No denying Cummins has some stuff figured out...we had some 8.3 Cummins in Taylor coil tractors and they lived hard lives...but so rarely had any trouble with them...just change oil, filters, and the occasional starter or water pump, send it! And their cartridge style water pumps were so easy/fast to change too...you could literally do it by pinching the upper hose and doing a quick switcheroo on the pump, hardly lose any coolant...even done 'em that way hot before!
First “new” truck for me was an ‘02 f150 Fx4xlt. I have it now and it’s at 261k still orig 5.4 and 4r100 . A lot of folks call the 5.4 gutless but, you know something? Most of the longest lived engines out there are… there’s a reason they last. Examples: Fords 300I6, the 6.9/7.3 diesels, the old 12v Cummins and my personal favorite, the 304/345IH svts. I still have a 345IH, not a lot of torque but what it has is 80% applied just off throttle ( 1000-1200rpm).I promise you, it “punches above it’s weight class” and will idle off with a load like you won’t believe. ‘Course it’s done at 3k and it sucks fuel. I feel a lot of the “gutless” feelings come bc of too tall gearing in a company’s attempt to conserve fuel. A little more “rev”can make a big difference. Sorry for rambling….
When I was in college, I worked for a friend of mine renting jet skis/boats, rebuilding jet ski/boat engines, etc. We hauled boats to the lake with a 1977 Chrysler New Yorker with a 440 and 200K+ miles on it. He later added a 90's Chevy van with the 5.7 Vortec. They both did just fine. My dad has an '04 Dodge Cummins 6 speed 3500. It's been a great truck. It's a shortbed and they bought a 5th wheel camper to travel with, so the shortbed is not great when turning it. The overhang on the camper almost hits the cab of the truck. He bought a 2018 Ram 3500 dually and it pulls it like it's nothing, but he hates the truck. I think it has under 40K miles on it and already has an oil leak...and from the YouTube videos it doesn't look like a fun fix.
99 Dodge,, i got the short straw,,53 block,, replaced with a 55 block from a bus. Not a fun job.. 08 3500 dmax now,, 65k on it.
