Best fuel mileage, and reliability pickup diesel?
From : badger
Q: yes but also when you remove the caliper see if you can wiggle the hub. a bad wheel bearing can also put pressure on the pads/disc. ld what do i need to do to fix this sorry to sound simplistic but figure out whats causing it to hang up. remove the slide bolts from the caliper and see if one or both is dry scored etc. it could be a bad caliper and the piston is sticking. in this case just replace the caliper. it could be a deteriorated brake hose acting like a check valve and maintaining pressure on the caliper. replace the hose if this is suspected. .
Replies:
From : frank
try a dry nitrous system. only on demand so the mpg doesnt get hurt very much. a cat back exhaust may headers. you can increase the fuel injectors to a larger volume and k&n the intake. on sun 01 may 2005 114055 -0700 psion oregonsparkie@hotmail.com wrote is there any web site or book out there that can tell me how to get more horsepower from my 318 motor without sacrificing alot of gas mileage and without causing problems with the on-board computer i know there is a power chip for the computer system but im looking for other options also. .
From : tbone
on mon 02 may 2005 073356 gmt rm rm@blah.blah wrote i acquired girlfriend bought a 32 stinger/twin 454s on a triple axle trailer. dealer said my 1/2 ton 5.9l 4x4 autotrans/gas would pull it for occasional weekend trips. now the trick part i have replaced the axles with units pulled from a 1 ton diesel so i have heavier components and brakes. also running 36 tires with 410 gears. tranny went out at 52000 and was rebuilt and beefed up somewhat. i also added a tranny cooler in the process. truck came with the towing package from the dealer. trailer has hydraulic inertial brakes so it supposedly stops well on its own. should i expect any problems any tips on towing safely top speed leave out of od etc i wont be going more than 30 miles or so to drop in water. big missing item of info... how much does the boat/trailer/gear combo weigh my guess would be around 15000 ... probably too much weight for a half ton. fred .
From : rudy
i have a 03 durango with 19000 miles about a month ago it started hesitating and backfiring when cold. dealer first said it did not exist now says my valves had carbon on them. the dealer cleaned them but it is still having the same issue. the dealer says they have many of these and i think i am getting the run around with the valve decarbonizing at 19000 miles. is anyone else having the problem. no computer codes .
From : mcizek
psion wrote i have a 97 dodge ram 1500 - 318 motor. i rebuilt the engine last summer and i am loosing oil. i just pulled the spark plugs and none of them are black or seem to have any oil in it. i can see no oil leaks and no oil on the ground when parked. if the oil was going out the exhaust pipe wouldnt i see evidence on the plugs anyone got any suggestions remove pcv valve from right valve cover with engine running and put your finger in the hole for 5 to 10 seconds if you feel vacuum the intake manifold lower plenum gasket is blown out on the bottom of the intake manifold. very common problem on these vehicles. note will also cause lean miss or ping. -- posted using the http//www.autoforumz.com interface at authors request articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards topic url http//www.autoforumz.com/dodge-oil-problem-truck-ftopict117793.html visit topic url to contact author reg. reqd. report abuse http//www.autoforumz.com/eform.phpp=571708 .
