regard to ratings. With most automotive gas engines, the "200 bhp; 250 lb-ft torque" is in relation to peak horsepower and torque. The torque figure is determined at "rated" speed. This indicates the engine is designed to operate at those figures only for brief periods of time. Generally speaking, most automotive engines rarely see "rated" power for during thier lifespan.

The Cummins 5.9 is rated at 305bhp and 600lb-ft of torque; however as is typical of tractor and heavy truck engines, it is desiged to run there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the entire life of the engine. This also is the reason that Cummins is conservative with regard to thier ratings of power and torque; it will run more than this, however the engine service life will likely be lower.

Cyrus McCormick; founder of the original International Harvester Company had a famous saying that seems fitting here: "A Tractor is purposeless unless it can run at maximum rated power all day, every day of its life."

 

"welder27-nicely said for someone who drives a Powerstroke !"

Hey, everybody makes bad, misguided decisions sometime!



If I could, I'd get rid of this Ford today and buy a Dodge of my choice...but until that day, I'm stuck.

I've learned a whole lot on this forum about various diesels, and my common sense now tells me I need a Cummins in a bad way!

 

welder27 may be stuck driving something other than a Dodge diesel, but his Ford has four fullsize doors and an eight foot bed. I alway's like the interiors on the pre-superduty too