Powerstroke observations and questions

[tuney443]

Thats good then because that is a selling feature for GM. From what I have heard alot of people like the 6spd automatic. The guy I work with his son bought a 3500 Chev with a 9 foot deck. The truck is overloaded its used to haul fish etc. The guy I work with and his son are both Chevy men they won't buy anything but GM vehicals. They said that transmission brake (retarder) works good the truck is grossing 14,000lbs or more with the load on the deck.

One day we had a 2003 F-450 no not mine but another fish hauler the cab size on the Ford is significantly larger. Both regular cab trucks but the cab on the Chevy is still like a old style truck. I can see why Fords tare weight is heavier.

Would I buy I Chevy thats hard to say I have driven enough of them when I worked for the highways dept. Those trucks were used and abused

The Chevy dealer in my area doesn't want anything to do with cab and chassis trucks. You bring a 4500 to them they say no we can't work on it.

When Chevy went to that rotten A arm suspension on their 4x4 3/4 tons and 1 tons that killed their use in the resource industry. Chevy 4x4s with the A arm suspension is too low to the ground it doesn't last as long. They could have gone with a live axle and coil springs like Dodge. Chevy used to sell as many 4x4 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks as Ford for work trucks in the Forestry and Mining. The older Chevys had a little tougher driveline because they used the 205 transfercase and the 4 and 5spd tranmissions were cast iron.

The old Suburbans make good bush ambulances because they have the room inside.

One of the forestry contractors was in a bind he didn't have another truck to put in the bush so he put his new Chevy duramax in the bush. After it came back out after a week of being 40 miles up the inlet the poor truck looked like it went through a battle. With the Chevs having litterally no ground clearance the front bumper took a beating the back bumper and parts of the body.

Anyhow enough rambling if you want a good offroad truck you buy a Ford or a Dodge you want a pavement queen 4x4 you buy a Chevy :roll

Pavement queen--???---Hardly--but I was expecting that from you FordLT--I'm sure you like your handle.Over at the Diesel Place,we have guys coming over from Ford and Dodge every day in buying a new or used Dmax.I'm talking bonafide dyed in the wool Powerjoke and Cummins guys--they realize GM has the best and most powerful drivetrain going.The Allison is so much more superior to anything the other 2 have.If you look just at the mainshaft on the Ally,comparing it to Ford's and Dodges autos,you would think it at first came from a mid-size truck, which actually they are also used in{4500's and 5500's.] I regularly run mine off-road on construction sites/roads--never a problem.I would much rather have a lower truck than Ford or Dodge for better handling on the hiway and getting in at the end of a long day. I'll end mine by saying if you want to keep your shirt clean while drinking your coffee,buy GM,if not,get a Ferd

 

[jmac]

I have never driven a Chevy or GMC but have rode as a passenger. I own a 2006 Ford F350 6.0 crew cab with about 20k on it and so far have no complaints. Truck cost over 40k so it better not give me any problems! I will agree that it rides like a dump truck. I don't go off road everyday, just at job sites and plow in the winter, so I was thinking that next time I could give GM a try if the ride is as nice as everyone says. The truck could be just more comfortable than Ford and if the drive train holds up better. :drinkup

 

[Duke]

The slight disadvantage in off road capability of my GMC 3500 compared to my F-350 is more than made up by the GMC's superior drivetrain. The DMAX has it all over the new Powerstroke. Look at the torque curve on the DMAX compared to the 6.0 or the 6.4L The DMAX makes it's full 650 ftlbs about 3-400 RPM lower than the Ford. All that with only one turbo and common rail injection. The DMAX is dead-nutz reliable. The 6L was a fiasco, the 6.4L is unproven.

The transmissions aren't even a comparison. The Allison has an extra gear, bigger input shaft, bigger tailshaft and the tap up/down manual shift feature. The Torqshift has none of them. let's face it and Allison transmission compared to a Ford in-house 5 speed trans? No comparison.

The GMC SRW & DRW also comes standard with an 11.5" real mechanical locker. The Ford SRW 250/350 still has the 10.5" Sterling with that cheesy POS limited slip. That alone makes the GM truck better in slippery conditions at the rear axle than the Ford. My F-350 limited slip sucks. I know for a fact my GMC will do better than my Ford in light-mod off road. My Ford might be better for crossing a 4' deep river or going over rocks, but that constitutes about 1% of my driving.

So what do you do? buy a truck for the few times you need to cross a 4' deep river or climb rocks or one that works better the majority of the time you're driving- on pavement, through snow, some mud, etc. ?

