Cummins vs Powerstroke Diesels

[Marcus2000monster]

Id like to hear everyones views on why they chose what they did and why they like one or the other better. Please no getting worked up about someones truck being better than the other! I personally dont have a huge opinion. I chose a Cummins Turbo Diesel because thats what my family has  always had and they have done well. I think that Ford built theyre trucks a bit tougher as far as frame, transmission, front end, etc. I work on Ford Powerstrokes everyday and they are really pretty good trucks especially the 7.3 trucks. I think if you have the money to spend you can make the 6.0 and 6.4 trucks very reliable and theyres no doubt that they can make insane power. I really love my Cummins though and plan to keep it forever although i may have to pick up an older 7.3 truck to play with eventually lol. Whats everyone elses take? 

[Mopar1973Man]

Myself I've got a liking for the older 6.9L and 7.3L diesel Ford trucks. As for the 6.0L and up, no way. Not an owner-friendly when you're required to have a 2 post lift and lift the body off for most engine work. 6.0L Fords way too many issues. We've got a couple in the Fire Dept. Power wise they are OK but 6.0L and EGR cooler problems, EGR valve issues, etc. 6.4L just seem buried in a ton of smog junk can't even find the engine. 6.7L I've heard the engine is more stable and less issues. But I'm limited on information. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by Mopar1973Man

[dripley]

Me, I always thought it was the one I wanted. Back in 98 I bought quick and did not find a Cummins and settled for a V10. Fun truck to drive as long as you did not stopping at alot gas stations. But when she dropped a valve thru number 10 piston, I went and bought the 02. Even with the issues that I have had, I have never regretted the choice or the learning experience U have been thru with it. 

[01cummins4ever]

3 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Not an owner-friendly when you're required to have a 2 post lift and lift the body off for most engine work. 

We had a few 08 and 09 Ford F-350 and 550’s in our fleet at work and finally got rid of them all, way expensive 

 

As far as why I chose the Cummins, I bought it back in 2002, and had a 6.5 Chevy diesel from mid 1990’s era (junk) before that and I just come to the inclusion that the in-line 6 diesels were the proven tried and true Industry standard for longevity. Having messed with some old Cummins and cat v8 diesels driving big rigs, I just could not bring myself to own one. and the little 6bt and isb engines had proven themselves in the 12v and 24v market through the 90’s and that’s when I dove in and purchased my truck used, 1 year old and 15,000 on the clock. and have never regretted it.

 

and besides I would rather buy 6 injectors than 8       the less moving parts the better IMHO 

[dave110]

When I was shopping for a diesel truck back in '95 I drove a new Dodge w/ a 5 speed. That 180HP did not show itself very well and I went with a new 7.3. It was a smart choice. Drove it for 14 years and 165 some thousand and aside from glow plug relays and transmissions had very little trouble. It's hard to believe back then I knew nothing about PCM, ECM, AC noise, ground mods, power window motors, power seat motors, heater cores, front end parts, front end parts, front end parts........ the list goes on. Never had to learn that stuff. Never needed to. When the PA winters finally ate the frame away I needed something else and I jumped off the Ford ship when they dropped the 7.3. I wanted a reliable engine I wouldn't have to worry about so I went with the legendary Cummins. A year later I was pulling the engine because the 53 block cracked and my career as a shade tree mechanic really started and has not stopped yet. Would it be the same again? Hard to say. Would I have bought the Dodge if I knew then how easy it is to get an extra 100HP out of a 12V? Probably. Which one would I pick now if you offered to give me a 2019 of my choice? The most expensive one and then sell it to get the money to keep fixing what I have. I simply don't have the funds to keep a common rail emissions equipped truck on the road, regardless of who makes it. I'd love to have a clean OBS 7.3 to add to my fleet as a fun truck. 

[trreed]

My 7.3 currently has 309k on it....  but I'm bored with it.  I've looked at the cost of getting it to even just 500 hp and it's insane.  But, it won't break.  I've tried.

 

An ex girlfriend had two 6.0 trucks.  I became her mechanic.  A set of head studs took me 24 hours of hood up time to complete, and deleting it took 13.  Granted, I got pulled away quite a bit and refused to read all of the instructions, but still, both jobs were a pain.  Not my favorite thing to work on, but I liked the bodies and interiors.  Especially her King Ranch.  Almost bought a blown up Lariat to swap a 6.7 common rail into it.

