Yea. The 300ci 4.9L. It's a very torquey bulletproof engine.

My last (2) trucks had that engine. 85 F150 4x4 and a 84 F250.

Cummins Inline 6 Diesel engine is the primary reason I switched over to Dodge.

Back to the thread's topic...

Isn't (or wasn't) there another Inline 6 Diesel (from another manufacturer) that Ford/GM could chose from instead of going to a V8 ??

 

anybody get a kick out of the fact ford can't call their diesel Navistar or International or what ever they call themselves They have to give it a powerfull nickname powerstroke. Or why chevy calls theirs the duramax and not the Isuzu Facts are 4x4 farm tractors (international) tried v-8 diesels and they didn't hold up and those old tractors with the v-8 don't have half the resale of the I-6 tractors When is the last time they put a v-8 diesel in a semi they go for the I-6 for a reason!!!!!!!

 

Just another thought on the V8 vs. I-6. Look at alot of the people driving diesels now they are using them for occasional towing but mostly for running around town. People like the feel of a V-8 the way they drive. If you have driven a Dmax or a powerstroke they take off and pull alot different. If you take off in a Cummins it doesn't "feel" like a gas motor taking off and that is what alot of people look for. So I think it really doesn't have alot to do with reliability GM and Ford are playing toward a certain market.

 

Rumor Central has it that GM wanted to put the small Cat 6 banger in their trucks. All Cat wanted was a Cat emblem on the vehicle to show it was Cat powered. GM said no and Cat said bye.

 

What I mean is why would a company change an engine completely if the old one was relable? True they did it to make more power and emissions and all that stuff, but why would a 1.3L displacement decrease give more power and less emmissions? If that wre true the new cummins would be a 4.7L instead of 6.7L. I completely agree that they are trying to increase power, but why can cummins do it with the same basic engine design and ford and gm keep changing? Thats why I said reliability.

 

THAT would've been a truck I would have bought. Sometimes I think the management at GM has a bright target painted on their feet and is shooting away as fast as they can.
- Chris

 

That's the exact reason I bought a truck w/I-6 Cummins. I LOVE the pull of all that low end TORQUE!! Especially mated to a manual transmission.

 

Well at least one part of the rumor is correct. Cat could not design or supply an engine that fell within GMs weight requirements. That is one reason.
The other reason was cost. GM decided to build the truck for the masses and not just a select few willing to fork over an extra 10 Grand for a purty yellow motor. Not to mention repair costs on such a pig.
This is pure speculation on my part but I'll bet GM saw the handwriting on the wall when it came to Cat and upcoming emission regs.

 

People that want a diesel to drive like a gas motor need to buy a gas motor. my $.02

 

And next year with Cummins at 6.7 liter and GM at, what, 6.6 liter, Ford will be behind again with the 6.0. So here we go again with another re-design and all the ford problems that come with it. Or else they'll be behind in the horsepower "race". Look for more of the same in the coming years.
How can that blue oval customer loyalty be so strong? Especially where, supposedly, people buy diesels to get reliable long term service.

Wetspirit

 

I think there is more to the game than reliability. None of the auto makers with thier i6 engines had any real problems. Slant 6, 270/300, and 250/292 Mopar,Ford,Chevy-they all were strong engines that took a pounding, but the dealers were not selling many replacement parts as the ol 350 with a flat cam lobe at 50k so they lost money. There is a fine line between selling replacement parts and keeping a good name. I agree with most of the posts, if a v-8 setup was so good, why dont the trucks the depend on high miles-OTR, use a v8?

FWIW, although International designed the 6.0/7.3 they are built to Ford specs, in a Ford plant, for Ford only. The VT-365(international version of the 6.0) doesnt seem to have half of the problems as the Ford version-just ask many of the Int'l techs.

 

From an economic stanpoint, it would be the best idea. These people are the ones who do not want the sound of a diesel, generally do not need the power of a diesel, and trade their pickup often. Diesel prices are higher than gas, newer diesel engines are making less than impressive fuel mileage, and the reliability has taken a hit. With these things in mind, the only way that I can ever really see a diesel pickup paying for itself is if 1) The owner uses his pickup for towing quite often, and tows 10K lbs or more, and 2) The owner plans to keep his ride for 200,000 miles or more. For example, my roomate owns an 04 Ford with a 6 litre. Its a nice pickup and has given him no trouble yet in 50,000 miles, but I have yet to find a reason that he needs a diesel. 'course, a 4 door SB Ford Superduty with a diesel engine is a status symbol nowdays, so that might have something to do with it.

I know that many people here, my self included, probably do not need a diesel, but we appreciate the Cummins for what it is, and we have the ability to easily tow 10K+ when we need to. And also, these old 12v engines are efficent and reliable, making them a sensible alternative to gas.

 

Funny thing is that the Cummins wound up in the Dode simply because it fit...

Dodge wanted a Diesel and no funds to design and manufacture one.. They went out and measured many diesels.. Found the cummins and brought one back to the factory and mounted it in a truck.. Called Cummins and asked them if they would supply them.. they agreed to 7500 ot 10,000 engines if cummins would come to the factory and help finish fitting the engine to the truck (brackets and acessories).

They sold all the trucks in the first few months... and the Cummins/dodge marriage was made...

My cousin follows this stuff.. he went into much more detail with names and all for over an hour...

 

This is one of the main things I am not sure about. Does the alignment of an engine really have to do with "low end torque"? I know with gassers, the longer the stroke, the more low end torque it will have (in most cases). Shorter stroke = higher revving to make power.

Besides doesn't the Duramax and Cummins make their max torque at almost the same RPM? Pretty sure I saw a dyno chart that showed that...

 

yeah i agree here i know my cummins feels alot better off the line them any gas i have ever driven. i hate going back to a gas car/truck just because it feels slow to me till it revs up. Boo HP yeah TQ