I used to be hard-core Ford. Until Ford gets a simpler more reliable diesel, (like the 7.3L) and gets a real rear and transmission, it's GM.

 

[Mack]

Well we bought the 2001 Ford F350 and so far the check engine light has only come on once.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

I don't think you will have too much trouble with the 2001 just carry a spare CPS which is the ignition trigger for the 7.3s.

 

[P Backus]

Well, I am resurecting an antique thread here. I've been busy, and then was sick and had fairly major surgery, then have been busy again!

The 2001 F-250 still has the same low power problems. I have changed the fuel filter, air cleaner looks new, had the codes pulled and there were none at all. I pressured up the after cooler system with 15psi and couldn't find any obvious leaks, although it kept taking air. My system of getting air in it wasn't perfect either.

I asked the diesel mechanic that works on these about flashing the ECM, and he shrugged and said he didn't think that would help.:beatsme

On a recent trip to South Dakota, it was down to around 8.5 MPG pulling a 2000# S/A trailer. Now admittedly, I was headed west into the wind, and the enclosed trailer is tall, but that seems a little extreme. Throttle was pretty much to the floor to maintain 70mph. There goes the fuel, but why no power?

Also just put new tires on in the standard size of 235/85R16. Doesn't help.

Starts fine, runs fine. Now what? Could the injectors get plugged enough to do that? Doesn't smoke, except the normal blue-ish when cold (this is WI!).

Paul

 

[jmac]

Did you change both fuel filters? By the way hold onto your shorts when you buy them I just spent $77 for mine!:Banghead

I own a 06' f350 6.0 that would not shift up and just ran like the the fuel was frooze up. The temp here went down to 10 so that made sense to me but after putting truck in heated shop it still had no power. Change both filters the one under the hood and the one on the frame rail and solved the problem. The filters were black in 15,000 miles so the fuel I am getting is dirty. My skid had the same problem changed the fiters, problem solved.

 

[jeffa215]

low power, poor milage

I've seen quite a few of these engines at our shop with this symptom. Most of the time I've found it to be an issue with the fuel tanks, some of them form a very fine rust thatessentially clogs the inlet screen (sock). As I am not able to look at your truck I cannot be sure this is happening but definetly check into this as this rust WILL NOT end up in the main filter. Another thing to check is control pressure, very important on these engines. Hope this helps feel free to email me or post more questions

 

[jughead]

powerstroke

cant believe there aint a dodge in the crowd. all of the dodges i know get better mileage and move more weight than any of the trucks named. my old 90 gets better fuel mileage towing my sons load than his 2000 powerstroke does empty. and it will keep up too.:drinkup

 

[landrvrnut22]

cant believe there aint a dodge in the crowd. all of the dodges i know get better mileage and move more weight than any of the trucks named. my old 90 gets better fuel mileage towing my sons load than his 2000 powerstroke does empty. and it will keep up too.:drinkup

My 01 dodge gets 20city, 22 highway, and about 17 pulling 9000lb+. And no lack of power 400RWHP, 830FT LB.

However, a word of advice on the powerstroke. The Powerstroke, DT444, DT466, all use 2 oil pumps, a low pressure pump to circulate enigne oil, and a high pressure pump to open the injectors.

Check your high pressure oil pump. If you are not getting enough pressure, your injectors may not be opening fully. I believe it should be somewhere around 2500psi. Also, make sure your oil is topped up.

 

[Countryboy]

Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums jeffa215! :drinkup

 

[thejdman04]

My 01 dodge gets 20city, 22 highway, and about 17 pulling 9000lb+. And no lack of power 400RWHP, 830FT LB.

However, a word of advice on the powerstroke. The Powerstroke, DT444, DT466, all use 2 oil pumps, a low pressure pump to circulate enigne oil, and a high pressure pump to open the injectors.

Check your high pressure oil pump. If you are not getting enough pressure, your injectors may not be opening fully. I believe it should be somewhere around 2500psi. Also, make sure your oil is topped up.

The power strokes 444's do use a heui injection system like cat but not 466

 

[P Backus]

jmac, both fuel filters? This is an '01, and I only know of the one fuel filter/water separator in the V of the engine. Is there something that I'm missing somewhere? I have changed that one with no improvement.

I've seen quite a few of these engines at our shop with this symptom. Most of the time I've found it to be an issue with the fuel tanks, some of them form a very fine rust thatessentially clogs the inlet screen (sock). As I am not able to look at your truck I cannot be sure this is happening but definetly check into this as this rust WILL NOT end up in the main filter. Another thing to check is control pressure, very important on these engines. Hope this helps feel free to email me or post more questions

So are you talking about the inlet screen in the fuel tank? Bummer!