From : slap
nothing fuzzy about it you might want to pull out the 4th grade math book the one with dick and jane and spot on it and do some reading from what i am reading from you here i can see that dick and jane is about as far as you got in your education. then ask yourself is this a true statement 0.03 / 0.02 = 1.5 yes or no sure it does but the real question is what does .03 and .02 stand for on their own and the answer is nothing at all. and if they stand for nothing as is what in the hell does the 1.5 you get by dividing them stand for i think that you will find the answer is the same as the last one nothing. for this reason alone it either shows a failure in your logic or that you are a graduate in the gwb fuzzy math academy. your calculation is nothing more than a percentage of a percentage and when you do that you lose just about all valid meaning. for the momory-impaired such as yourself 0.03 stands for amount of dirt 3 % allowed to pass by a k&n and 0.02 2% is the amount passed by an oem filter therefore a k&n pases 150 % or 50 % more dirt than an oem get up to speed will ya once again your logic fails. as i said you are taking a percentage of percentages which has no valid meaning in itself. then on top of that your wording is wrong. if we were to use your logic it would let in 150% as much dirt as a paper filter not more than a paper one. if it was 150% more then it would be allowing 2 .5 times the dirt as paper and this is not true. it lets in up to 1.5 times as much dirt but when you look at how little dirt the paper element lets in 1.5 times just about nothing is still just about nothing. any way that you want to look at it from a valid baseline the k&n will allow up to 1% more dirt in than a high quality paper filter big deal. yes and that 1 % is 50 per cent more lol yes but it is still fuzzy math because there is no way to know if this huge difference is because the k&n is really bad or that the paper filter is really good. you want it to make the k&n sound horrible when in fact it is damn close to the paper filter only 1% less effective and still within factory spec.. btw now you are saying 50% more when befor it was 150% more. make up your mind or at least get your english correct. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .
From : rich256
how about an old fashioned gas war that forces the price of ethyl from $0.269 to $0.169 per gallon. id vote for that war. .
From : jonathan race
steve@carolinabreezehvac.com wrote bs snipped... btw guys...dont know about where you are at but fuel is dropping like a rock here. reg unlead was $2.45 a week ago... now its 1.99-$2.10 not here in phoenix. its still going up. average is about $2.38 but i saw one station at $2.55 this morning. .
From : rd
nothing fuzzy about it you might want to pull out the 4th grade math book the one with dick and jane and spot on it and do some reading from what i am reading from you here i can see that dick and jane is about as far as you got in your education. then ask yourself is this a true statement 0.03 / 0.02 = 1.5 yes or no sure it does but the real question is what does .03 and .02 stand for on their own and the answer is nothing at all. and if they stand for nothing as is what in the hell does the 1.5 you get by dividing them stand for i think that you will find the answer is the same as the last one nothing. for this reason alone it either shows a failure in your logic or that you are a graduate in the gwb fuzzy math academy. your calculation is nothing more than a percentage of a percentage and when you do that you lose just about all valid meaning. for the momory-impaired such as yourself 0.03 stands for amount of dirt 3 % allowed to pass by a k&n and 0.02 2% is the amount passed by an oem filter therefore a k&n pases 150 % or 50 % more dirt than an oem get up to speed will ya once again your logic fails. as i said you are taking a percentage of percentages which has no valid meaning in itself. then on top of that your wording is wrong. if we were to use your logic it would let in 150% as much dirt as a paper filter not more than a paper one. if it was 150% more then it would be allowing 2 .5 times the dirt as paper and this is not true. it lets in up to 1.5 times as much dirt but when you look at how little dirt the paper element lets in 1.5 times just about nothing is still just about nothing. any way that you want to look at it from a valid baseline the k&n will allow up to 1% more dirt in than a high quality paper filter big deal. yes and that 1 % is 50 per cent more .
From : mcizek
ben in tn wrote can no one tell me the years of durangos that use the same steering column the dealer said they dont even make steering columns like that for a 98 and the changed to a new style. i do know that my 01 dakota handles a lot better than the 98 durango does and the ride is a lot better with the 01 dakota too and ive already changed shocks on the durango. i cant tell you what year steering columns interchange but i doubt you need to change the entire column anyway. i think the broken bolt you found is most likely the problem. check your steering box mount bolts. did you find both halves of the bolt or just the half with the nut on it if you only found the nut-half of the bolt the bolt head can still be stuck in the hole appearing as if there is nothing missing. if the steering box checks out good you might want to call borgeson. they make upgraded steering shafts for a hand-full of vehicles. unfortunately the durango isnt one of them but they build custom shafts for street rods. they are more than capable of making a steering shaft for you and it will be better and cheaper than replacing the entire steering column. http//www.borgeson.com/ i found both halves of the bolt. the head end and the end with a locking nut on it. it was a clean gray bolt. the dealers mechanic said the bolt was not part of the popping noise. i really dont trust the dealer much though. i just cant imagine needing to change out the entire steering column for $1200+. i think ill take the durango to an independent mechanic and see what he can find. thanks for the link. if worse comes to worse i may go that route. ben .
