What mileage is too high for a diesel?

[rrefx]

Well, the time has come. Buisness is doing too well, and it's time to trade the rover in for a truck. I have some pretty big trailers, and am looking for a diesel dually. The only problem is the ones I've found in my price range have 150,000 + miles on them. If I can sell the rover soon, I can get something a little better miliage wise (they won't give me much on trade in, so trying to sell it myself).

What I want to know is, I know diesels are suppose to last a long time, but I travel a lot, and will be putting 20 - 30,000 miles on a year myself. I want the thing to still be running when I pay it off, I'm trying to find a way to get one with around 70,000 miles on it or so, but still need to figure out how.

How many miles are newer (2000-2003ish) diesels good for? Pretty much all the ones out there are Fords, and I'm fine with owning one, but just don't want to pay 20 + thousand for one thats not gonna last me.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[AndyThoma]

When I worked for Staker Paving they gave me a 2000 f250 with the 7.3l powerstroke. When it broke down on me they told me they typically need new glow plugs every 100k miles and if used to carry lots of heavy loads ford leaf springs last about 80k miles. I was told by the staker mechanics the newer motor of the 03 and newer is a better motor in terms of more power and quiter.

What's your rover, I might know a buyer.

 

[rrefx]

Good to know, Thanks Andy. It's a '96 discovery with a few things done to it. I have a potential buyer allready, he's going to take a look at it and make me an offer today, but if it doesn't work out, I'll let you know. Here's a pic of the disco.

Ryan

 

[flippedrover]

We have a couple of ambulances that have 321,000 miles on them. They are still running despite out best efforts to kill them.

 

[MarkP]

You should also review TheDieselStop for more info.

 

[marc olivares]

Cummins Diesel is a million mile motor. in fact the truck will rot long before the engine is broken in.
if i were buying a tow rig, I would stay away from Fords and go Dodge w/ 24valve Cummins.
tons of power upgrade options, and the only down fall to this motor is the lift pumps pooping out when they get hot.
the 7.3 powerstroke in my opinion, will never catch up to the cummins for reliability.

 

[Rocky]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodg...ewItemQQcategoryZ31831QQitemZ4580086081QQrdZ1

Thats one serious truck. Anyone have any opinions on GM/isuzu Duramax diesel?

 

[LRNationals]

rolling onto 500 thousand. 1999 f250. used and abused. carring commercial coatings equipment.... four 55 gallon barrells, gas sprayer and gear. what went wrong. not much. glow plugs went. and thats because the labours would listen to the radio with the key fully on. and not staring the car. what i can reccomed. use additive in the fuel. change the oil and tranmission fluid . and keep a rouiten mantence scedual, especially if you are doing alot of heavy work with it. some of the rig drivers tell me to expect an injector pump at around 600-700 thousand. yet to get there, so wouldnt know. as to what type , dodge, ford or gm.... pick a truck that you like. one thats comfy to you cause you will be in it alot and everyone hates a bad back!

 

[rrefx]

Thanks for all the replies. There doesn't seem to be many used Dodge or Chevy Dually's available, but tons of Fords. I don't mind Ford, my last truck was a Ford Diesel, and besides a little trouble with the fuel pump at one time, it has over 350,000 miles on it without ever breaking down. Only trouble with it is that old 6.9 Diesel sure doesn't like pulling trailers up Parleys Canyon. I did ask the teamsters at work today what they thought, and they said if I could, get a Ford newer than 2003, better engine and computer according to them. Only problem is those are still quite pricey.

I am going to shop around, and with so many trucks in Utah, I'm bound to find something I like, with under 100,000 miles on it. Just hopefully I find something agreable before the disco sells so I'm not driving the old dually for too long.

I did come across a 2003 GMC today that looked interesting, $21,995 missing a bed and cheap hubcaps, I just can't figure out why that would make it worth $10,000 less than all of the other 2003 GMC's around.

http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/d...www.statestreettruckstop.com&car_id=186271953

The missing bed isn't a huge deal, I could hae a flat bed installed and it would work better for hauling my equipment anyways, although; not as nice for driving around town as the disco, I just worry about why so cheap, and what happened to it to cause it to loose it's bed. But, at teh moment it looks like it's either something like that, or a 2001-2002ish Ford.

 

[MarkP]

Only trouble with it is that old 6.9 Diesel sure doesn't like pulling trailers up Parleys Canyon.

Check the diff ratios available for the year your interested in and look for the lowest one available. My brother-in-law bought a 1 ton Dodge diesel PU with the lowest ratio they made and he accelerated up the Colorado passes with a 32 foot fully loaded RV trailer in tow.

 

[curtis]

Ryan - forget the GMC. Something bad happened to that at one time or another, but you probably know that. Why take the risk? Further, the Allisons have been more spotty than Cummins or Internationals for reliability. They may make it there some day, but the others are proven. That is why the rig is $10K less than it should be.

As a side note: if you are looking for a dedicated tow rig look into 2X4's. They are a lot cheaper, and frankly, when loaded will perform fine in the slush and snow. The extra little bit that a 4X4 on a tow rig will add will only be diminished by paying for more gas and a lower GVWR.

 

[rrefx]

I agree on the 2x4 deal. Especially for a work truck. Only problem is there doesn't seem to be any in Utah. Everyone here is 4x4 crazy. I'll keep my eye out.
Thanks Curtis