Chasing trains makes my blood pressure rise...

[MotoLinz]

PS - Alcoa Highway gets my vote as most harrowing road in East TN.

[AFT2101]

I visit ADV but am not a registered user.

Wait a few years for the boys to grow up, and then get that bigger BMW.

[MotoLinz]

I've been on ADV (I'm Linzi there) for ten years but can't keep up with it anymore. I only swing over to talk smack during football season.

By the time my kids are older, I'll have spent all my money on chasing these damn trains for them.

[Ptrainman]

Motolinz, a diesel truck may not be as bad as you think. It depends on what you get. I have a 95 Ford F250 with the 7.3L Power Stroke diesel and I get about 21 MPG on the road at 60-65MPH. Much higher than that my truck burns more fuel because of the way its geared.


Paul

[MotoLinz]

Actually, a 7.3 is exactly what I'm shooting for, but they're damn near impossible to find. It seems like everyone hangs on to them because they know what they've got. I think the 6.0s are all right, but there are some serious horror stories out there. Plus, they don't sound nearly as good.

I did read that the 7.3 transmissions don't like it if you've got a heavy right foot - and mine is made of lead.

[MotoLinz]

Remember that scene from Unstoppable where the dude in the dually is tearing along parallel to the tracks? That'd be me, with the kids in the back. Minus the dude part. LOL

[Ptrainman]

Yea, DO NOT go with the 6.0L route. They are not worth a @$%^%&#*$%^*. My family has one and we had to replace the engine because the EGR cooler went out pulling our camper down the interstate and cooked the engine before they could get stopped. The EGR cooler and the heads are the major flaws with the 6.0.

You are right about the 7.3s being hard to find and if you do find one they have 200-300,000 miles on them. Mine is a 2 wheel drive and I want a 4x4 but I cant find one. You are also right about the transmissions to an extent. They do fine unless you put a heavy load behind them and have a heavy right foot. As far as every day use they are find. The problem is the transmission is the same one used in the gas trucks and they were not designed for the torque the 7.3 puts out especially under heavy load and it slips the clutches.

The 6.4L Power Stroke in the 08-10 Fords are supposed to be good but they are not quite as good on fuel.


Paul

[MotoLinz]

My husband's Excursion is a 6.0, and there have been no major problems, knock on wood. But, everything I read is that as soon as you get one, you should change this, change that, do this mod, do that mod...just to keep it from turning into a volcano on you. Maybe I'm a cheap bastard, but I don't see putting $5-6K into something just to "bulletproof" it. ...although, everyone is scared of the 6.0s, so prices have adjusted somewhat. I'd like to find a 4x4 7.3, <100K, not priced to the moon. When pigs fly?

[Ptrainman]

Yea probably. I am looking at a 08-10 with the 6.4 since the 7.3s are so hard to find. The 6.4 is the next best I think. They have twin sequential turbos. One small one for low RPM quick spooling and another for power once you get going.


Paul

[MotoLinz]

Twin turbos. Just what my license needs.

[Ptrainman]

Haha, you must have been serious about that heavy foot deal. The 6.4 has twin turbos but the both work the at the same time. One is for starting off and the other is for once you are moving. This was done to replace the flawed variable vein turbos on the 6.0s.


Paul