 

The Cummins is just stupid cheap to modify, and seems to be holding quite steady at my power level.

Edited January 10, 2019 by trreed

[Marcus2000monster]

I really love the king ranch interior. Super nice. The 7.3 trucks are great if you can handle hard starting in cold weather and the cost of glow plugs and relays. The 6 blows as I call them are so expensive to maintain but once thy are bulletproof they are powerful smooth running beasts but I could never afford one. 

[dave110]

24 minutes ago, trreed said:

 

 

An ex girlfriend had two 6.0 trucks.  I became her mechanic.  

 

Just wait till you get married. Then you get to become the plumber, electrician, HVAC guy, carpenter, and psychiatrist too 

[trreed]

8 minutes ago, dave110 said:

Just wait till you get married. Then you get to become the plumber, electrician, HVAC guy, carpenter, and psychiatrist too 

I  was most of those too..... long term deal

9 minutes ago, Marcus2000monster said:

The 7.3 trucks are great if you can handle hard starting in cold weather and the cost of glow plugs and relays.

Mine needed a huff of ether the other day after sitting for a month.  good times.  

Edited January 10, 2019 by trreed

[Marcus2000monster]

39 minutes ago, trreed said:

I  was most of those too..... long term deal

Mine needed a huff of ether the other day after sitting for a month.  good times.  

Pwerstrokes love ether lol. We use it all the time at the shop. Just can’t run the glow plugs at the same time. 

[trreed]

You can if you like to party ?

[IBMobile]

I looked at Ford and couldn't see the engine through all that plastic covering it and did not like the idea of the turbo in the back of the engine. Turbo Volvos are like that and are a pia to work on.

 

The GMC/Chevrolet Duramax was to new on the market and one thing I learned being in the car business for over 45 years is Do Not buy any vehicle in the first year or two.  The manufacture is still working the bugs out.  

 

Opened the hood on a Ram Cummins diesel and I could see the engine, the exhaust manifold with turbo hanging there and the intake system.   Not a bunch of plastic covering things to make it look pretty; an engine that had been around for a long time and straight six is easier to work on than a V8.

[015point9]

    Trucking outfit I worked for had about a 1/2 dozen "yard goats" with 5.9's in them.  2 of them had cracked blocks and the darn things kept running .  Believe me those things got used and abused 24/7.  Not unusual to jerk around 50 thousand pound trailers day after day.  Lots of busted motor mounts and transmissions and fans thru the radiator.  

   At the time (2005) I had a 87 F250, but I couldn't pass smog without carb work about every other year. But when the front right tire started falling off regularly and the darn carb that required work way to often.  I started looking for a replacement being my old truck was 20 years old, and couldn't pass state smog.  

   The mechanic at work kept the 5.9's running so I asked him if he wouldn't mind working on mine if I got one. I figured they were pretty good seeing how they got beat up at work.  Mechanic agreed he would fix it if I needed any help. So I got a used 2001 in 2005.  And I paid big bucks for a warranty ("bumper to bumper") because we had 2 at work with cracked blocks. I wanted to be covered if my block cracked.  I owned it for a total of 3 weeks and lift pump went out. Towed it into dealer and first thing dealer said was the lift pump is not covered by warranty,  (that I just paid big bucks for just 3 weeks earlier). Towed to my house, mechanic comes over and says the elec lift pump and electronic VP44 is all new to him.  All the 5.9's we had at work were and P pumped.  Mechanic did put me in touch with somebody that knew more about them.  As Dodge deal answer was another oem lift pump. Ended up with a FASS and put in gauges to watch EGT's and boost.  No fuel gauge as I was told that I'll now if I don't have any fuel pressure. At the time I didn't know any better and how important a fuel pressure gauge was. Anyway from from 2005 to 2015 not a single problem.  Not any trouble codes or anything.  I just changed what owners manual said to do.  Wife and I towed "her" trailer all around the US as we  were both retired by then.  Mostly campgrounds and visiting family all over.  Then in 2015 the FASS fell apart.  And I still didn't know anything about these 5.9's.  Why bother learning as they never break down!!!.  Then we got hosed big time in Yuma AZ.   Mechanic in Yuma thought the problem was the fuel module. Mechanic  installed a drawstraw and when that didn't work he installed a sump.  Then installed an Airdog.   Believe it or not left Yuma with original fuel module. The sump started leaking the second day after we left Yuma.  Came all the way back to Seattle from Yuma with diapers wrapped around the sump.  Messy job changing diaper on a leaking sump.  Got home and parked it till I found another fuel tank, which are hard to find at least near me. 