From : rd
damn close to the paper filter only 1% less effective and still within factory spec.. depends on which spec. youre talking about. for my engine the manufacturer specs. a filter with 99.5% first-pass efficiency. theres only a couple of aftermarket filters that can meet that spec. and k&n isnt one of them. and neither are most paper ones at that unrealistic level. sigh..... i guess i will have to throw my .02 in here as well. first of all the math isnt fuzzy its correct although you may not like the outcome the numbers are correct. secondly i have seen nowhere in print where the k&n filter meets manufacturers specs.... period. in fact d/c cummins and gm all caution against using a k&n type filter because of poor filtration. it seems that d/c cummins and the general both think that the 1% is meaningful enough to caution their owners against their use. finally the 99.5% spec tom alluded to is very much real world. paper filters are that efficient! for everyones interest and edification please follow the below url for more info. interestingly you will see that the k&n efficiency vs a stock ac delco paper filter is much more that the 1% t-bone alludes to. also look at the loading factor. http//home.usadatanet.net/jbplock/iso5011/spicer.htm although the test was primarily a direct comparison of the ac delco vs the k&n the comparison is valid for virtually all oem filters. now yall can argue all you want about fuzzy math 150%... 50%... etc. but i know math and the math gary used aint fuzzy. i also know that if you spend your money on a k&n filter you are wasting it.... but hey.... its your money and your engine...... think about it! mike one more bit of info... here are some microscopic shots of a k&n vs a paper filter and a paper shop towel... looks like the shop towel was a better filter than the k&n. lol i would say that a paper towel is probably better than most paper filters as well since it was never designed with air flow in mind and blocks just about everything including the air itself. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .
From : rich256
tom i am positive the caliper is sticking. i was able to free the brake by putting presure on the pins with a screw driver. after the brake was free i test applied the brakes and everything worked well. i have driven it several miles with consistant stop and go braking with no problems since. should i go ahead and replace the caliper or drive it until it does it again is there a safety concern to worry about if i continue to drive it i know the rotor will need to be replaced due to the overheating or at least turned but cost is an issue at this point. how hard is it for a novice to replace the calipers brake pads and rotors at home i checked pricing and oriellys auto parts can supply all the above parts for less than a brake & rotor job at a brake shop. please advise. .
From : trey
on mon 18 apr 2005 150601 gmt tbone t-bonenospam@nc.rr.com wrote transurgeon wrote as a starting point 3% / 2 % = 150% i still say 3% is only 1% more than 2%. ;^ 0.03 / 0.02 = 1.5 think about it this is meaningless math because those numbers stand for nothing at all. what you need to do is measure number of bits of dirt getting through. if .03% of 1000000 pits pass through the filter300 bits got through. if the stock filter only allowed .02% to pass 200 bits got through. so yes the k&n if that is what is being compared passed half again as much or 50% more dirt than the stock filter. put a different way the stock filter is 33% better. - assuming the numbers are correct - which i doubt. .
From : badger
forgive me - i stand corrected. knowing that was where it was wouldnt you first be sure the engine had cooled down sadly you cant check your refrigerant pressures unless the engine is running. -- nathan w. collier http//7slotgrille.com http//utilityoffroad.com .
