I only live a couple miles away from work. I was wondering what kinds of problems this would cause, if any, to a new diesel. Or should i look at a gas f-250. I just really like the sound and power of a diesel truck. My friend has a 6.0 in his f350 and i love driving it. I have a 2003 f150 now, and am wanting something a little bigger to haul a 4 wheeler or 2 down the road. I like all of the modifications that are out there for them too. Thanks for any advise.

 

If thats all you're driving then get a gas truck. A diesel is really not for you from the sounds of it. It requires much more maintenance in order to keep it running right. To me it sounds like you've looked a little at them, but didn't research too far and just know you want one. In general I spend over $100/mo in maintenance alone with mine and I do all the work myself. A 6.0L is going to be much more than that because parts are more expensive.

 

How does the 5.4 do in the f-250 as far as gas mileage and power? With the gas prices the way they are i dont really want to go to the v-10, but just curious as to what kind of mileage they are getting too? Which would you all suggest? Thanks again for all the help.

 

It all depends on what body/bed configuration you get, transmission, and gears. On average the 5.4L is gonna get anywhere from 10-14mpg unloaded. when loaded it will most likely drop down close or into the single digits. The V10 will be about 1-2mpg (avg) less when empty. When towing it will usually be equal or 1, maybe 2 mpg better than the 5.4L. If you're really that concerned with gas mileage a SD, or truck in general, is not for you. To be honest I don't really know why you're trying to get a SD to pull a couple of quads. Thats like trying to kill a mosquito with a bazooka.

 

HOLY S%#$!!!

WTF are you doing to it?? You must drive A LOT of miles or something.

 

Lets see. 15qt/oil change, $15 filter, fuel filter, fuel conditioner on each tank, SCA, SCA test strips. Thats what gets done every month. In addition then add in the coolant and trans flushs. The trans holds about 20qt, cooling system takes 7gal. Plus when you do the coolant flush you go through about 20gal of distilled water (if you do the job correctly). Plus then add in the supplemental filtering I've got (oil, trans, and coolant). It adds up. And no I don't drive excessive amounts.

 

ahem


sounds like overkill to me

i send my truck out (to some of the best diesel mechanics in the area) every 3k for oil and this and that

160$ cut and dried

now mind you i dont do 3k a month but i have 50k on it now and no problems to type of

if you want to spend mega$$$ every month thats your perogitave

keep the oil clean the air clean and with reg maint. it will go 300k with no problems

i love my truck

...zap!

 

Ok, so whats so overkill with what I'm doing? I go every 3-5k on the oil and this is every other month (truck gets parked for 4 weeks at a time). I check the SCA every oil change and add SCA as needed. Its up to you if you don't want to keep up on this, but I'd rather not have my block eaten up from the inside out. The fuel filter I change about every oil change anymore. The reason I'm doing this is because of the crappy fuel I'm having to buy out here. Its about 45mi to the closest truck stop so I'm having to fill up at smaller stations that don't have as fast a rollover on their fuel. I'm also running a fairly healthy amount of Powerservice with every tank full for the same reasons. Though I'm also doing it for the cetane boost, but more than that for the lubricity. The tranny, oil, and coolant changes is not every month, but when those get factored in on your mainteance schedule it gets pretty spendy. Heck its $100 in trans fluid alone if you do a flush with synthetic. The bypass filtration I'm doing at a much more elevated rate for the time being until I get most of the contaminants filtered out before I go on to extended drain intervals. For me if I do only regular oil change, fuel filter, and SCA my cost is roughly $80. But for me at the moment my costs are higher due to the added steps I'm taking for the bypass stuff. You should see all the SAND thats floating around in your cooling system

 

I don't know what the new (2005) 5.4L is getting for fuel mileage and of course it depends on certain variables. I have a 2002 5.4L/4R100 trans/3.73 LS differential with a roll top RETRAX (http://www.rolltopcover.com) on an 8 foot bed. I have recorded my mileage since I bought the truck. Here's the numbers;

No cover on bed: 12.25 mpg City / 16.3 mpg HWY

Bedcover installed: 13.1 mpg City / 17.2 mpg HWY

The RETRAX bedcover increased my fuel mileage by about 6.5% around town and about 5.2% on the highway. This truck is around 5,800 pounds empty.

I pull a 5,000 pound boat on a 1,000 pound dual axle trailer and get 11.3 mpg on the Interstate. Mileage is down in the single digits when towing around town due to stopping and starting for all the lights, etc. Total length of the rig (truck + trailer) is 47 feet. No power chips or anything else - just stock with factory tow package of course.

 

hehe....mine gets an oil change at 7000 miles as per the manual, and gets the maintenance as per the manual, like filter changes, etc. But i don't do coolant or trans....thats not required every month. Plus, at 7k, with the 20 miles a day i drive, i can go forever between oil changes.

 

I drive about 25-30k/year, change the oil 3 times a year, fuel filter once a year. Trans and transfer case get done once a year with regular ATF. Check SCA once a year and add SCA only if needed. No bypass filters, no fuel additives, or synthetic oils. Good quality fuel is the key. I have 3 diesels the newest has 130k and the oldest has 500kmi and none of them burn any oil worth mentioning. IH says 10k mile oil changes and they are the ones who made the engine. IMO, considering my experience as a heavy diesel mechanic 3-5k oil change intervals with normal idle times is overkill. But it is ultimately your choice, your time, and your money.
To get back on topic, as mentioned you may have a short commute but how many miles do you drive a year and how much and how heavy do you tow? I am leaning toward recommending the gasser too. But for me I will never buy another gas engine again. My truck with 500k on it weighs over 12,000 so a gas engine would be too weak, and a gas hog.