hey dieseldood, what is the average cost of getting say a 7.3 modified to make some good numbers? i am talkin the works, what would you do to make one competetive?  

OH man.... The cost is pretty dang high on the 7.3's.  Depending on the year breaks you may have to go as far as replacing the rods. (I don't remember the year breaks off the top of my head)  Most people don't go very far once they find out the prices. (example, High pressure oil pump for the injection system $1995.00, injectors: $2800+)

Really the skys the limit.  Depending on what your pocket book can handle.  

My real question is why in this discussion sissy spark plugs are brought up?? I personally run in a 99 2500 dodge extended cab long box with Dana 80's front and rear five speed hooked to the 5.9 with AEM HD intake edge juice chip and 5" heartthrob.  which i just got done putting on this summer.  and before that being bone stock ive pulled tractors out of fields car vans trucks buried in snow on unplowed road (were i live in upper Michigan it gets deep were they done plow like 3ft.)  and i pulled two buried fords out at the same time one a all high and mighty 7.3 250 who got stuck and burned out his trans train to pull out his friend half ton so lets recap 1/2+3/4 with a locked up trans= dodge must have built at least one half way decent truck. and trust me im ready for every ford lover to tell me the same thing but i found it funny how my best friend in high school was a die hard ford boy i mean 4 trucks two fix one but he seemed to have one problem they always......died! this guy has blown 6 trans 2 axles a straight axle front end in one engine fires water pumps explode ect.  and im not say i have never had something go wrong before but with 190k on it some part have to wear out eventually nothing major steering components and universals. i load a Full 8' box of cut split and stack wood 6 days a week i mean 6" above the cab minimum and I pull a 15000 pound hitched 28' sailboat every summer + three other 20' plus boats in and out a shallow landing with an incredible steep angle and the guys who owned it before me pulled a 17000 pound fifth wheel and hay trailers with it bone stock. so yes they can pull a load on a daily basis. i also work with a good friend of mine and he owns a 01 350 chip and all that *** pushing around 600 lifted lalalala with an auto really bad ass lookin machine.  but any ways he want to see what my truck could do this summer after he helped me put in all my goodies so i said ok i want to drive it before we brake it. so after a few joy rides round the block come back on pavement chainem up i put it in 4 low and and first staged her and waited for the go ahead i was a lil late dropping the clutch so he started pullin me back about (2ft.) and once mine locked in all i heard was tire hop from behind me and a really loud snap and easy pullin.  he ended up snapin his front shaft and blew out his rear diff. not the result either of us were expecting and the only difference between us before in after is he prefers ford and i prefer dodge we both think the others got a nasty rig. the one thing i will trash over and over on dodge IS AUTOS but the only company who has a good auto is chevy and its not even theres plus it cost so much u could build somthin else up for the cost. but here my run down a cummins with a manual+straight axles=a hard working truck- Ford great fleet truck if u have mechanics that can stay on top of all the glitches but never as a personal tow rig- Chevy one word "OVERPRICED" its so big u cant split it up into two payments its more like your life. If u want to tow and drive a diesel and are not lookin for every frill under the sun it ford u can get they with milk crate seat if u ask nice but a stock truck with the normal stuff these days (cd player power windshield wipers sliding seats ect.) dodge diesel will be the cheapest option for option trust me i have been looking at all 3 for the past 4 years. but in the end to each his own i love my truck pulls and drive like a champ and if theres one thing i cant get over doing now that all my goodies are on is passing sports cars on are local highways. (same thing i liked to before just more fun now that it belches black smoke at the driver, convertibles in the summer that fudges bring up are the best they really hate you when u go blasting by pullin a load and they cant keep up i apologies my spelling and grammar sucks  

huuu long post huh?  

Where did you get the Dana 80 front. Stock Dodge comes with 80 rear 60 front.  

Yes its true Ford has the best trucks out in general, the best selling 30 years and running and not to mention that the Super Duty outsells the Duramax and Cummins combined....the new engine is even runnin numbers with the new Duramax even though it has 15 more horsepower and 15 ft lbs. torque, the twin turbos have really helped this engine out... I just hope this will be as great as the 7.3L engine was...  

Just FYI the 6.4 has 7HP more than the D-max when you put them both on the dyno. As stated before, Ford sells so many trucks because they were the only ones that offered 450-550 series trucks in almost any cab combo you wanted. I have to say though with talking to die hard blue oval guys that 6.0 really hurt Ford. I'm starting to see a lot of Dodges and a few GMs on the job sites now and that's something that was pretty much unheard of around here not that long ago.  

