Switch From Diesel to Gas.

The following is my opinion--yours may vary! And, trying to get back to the OP question: Ford diesel or Ford gas.

I own a 2012 F-350 SRW CCSB 6.7 diesel purchased new towing 9400 lb. fifth wheel and a 14,000 lb bumper pull flat bed. One son owns a 2002 F-350 DRW CCLB 7.3 diesel 4R100 purchased used pulling 5,000 lb. travel trailer; other son owns 2012 F-350 SRW CCLB 6.2 gas purchased used pulling 6,000 lb travel trailer; both sons borrow and pull the flat bed on a regular basis. I also have serveral cousins owning Super duty trucks with experience in 6.0 & 6.4 engines.

No one in the family has had terrible trouble with the 6.0 or 6.4 engines other than the abysmal mileage of the 6.4. The 6.4 was Ford's first attempt at carbon trapping and they did a poor job. Both of those two engine had a lot of EGR control and cooling problems. The EGR stuff can be bullet proofed for a reasonable cost. The head bolts on the 6.0 MUST be bullet proofed since there were only 4 of them. The 7.3 son swears he will only ever own a 7.3 for simplicity, but that game will end someday. Personally I would never buy a used modern diesel because proper care and feeding is much more critical with the modern complexity. When I buy it new, and take good care of it, I have confidence that I will have no or little problems with any of it including the extensive pollution controls.

Where does it cost $350 to change oil in a 6.7 Cummins? :h

Inquiring minds want to know where you are getting ripped off. :B

Break them down for the cost of the filter and oil and labor for all to see.

Also; you do know that Cummins will accept oil analysis in lieu of time limits don't you?

brulaz wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

...
I see people talking about how a diesel oil/fuel filter change costs a lot more, but they (purposely)fail to mention that diesels have two to three times longer fluid change intervals.
...

True, but the CTD also has a minimum 6 months oil change interval. IOW they want you change your oil 2x per year at a minimum. My Ecoboost didn't have this requirement and I typically only changed it 1x per year.

That, plus the fuel filter changes mean that my annual maintenance expenses will increase from ~C$100 to probably ~C$700, as I'm getting just too old and lazy to do that stuff myself.

But we knew all that when we bought the CTD. Dunno if the other big diesels have similar maintenance regimes or not.

The other way to look at that 6 month oil change interval is to say "I'm going to change my oil once a year and if I only get 20 years out of the engine as a result ... Oh well."

ShinerBock wrote:

...
I see people talking about how a diesel oil/fuel filter change costs a lot more, but they (purposely)fail to mention that diesels have two to three times longer fluid change intervals.
...

True, but the CTD also has a minimum 6 months oil change interval. IOW they want you change your oil 2x per year at a minimum. My Ecoboost didn't have this requirement and I typically only changed it 1x per year.

That, plus the fuel filter changes mean that my annual maintenance expenses will increase from ~C$100 to probably ~C$700, as I'm getting just too old and lazy to do that stuff myself.

But we knew all that when we bought the CTD. Dunno if the other big diesels have similar maintenance regimes or not.

This debate can rave on for years... But to the OP the gas job will be fine. Good luck on what truck your trying to purchase. I would go 4x4 but that's just me, it has helped me out and well worth the cost. Keep us updated on your purchase. Hopefully u will find that 6.2 with 4.30 gears, they are out there just rare.

I am with T&P on this. If you do the actual numbers, diesels maintenance cost isn't nearly as bad as some here are claiming. I see people talking about how a diesel oil/fuel filter change costs a lot more, but they (purposely)fail to mention that diesels have two to three times longer fluid change intervals. For example, going by the manual, a 6.4L 2500 would require 12 oil changes versus 6 oil/fuel filter changes in my Cummins at 100k miles.

The same goes for the major replacement items. Yes, the diesel items do cost more. However where you will be replacing them every 200-250k miles in a diesel, the gasoline engines items like timing chain/belt, spark plugs, ignition coils would need to bre replaced ever 100-150k miles. You would be basically be replacing these items twice in a gasoline engine by the time you need to replace the injectors or turbo in a diesel. Once you replace these major items in a diesel then it is good for another 250k miles, can the same be said for a gas engine in a truck used for towing? How much is an gas engine replacement at 250k miles versus a turbo, HPFP, and injector replacement in a diesel that would be good for another 250k?

If you don't want to mess with all these diesel repair, then you can just sell your truck. I bet anyone here that you would get thousands of dollars more for a diesel truck at 200k miles than the same gasoline truck at 200K. Simply put, when you do the math, the theory that a diesel costs a lot more does not add up.

In all actuality, someone has already did the numbers.

Total Cost of Ownership: A Gas Versus Diesel Comparison


Oh and before making the ignorant comment that the study was bias because it was paid for by Bosch and Bosch makes diesel parts. They need to do some research to find out that Bosch makes more gasoline engine parts than diesel.

minnow wrote:
We get it Mr. Turtle; for your 10 year old truck, your overall costs are the same as a gas powered truck. Heck, I imagine your truck even periodically shoots out fresh dollar bills from the ashtray while you drive it.

The rest of here are talking about cost comparisons on the modern day tow vehicles.

T&P wrote:

[emoticon] [emoticon] [emoticon]
And that's why I said to choose your diesel wisely. [emoticon]

Did this quote get pass you?

And since you seem to know all about the "new" diesels why don't you tell us what makes them so much more of a maintenance burden then a modern gas rig? Put your numbers out for everybody to see just like I did. Go on lets see the specific numbers.

We get it Mr. Turtle; for your 10 year old truck, your overall costs are the same as a gas powered truck. Heck, I imagine your truck even periodically shoots out fresh dollar bills from the ashtray while you drive it.

The rest of here are talking about cost comparisons on the modern day tow vehicles.

SouthpawHD wrote:
I feel sorry for the OP. This thread has taken a re-donkey-less turn...

Let's see the OP's original post.

waiting2retire wrote:
I have a 2008 Ford F-350 and I tow a 2010 Cougar 318 SAB fifthwheel.
GVWR on the camper is 11850. I have been having issues with the truck and I am thinking of trading it in on a new F-250 with the 6.2 gas and the 430 rear end. Should be rated to tow 15000#. I believe the pin weight is around 1500#. What do you think? Will it do the job? I will be traveling mainly on the east coast. Mostly from NY to Fl.

I don't see anything in the post about cost of ownership, just if a F250 Gas 6.2 with 4.30 rear end will tow his 12,000# GVWR 5er. I believe that the answer should be Yes it will.
It will also be a different experience than with your F350 with a 6.4 PSD.