I'm not sure how or where to check control pressure. Is that oil or fuel pressure? Wouldn't a code show up for that?

Also, I'm not clear on how this truck can be using too much fuel if there is a partial blockage of fuel (filter or screen). You'd think that if the engine is starving for fuel, it would be the same or better fuel economy.

Paul

 

[Preppypyro]

There is actualy quite a few things a person can check out. try checking out ford-trucks.com and check out the diesel section in the forums. Very informative.

I do like the cummins engine, but the bad thing about it, is it has a dodge surrounding it. The cummins may be a tad better of an engine then the powerstroke, but there is no comparison when compared to a ford.

A great truck would be a ford with a cummins put in!

 

[P Backus]

A great truck would be a ford with a cummins put in!

There is a company that specializes in doing just that- repowering Ford pickups with the 5.9 Cummins. I saw them somewhere on the web.

I have the 5.9 in my combine, so technically I have one of them too! :cool2

Thanks for the tip.

Paul

 

[Preppypyro]

There is a company that specializes in doing just that- repowering Ford pickups with the 5.9 Cummins. I saw them somewhere on the web.

I have the 5.9 in my combine, so technically I have one of them too! :cool2

Thanks for the tip.

Paul

Yeah i have seen them around on the web too. When my Powerstroke bites er, I am going to look into doing a cummins swap in my truck. Hopefully that wont be anytime too too soon though!

 

[tuney443]

There is actualy quite a few things a person can check out. try checking out ford-trucks.com and check out the diesel section in the forums. Very informative.

I do like the cummins engine, but the bad thing about it, is it has a dodge surrounding it. The cummins may be a tad better of an engine then the powerstroke, but there is no comparison when compared to a ford.

A great truck would be a ford with a cummins put in!

And a greater truck would be and is the Duramax---either the LBZ or LMM version and in a Chevy.

 

[GaryKelley]

I'm not even going to read all the replys...BUT

Ford had to "detune" all these engines from the factory to meet the FED pollutions standards. They do put out the HP that the factory says they do. However...they are capable of much more.
While there are a lot of companies out there, that manufacture or market chips and "re-programers" see if you can find a local aftermarket store, and see what they are selling. And if anybody tells you that it will void the warranty, don't listen #1) your PU isnt under warranty any longer, and #2) it only creates a warranty issue IF the aftermarket item CAUSES the problem.
I put a chip in MY 2000 F250 when it had 250 miles on it, with NO problems, I also went to a 4" exhaust with an open straight through muffler. It's a little louder than an old man like me cares for, but I would rather see the traffic in my mirror, than my windshield.
I opter for a 50 HP increase chip, and 4" exhaust, K&N air filter, I also wired the turbo warm up gate-valve to act as an exhaust brake. I have 175K miles on it with NO problems. I did replace the turbo intake wheel with an aftermarket last year. Contact me if you need more info..hope this helps..

 

[Dozerboy]

Ford had to "detune" all these engines from the factory to meet the FED pollutions standards. They do put out the HP that the factory says they do. However...they are capable of much more. Just like any modern diesel pickup.
While there are a lot of companies out there, that manufacture or market chips and "re-programers" see if you can find a local aftermarket store, and see what they are selling. And if anybody tells you that it will void the warranty, don't listen #1) your PU isnt under warranty any longer, and #2) it only creates a warranty issue IF the aftermarket item CAUSES the problem. Yep but that don't mean they won't try and furd has a lot more money for a lawyer then most people if you tried to fight them.
I put a chip in MY 2000 F250 when it had 250 miles on it, with NO problems, I also went to a 4" exhaust with an open straight through muffler. It's a little louder than an old man like me cares for, but I would rather see the traffic in my mirror, than my windshield.
I opter for a 50 HP increase chip, and 4" exhaust, K&N air filter, I also wired the turbo warm up gate-valve to act as an exhaust brake. I have 175K miles on it with NO problems. I did replace the turbo intake wheel with an aftermarket last year. Contact me if you need more info..hope this helps..

I added my .02

FIY for those that don't know there is a newer recall out on the 1997 and up 7.3s for there CPS problem.

 

[Preppypyro]

And a greater truck would be and is the Duramax---either the LBZ or LMM version and in a Chevy.

I respectfully disagree man. I have experienced a few duramaxes, and although the engine does seem to be OK, no better or no worse then a powerstroke, the truck didnt seem to be as comfrotable, or built as well as a ford. The interiors seemed cheap and rattley.