What should I get????

[straightline]

I previously owned a 24 valve Cummins a few years back and really liked the truck. However I have a family now and the ext. cab just isn't going to cut it and looking for a Crewcab. I had thought I'd get a Duramax (I know, don't hate! ) but after some reading I see that the LB7 motor has some issues with injectors. I haven't ruled out the Dmax but certainly approaching with caution. I'm leary to look at the 6.0 PS because of issues it has so I'm back to the drawing board and maybe looking at the 7.3 PSD. I know the Cummins motor very well but know next to nothing about the PSD. My budget is 15k or less, I am seeking a Crewcab 4x4 and preferably a Lariat. At this price range and years, I'm probably going to find a 100k+ miles truck. The truck will be a daily driver and do some pulling of a camper (nothing huge) I'm not into fixing lots of stuff, if I work on the truck I want it to be mods. Is the 7.3 and everything behind the truck as reliable as they say? What kind of things should I be looking for on these trucks? From what I do remember, these 7.3s don't take to Power Mods as well as the Cummins (or as cheap to Mod) is that correct? I'm not looking for crazy power, but a few extra ponies are always nice.


Thanks in advance for all the answers and responses, i greatly appreciate it!

[socalgn]

7.3 Excursion. I have the wife, 4 kids, and the mom-in-law lives with me. We've made multiple trips with the entire family, and the Ex has been the perfect family hauler.

Get a trailer for the stuff you need to haul around.

[socalgn]

Be warned; your wife WILL claim the Ex as her own- no matter how much she complains about the size of the rig at first.

[dieselfuelonly16]

i had a 7.3 and theres no major problems i had, however there are some o rings that go bad a the worst of time, like the high pressure oil o rings on the top of the motor, and the fuel bowl o rings and the turbo pedistal o rings. other than that its a good truck. it cost more to mod if you want to do alot of modding becasue its a v-8 and it takes more labor to put parts in. I sold my 7.3 and got a 24 valve cummins and wouldnt go back unless i got one really cheap. i get a little better fuel milage, but the main thing is that my cummins starts way better becuase it has a fuel heater instead of glowplugs. i sure dont miss the glowplug days. and if you want to mod, the cummins is easier to mod by yourself if your not a pro, because when you pop the hood everything is right there you dont have to search for it. but if you get a cummins i would get a manual or put a shift kit in an auto right away and if you get a ford put a torque converiter in and a shift kit in
good luck!

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by straightline

I'm not looking for crazy power, but a few extra ponies are always nice.

If you start with a stock 7.3L, then you'll want to duplicate my rig fairly closely. The stock engine has 230 horses at the flywheel, and your goal is around 300 horses for unloaded driving, and a bit less for towing. Mine has 281 horses at the rear wheels with the towing tune, so that's about 300 horses at the flywheel.

1. Gauges and mounting. About $300 for all the parts from Diesel Performance at DieselManor, Inc.

2. Intake. About $210 for the Ford severe duty air induction system (AIS) from Powerstrokeshop.com

3. Exhaust. About $400 for the 409 stainless turbo-back 4" exhaust system from Magnaflow Pro Series 4" Turbo Back Stainless 99-03 7.3L Powerstroke Exhaust 17979

4. Tune. DO NOT install any hot-rod tune of any sort until after you have gauges. But with your gauges you'll probably want the 80-economy and the 60-tow tunes. Jody is the tuning guru, so get his tunes on a chip or programmer from DP-Tuner . Minimum is about $400 to $500, depending on your options, and you can spend a lot more if you get the 16-position chip with a shift-on-the-fly controller and several different tunes.

So that's about $1,300 to $1,400 in parts to have a hot-rod towing machine similar to mine. And the install will take up a nice weekend if you can offer a few beers to a buddy to help with the fun. And you will love the 60-tow tune when towing about 8,000 to 10,000 pounds worth of trailer. If you stick with the 80-E and 60-T tunes and drive by the gauges, then your engine will live a nice long normal life while giving you lots of driving pleasure. I doubt you can hot-rod a Cummins to around 300 horses for any less.

[straightline]

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

If you start with a stock 7.3L, then you'll want to duplicate my rig fairly closely. The stock engine has 230 horses at the flywheel, and your goal is around 300 horses for unloaded driving, and a bit less for towing. Mine has 281 horses at the rear wheels with the towing tune, so that's about 300 horses at the flywheel.

1. Gauges and mounting. About $300 for all the parts from Diesel Performance at DieselManor, Inc.

2. Intake. About $210 for the Ford severe duty air induction system (AIS) from Powerstrokeshop.com

3. Exhaust. About $400 for the 409 stainless turbo-back 4" exhaust system from Magnaflow Pro Series 4" Turbo Back Stainless 99-03 7.3L Powerstroke Exhaust 17979

4. Tune. DO NOT install any hot-rod tune of any sort until after you have gauges. But with your gauges you'll probably want the 80-economy and the 60-tow tunes. Jody is the tuning guru, so get his tunes on a chip or programmer from DP-Tuner . Minimum is about $400 to $500, depending on your options, and you can spend a lot more if you get the 16-position chip with a shift-on-the-fly controller and several different tunes.

So that's about $1,300 to $1,400 in parts to have a hot-rod towing machine similar to mine. And the install will take up a nice weekend if you can offer a few beers to a buddy to help with the fun. And you will love the 60-tow tune when towing about 8,000 to 10,000 pounds worth of trailer. If you stick with the 80-E and 60-T tunes and drive by the gauges, then your engine will live a nice long normal life while giving you lots of driving pleasure. I doubt you can hot-rod a Cummins to around 300 horses for any less.

Thanks! All good info, but you are way wrong on the bolded comment.

P.S. not lookin for a fight

[timbo2]

Ask Czdeisel And He Will Tell You To Get A 6.0 But Everybody Else Will Tell You A 7.3 If You Get A Duramax With The Bad Injector Years Gm Will Replace All 8 Injectors Under Warranty With Lees Than 100k Regaurd Less Of How Many Year Old It Is (i Think Gm Is Still Good Willing These Repairs)

[dieselfuelonly16]

i think its pretty much up to you and what deals you find
if it were me i would stay away from 6.0's and newer but i know ppl with duramaxes and i dont like chevys, but they are nice and the owners never complain and i had a 7.3 and they are nice and it seems like all cummins are nice but i would still stay away from the new ones with the emissions