Posted by Charlie on Tuesday, May 01, 2001 at 2:23AM :
In Reply to: Diesel question posted by Gordon Maney on Monday, April 30, 2001 at 11:19PM :
I've got a 88 F350 with only 77K on it because I've built it into an "expedition/camping truck" with 11.00R16s, front/rear hydraulic winches (run off PTO/pump), popup camper, etc.
I got the Ford because I wanted a crewcab (family), the big round wheelwells allowed tall tires with minimal lift, and I liked the front leaf springs, Dana 60 in front w/hubs, and manual shift TC. As far as engine, I won't dispute that the Cummins is marginally better, and sixes are WAY easier to work on. I'm sure in the same truck, a Cummins would get slightly better mileage, probably due to decreased displacement/internal friction, especially if it's geared half a step (~5%) taller to take advantage if it's slightly lower rpm characteristics.
But both engines are used in midrange trucks and are more than adequate for 1 ton pickups.
I have to say that if my engine blew today I'd want to replace it with a Cummins, but if I used the same drivetrain I'd have to drop gearing from 4.88 to 4.56.
Whatever you do, don't get an automatic with either engine, no matter what the dealers say. Anyone who gets 300,000 miles out of an automatic behind one of these motors is just plain lucky. They have a tendency to fail suddenly, completely, frequently without any warning, even if they haven't seen ANY towing. Both 6 speeds are excellent.
Charlie
PS: automatic/diesel owners please don't jump on me. I'm well aware that not ALL autos fail, but I've heard enough from personal acquaintances and seen enough on the Internet to stand behind this comment. On the Ford site, the ratio of manual/auto ownership is about 50/50. The ratio of manual trans/clutch troubles to auto troubles reported is about 1:10-20.
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