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Diesel engines, which is better: Ford, Dodge, Chevy
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Comments
Over the weekend, I got into a conversation with a friend about the Cummings Diesel. He claims that Ford told Dodge to take a flying leap and they can't use the Cummings anymore. I recall hearing something about how Ford has ties to the Cummings but use Navistar. My friend further claims that Ford's new Diesel will be the Cummings. That's not what I've heard here. I heard here that Ford is staying with Navistar but haven't heard about Ford pulling the Cummings from Dodge.
Anyone who can confirm/deny any of these?
But, they DID make the DRW before '99.
BTW: I like this site, but I have found many holes in the information on this site, especially when it comes to diesels.
Ford used to own less than 10% of Cummins' stock but now owns none. Cummins is independent. They have a contract with Dodge that expires in 2007. I believe you can get a Cummins engine in a Ford truck, but only in F450/550/650 etc.
Paul
I have been out of the loop for a long time and I have been trying to catch up on some of the posts but not all. I have been reading some of the posts on auto tranny's and I have to tell you that for a light truck a manual is the way to go, and I just purchased a new Mack vision and instead of swapin holes all the time, I opted for the AUTO yeah I said AUTO tranny. The only catch to the auto tranny in my new rig is that I still have a clutch but I don't have to switch gears. It is used for starting and stopping only after that the computer does all of the shifting for me. It has been doing great, and to talk about fuel economy, I normally only get around 6.4 mpg in my E7-460 Mack.....that is a far cry from my PSD...... but then again I can hook up a 50ft drop deck and go to town loading it down with whatever my farm needs hauled around.....
Rob
I had a couple of things to add.
Don't be at all surprised if/when Dodge drops Cummins after the contract is up. As part of Daimler Chrysler, they might just switch over to a Mercedes diesel engine like the one used in the Freightliner Sprinter (which is MB everywhere but the badging).
Diesels have a gigantic advantage over gasoline: they can run on renewable fuel. Just run it on biodiesel instead of petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil (usually soy in the US). It keeps your fuel dollars at home instead of sending them abroad. It burns quite clean. It has higher cetane (minimum 50... depends on the base oil), and massively higher lubricity. It virtually eliminates smoke. And best of all, it makes your exaust smell like popcorn.
I put up a page about it here -
http://www.biodieselnow.com
The page is car-oriented, but applies to trucks too.
http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/2003/ford/superduty/first_drive/page1.html
the new ford 6.0 power-stroke embarrasses the gm and dodge. HO or not for dodge, the PS kills it in performance.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?article=5476&sid=181&n=157
and i would bet the house that the SD will outpull and outmuscle the HO as well. nothing beats a ford SD, it's as simple as that.
http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/stories/2003shootout/page1.html
Seriously, I hope you're happy with your Ford, I'm loving life in my Dodge, everybody wins.
I don't trust many salesmen. The few I do have earned my respect.
Chris
Good luck in finding what you're looking for. lol.
Chris
Chris
Dealers make more money on high optioned trucks, so they don't order manual trans unless it is already sold.
Mike L
It's a diesel. Small, fuel-efficient, reliable. Got a 5-speed manual transmission, air, sliding rear window and a bed liner.
It also gets 55 highway mpg and shows 275,000 original engine/0 overhaul miles on the clock.
I got fifty bucks says y'all got no clue.
Great set of tests, but acceleration is only a single criteria for measuring the suitability of a truck. Since my truck mostly pulls a 5th-wheel RV, I'd like to see a real world test which would be pulling that load at legal speeds over about a 500 mile course of typical highway types (flatland and hilly) and reporting the fuel mileage.
Hans