What happened to trucks?

[Octaneforce]

Ive always driven standard cab basic 2wd pickups. Cheap to buy cheap to fix and theyr usually quick and nimble. Id like to upgrade and theres almost no simple trucks out there. I just want a v8 manual trans rwd truck damnit. The only configuration available in a full size is the dodge 2500, and you can only get the diesel in a manual. And that truck with no options starts at like 35 grand. Jeezus.

This emmissions and safety nonsense is driving up the cost of trucks. How do companies afford to buy tons of trucks every year? And they have so many issues that none of them will see 30 years of use and 300k miles like trucks used to get. God damn government ruining everything as usual.

[Gallowmere]

My company has the luxury of being run by a CEO who also owns a vehicle leasing business. Every other year the company fleet is updated to whatever has the best combination of year end reviews and cost when bought en masse.

We’re all currently running RAM 1500s (AT, 4WD, quad cab, 8ft bed, smaller V8s), but we’ve cycled through everything from F-150s to Nissan Titans.

I bought one of our 2004 Sierra 1500s with a single cab, 2WD, with a 4.3L in it. It had 53,000 miles when I bought it for $6000 from him. It had 106K on it when my mom bought it from me last year for $2500, and the only stuff I’d ever had to do to it was basic maintenance, tie-rods, and a brake line. Nothing fancy about that truck (even had crank windows and manual door locks), but I’ll be damned if that wasn’t the best 3500 I’ve ever spent on a vehicle. A daily driver for 8 years, and almost no maintenance costs? Most people would sacrifice small animals to get that.

[< <Samson> >]

Buy used, they sure don't build em like they use to

Mine is old as shit, but you won't get another international top mounted turbo diesel engine any more

[Octaneforce]

Im actually on the market for a 2003 7.3 powerstroke van for work. We have a few vans at my company and one of them is a 2003 7.3 and its a train. Great fuel economy also. i refuse to buy one of those goofy looking new fords. The 2003 (the last year of the 7.3) was the best van ever made if you ask me. Theyr actually so affordable that i would even repaint one and make it look new if i found the right deal

[Gallowmere]

Those old 7.3s were the last of a dying breed in pickup diesels.

Sadly, even the new commercial diesels aren’t what they once were. Our 2002 Sterlings with C-12 Cats smoke all of the new shit, and the 12 was barely a midrange engine for it’s time. The 16 was a monster that still doesn’t have a peer, imo.

[Obs]

Those old 7.3s were the last of a dying breed in pickup diesels.

Sadly, even the new commercial diesels aren’t what they once were. Our 2002 Sterlings with C-12 Cats smoke all of the new shit, and the 12 was barely a midrange engine for it’s time. The 16 was a monster that still doesn’t have a peer, imo.

I have two 7.3 f350's. Getting tired of them but one in particular is an unstoppable piece of iron. I have put that truck through holy hell and the damn thing won't die. It was a 2wd auto when I got it but I put a dana 60 and 5speed manual in it from a donor. I did it right all the way down to the indicator lights and swapped dash panels too. The kicker is it was a cab and chasis extended fame 12' bed. The rear sprins are enormous for added payload. The bitch is it takes all of a four lane and both shoulders to do a u turn.

I drove that truck loaded over rating through the worst terrain I could throw at it and have changed ever small part on it but never fucked with the long block. If that truck has anything wrong with it I can smell my keys in the morning and know what is gonna happen.

I have had the damn thing so long everyone knows me by it. I am getting tired of screwing with diesels though. Next truck I buy will be a gas engine and probably a half ton though I have broke the piss out of every truck I have touched smaller than a ton.

I am tired of my 7.3's and I want a divorce but the bastards won't leave me and I am not the kinda guy that leaves or is unfaithful. Someday a little chevy 6.0 is gonna come jiggling her tailpipe in my face and I worry I will trade or just spend all my time with her.

A man is more than his trucks and still a man without one, but its hard to imagine another truck.
If I forget to plug them fuckers in at night in the winter though we fight pretty bad. It tell them I am gonna go out and run around with a dodge if they keep treating me like shit. I plug them in though and they always forgive me after a couple hours.
They know I would never buy a dodge. I cant afford a new tranny every 100k miles.

