Decision time Ford or Dodge

[wheelieking71]

Your telling me a 2nd gen 1500 rides worse than a 72-93 leaf sprung? What have you been smoking, and where can I get some???
I mean that in the nicest possible way...

That is exactly what I am telling you. I hate driving that era Dodge. They wander all over the road. They feel like they are falling apart. There is more to it than just the "ride". There is the perceived ride.
Not to mention the fact that I despise the unit-bearings, and Center Axle Disconnect.

To add insult to injury, the dash is the most pathetic piece of garbage that chrysler ever installed into a vehicle. And how in 1994, they managed to make the doors feel cheaper than the paper thin 85'-93' doors, I will never know. But, they sure did it. Every single Dodge of that era that I have ever been in (that's plenty!) that had more than, say, about 60,000miles on it, when you shut the door, it sounds/feels like it is going to hit the ground in pieces. I hate those trucks. Cheap-cheap-cheap garbage.

I bought a brand-new 97' 1500 4x4. Within 2 years, it felt like it had 250,000miles on it. It was the single biggest piece of garbage vehicle I have ever owned. (and that list includes a 1971 Pinto, if that tells you anything)

Now, I cannot say they aren't reliable. Short of a few common problems they are very reliable. I had changed the intake plenum gasket on mine 3 times before the truck hit 30,000miles. And I swear, when I sold that truck with 38,000miles on it, every single piece of plastic on it was broken in one way or another. JUNK!

Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion derived from lots of experience both driving, and wrenching on 94'-98'ish Dodge trucks. Take it, or leave it. I have very little experience with anything newer than 98'ish.

 

[redthies]

I've heard a ton of complaints about 2nd gen interiors. I must have gotten lucky. I had 2 '94s (318 5spd and 12v auto), and neither had any problems, aside from track bars and the usual front end stuff. The interiors were sound. I think they are better in the '98-'02 era.

 

[Buliwyf]

That is exactly what I am telling you. I hate driving that era Dodge. They wander all over the road. They feel like they are falling apart. There is more to it than just the "ride". There is the perceived ride.
Not to mention the fact that I despise the unit-bearings, and Center Axle Disconnect.

To add insult to injury, the dash is the most pathetic piece of garbage that chrysler ever installed into a vehicle. And how in 1994, they managed to make the doors feel cheaper than the paper thin 85'-93' doors, I will never know. But, they sure did it. Every single Dodge of that era that I have ever been in (that's plenty!) that had more than, say, about 60,000miles on it, when you shut the door, it sounds/feels like it is going to hit the ground in pieces. I hate those trucks. Cheap-cheap-cheap garbage.

I bought a brand-new 97' 1500 4x4. Within 2 years, it felt like it had 250,000miles on it. It was the single biggest piece of garbage vehicle I have ever owned. (and that list includes a 1971 Pinto, if that tells you anything)

Now, I cannot say they aren't reliable. Short of a few common problems they are very reliable. I had changed the intake plenum gasket on mine 3 times before the truck hit 30,000miles. And I swear, when I sold that truck with 38,000miles on it, every single piece of plastic on it was broken in one way or another. JUNK!

Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion derived from lots of experience both driving, and wrenching on 94'-98'ish Dodge trucks. Take it, or leave it. I have very little experience with anything newer than 98'ish.

That's because you didn't put a giant "Ram Head" or "C" sticker on your back window and shift to neutral and rev your engine to the moon every time you see a Ford. Everyone knows you can't drive a Dodge, for long, without any of that. LOLz.

 

[Deleted member 12023]

Lol! I must be doing something wrong cause our truck is performing flawlessly aside from some brake repair. I can do 60mph off road without breaking a sweat. You'll be hard pressed to get a front leaf sprung ford to do that!

To the OP, buy a 2nd gen with a diesel, call Thuren and call it a day!

 

[redneck44]

I'm still here and still reading.

Thanks to all the responders so far, the Ford is just leading at the moment.

 

[TooTall'sTruck]

Myself being a Ford fan would blindly say the 6.9L Ford. Now to back it up:
-The bricknose (that vintage of Fords headlights look like bricks) will have a more usable layout for what you plan on using it for. Even though the rear cab does not open, it is more than capable of seating 3-4 mid sized adults or children in the back seat. And then you can lay the rear bench down flat and have a great platform to build cargo storage. Where as the Dodge is kind of a neat concept but still requires the driver to get out of the truck to load the back seat and really just wastes space with latches/handles/hinges, I am unsure if the rear seats fold flat on the Dodge.
-The bricknose should be coilsprung if it is a 2wd, torsion bar style suspension, and it will ride very well with proper shock selection.
-The bricknose will not be overloaded....even without overload springs or air bags the suspension of the F250 will out perform the 1/2 ton sheetmetal suspension. If you want to load the rear above the cab height, then airbags are a cheap add on.
-There was no mention of the transmissions? But I would take the E40D over the 46RE??? of the Dodge, they both should be ready for a rebuild but the E40D is a stronger transmission and when built properly and tuned to shift "hard" it will last a long time. The factory tuning on the TCM was made very soft as to give smooth old man shifts to the general public. The low pressure shifts and slow mushy shifts cause excess heat and slippage that ensures failure at around 100 thousand at best.
-The 6.9L diesel is very simple to work on with standard(worse for you I guess!!) tools. The fuel system is good for about 100,000 miles but it can be rebuilt in the states for about $600 and the injectors can be rebuilt for about $250. Which both combined might equal one duramax injector cost....
-Being in the UK you will not have the same abundance that we stateside do, but the nice thing about these Fords is that you can put parts from 1980-1998.5 fullsize Ford trucks on any other truck. I have a 1995 front clip that I am going to install on a bricknose that is damaged and on my "project list" to repair.
-The ford will run 235/85R16 tires....a set of good quality 10 ply tires (tyres) will remove all doubt from your tires...the Dodge would have 15" something stock...ehh...

I guessed that the Ford is an automatic, and worse case would be the E40D, but you could get a C6 possibly which would be the 3 speed trans but is simpler/safer trans but you would not get a good of mileage. Being 2wd you could easily change the rear gear set and improve your highway speed. Or if you have the ZF5 transmission you would be bullet proof.

And when you are done with the Ford you will always have a line of people wanting the truck for parts and the engine.

The 6.9L IDI diesels have issues with head gaskets, block cavitation and head bolts breaking....so try to guage the quality of maintenence or figure a potential enginw swap as a worst case scenario.

Hope this muddies the waters for you!!!!

Ask me if I can help further.

Joe