Gang,
I'm in the market for a Toad replacement. The Toad, while an interesting mode of conveyance, is not a diesel and I want a grease burning truck. A real truck too! Something (3/4 ton or 1 ton) that I can tie a trailer to the back of to retrieve old Benzos, pick up a load of steel or lumber and have not worry too much about it busting a gut somewhere along the way.

I'd like to find out more about the early (80s to mid 90s) Ford and Dodge diesel pickups (hopefully, pre-electronic) diesels, their good and bad sides and what to look (and look out) for.

Tell me what you know. Thanx!

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

If i were you I would not be afraid of the electronic diesels. They are very good trucks. we have a couple of 91 Ford F450 Super Duties that are about to turn 200K and they are used in an electric utility and run nearly 24/7. Transmissions can be a pain after about 150K but if you are not pulling a load continously then you may not have problems.

The dodge with cummins diesel is a great engine, just get a standard trans as the dodge auto is crap. My dad had an late eighties or early 90's and he got 100K on the trans and clutch before problems and he pulls a 37 foot fifth wheel travel trailer 9 months out of the year. I really think he got screwed on the trans he brought it back with him and the only thing I could find was a worn out shifter cover.

Hope this helps.............and good luck.

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Keith Schuster
2006 E350 98K miles
2013 Ford Explorer 15K miles

If you can find an older mechanical injected Dodge with a manual without a zillion miles, I expect that it would serve your purposes well. The only thing I don't like about the Ford is that the V8 is so darn hard to work on. The Cummins is a piece of cake to get around under the hood.

I had an early nineties Dodge Cummins, 5 speed and loved it. You have to put up with a crappy body, but if you're using it for a truck and not a show car, it won't pose any problems.

Good luck,

There are some issues with the Getrag manual 5 speed trannies in the first generation Dodge/Cummins. Many convert them to the newer NV4500 (I think that is the right number) 5 speed found in the later pickups when the Getrag dies. I guess you can't easily get parts for the Getrag or something like that. That is something you may be on the lookout for.

In fact, I all but had a 92 Dodge bought, but the tranny went out while the guy was delivering it to me. I already had an appointment to look at the SDL, so I ended up getting the Benz rather than messing with the cheaper, but needing-work Dodge. After one year and roughly 4000 in parts and labor later on the Benz, I often kick myself over that deal.

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Keep everything as simple as possible-but no simpler--Albert Einstein

I like the 1970's F500 diesel.
Can't find them with less than 2 million miles + any more.
A Peterbilt or Kenworth would be nice.

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I'm no fan of Dodge vehicles in general but I do lean toward the convenience of working on an in-line and the Cummins reliability too.

Thanks all.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

I would go for the Dodge because of the Cummins engine. It was designed as a much heavier duty engine than the Ford (Navistar) engine and will give many more miles and years of service.

I personnaly would go after a later 90' truck with the inline (P7100) Bosch injection pump. This pump was designed for heavy duty line haul applications. It can handle the new lower sulfur diesel fuels with no issue (engine oil lubricated pump cam). The VE disrtibutor pump is fuel lubricated and has problems with low lubricity fuels.

I was Chief Enigneer on the Cummins B series engine (used in the Dodge ram)for a period of time and have seen engines returned from the field for evaluation with more than 900,000 miles. The oil consumption was measured and found to be at the "new" production engine specification.

Good luck on your search!

There are forum sites similar to this one that feature the major brands of diesel trucks. The one that I am familiar with is the TDR (Turbo Diesel Register) that focuses on the Dodge diesels. A search can find the others-then settle back for a bit of "research". Believe I would listen to the above post from Checkmate.

My boss happens to have a 1978 Ford F600, with an inline 6-cylinder gasser. A truck cant get much slower that that.

I would go for a pre1994 Dodge with the 12-valve Cummins. Stay away from the 89-90 years, the body and drivetrain were rotten eggs ('89 was also not intercooled).

I would look at a 92 and up Dodge, that's when they put an intercooler (charge air cooler) in them.... 94 to 98 would even be better. Or the old Fords with the 6.9's are good "basic" trucks, not a real powerhouse but they get the job done..... The Warden has a nice 4X4 and he can tell you a lot about them.

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1985 300D Turbo ~225k
2000 F350 (Powerstroke) 4X4, SWB, CC, SRW, 6spd ~148k
1999 International 4900, DT466e (250hp/660 ft/lbs), Allison MD3060 ~73k

Thanks for the referral R Leo actually sent me an E-mail asking me about the 6.9l last week, and I was so swamped with school that I still haven't had a chance to fully reply. Maybe I can finish it up tonight... *fingers crossed* Sorry again for being so tardy...

RLeo,
Try:
Jim Hendrix, The Truck Guy, Eagle Diesel, 292 Hubertus Rd, New Braunfels, TX 78132 830-609-6608 mobile 210-508-2156

This is an old contact but when I was in Texas and looking for a used diesel he had a lot of nice used ones to choose from. Close to you too. RT

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When all else fails, vote from the rooftops!
84' Mercedes Benz 300D Anthracite/black, 171K
03' Volkswagen Jetta TDI blue/black, 93K
93' Chevrolet C2500HD ExCab 6.5TD, Two-tone blue, 252K

Real quick clarification...you can pull the injector pump without pulling the drive gear or the drive gear housing. In fact, it's better if you leave the drive gear housing in place...otherwise, it's too easy to re-install the drive gear off just enough to make it impossible to properly time the pump. Getting the pump out between the drive gear housing and the intake manifold takes some creative maneivering, but it's doable, and much better than the alternative.

Just FYI Also, just finished and sent the E-mail, and realized that I forgot to mention glow plugs...so I'll just post it on here. Ford, in their infinite wisdom installed 6 volt plugs on their engines and applied 12 volts to them. So, if the plugs are on for more than about 8 seconds at a time without an equal-length resting period, they can fail, and can swell up and break the tip off into the prechamber (not good). Some people just bypass the controller and run their glow plugs by a push button in the dash (the controller is trouble-prone, tends to fail to ON and fry the GP's in the process, and is $80 minimum to replace).

Sorry about that...

howdy there,
I also have a diesel rig alot like wardens, and they are work horses, slow on the get-go but are pretty much bullet proof. haven't had any major issues but rice burners getting under foot. I tow alot of cars & trucks with my tow-dollie no problem. only thing that sucks is mine is a c-6 so I only have 3 gears . but does tow well at 60-65. hope that helps. might want to read threw the dieselstop.com for more info on fords new and old.

chip

Bought my Dodge 5 speed/12 valve Cummins (96) new. Best, most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. Notice I didn't say truck I said vehicle..of the 50 some. Even toured the Cummins plant for small engines just South of Columbus Indiana. Absolutely bulletproof. Joe