From : budroe
nothing fuzzy about it you might want to pull out the 4th grade math book the one with dick and jane and spot on it and do some reading from what i am reading from you here i can see that dick and jane is about as far as you got in your education. then ask yourself is this a true statement 0.03 / 0.02 = 1.5 yes or no sure it does but the real question is what does .03 and .02 stand for on their own and the answer is nothing at all. and if they stand for nothing as is what in the hell does the 1.5 you get by dividing them stand for i think that you will find the answer is the same as the last one nothing. for this reason alone it either shows a failure in your logic or that you are a graduate in the gwb fuzzy math academy. your calculation is nothing more than a percentage of a percentage and when you do that you lose just about all valid meaning. for the momory-impaired such as yourself 0.03 stands for amount of dirt 3 % allowed to pass by a k&n and 0.02 2% is the amount passed by an oem filter therefore a k&n pases 150 % or 50 % more dirt than an oem get up to speed will ya once again your logic fails. as i said you are taking a percentage of percentages which has no valid meaning in itself. then on top of that your wording is wrong. if we were to use your logic it would let in 150% as much dirt as a paper filter not more than a paper one. if it was 150% more then it would be allowing 2 .5 times the dirt as paper and this is not true. it lets in up to 1.5 times as much dirt but when you look at how little dirt the paper element lets in 1.5 times just about nothing is still just about nothing. any way that you want to look at it from a valid baseline the k&n will allow up to 1% more dirt in than a high quality paper filter big deal. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .
From : badger
damn close to the paper filter only 1% less effective and still within factory spec.. depends on which spec. youre talking about. for my engine the manufacturer specs. a filter with 99.5% first-pass efficiency. theres only a couple of aftermarket filters that can meet that spec. and k&n isnt one of them. and neither are most paper ones at that unrealistic level. sigh..... i guess i will have to throw my .02 in here as well. first of all the math isnt fuzzy its correct although you may not like the outcome the numbers are correct. secondly i have seen nowhere in print where the k&n filter meets manufacturers specs.... period. in fact d/c cummins and gm all caution against using a k&n type filter because of poor filtration. it seems that d/c cummins and the general both think that the 1% is meaningful enough to caution their owners against their use. finally the 99.5% spec tom alluded to is very much real world. paper filters are that efficient! for everyones interest and edification please follow the below url for more info. interestingly you will see that the k&n efficiency vs a stock ac delco paper filter is much more that the 1% t-bone alludes to. also look at the loading factor. http//home.usadatanet.net/jbplock/iso5011/spicer.htm although the test was primarily a direct comparison of the ac delco vs the k&n the comparison is valid for virtually all oem filters. now yall can argue all you want about fuzzy math 150%... 50%... etc. but i know math and the math gary used aint fuzzy. i also know that if you spend your money on a k&n filter you are wasting it.... but hey.... its your money and your engine...... think about it! mike one more bit of info... here are some microscopic shots of a k&n vs a paper filter and a paper shop towel... looks like the shop towel was a better filter than the k&n. http//theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.phpubb=gettopic;f=15;t=000338 enjoy! mike .
From : tbone
miles wrote nosey wrote the price of gas at the pumps is set by the cost of foreign crude oil. thats partly true. the price of oil goes up 2% and gas prices go up 10%. the might tell you its the price of oil being passed down to the end user. more to it than that by far. yes there is more to it but no one thing changes the cost of gas at the pumps more than the cost of crude oil. .
From : jay
being able to have a conversation while standing next to an open hood while the engine is running isnt on my list of requirements for a diesel or any other type of engine for that matter. thats because your parents didnt bring you up properly. you have no respect for your neighbours or any other people on the road. heck you probably get a woody just listening to the noise that truck of yours makes... and it is noise. a porsche now that is a powerful sound. another problem is you will probably bring your kids up thinking its ok. .
From : jonathan race
ok i now have it in pdf. file form all you need is adobe reader to read this file. if you dont have it you can it free at http//www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html just follow the instruction at the bottom of the page. my file is around 1mb. if you have a slow dial up it will take 30-45 minutes to download. just e-mail when you are ready jaysmith@insightbb.com i can send you a copy of the pages out of the factory dodge dakota 02 manual. it will be a mdi file and you will need to have microsoft office 2003 on your computer to read it. im unable to send it as a pdf file. one more thing it will be 4-5mb so if you dont have broadband it will take some time to download. tom i am positive the caliper is sticking. i was able to free the brake by putting presure on the pins with a screw driver. after the brake was free i test applied the brakes and everything worked well. i have driven it several miles with consistant stop and go braking with no problems since. should i go ahead and replace the caliper or drive it until it does it again is there a safety concern to worry about if i continue to drive it i know the rotor will need to be replaced due to the overheating or at least turned but cost is an issue at this point. how hard is it for a novice to replace the calipers brake pads and rotors at home i checked pricing and oriellys auto parts can supply all the above parts for less than a brake & rotor job at a brake shop. please advise. .
