Diesel vs Gas

Don.S said:

I would take what ever comes cheap since the body always falls away long before the engine dies. Unless you are towing at max capacity all the time i dont see the point of the new diesel trucks. And even at that you guys need different licenses to do that so in that case you might as well have a real truck. In quebec anyone with a regular license can put 30 000lbs behind a 550 and go.

Click to expand...

I think Alberta is more or less the same as well. Seems we go by number of axles rather than weight when it comes to licensing.

I laugh at what people will pay for a diesel pickup, This is my brothers 97 350 PS with 63,000 total miles. Fully loaded with every option he paid $44.000 for it new, He has been
offered $23,000 for it. Nuts.

John Canfield said:

I could sell my 2000 F250 7.3 for about what I paid for it brand new. A gas truck in that vintage is worth $3-5K. My F250 is by far the best vehicle choice I ever made.

Click to expand...

You're talking about a 20 year old diesel that's not available new today. I even suggested if the original poster could find a diesel from that era in good shape that would be the way to go. The diesels available new today are a different breed.

For us if the vehicle weight is more then 3000kg you have to register the axles to the truck. But if the vehicle has a net weight of less then 4500kg its still just a regular license to drive it.

I have a 2000 f350 with a 7.3 ya i like the truck and it has been trouble free for many years but its is still a underperforming dinosaur. Its towing capacity and payload are pathetic compared to a new truck.
And lets not get started about the transmission and cooling or lack of cooling.

Yes, there were models in the past that turned out to be good trucks, and good investments, and then there were plenty of duds too, gas included but a lot fewer gas nightmares than diesels.

All I know, is nothing gets bought new smaller than 8 liters in diesel if I have any say in it. And avoid the 2010 era in any used diesel. For all I know, and the limited bit I see, the kinks are mostly worked out, and we're past the armpit years of diesel emissions like the late 70's -80's were for American gas cars, FOR new heavy trucks, no idea how that has trickled down to medium duty or pickups.

To bad someone doesn't make a glider pickup. I would be all over a new pickup with no engine and trans.

farmerlund said:

To bad someone doesn't make a glider pickup. I would be all over a new pickup with no engine and trans.

Click to expand...

I can just see all the failed pickup glider kits for sale on craigslist {the father/son projects that didn't materialize}. Plus the warranty nightmare over the cab and chassis,
I can just see all the butchered wiring also. Plus finding a company to insure it. Plus title issues. Where did that drive train come from, chop shops would have a field day.

Truck Shop said:

I can just see all the failed pickup glider kits for sale on craigslist {the father/son projects that didn't materialize}. Plus the warranty nightmare over the cab and chassis,
I can just see all the butchered wiring also. Plus finding a company to insure it. Plus title issues. Where did that drive train come from, chop shops would have a field day.

Click to expand...

With my experience with dealerships I'd prefer to get the truck $5-7k cheaper and take my chances. My F150 didn't have a single issue under warranty. 4k kilometers off warranty and it needed dang near $3500 in repairs (injectors and intake manifold). I'd have fixed it myself but it was -35 and I didn't wanna do it in the driveway lol.

Why would anyone want the old transmission they were crap

I have been self-employed for around 24 years. I started with an over loaded c3500 with a 350 speed with Granny. Mounted a small auto crane on it. I would sometimes work on that truck all night just to work the next day. Next I bought a new f450 4x4 in 99, then later a used F550 with IMT crane body and air compressor. I still have that F550 but it rarely leaves the shop, I found in my business I spent most of my time just riding that big crane around as most jobs did not require it and wearing out six tires to go get parts. I do road work out of an F150 and have for years. I will get a picture if the set up. It works for me. Heed the advise above or you will be paying the truck more than you pay yourself.

I have a 1989 service body that has been in the family since new. When Grandpa bought it I thought it should have been a diesel but now in hindsight I realize if it were diesel it would be in the boneyad due to cavitation or some other expensive problem, the 351W is still going [not so] strong. It does not go up hill super fast but it goes on the level and downhill same speed as anything else so I don't care.

Don.S said:

I have a 2000 f350 with a 7.3 ya i like the truck and it has been trouble free for many years but its is still a underperforming dinosaur. Its towing capacity and payload are pathetic compared to a new truck.
And lets not get started about the transmission and cooling or lack of cooling.

Click to expand...

I agree. The 7.3's are no competition for a 6.7 - it's like night and day between the two performance wise. The 7.3's are dependable engines that are easy to work on compared to the newer diesels but are years behind in performance.


My '01 F250 7.3 needs a transmission at 160K if we were to use it to tow anything. Since it's a spare truck we haven't got around to it.

Interestingly the '01 7.3 will bring around $10-12K on the market and the '14 F250 6.2 gasser will bring around the same money.. 13 years newer doesn't count for much when it's gas V diesel and the '14 is a crew cab that has power windows and locks, the '01 is an extended cab.


I am looking at buying a new personal truck in the 2021 model year and very interested in the Ford 10 sp trans. to the 3rd gen 6.7. Figured I'd let that transmission be out in the world for a year before I bought one.

Birken Vogt said:

I have a 1989 service body that has been in the family since new. When Grandpa bought it I thought it should have been a diesel but now in hindsight I realize if it were diesel it would be in the boneyad due to cavitation or some other expensive problem, the 351W is still going [not so] strong. It does not go up hill super fast but it goes on the level and downhill same speed as anything else so I don't care.

Click to expand...

My father bought a new F350 one ton dump in 1988 with the 351W, 5sp manual and a 12' electric over hydraulic dump bed. It was a big deal as it was the first work truck he had ever bought new. It was a good truck for the time although the 351W ate exhaust manifolds mostly due to pulling a 843 Bobcat all over the city sometimes with the bed loaded which taxed the little engine daily.

I saw that little flatbed dump running down the road a couple of months ago being used by the landscaper that bought it over 15 years ago.

Don.S said:

Why would anyone want the old transmission they were crap

Click to expand...

You said a mouth full, the Ford E40D and the German ZF five speed were both a piece of crap, The Dodge 48 series was a turd too. It took some major work on the clutch packs on the Ford
and Dodge autos to get them to last. The early Allison in the GM wasn't much better.

Ya the 4r100 is something. My truck has 335 000km and somehow still on the first one. With the stock cooler i would hit 200f just driving around in the hills with nothing behind the truck. With a oil cooler from a 6.0 i can drive the same route with 14k behind the truck and only hit 190f. Also reverse is so tall if i dont use 4x4low to back a load up a grade it will get so hot it spits fluid out the bell housing. But great for plowing snow.

This is one of the set ups I run. F150, Again they work for me. And they make money.