Larry,
Sorry to hammer you on that one and you are right to offer a website as help. However I have found that many truck oriented websites are very brand oriented and deficiencies in products are often under/overstated, etc. I think this is exactly the place to ask a question such as TomJ did. Why? Though coming from different backgrounds we all own diesel MB's and some of us also have experience with US diesel pickups. Making the assumption that owning a diesel MB and a US diesel pickup makes this particular diesel owning group a bit more particular and appreciative of the advantages and deficiencies of the available US diesel pickups. Indeed, as the posts indicate, a good few of us own trucks and have opinions. I am more inclined to trust the opinions of the truck owning members of this board as they have the experience of MB ownership and inmost cases other vehicles as well to draw upon without beating on the brandname bandwagon too hard. so I again apologize to you for hammering you. The post did exactly what it was supposed to. I generated opinions of MB owners who also own diesel trucks. Hopefully it helped out TomJ. 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

EXACTLY. That's what I found. No one wants to talk about the "faults" of their brand. On this kind of board, more than about any other place, would I be more likely to find information from the "non-enthusiast" about a certain vehicle. That was the advice I wanted, not "well, yes it does have that problem, but...."



Precisely, couldn't have said it better myself. AFAIC, this was the PERFECT place to ask what I did. It was not my intention of turning this into a truck forum, to the contrary, I wanted to advice on anything BUT a truck forum.


That's exactly what it did and I thank everyone for their un-biased, and some biased opinions. Will let everyone know what I come out with in the end.

OK, back to the regularly scheduled MB discussion.

BTW, 1/2 hour ago, heading home from the springs to look at a trashed dodge cummins, we passed the only other MB I've seen in the same color as my car. It was a 300TD in pastel grey (NOT anthracite.)

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1984 300D Turbo - 4-speed manual conversion, mid-level resto

1983 300D - parts car

1979 300TD Auto - Parts car.

1985 300D Auto - Wrecked/Parts.


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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". Lewis Carrol

I'm going to regret asking this, but how trashed is "trashed"? Is the engine in decent shape? How much was he asking?

(I doubt I could dream of affording it, but I'm somewhat idly looking for a '94-8 12 valve Cummins to put in my truck and if the truck itself is trashed, may make a good parts donor)

Tom:

If you are going to do only occasional towing, an additional cooler and temp guage will keep you out of trouble. Don't use the overdrive while towing (as stated in the owner's manual), and go easy -- I know that those big diesels will pull like crazy, but the rest of the drive train is gonna have problems if you romp on it every takeoff. It's tempting, but wastes fuel and tears stuff up.

No way you want to take a standard dual rear end truck off road!

Terrible turning radius isn't just a long wheelbase problem -- my brother's 1979 Chevy 1-ton takes about an acre, too even though it's a short version. Very narrow steering angle, for reasons GM only knows.

The 454 is a no go these days -- runs fine, pulls nicely, and gets 4 mpg downhill in neutral, 4 mpg uphill with 20,000 lbs behind it. Best reason in the world to stick with a 2-barrel carb!

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

They wanted 11,500 for it. The frame was bend in multiple places, interior had rips, carpet mud-packed, paint peeling everywhere, engine leaking oil from more places than my '84 merc, exhaust system tied up with shooelaces!

They had been smoking something. Something certainly illegal.

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1984 300D Turbo - 4-speed manual conversion, mid-level resto

1983 300D - parts car

1979 300TD Auto - Parts car.

1985 300D Auto - Wrecked/Parts.


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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". Lewis Carrol

Well, they can keep on dreaming...given that those engines don't leak oil all that much, I would venture to guess they didn't take any better care of the engine than they did the rest of the truck...

All I can say is poor truck!

Go with the Dodge, I've personally have been on the looking for one for a while, just one that is a total beater, but runs great, with the right price...

I found one about a month, it was a 1990 RAM 350, with 150,000 miles. It had a flat bed, and a little rough body, but the stealership wanted $7500 for it

a

YIKES!! Ok, is EVERYONE who's selling one of these smoking something??

There's a '94 at a stealer in Denver that is in good to exc- shape and they want $7,700 for it. Actually, they wanted $8,999, but I went in to look at it a week & 1/2 ago and they started their "used car salesman speech" about how my trade-in with 59k miles wasn't worth anything and theirs (with 161K on it) was worth more than they were asking so said something to the effect of "Well gee, I sure don't want you to lose money on it guys" and walked out (they probably have $2-4k MAX into it as a trade.)

Called them again yesterday and said "I have $7,500 cash sitting in my pocket right now (a lie, but hey..., it was a salesman afterall) for the Dodge". They called back and said "we just can't do it for anything less than $7,700." So I said, "OK, I'll call back NEXT WEEK and see how much money you've made on it in the mean time and if $7,500 is looking doable then."

Anyway, there are some of the older bodies around for a little of nothing, $2-4K here (meaning CO, WY, KS), but I DON'T want a trashed one and am willing to beg my sig-other for a few extra $'s to afford a nicer one.

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1984 300D Turbo - 4-speed manual conversion, mid-level resto

1983 300D - parts car

1979 300TD Auto - Parts car.

1985 300D Auto - Wrecked/Parts.


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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". Lewis Carrol

Unfortunately, not really...that one beater that you mentioned is an exception (that poor truck needs to be put out of its misery), but unless a truck is as thrashed as that one was, the market vale on these Dodges is pretty high. As I mentioned in that other thread, Dodge didn't (and still doesn't, although that's beginning to change) sell nearly as many trucks as GM and Ford did. This, plus the reputation of the drivetrain for longevity, seriously raises the value of these trucks.