From : frank
allow me to expand on my point. one of the reasons why some activities such as motorcycles atvs air boats high-end sound systems etc. get such a bad reputation is because of the noise. if other people couldnt hear what youre doing or at least if when they could hear it they werent bothered by it then that would be just one less thing for them to complain about. personally i like not bothering my neighbors early in the morning when im motoring out of my neighborhood. i had an engineering professor way back when who continually claimed that noisy motors were less efficitient. it takes power to generate noise and an engine that produced less noise due to primary design as compared to one that spent more energy to dampen the noise was ultimately more efficient. cheers - jonathan jonathan race wrote i can open the hood of my 04 duramax at idle and have a conversation in a normal tone of voice while standing next to it. my friends cummins powered dodge requires you to nearly scream at each other in order to be heard with the hood open. being able to have a conversation while standing next to an open hood while the engine is running isnt on my list of requirements for a diesel or any other type of engine for that matter. .
From : trey
steve@carolinabreezehvac.com webmaster@carolinabreezehvac.com wrote in bs snipped... btw guys...dont know about where you are at but fuel is dropping like a rock here. reg unlead was $2.45 a week ago... now its 1.99-$2.10 its still hovering around $2.60 here. .
From : sarge
transurgeon wrote as a starting point 3% / 2 % = 150% i still say 3% is only 1% more than 2%. ;^ that is because it is. he never got past 2nd grade math or even first grade logic when you look at this. math is not your strong point is it obviously more so than yours. the numbers that you are using are already percentages so multiplying the result by 100 makes the result a percentage of a percentage which is at best fuzzy meaningless math and at worst a complete failure in comprehension and meaningful logic. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .
From : badger
on mon 18 apr 2005 001136 gmt nosey kfrei43@removethis.hotmail.com wrote hansome wrote im sorry to just barge in as a newbie to this group but i own a 2001 dakota r/t and as long as ive owned it ive never tried to figure out my mileage or tried to tune some performance out of it until i dropped my k&n air filter into it. wow! im never going back to paper filters ever again! airaid offers a similar filter with a longer lifespan for some reason. i still couldnt care less what the mileage is but now im goin for a throttle body spacer cat-back exhaust and im gonna find how to pimp my puter. picked out the 20s id like it to roll on too! good luck on finding your stats though. zoom! zoom! i hope you enjoy your k&n filter. many here have entered heated debates over the question of reduced engine life and performance gains. its up to you to decide if the k&n is right for you. here we go again! yep. game on! i agree with you though up to each individual to spend their money the way they want. for me it wouldnt be k&n but then i would probably just spend it on something that someone else would think was stupid. kind of the balance of things i guess. .
From : badger
badger wrote i searched these forums and cant find a decent thread talking about fuel mileage and reliability. i want to buy a used150000miles or sodiesel pickup mainly because ive always wanted one and secondly for the fuel mileage and engine life span. i wont be pulling a trailer nor carry abnormally large loads. i am a sales rep who is going to be driving a lot more. i am a big ford fan but i need a long lasting good fuel mileage vehicle regardless of the brand. i hope i can get an objective opinion from you guys. primedia has a brand new magazine out called diesel power. a friend of mine has a copy of issue #1 that i recently read. it has a diesel truck shootout in it and did a very good comparison on the ford dodge and gm models available this year. you might want to check it out. http//www.dieselpowermag.com thanks i saw that. it seem to focus on newer vehicles though which makes sense. clay .
From : nosey
nathan w. collier wrote to whomever decided to put the a/c suction service port 2 away from the turbo on the 01.5 cummins id like to say thanks. ill think of you as i watch multi-colored fluids ooze from my festering blisters. btw the 01.5 cummins quad cab 4x4 is now $18499 less than $500 above dealer auction price!. see it at http//utilityoffroad.com/dodge is that the reason you knocked the price down ;^ btw have you seen this http//dieselpowermag.com//0505dpmjeep02/ .
