Looking at my first diesel

[FordsForMe]

I currently have a bare bones 2012 GMC 2500 and looking to trade. My local dealer has a 2013 F350 Lariat with 172000 km on it. This is a diesel and mine is the 6.0 gas. I have never owned a diesel and am wondering if there are any diesel specific questions I should ask or any diesel specific service I should ensure it has had or gets before I buy with this level of mileage. Just a new diesel shopper looking for some veteran diesel owner advice. Thanks in advance.

If it matters I will be towing a 2016 Jayco 32bhds.

[dbcassidy]

Towed my 26' Crossroads TT (heavy trailer 8000 lbs+ with a F250 SD gasser. Engine screamed up to 4000 rpm before truck and trailer moved! I knew this engine would not last long, so I traded to a PowerStroke Diesel - wow, what a difference! Just at 1066 rpm the truck and trailer moves no problem.

You will not be disappointed with the diesel

DBCassidy

[1jeep]

my previous 2011 ford 6.7 had just over 110k miles only one warranty item, oil drip at the turbo was a bad o ring. Oil changes every 5k, fuel filters every 10k miles, as with all the new diesels they aren't excited to be driven in traffic they need long hauls to keep the filter clean.

You will find so many self proclaimed ford experts on here and yes the ford forums would be a better place for info. Like the other 3 brands there are lemons!

good luck whatever brand you buy.

[gwh1bass]

alexleblanc wrote:
I own a 2013 super duty with the 6.7, mine has been good to date but I believe maintenance and how it was driven do come into play - I will say that you pretty much never hear of fuel pump failures are issues locally, only what I read online (mostly stateside).

How true. I have the Power stroke 6.0, uncle the Cummins, BIL the Duramax. All good vehicles.

Gotta keep those fluids clean.

[alexleblanc]

I own a 2013 super duty with the 6.7, mine has been good to date but I believe maintenance and how it was driven do come into play - I will say that you pretty much never hear of fuel pump failures are issues locally, only what I read online (mostly stateside).

[Fire_Instructor]

mtofell1 wrote:
There's lots of brand loyalty on this board and many strong opinions surrounding the brand/year you are asking about. .

Now THERE is the understatement of the month!!! As a proud RAM/Cummins owner, I'd tell you that Ford found the only problem with that vehicle, and that they even drew an oval around it, and highlighted it in blue for you! 😉

Seriously, you are on the right research path, and seem to be getting good info. Find out what the vehicle was used for. There are list of good deals on high mileage diesels that are only high mileage because they were run up and down the interstates. There are also some "good deals" on low mileage diesels, but the owner is getting rid of it because he got 5 or 6 good years of snow plowing out of it...... See the difference?

What it was used for in its previous life would be an important decider for me....

ON EDIT: I just realized that the 172,000 is KM, and not miles! That pup is barely broken in! Have they used a synthetic oil? Some places will get you an oil sample analysis that may give you any signs of potential problems, but at 100,000 miles, a diesel is still "new".

Even if it IS a Ford.... ::B

[IdaD]

My only concern with it would be the CP4 pump failure issue. Not likely to be a problem, but if it is you're looking at a $10-12k repair. Other than that I think you'd be really happy with the diesel. The way they perform is pretty addictive once you experience it. A 2013 Super Duty is a nice truck.

[DutchmenSport]

Not doing the exact math, just a rough guess: 172,000 km translates to somewhere around 107,000 miles. Everyone says a diesel is just getting broken in around 120,000 miles. (Just an FYI), and you can expect a diesel to run 300,000 miles easy, if not a whole lot more (480,000 km).

(That's what "they" say, anyway).

If the price is right, I'd buy it if I had the need! You'll not regret towing with diesel at all.

[CampingN_C_]

After you pull your trailer about 2 miles with a diesel you're not going to care about any additional maintenance cost. You'll be looking like :B riding down the road from now on.
Good luck on the Ford!

[FordsForMe]

nickdarr wrote:
Get info on maintenance just like on a gas truck. Check the transmission and any service. If it starts hard or accelerates slowly, be skeptical. Some black smoke in throttle is okay. No white smoke, period.
Rough idle (gas car with a big cam type idle) can be a sign of injection issues. If it has number gauges, drive a bit to get it warm. Take it to a flat road about 50 mph held steady and the coolant and oil temp should be less than 10-15 degrees of each other. Most time, my oil is a little higher than coolant. Hope these help.

Thanks for the info.

[nickdarr]

Get info on maintenance just like on a gas truck. Check the transmission and any service. If it starts hard or accelerates slowly, be skeptical. Some black smoke in throttle is okay. No white smoke, period.
Rough idle (gas car with a big cam type idle) can be a sign of injection issues. If it has number gauges, drive a bit to get it warm. Take it to a flat road about 50 mph held steady and the coolant and oil temp should be less than 10-15 degrees of each other. Most time, my oil is a little higher than coolant. Hope these help.

[FordsForMe]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Silly me. I thought I was tell you what to "watch out for." :R

Best of luck with your new to you truck whatever you get. 🙂

I appreciate it. I have checked out your links and will spend a bit more time looking up the year and issues you posted. Thanks for the links!!

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Silly me. I thought I was tell you what to "watch out for." :R

Best of luck with your new to you truck whatever you get. 🙂

[FordsForMe]

I have done lots of research on diesels including on this site. I thought I was asking a fairly benign question since all I was really looking for was info on diesel specific maintenance and items to watch out for. Wasn't really looking for opinions on whether this was a good truck, or the best truck. Guess I might have still been a bit naive thinking it would stay on that topic.

[mtofell1]

If you haven't ever owned a diesel or researched them here, realize the question you asked is like walking into a minefield. There's lots of brand loyalty on this board and many strong opinions surrounding the brand/year you are asking about.

I'd like to think I'm pretty objective as I don't own a Ford but use to and would again without any prejudice.

Ford diesels have had their share of problems starting in the early 2000s with the 6.0. The next generation 6.4 had quite a few problems as well but, from my completely unscientific and statistically irrelevant study, were somewhat better. Using the same research methods the 6.7 is better yet with many happy owners. Any truck/brand can and does have problems and you're about 50X more likely to find problems than success stories on an internet forum.

For the same money I'd probably opt for a Duramax or Cummins since they do have a generally better track record over the last 10 years. But that's not to say I wouldn't buy the Ford you are asking about. A lot would come down to the specific truck and history. I'm somewhat in the market for a new truck and am watching things very closely. I'm cautiously optimistic that the trouble with Ford's diesels were left behind with the 6.4 and there are blue skies ahead. Only time will tell. Good luck with the purchase.