Cummins or Powerstroke....choose wisely

So i bought a '02 Cummins diesel truck and love the running gear of these trucks, but i honestly love the look and feel os a 99-03 SuperDuty truck with a Powerstroke under the hood.

Basicly if i had the money, i'd buy a Super Duty body and put a 24v Cummins running gear under it and have the best of both worlds ....

but since i dont, which do you think is the better buy.. a 98.5-02 Dodge 2500/3500 with a Cummins 24v or a 99-03 Ford Super Duty F250/F350 with a 7.3 Powerstroke??

 

I'm a FORD man, but prefer the Cummins engine. I like a CAT even better, but you have to get into the F600 and F700 to get one I think. I've never been a fan of a V8 diesel, always prefered the inline 6's.

 

x2

 

I've never driven a power stroke and I'm not partial to any one vehicle but I have owned a Cummins and I loved it so I voted Cummins.

 

Our 7.3 kicks butt after some mods ( turbo back,cai,tuner) it has 248000 miles with 0 issues. I personally would take a 6.0 after it has had the head bolts swapped to studs. With the same mods my wifes cousin roasts 35/12.50's from a stop and he has 3.55 gears in a a crew cab shortbed 4x4 f250

 

I dont buy into the whole V8 diesel bs there have been V8 diesels around for years in many different itterations by many different companies including Cummins. Most diesel motors are built for a purpose be it a I4, I6, V8, V12 or V16. It is hard to say an I6 is better then an V8 when the engine is so large it dwarfs the 8. They are application specific, and the dodge cummins series is a variant of an commercial segment motor made in conjunction with case international, it wasnt designed for consumer products, it was what was available. Just like the international V8 deisel that turned into the powerstroke it was an industrial based motor put into a consumer pickup.....
But then again when I was younger I spent allot of time around the Detroit, Cummins and the Cat big V8 motors. Nothing more interesting then the Detroit 2 stroke 9.3L V8 deisel motors(71 series motors). We didnt see allot of I6 motor in the big equipment, we did have a couple gutless as all get out euclid rock trucks that had I6 detroit 71 series supercharged motors in them.

The 7.3 is often considered the best powerstroke made, it gave the powerstroke a very good reputation of power, economy(most people see 15-21 mpg depending on winter/summer fuel and driving habits) and longevity....too bad the 6.0 killed that reputation, so basically its heavier then the 6.0 but it is bulletproof. Also the 5.9 is no lightweight either the 5.9 dry weight is about 1010 lbs. in comparison the the 920 lbs dry weight of the 7.3, yeah the V8 is lighter then the I6.

Also little known fact for all of you guys that say they want a Cat motor.
"The HEUI injectors that debuted in the 7.3L Power Stroke was actually developed by the Caterpillar Engine Division in Pontiac, Illinois. It was the result of a joint venture between Caterpillar and International. The system debuted on the International 7.3L engine before it was ever offered on a Caterpillar diesel. The original engine was known within International as the T444E (T for turbo, 444 for the number of cubic inches the engine displaced, and E for electronic controls). When it was installed in a Ford, it became known as the 7.3L Powerstroke."(http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/ford/1009dp_ford_power_stroke_engine_controls/index.html)
So yeah the 7.3 is pretty much a Cat reworked International motor.
Cat has their hand in allot of different Diesel segments, I find it interesting what is actually owned or in joint venture with like Cat buying out Bucyrus Erie. The funny thing is you open up the engine bay on a Cat 416 backhoe (which is probably one of the most common peices of construction equipment out there and highly recognised) anyways so you pop the hood open to check the oil and what do you see?....if you said a cat engine you probably guessed wrong.... unless its one of the older 416's like the early B series you see a Perkins 4 cylinder deisel instead of a Cat deisel.

As for your cummins make sure you have had the injectors serviced, I work with two guys that have that same motor and both of them have been into get their injectors replaced several times. (note they do both have the common rail injection system so you might not be affected by that problem)
They are good running motors but the last 10 or so years cummins has started slipping on the small engine market because everyone wanted a high powered deisel..And dont even get me started on this IM crap for deisels... come on a Urea fill up with every oil change
Im surprised we dont start seeing the carbamide(urea) on a consumer market for people that want to do their fill ups at home.

 

Urea is already available in gallon jugs at most truckstops.

As for the injectors, they are a common problem on most diesels nowadays. A good fuel additive like Lucas or Power Service will go a long way in helping keep them clean. There is also a product called Hot Shot that deals with the sticking on the oil side of the injector. It was supposedly developed with the help of Navistar International for the Powerstroke engines.

My experience with V8 diesels was with the old Detroit silver 92's, an ancient two-stroke design. Ran some in equipment and trucks both, and they came from the factory leaking oil! Old timers would tell you if a Detroit quit leaking oil, it was either empty or was fixing to blow up! Not a good comparison to todays diesels for sure, but these things stay with you.

 

I vote 7.3 powerstroke, but I'm biased, I can fix them. tho I have also heard good things about the Cummins engine. I think you would be fine either way as long as they are maintained.

 

I agree. unfortunately, the popularity of diesels in the small truck market and the increase of their numbers in over the road market, Urea is an inevitability.
Emissions standards are almost as strict for diesel as gas and are due to get more restrictive by this year, 2013, and again in 2014. Can't really blame the OEM's for the EPA. The reduction of sulfur in diesel fuel is one of the main causes of early unit injector failures along with water and crap in the fuel. The filtration systems on those larger diesels are 10x better than what you'll get in a small truck too.

 

In that year I would take a Cummins anyday. The newer Cummins no way. Choked to death with emissions and BS that make it too fussy and has taken away the tough work engine it once was. The old ones are much more forgiving.

 

I work on a lot of both engines. West Texas has a lot ranches/ranchers. They both have some fundamental flaws. I personally would not own a diesel engine because of the high maintenance costs. If I had to choose between the two, it would be the Ford. Only because the rest of the truck is FAR superior to the Dodge.

 

I would choose the ford, and it would be getting a 12v cummins or a 3126 cat. I would never choose the 1998.5-2002 24valve cummins unless it had a p pump. Vp44....yuck!

 

If it's not a 7.3, it's not a Powerstroke IMO...
PSDs rule.

IMO the I6 diesel sounds funny, and Dodge trucks are rattle traps.
Again, my experience/opinion. Yours may vary.

 

this has been an interesting thread...

 

I like my old 12 valve dodge very well. Never had a powerstroke, but I'd take the Cummins over the old non turbo 7.3 anyday.