[Gallowmere]

I have two 7.3 f350's. Getting tired of them but one in particular is an unstoppable piece of iron. I have put that truck through holy hell and the damn thing won't die. It was a 2wd auto when I got it but I put a dana 60 and 5speed manual in it from a donor. I did it right all the way down to the indicator lights and swapped dash panels too. The kicker is it was a cab and chasis extended fame 12' bed. The rear sprins are enormous for added payload. The bitch is it takes all of a four lane and both shoulders to do a u turn.

I drove that truck loaded over rating through the worst terrain I could throw at it and have changed ever small part on it but never fucked with the long block. If that truck has anything wrong with it I can smell my keys in the morning and know what is gonna happen.

I have had the damn thing so long everyone knows me by it. I am getting tired of screwing with diesels though. Next truck I buy will be a gas engine and probably a half ton though I have broke the piss out of every truck I have touched smaller than a ton.

I am tired of my 7.3's and I want a divorce but the bastards won't leave me and I am not the kinda guy that leaves or is unfaithful. Someday a little chevy 6.0 is gonna come jiggling her tailpipe in my face and I worry I will trade or just spend all my time with her.

A man is more than his trucks and still a man without one, but its hard to imagine another truck.
If I forget to plug them fuckers in at night in the winter though we fight pretty bad. It tell them I am gonna go out and run around with a dodge if they keep treating me like shit. I plug them in though and they always forgive me after a couple hours.
They know I would never buy a dodge. I cant afford a new tranny every 100k miles.

To be fair, I work with a guy who has a 2500 with the Cummins and a six-speed. Thing has almost 275k on it, and the drive train is still slick as hell. Electrical issues sound to have been a nightmare though.

That said, yeah Dodges ATs have been shit since forever.

[BG]

Trucks are crazy out here by me, lots of construction so many guys have businesses. They are big in to the f-150's......they are dropping 50,000 to 65,000 on these things, I cant believe. The Raptors have a huge following here also, those are close to 70G when said and done. I drive a Yugo.

[Octaneforce]

Trucks are crazy out here by me, lots of construction so many guys have businesses. They are big in to the f-150's......they are dropping 50,000 to 65,000 on these things, I cant believe. The Raptors have a huge following here also, those are close to 70G when said and done. I drive a Yugo.

Would your shoulders even fit into a yugo? Haha. And yea theres 3 raptors on my street alone. Three!! I dont know how guys are dumping all that money into a purpose built off road truck just to drive to whole foods

[< <Samson> >]

If I were to go outside the international 7.3, I'd do the bigger Cummins

This is my 3rd 7.3, I damn near refuse to get a self detonating 6o

[guitarzan]

If I were to go outside the international 7.3, I'd do the bigger Cummins

This is my 3rd 7.3, I damn near refuse to get a self detonating 6o

I got 2004 6o sitting in our junkyard. After putting about 20k in it over 3 years, we parked it when it needed injectors. My guys call it the meth 250, I don't ask why, don't wanna know...lol

[< <Samson> >]

The shit I still don't get is why do people do it - I wouldn't put a dime into a 6o. . . . Not with these much lower priced 7.3's around


Shit, I don't even pull anything. . . I just like driving around something that sounds like a semi. . . .Shit, it's just as tall as a semi too

[guitarzan]

Yea, I'm not a ford fan, but the 7.3 is a bad ass motor

[Obs]

Yea, I'm not a ford fan, but the 7.3 is a bad ass motor

12valve cummins was just as good or better. With a standard they are just as good of a truck.

[< <Samson> >]

I still want a 12 valve Cummins

I'll get a pic next time I'm back at shop. My main diesel mechanic got bored over the slow months & stuck a 12 valve Cummins in a 70's suburban < yeah, I know. Looks good tho, we'll see how this thing turns out. . . The last 24 Valve he built by hand, ran so perfect.

[guitarzan]

I still want a 12 valve Cummins

I'll get a pic next time I'm back at shop. My main diesel mechanic got bored over the slow months & stuck a 12 valve Cummins in a 70's suburban < yeah, I know. Looks good tho, we'll see how this thing turns out. . . The last 24 Valve he built by hand, ran so perfect.

I bet that's bad ass

[< <Samson> >]

I bet that's bad ass

Then some

Shit's been slow at the shop & they got free time - they do some odd mechanical shit when they get bored.