IMHO, if you can get that stealership to go below $7500, and if the truck's in decent shape, it'll be you doing the stealing I rarely see one of these trucks in good shape go for less than $10K...but, it's like buying a 123 instead of a Honda IMHO

Have you tried this site for the Dodge trucks http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/index.php There are a lot of good people there that are willing to help anyone. Yes they are pro Dodge but they talk about the good and the bad and then they tell you how to fix the bad. If you are thinking about a Dodge I would go there and hang around (it’s free) and ask a few questions. They will tell you what to look out for in any year truck you might be interested in and they won’t sugarcoat it.
I’m on my second Dodge and wouldn’t have anything else. The first one was a 96 2500 and was a great truck. When we upgraded to our 5th wheel the wife wanted a dually for safety. We traded the 96 in with about 140,000 miles and it was still going strong. We now have a 2000 3500 and plan on keeping it for a long time.
It’s true about the trannys they are the weak link. I went to Suncoast (http://www.suncoastconverters.com/about_proloc.htm) and had the tranny updated with everything but the billeted input and output shafts. That made an amazing difference. I have a 3 year unlimited horsepower and unlimited mileage warranty on the tranny. I ask the shop owner if it was ok to tow in overdrive and he said yes as long as I don’t lug the engine. This thing tows an 8080 lb 5th wheel like it’s not even back there. We recently took a trip to Mass. and while on I395 (a pretty steep and long grade) we were able to stay in OD all the way without ever having to move over in the slow lane. Speeds of 55mph to 75mph don’t seem to change the fuel mileage; I get a steady 13.4-mpg when towing with winter blend fuel (calculated by hand don’t have an overhead computer).
I’ve also added an Edge EZ (like a chip only does more), 4” exhaust from the turbo back and a set of Formula One Diesel EDM Mach 1.5 injectors (http://www.f1diesel.com/page1.html) and some other goodies.
There's a lot you can do with these trucks.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.

Well you could buy the an old Chevy, throw away the crap 6.5, and put the Cummins into it. Cummins are pretty cheap on the used market. They way outlast the truck. Chevy diesels with worn out engines are as common as dirt.

Chevy 6.2 /6.5 are junk that's why GM teamed up with Izuzu to build the Duramax. I have heard no bad things about the Duramax.

Newer Dodges with the Allison trannys sound like good news to me. Or the newer Chevys with the Duramax. But the price? If you have to ask, even for a used one, forget it.

International Navistar engines run a long time. Old ford PU's and vans with the 6.9's are common. My 93 7.3 only has 200k so I can't tell you about reliability in it, but my wifes 97 powerstroke has about 300k and the performance is starting to suffer. The injectors and IP have never been serviced.

The 97 had a trans at about 225k, a couple of water pumps, a vacuum pump, a master cylinder and a starter. The 93 has had a master cylinder, a vacuum pump and an injector pump.

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69 220D not running
79 240D parts car
80 240D Beater runs everyday
81 300TD temp disabled cooling problem
82 300SD sweet

the people selling those Dodge diesels aren't smoking anything, they just hold their value...

I wouldn't touch a GM diesel... the old Ford 7.3's are decent engines, but nothing stacks up to the 5.9 B series Cummins.

the one to have is the 96-98 12v 5sp. they had the highest pump settings... they're VERY tough trucks... they have a couple problems that are easily prevented. otherwise, they're bulletproof, and the injection pumps are VERY tough... the first generation trucks were very tough too, but the injection pumps weren't as tough. that's not to say they won't last... my '92 has over 365k miles on it and still kicking. the 98+ 24v trucks make decent power, but I don't like the injection pumps... they tend to go out, and the 24v trucks don't take to cheap mods the way the 12v trucks do.

with less than $500 in pump and injector mods, my '97 is making ~375hp/750-800ftlbs at the wheels... blowing 42psi of boost on an untouched 218k mile engine.

Forrest

My brother, who is a consulting engineer for Cummins, amongst others, told me that the 5.9L turns 1400 ft/lbs of torque in heavy truck trim.

No trick to getting considerably more power out of it than stock, they are de-tuned to roughly 300-400 ft/lbs torque to keep the drivetrain intact in light truck use. All you have to do is raise the boost and add fuel....

Peter

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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!

the 5.9 isn't rated that high in bigger truck applications... in fact, the Dodge has some of the highest ratings in the truck world... now, the 8.3l C series gets up there w/ the torque ratings I believe.

the new high output Dodges are rated at 600ftlbs

adding fuel raises boost

Having no particular interest in trucks, but I travel on the Interstates quite frequently, I can not help but notice that there are a disproportionate number of Cummins' powered Dodge 2500 & 3500 trucks engaged in some form of "fifth wheel" labor compared to the competition. I have often talked to owners of the various makes at fuel stops and the Dodge/Cummins combination seems to have the most faithful following. As for Fords, The 7.3 l Navistar is the most annoying thing to listen to at an idle; sounds like it has 16 defective lifters in concert with leaking exhaust manifolds (tick, tick, tick, etc...). All a personal preference at the end of the day.
Returning to the theme of this thread... The Duramax is rather quiet but does not yet have the legacy of the Cummins; time will tell.

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'82 300D Turbo 204K
'10 Toyota Prius 85K
'13 AMG C63 (P30) 23K
'14 Audi Q5 TDI 46K
'16 RAM 2500 CTD 12K

'10 VW Jetta TDI 65K (traded)
'12 Nissan Leaf 34K (returned end of lease)
'15 Audi A6 TDI 25K (traded)
'95 E320 166K (traded)
'93 300D 2.5 Turbo 168K (sold)