From : jonathan race
id have to split the thanks on this one - surely not the best place to put it but knowing that was where it was wouldnt you first be sure the engine had cooled down to whomever decided to put the a/c suction service port 2 away from the turbo on the 01.5 cummins id like to say thanks. ill think of you as i watch multi-colored fluids ooze from my festering blisters. btw the 01.5 cummins quad cab 4x4 is now $18499 less than $500 above dealer auction price!. see it at http//utilityoffroad.com/dodge -- nathan w. collier http//7slotgrille.com http//utilityoffroad.com .
From : trey
badger wrote i searched these forums and cant find a decent thread talking about fuel mileage and reliability. i want to buy a used150000miles or sodiesel pickup mainly because ive always wanted one and secondly for the fuel mileage and engine life span. i wont be pulling a trailer nor carry abnormally large loads. i am a sales rep who is going to be driving a lot more. i am a big ford fan but i need a long lasting good fuel mileage vehicle regardless of the brand. i hope i can get an objective opinion from you guys. primedia has a brand new magazine out called diesel power. a friend of mine has a copy of issue #1 that i recently read. it has a diesel truck shootout in it and did a very good comparison on the ford dodge and gm models available this year. you might want to check it out. http//www.dieselpowermag.com .
From : franko
i searched these forums and cant find a decent thread talking about fuel mileage and reliability. i want to buy a used150000miles or sodiesel pickup mainly because ive always wanted one and secondly for the fuel mileage and engine life span. i wont be pulling a trailer nor carry abnormally large loads. i am a sales rep who is going to be driving a lot more. i am a big ford fan but i need a long lasting good fuel mileage vehicle regardless of the brand. i hope i can get an objective opinion from you guys. here is what ive come up with so far dodge worst mileage best overall engine reliability. ford better mileage not as good reliability. chevy/gmc best mileage worst reliability. these results are based on what ive read concerning 1983 and up vehicles. keep in mind im using brand generalities not engine specifics. im coming here to get opinions from you as to specific engine axle combinations and brands for my needs. please dont start arguments with each other im looking for all opinions and discussions. ford is my preference but if chevy is better for me then chevy it is or dodge. all discussions are welcome if two points are made your opinion of best mileage reliability and best fuel economy. keep in mind diesel info only. thanks clay ps. if you know of a site which covers this in detail i apologize in advance and ask that you point me to it! also i have posted this on other sites as well. there are 10 kinds of people in the world those who understand binary and those who dont. what year range are you looking for what about price range i have seen reports of gues with the old 12v and 24v pre1991-1998 range cummins diesel trucks getting 20+ mpg. a friend of mine had a 99 ford excursion 4x4 diesel he got about 16 mpg. with the new cummins 600 many have said the fuel economy has gone down mainly due to such high power output if your not pulling anything and if you dont care about the noise then then the 12v or older 24v would be great if the trans will keep up as for chevy a lot of guy i have talked to said dont get a pre-duramax. the duramax was built in collaboration with isuzu whom have been making diesels for many years so the engine is pretty solid even with aluminum heads and then the alison trans is pretty much the way to go when it comes to transmissions. i think the duramax gets around 15-16 as well. i have heard a lot of mixed reviews about the new ford 6.6 liter diesel. their old 7.4 was a pretty solid machine as i recal. just not the most fuel friendly since its a 7.4 where the duramax is 6.6 and the cummins is 5.9. so just in those terms the cummins has less displacement and does not consume as much fuel at any given rpm if all three engines were mapped to use the same amount of fuel per liter what speed will you be traveling at most 5mph 30 60 85 if your sitting in slow traffic i would think the cummins would be better since it would be in a lower gear at a lower rpm. but if your traveling at 60-80 chevy has a five speed trans where dodge has four. so the dodge my run at a higher rpm at freeway speeds. the two trucks may be geared differently to accomodate the difference in transmissions though. if your doing a lot of empty driving i would go with a 3.55 or higher rear end. btw i am 01 few that do understand binary. .
