How many miles for a used diesel truck?

[LewTeam]

Hello all. Wife and I will be starting from scratch in about one more year. My question is this: Since we will be buying a used tow vehicle, what is a sensible amount of mileage on a diesel truck that is relatively safe to buy? There seems to be ample trucks in our budget range of @25,000. Many have over 150,000 miles on them, but, there are a good many with around 100,000. We are looking at possibly a Ford F350 or a Dodge Ram 3500 dually. Thanks for any input. Not desperate, but next year will be here before we know it.

[LewTeam]

Thanks again, everyone, for the great feedback.

[chevor]

I'm on its third life then.

[Cummins12V98]

ScottG wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
For that budget IMHO your best bang for the buck, a 2005/07 5.9L Cummins with a manual transmission behind it. Good power, great reliability, no emissions. Was arguably the best of the 5.9's. If there is not one already on it, install an aftermarket EB and go.

I'd start with the first year of the third gens - 2003. They have a stronger manual transmission, less emissions stuff and get better fuel efficiency.

Could be wrong but the better 6 speed was in the late 01 and 02's,

[Cummins12V98]

donn0128 wrote:
For that budget IMHO your best bang for the buck, a 2005/07 5.9L Cummins with a manual transmission behind it. Good power, great reliability, no emissions. Was arguably the best of the 5.9's. If there is not one already on it, install an aftermarket EB and go.

That or a 2002 with the 6 speed stick. It has the highest HP in a 2nd gen. Also has rear disk brakes.

[Cummins12V98]

rjstractor wrote:

ScottG wrote:
I'd like to see the source of your "B" numbers please. Especially the ridiculous Cummins 50% figure.

I was always under the impression that the Cummins had a B10 rating of 350K, not B50, which makes it a true medium duty engine. The other diesels IIRC have B10 ratings of about 200K, same as their gas engines. However like others have pointed out, there are many other expensive things that can break on any high mileage truck besides engine internals.

I don't have a reference but the Cummins has a duty cycle of 350K GM 250K and Ford either 200 or 250K.

Cummins attached to an Aisin trans you have medium duty in a light duty truck.

[Cummins12V98]

FishOnOne wrote:

donn0128 wrote:
6.0L ford? Nope
Cummins? Cummins is a 500K motor so anything less is fine.

Chrysler 47RE/48RE? Nope

Ford TorqShift 5R110? Bullit proof tranny!


:W

Don't forget the 68RFE is junk. 🙂

[Trail-Mate]

All I can comment on is my 97 Ford 7.3, bought it in next to showroom condition with 165K miles on it. Now 4 years later, towing about 1500 miles a year and my daily commuter vehicle getting 20 mpg hand calculated fuel mileage . I have only had to do oil and fuel filter changes, tires, battery's. Truck now has 225k on it. Best TV I have had yet.

[wintersun]

In choosing between a used Ford and a used Ram diesel truck I would go with the Ram for anything built before 2011. I would try to buy an extended warranty for any used diesel pickup. Repairs are more than twice as expensive for a diesel engine than a gas engine (maintenance is more than twice as expensive as well). If the head gasket goes the repair cost can be $8,000 or more. If the injectors fail the cost for repairs is around $800 and injector. Diesel engines also have water pumps and alternators and emissions controls that can and do fail. An air conditioner repair can cost over $1200 in parts and labor. If the prior owner(s) used a tuner to get more horsepower the transmission will have been overstressed and you can pay over $3,000 to have it rebuilt.

For towing more than 12,000 lbs. a diesel engine with its greater torque and exhaust brake is worth the premium cost to buy, maintain, and repair. For less than that a large block V-8 with 4.10 gears is a better choice.

Check out the diesel forums for the Ram trucks and for the Ford trucks and you will get some idea as to the problems with certain model year runs. With the pre 2010 Fords for example the transmissions were trouble free but the engines had excessive problems as did the engine cooling, drive system, fuel system, electrical system.

Consumer Reports surveys all the vehicles of all its members each year and the members provide the make and model and year and note any repairs or problems with their cars and trucks. It provides a good way to compare reliability and cost to own of vehicles overall due to the large number of vehicles involved. With a 1000 trucks there are going to be 200 people with no big problems and 200 people who paid dearly. Forums and individual owners experiences reported on the forums are not going to provide an accurate picture of the reliability of vehicles.

Consumer Reports also has a listing of used cars and trucks to avoid. That list includes the Ram 2500 & 3500 diesel pickup trucks 2007 to 2011, and the Ford diesel pickups F-250 & F-350 for model years 2004 to 2011. These are not 100% reliable in that "problems" are not weighted based on cost or severity but they can raise a red flag that more diligence and research is needed before buying one of these trucks.