In oklahoma home of the oil field, aka "pikup abuse"... my whole family is in the oilfield and they all have the duramax's the cummins and the powerstrokes. to talk great about something is to see it. i've seen powerstrokes and cummins w/ well over 400k+ miles i've never seen a duramax w/ 150k+ miles. they might be quick,but they just dont last. ford has had some problems w /the 6.0 who doesnt know that? but my point is in the oil field you see 70% powerstokes 25% Cummins and the rest goes to the bowties. over the years they have tested and abused these engines and what i've seen is they still have the ford Powerstroke #1 The cummins #2 but if you have a duramax in oklahoma you just dont know any better they give these things away with happy meals at mcdonalds...lol. to know a duramax is to pull its load off the side of the road. been there done that! you can drive what your grandpa drove thats fine with me but it's your loss. i'll stick with the reality of things the powerstroke is proven technology they have 4 versions over 13 years 7.3 "A" 7.3 "B" 6,0 6.4. the cummins has had 5.9 12v 5.9 24v 6.7. over 17 years and the duramax has had how many?  5 versions in 8 years give me a break give up already you cant make somthing reliable when its not capable of it. you might say im bashing duramax and maybe i am but theres nothing i can do about them but let you figure it out the hard way. duramax may have the fastest racing diesel at some races but who cares. if you want to buy somthing and keep it over the years buy a dodge or a ford. if you swap trucks every year get a duramax. anyway i hope i've shedd light on some areas for you non ford guys. oh yea need i remind you "Ford" sell more diesels than Cummins and Duramax combined. yea drink it in. if you wan to go with a team go with the winning!  

Amen sooner stroker, amen. read my thread c what ya think?  

It's the same here in British Columbia Canada. You have to look pretty hard in our pick-up abuse center aka the oil/gas, forestry or mining sector to find a GM/Chev(as far as I'm concerned they're the same truck but I know some would disagree).  

they need to post this in the magazine! its true it's clean it's fact.  

First things first, I am returning to the States after a 3 year tour overseas, and was looking around for advice to help me choose between a GM or Dodge diesel.  I have only owned 1 diesel prior to my next purchase (85 S-10 2.2L), and even though it was a beater, it got great mileage and wouldn't stop.  I am a die hard GM guy, I've owned evrything from Caddy's to Cavalier's.  However, I am seriously looking into the Dodges now.  I really hate when Ford owners so quickly claim the crown of most sold when, truth be told, the GMC and Chevy ARE the same truck and the only real deciding factor most people have when buying one is either aesthetically (the grille) or that the other dealership worked better with them.  Add up the number of Chevy's and GMC's and bounce that off of Fords and see if you can still claim the crown.  As far as engines go, prior to joining the USAF I was a truck driver from a trucking family.  I know IH makes one *** of an engine (we used to run 'em), you cannot deny the Cummins (it's a known commodity), and to me the Duramax is still proving itself durability-wise even if it is a powerhouse.  The tranny's in these trucks are a whole other story.  The Allison is a very good tranny and until recently was owned by GM, the Ford and Dodge auto's leave something to be desired IMO.  The manual's in the Dodge (NV4500 and 5600) are all but bullet-proof.  Sorry, I can't comment on the auto in the Ford, other than saying their other auto's have never impressed me.  As for axles, you really can't go wrong with the Dana's or the Corporate 14 bolt, even with the Dana 70's checkered past.  I want an affordable, strong, well-rounded truck that doesn't have leather, On-Star, and all the other crap a soccer mom would "need" in her Escalade.  It's a friggin truck, and I'm gonna treat it like one, dirty boots, hands and all.  As much as I hate turn my back on GM, I'm buying a Cummins powered, NV5600 geared Dually.  Just my two cents.  

ya i didnt realize that my truck had 80's front and rear till i took it in to my mechanic to have it re-aligned and srry to all u grease monkeys its cheaper and a lot less of a headache to have someone else straighten it out after beating on it for a while.  he wanted to buy the truck off me for the axles. i looked it up in my manual and talked to a local dealer and apparently in 99-01 there was the "ranch package" thats what the dealer called it dont ask me it was an option with the transfer case pto. so thats whats under there its all stock mopar suspension and steering brakes so either the farmers who owned it before me are some bada$$ fab guys or thats how it came. but anyways like i said im from northen michigan we have 4 seasons winter winter might be spring and road construction so pretty much anything outside the cab is pummeled all year round i would say when the roads are not all ice/snow 85% driving done on *** for not maintained because are state cant budget roads. so sand blasted 4 months 8 months salt and sand.  theres a strong following of chevy guys here but all i here about the durmax trucks it light sprung and if u dont have an allision here comes trouble. id say its about 45%chevy and falling 42% dodge and climbing fast 13% ford diesel and i stress diesels and about 2% are work trucks most are harley chrome dont come out the garage when its rainin types. but if your talkin spark plugs theres enough old chevs and ford rust buckets to make green peace *** themselves  

I love the guys who say Dodge has nothing but the Cummins.  Well what would GM be without the Allison?  I think the Allison automatic makes the truck for GM. If it wasnt for the Allison wonder where GM would be in the Diesel Wars?  

I work at a ken garff dodge dealership and we have 4 diesel mechanics that have done nothing but swap out these great 6.7l engines day in and day out since they were released and there is a 3 week waiting list to get one done. these new cummins are junk.