From : jonathan race
just for a clarification the new ford powerstroke is a v-8 6.0l not 6.6l turbo diesel with direct injection and an intercooler. the new tranny is also a 5-speed similar to the allison but allison is the king of the hill. the older 7.3l motors had only 2 valves per cylinder which is one reason why they werent that efficient. the new 6.0s use aluminum in their construction similar to the duramax and use a variable vane turbo. chevy/gmc uses the isuzu-designed duramax v-8 6.6l turbo diesel with direct injection pilot injection and an intercooler. the current allison tranny is a 5-speed with a 6-speed automatic with selectable fully automatic or manual shifting in 2006. this is currently the largest motor of the big three. the latest version lby uses a variable orifice turbocharger. ive heard rumors that current 5-speed allisons are upgradeable to 6-speeds with only a computer update although they wont have the selectable automatic/manual shifting 6th gear being a double-overdrive. all three manufacturers currently use 4-valves per cylinder although most were typically 2 valves per cylinder in the older models. dodge made the switch to 4-valves first but although i have no concrete figures to go by i can remember reading several folks writing that their mileage was pretty poor for the first generation of 24-valve motors in comparison to the older 12-valve versions. i dont really know why. cheers - jonathan i searched these forums and cant find a decent thread talking about fuel mileage and reliability. i want to buy a used150000miles or sodiesel pickup mainly because ive always wanted one and secondly for the fuel mileage and engine life span. i wont be pulling a trailer nor carry abnormally large loads. i am a sales rep who is going to be driving a lot more. i am a big ford fan but i need a long lasting good fuel mileage vehicle regardless of the brand. i hope i can get an objective opinion from you guys. here is what ive come up with so far dodge worst mileage best overall engine reliability. ford better mileage not as good reliability. chevy/gmc best mileage worst reliability. these results are based on what ive read concerning 1983 and up vehicles. keep in mind im using brand generalities not engine specifics. im coming here to get opinions from you as to specific engine axle combinations and brands for my needs. please dont start arguments with each other im looking for all opinions and discussions. ford is my preference but if chevy is better for me then chevy it is or dodge. all discussions are welcome if two points are made your opinion of best mileage reliability and best fuel economy. keep in mind diesel info only. thanks clay ps. if you know of a site which covers this in detail i apologize in advance and ask that you point me to it! also i have posted this on other sites as well. there are 10 kinds of people in the world those who understand binary and those who dont. what year range are you looking for what about price range i have seen reports of gues with the old 12v and 24v pre1991-1998 range cummins diesel trucks getting 20+ mpg. a friend of mine had a 99 ford excursion 4x4 diesel he got about 16 mpg. with the new cummins 600 many have said the fuel economy has gone down mainly due to such high power output if your not pulling anything and if you dont care about the noise then then the 12v or older 24v would be great if the trans will keep up as for chevy a lot of guy i have talked to said dont get a pre-duramax. the duramax was built in collaboration with isuzu whom have been making diesels for many years so the engine is pretty solid even with aluminum heads and then the alison trans is pretty much the way to go when it comes to transmissions. i think the duramax gets around 15-16 as well. i have heard a lot of mixed reviews about the new ford 6.6 liter diesel. their old 7.4 was a pretty solid machine as i recal. just not the most fuel friendly since its a 7.4 where the duramax is 6.6 and the cummins is 5.9. so just in those terms the cummins has less displacement and does not consume as much fuel at any given rpm if all three engines were mapped to use the same amount of fuel per liter what speed will you be traveling at most 5mph 30 60 85 if your sitting in slow traffic i would think the cummins would be better since it would be in a lower gear at a lower rpm. but if your traveling at 60-80 chevy has a five speed trans where dodge has four. so the dodge my run at a higher rpm at freeway speeds. the two trucks may be geared differently to accomodate the difference in transmissions though. if your doing a lot of empty driving i would go with a 3.55 or higher rear end. btw i am 01 few that do understand binary. .