Last time, they stuck a VW VR6 Engine in a golf with a Turbo. Hideous looking thing, but faster than living shit.


I'll try to remember to get some pics when I'm back up there.

[Obs]

Greatest SUV ever made was a ford excursion 7.3.

I want one bad they are the ultimate party and vacation rig. Pull anything half a million miles with 8 passengers and plenty of room for groceries. Sorry to sound like a soccer mom.

[Octaneforce]

Greatest SUV ever made was a ford excursion 7.3.

I want one bad they are the ultimate party and vacation rig. Pull anything half a million miles with 8 passengers and plenty of room for groceries. Sorry to sound like a soccer mom.

Excersions are awesome. I heard They stopped making them for fuel economy reasons bAck then? Idk sounds like a silly reason to me. They still make the f250 4 door which is basically the same thing. A 2018 excursion with the new super duty front end would be TITS

[Obs]

Excersions are awesome. I heard They stopped making them for fuel economy reasons bAck then? Idk sounds like a silly reason to me. They still make the f250 4 door which is basically the same thing. A 2018 excursion with the new super duty front end would be TITS

The 7.3 excursions got 18 open highway but they took out that engine to put in the pos 6.0.
Shittiest engine ford ever introduced and they wound up putting a 5R110 torqshift behind it which was one of the strongest stock trannys ever made. Crazy.

They should have stuck a 5r110 behind the 7.3 and reintroduced it. They killed a legend and blamed international for building the pos ford wanted. Minus one head bolt per cylinder with bolts instead of studs and residual sand stuck to the rods from the sand cast molding. Ticking timebomb.

[< <Samson> >]

I'd like to see how all the newer shit holds up. The Cummins still looks solid, the Cummins in the Titan is a complete joke. Duramax is still Duramax - but, the ford diesel shit and Eco(whatever) has been all over the place for the last few years. . . I lost track of their whole engine line up.

[Obs]

I'd like to see how all the newer shit holds up. The Cummins still looks solid, the Cummins in the Titan is a complete joke. Duramax is still Duramax - but, the ford diesel shit and Eco(whatever) has been all over the place for the last few years. . . I lost track of their whole engine line up.

As far as I am concerned they have squeezed too much horsepower out of modern diesels for them to ever last worth a shit. Take a 6.7 and turn it up or down and its still gonna be a pos at 300,000 miles unless you throw $$$$ at it.

Increased performance never pencils into longevitys favor. Very similar to bodybuilding.

Ecoboost is interesting. Some of the best mechanics I know said they would burn up at 200k miles when they were introduced but have seen many with 350,000 miles.

Most engines today I have seen will get 300,000 miles if serviced properly. People threw a shit fit about the 4.6 and 5.4 and v10 fords blowing plugs and needing the timing chain replaced. Fact is it is $300 to diy fix those and once it is taken care of they will all go well over 300,000 miles.

Leaning towards chevy now. Love the 6.0 L and cant see a damn thing wrong with them. Fact is though I cant afford or justify anything new at all. I can spend 6-8 grand and get a rig that will last me 200k miles of any flavor or I can spend 65k and get something that may or may not take a shit on me before then.

I learned too much about mechanics during my survival. It is a curse.
Someday I would like to buy something that isn't battle tested just so I have something new...

[tarmyg]

Can not wait until the day I move back home and are able to buy a new truck.

[Octaneforce]

"Battle tested" lmfao. Everything i own has been/was battle tested. The 6.0 powerstroke is a complete joke. Even after bulletproofing them. The 7.3 was the best diesel motor ever put in a ford. They are idiots for changing shit around. Then again the epa and the government was probably pressuring them. It all boils down to the government messing stuff up.

[Obs]

"Battle tested" lmfao. Everything i own has been/was battle tested. The 6.0 powerstroke is a complete joke. Even after bulletproofing them. The 7.3 was the best diesel motor ever put in a ford. They are idiots for changing shit around. Then again the epa and the government was probably pressuring them. It all boils down to the government messing stuff up.

Agree completely!

[Obs]

Sometime years back the ceo of ford met with the international guys...

"How are we gonna fit this pos into the truck and what if the engine inevitably needs serviced?"