  

In the mean time wife started getting big headaches and turns out she has a brain tumor.  Been stuck at home ever since.  Some tumors grow 100% every 45 days,. Wives has stopped growing (for now).  But she is not able and can't get into RV trailer or cab of truck.  So she stares at her trailer during morning coffee and I start up the truck once a month.  So you never know where life is going to lead you...so make the best of it everyday. Dealing with a medical problem was the last of our concerns or worries. 

Edited January 10, 2019 by 015point9
spelling

[Marcus2000monster]

8 hours ago, IBMobile said:

I looked at Ford and couldn't see the engine through all that plastic covering it and did not like the idea of the turbo in the back of the engine. Turbo Volvos are like that and are a pia to work on.

 

The GMC/Chevrolet Duramax was to new on the market and one thing I learned being in the car business for over 45 years is Do Not buy any vehicle in the first year or two.  The manufacture is still working the bugs out.  

 

Opened the hood on a Ram Cummins diesel and I could see the engine, the exhaust manifold with turbo hanging there and the intake system.   Not a bunch of plastic covering things to make it look pretty; an engine that had been around for a long time and straight six is easier to work on than a V8.

Yep the turbo location sucks. Exhaust work is a pita. I’ve had to help replace 2 6.4 turbos and hpop pumps and the whole cab has to be lifted off.

[Dieselfuture]

5 hours ago, 015point9 said:

In the mean time wife started getting big headaches and turns out she has a brain tumor.  Been stuck at home ever since.  Some tumors grow 100% every 45 days,. Wives has stopped growing (for now). 

Is your wife on the cell phone lot and this the tumor on the same side as where she holds cell phone. 

This is another crazy subject, but my wife's sister also has a tumor and it's on the same side as where her phone stuck to the brain 24/7, almost every time I see her she's on the phone. Tried telling them that it's probably related as there are studies have shown that, but as usual I turn out to be an idiot because I'm not a doctor. The least they can do is a little research. 

Sorry to hear that, but unfortunately it's only going to get worse as technology emerges and humans losing touch with the planet.

And yeah Cummins is why I got my truck, dodge has nothing to do with it. 

[Marcus2000monster]

28 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

Is your wife on the cell phone lot and this the tumor on the same side as where she holds cell phone. 

This is another crazy subject, but my wife's sister also has a tumor and it's on the same side as where her phone stuck to the brain 24/7, almost every time I see her she's on the phone. Tried telling them that it's probably related as there are studies have shown that, but as usual I turn out to be an idiot because I'm not a doctor. The least they can do is a little research. 

Sorry to hear that, but unfortunately it's only going to get worse as technology emerges and humans losing touch with the planet.

And yeah Cummins is why I got my truck, dodge has nothing to do with it. 

Someone told my old boss the same thing about cell phones causing cancer. Whats this world coming to anyway? The answer is "The End"..... But the good news is theyres a better place to be up in heaven. I love the looks of second generation trucks but yea the truck part wasnt built heavy duty enough for the weight and torque of the mighty Cummins Turbo Diesel. 

[NIsaacs]

57 minutes ago, Marcus2000monster said:

 I love the looks of second generation trucks but yea the truck part wasnt built heavy duty enough for the weight and torque of the mighty Cummins Turbo Diesel. 

 

What part or parts you talking about?

[trreed]

The entire truck.

[JAG1]

My like for Cummins came from an excavation contractor that I became friends with. He had several old backhoes with the Cummins 5.9 12 valves. He and most of his employees, including his full time mechanic would be talking almost every day about the dodge trucks coming out with the Cummins in them. When they became available it seemed like everyone in our small rural area was buying one. It took me several years to be able to even think about spending the kind of money it took. Finally after several years of hearing all the talk about them....... I'll never forget the smile on my face....... I bought my first gen 92 Cummins 5 speed back in 96. That dog gone thing.....was so good on fuel it almost made my truck payment in fuel savings alone. It was cool to own something so great and have others offering money for it on almost every job I went to. 

 

I drove and worked that truck everyday for almost 22 years. It was a great truck the whole 400 k miles or so I put on it.

[NIsaacs]

13 minutes ago, trreed said:

The entire truck.

 

You will need to do better than that....