Diesel engines are changed more radically and more often than gas engines. Gas engines where changed in the 1970's to run with unleaded gas and later to be able to burn gas with ethanol safely, but that is about it. GM with its Duramax diesel engines introduced 5 new models from 2003 to 2011. Each engine has had its own set of shortcomings.

There are also surveys done of repair shops which provide the very best information but these surveys are difficult to find online. Talking to local independent diesel repair shops is one alternative.

[Colorado71]

wintersun wrote:
Unless you plan to tow more than 10,000 lbs. there is very little to be gained with a diesel engine and no reason to pay the premium price for the truck, for maintenance and repairs, and higher fuel prices as well.

10,000lbs... how about living at 10,000ft? :B

That's why I bought a TURBO diesel.

[Colorado71]

shum02 wrote:

Colorado71 wrote:
I bought an 03' Ram 2500 LBQC with the 5.9 Cummins, 6 spd manual and 4x4. Basic work truck.

This was back in 2011 and in had 95K on the clock. Payed ~17K.

It now has 160K and in that time I've had to fix

Engine oil leak (crank case cover) ~$3K
New shocks
New U-joint
New front end / ball joints
New throttle position sensor
New handbrake ($1300!!!??)
New clutch

It also has an AC leak (have to remove dash so it's a VERY expensive fix)
The dash is also cracked. And there is rust under the doors and some rust here and there.

Overall it's a brute of a truck that just eats up the Rocky Mountains towing my small TT (5600 loaded) with a bed full of dirt bikes.

I really hope I'm done with any major repairs. If I get another 100K out of it without any major repairs I'll be happy. Right now I think it's had a lot go wrong considering it's supposed to be the "best" truck from that era.

Suspension/steering items are "wear items" - they are suppose to and do wear out, just like brakes, tires and clutches. Nothing really unusual in your list..........

1/2 the stuff on the list is not typical wear items.

Cranks case oil leak $3000
Throttle position sensor
Hand brake ($1300)
U-joint
Cracked dash
A/C compressor leak will cost over $1,000 to fix since they have to remove the entire dash

Just had to replace the passenger side visor since it broke.

BTW the front end on these truck is notorious for early wear. It shouldn't need $3K worth of work with only 96K on the clock.

[COnative]

I did not have luck with 6.4 PSD... A total headache. Glad its gone!

[schlep1967]

If you are not real picky about the trailer floorplan do a search for truck and 5th wheel camper for sale. You have time to watch for that guy that just had to have a new truck and camper then used it for a year to decide he liked his boat better. Or lost his job and has to sell. My advice is get preapproved for the loan amount you want to spend so when a deal shows up you can get the money quickly.

[wintersun]

donn0128 wrote:
6.0L ford? Nope
Cummins? Cummins is a 500K motor so anything less is fine.

That ignores little items like fuel pumps and water pumps and turbos, and injectors and cooling system and air conditioner and electrical and the emissions controls and transmission and front suspension and steering components. Who wants to spend $20,000 on a truck and then within a year have to spend $5,000 on injectors or $8,000 on a blown head gasket or $3,000 on a new transmission or $1200 on the AC?

For any used diesel truck there are problems specific to certain model years. I would not touch a pre 2010 Ford diesel for example. Certain model years and engines (Duramax engines have changed with 5 different models used in past 11 years) had different design flaws, hence the redesign and new engines released.

If I found a GM Duramax 2006 to early 2007 with the LBZ engine I would want to know what work had been done on it. If it had a new set of injectors installed ($5,000 repair) in the past 10,000 miles I would be a lot more comfortable buying the truck than a similar one with its original injectors.

The diesel engines weigh a lot more than gas engines and this usually leads to faster wear of the front end components, especially if the owner did not keep everything maintained properly (which is rare by the way). I would take a used truck to a shop that specializes in front end work to get it inspected and a quote for any recommended repairs.

I would only buy from the original owner and who has all the maintenance and repair records for the truck. I would never buy from a dealer unless I included in the price tag an extended warranty for the truck. Either way I would have the truck thoroughly inspected by shops specializing in diesel repairs and suspension and brake repairs and have the truck inspected while on a lift.

Unless you plan to tow more than 10,000 lbs. there is very little to be gained with a diesel engine and no reason to pay the premium price for the truck, for maintenance and repairs, and higher fuel prices as well.

[Grit_dog]

Don't be in a hurry and you can find a good diesel under 100k mi that has been taken care of for $25k or less. Look south too. Leave the rust buckets for others to buy.
Look for private owner rigs though. You'll always pay a premium thru a dealer and IMO have an equal or better chance at finding a good rig private party.