"...uh... You take the cab off the frame..."

"You're shittin me?"

"Nope..."

"Well thank God we didnt put those extra headbolts on there then! It might mot have fit at all!"

[< <Samson> >]

Same here - I know mechanical shit in & out - I can use it as far as I want to take it

I'm way too into myself now to go back to full time physical labor. I got one guy that does all my heavy line & electronic repair - then another one day does commercial - when I get it

My end of the work has been steady since the beginning of the year, yet the shop looks fvcking deserted as fvck.


New vehicle sales are killing the repair game hard atm

[diesel101]

The 6.0 ford and the LB7 duramax was the best thing that ever happened to the diesel industry, if you own a diesel repair shop that is.

[Obs]

The 6.0 ford and the LB7 duramax was the best thing that ever happened to the diesel industry, if you own a diesel repair shop that is.

Loldont forget chevys first 6.2l!

[bethdoth]

I'd like to see how all the newer shit holds up. The Cummins still looks solid, the Cummins in the Titan is a complete joke. Duramax is still Duramax - but, the ford diesel shit and Eco(whatever) has been all over the place for the last few years. . . I lost track of their whole engine line up.

In 2010 Ford went to the 6.7 PowerStroke. I have had no problems with mine and it pulls like a beast.

[guitarzan]

I have two '08 and two '05 duramax trucks, not a ounce of trouble from the motors. One of the '05's has over 300k miles. I have a '04 ford with the v10, no troubles from it but the gas bill!

[< <Samson> >]

Don't the ford v10's burn as much oil as gas?

I haven't had the pleasure of owning one

[Obs]

Don't the ford v10's burn as much oil as gas?

I haven't had the pleasure of owning one

Biggest issues were with the exhaust manifold bolts rusting off on one side of the engine and spark plugs blowing out. Dunno on the oil

[ScotchGuard02]

Ive always driven standard cab basic 2wd pickups. Cheap to buy cheap to fix and theyr usually quick and nimble. Id like to upgrade and theres almost no simple trucks out there. I just want a v8 manual trans rwd truck damnit. The only configuration available in a full size is the dodge 2500, and you can only get the diesel in a manual. And that truck with no options starts at like 35 grand. Jeezus.

This emmissions and safety nonsense is driving up the cost of trucks. How do companies afford to buy tons of trucks every year? And they have so many issues that none of them will see 30 years of use and 300k miles like trucks used to get. God damn government ruining everything as usual.

You are mimmic's my feeling. The over regulation of everything is making life harder for the everyday joe like us. Why don't we have manufacturing jobs in the US? Why are good manufacturing jobs overseas? Because of the regulations, we can't compete with friggin China who pollute the environment like dumping garbage. Regulations are choking us.

[guitarzan]

Don't the ford v10's burn as much oil as gas?

I haven't had the pleasure of owning one

Haven't had that problem

[< <Samson> >]

Well shit, that's what I get for talking crap

Just got this, it has a 6.o - supposedly deleted, and Bulletproofed

Okay, how do I check this? It would buy has 140k & runs fine - but, these things r just not known for their reliability

[Obs]

Well shit, that's what I get for talking crap

Just got this, it has a 6.o - supposedly deleted, and Bulletproofed

Okay, how do I check this? It would buy has 140k & runs fine - but, these things r just not known for their reliability

It is totally user dependant and by who did it. There are 6.0's out there with 1 million miles.
Arp headstuds and dont go throwing upgraded horsepower parts at it.

[Octaneforce]

Well shit, that's what I get for talking crap

Just got this, it has a 6.o - supposedly deleted, and Bulletproofed

Okay, how do I check this? It would buy has 140k & runs fine - but, these things r just not known for their reliability

Im confused. That looks like the 2011 front end which would mean its a 6.7. Unless someone swapped the front clip

[< <Samson> >]

Yup, exactly - it's a 2004 6.o f250 with a 2011 front end conversion & tailgate

[Octaneforce]

Yup, exactly - it's a 2004 6.o f250 with a 2011 front end conversion & tailgate

I have heartburn

Lol jk. Ive heard of those 6.0’s going 200k in stock trim. Ive also heard of them exploding before the warranty period ended. Atleast it sounds like someone tried to do the right thing and bulletproof it. Dont turn up the boost too high