<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: rescuediver

Hoss, you ruffled some feathers in the SZ but that's ok, we call him spooge and 18 year old democrap who has no life experience</end quote></div>

15, but he'll be 16 in Feb. You know, 15 1/2 sorta thing. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Accurate?????

 

Spooge? LMAO!

And what are SZ peeps doing here? Oh yeah, you guys swing both ways. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Actually, I was an SZ member from way back...but now I have repented of my ways. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: rescuediver

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Whitewater



I just got back from a cruise...things were sunny in Mexico. [IMG][/IMG]</end quote></div>



another baby on the way

Yeah right, we took our kids. That's natural birth control.

 

hey diddly-do there neighbors! Hoss rustled me out of a deep slumber! And from the looks of the posts on this last page, it looks like we need to wake things up.

Well, I must make some confessions here: I sold the '99 PSD. We bought a 30' (well, they call it a 26' model, but it's 30' long) NRG toy hauler. Bought it from a repo outfit in Rancho Caucamongo. We drove down there in 1.5 days. Hey Marshall Dillon (MD), they have a yard in Sacramento aswell. THAT would have been a lot easier. Anyways, we picked this unit up 100% empty. Maybe weighs 7500-8000lbs empty. We tow the Grapevine and i thought the PSD was gonna have a cardiac it was working so hard. dropped it into 2nd many times, sometimes even 1st when the semis were blocking us. Mt Shasta/Redding was more of the same, and Grants Pass was ugly too. I should add, the outside temp was always over 90 and very close to 100 degrees throughout these pulls. Now I know these are all mountain ranges, but none of them have the same grade or pull as what we do on the Coquihalla Highway. And we pull the Coq with all the quads, camping gear, water, etc.. So I was scared! And I lost my way.... I went as far as to seek out a GM Duramx/Allison combo cuz I thought it might be a better overall package for towing. **sniff, sniff** forgive me father for my indiscretions.

So we found a duramax in Bend Oregon. make our deal and drive to Portland the next day to buy it. En-route the owner phones and claims he's had an accident. Seemed legit, but i wonder if I was lied to or not. Will never know. Never saw the truck, only got ot waste a trip to Portland for SFA...except the parking ticket i got in Salem for backing into a parking stall (??). Must have been a message to not test the mighty truck gods, and stick with Ford.

BUT I'M AFRAID lord, afraid of ALL the 6.0L horror stories i've heard. And I'm thinking re-sale will be impossible. So we decide one day to go look at all 3 diesels. After sitting in the cab of the Dodge, it's instantly ruled out. No room at all in their "crewcab". and really cheap, crappy finish. I'm sure the Cummins is the best engine going, because there is absolutely no other reason to touch that truck with a 20' pole. As a matter of fact, i asked the dealer why there were red welts all over the side of the Dodge, and he said they were 20' pole marks!! HAHAHA. And I hear more horror stories about Dodge auto-trannies being the worst thing there is on the market.

SO the Ford and GM both have nice, classy, comfy cabs. So we get back on the search. I call Ford diesel mechanic, who tells me '03-04 6.0L were rough years, mostly from guys chipping them. And learning curve for Ford techies too, to get the repairs right on turbos, etc... But even those older ones are better now. He tells me '05-07 are good. I do a Wikpedia search, and in '06, the 6.0L diesel was the least warranty-claimed engine that Ford made! I talk to the mighty Hoss who spun a tall yarn about how his 6.0L out-pulled some relative's Duramax. SO I see the light and become a believer again!! We decide to look for 6.0L or GM. Way more 6.0L than GMs out there. Then a nice dually 6.0L with sunroof, heated seats, 2-tone charcoal on black, pops up. And we get it for the super low price that my partial scotsman heritage can live with.

So yeah, the new addition is an '05 6.0L with about 45K miles. paid about 20K (US), 25K cdn, in October/08. It's a 4x4, dually, crewcab, FX4. Nicer truck, more comforts...but I'm not so sure the powertrain is a lot better than the '99 PSD. A couple of small pulls with the trailer has me wondering how i should be driving this unit. The big test will be in May when we pull the Coq snowshed hill. 8% for a few steep miles.

In preparation, I've added MBRP 4" turbo back aluminized exhaust (cat delete). Super easy DIY install. I also had ARP headstuds installed with new head gasket. I REALLY wish I would have done complete EGR by-pass at the same time, but that is my future plan. ALSO, added Edge juice with Attitude, mainly for the digital temp gauges. I love that monitor, tres cool. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img] I run level 1 econo when I'm empty, and level 2 tow/haul with the trailer. i just watch my temps. I'm not looking for level 5 or level 6 "hot unlock". My son would love to see me "roll some coal". But NOT for me.

So now my pals tell me I'll see the temps climb ugly wicked on the hills; well, the exhaust temps. Funny thing is, those dummy gauges on your dash truly tell you nothing. I can't believe how the exhaust temps sky-rocket on towing grades, while the dash gauges don't move. The Edge has auto de-fuel to prevent meltdown at about 1300 degrees exhaust temp. But when it does that, apparently the truck falls flat on it's face. So I guess i need to drive to find that sweet spot where I don't heat things up, yet I pull nice. If that means a slow speed, I can live with that knowing I'm not pooching my truck. Fully loaded we'll be around 11,000 lbs on the trailer.

Everything negative I hear about these 6.0Ls is the cooling, and apparently not a lot of options to help. I've done 2 of them (4" exhaust & ARP head studs). The EGR delete should help aswell, and prevent coolant from being puked back into the head.

well, that's a really long PSD story to help stir up you cowboys and cowgirl (i'd say cowgirls, but to my knowledge, we only have Miss Kitty [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/heart.gif[/img]

 

oh...forgot to mention to all you little buckaroos out there; the moral of my story is: don't underestimate the 7.3L PSD. So far, I can't say the 6.0L is any better. And the mileage is basically the same, maybe a tad worse. I looked at beefing up my 7.3 with a tranny rebuild by a top-notch tranny guy that completely over-hauls and upgrades the 4r100tranny, aswell as a new turbo, gauges and a chip. But it would have cost $5-6K, and when done, my '99 would have been worth NOTHING MORE. I decided a newer truck would at least be worth close to what I paid for the next year or two.

 

2000 F350 crew cab 4wd, towed 15000Lbs from Sacramento CA to Jacksonville FL(3000 miles). Handled it like a champ. Best ford diesel ever. I also tow enclosed trailer with 6 ATV's to WV or TN for our vacation every year (1500 miles round trip). I'm keeping mine til the body falls off.

 

It's about damn time neddy the nerd flanders came back for a visit. I'm going to start calling you the Prodigal Child. And hey, I can't help it if your PSD is a POS.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] I like towing with mine. I tow at least 12000 lbs without problems...well...alright, I need an auxiliary fuel tank to go 100 miles.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] Oh well, that's the price I have to pay to drive a "Man Truck". Anywho, welcome back. Now we just need MD, Skinner, Creator, Little Joe, OFC, etc.

Welcome mobiusmic.

 

who says my PSD is a POS? I'm just preparing in advance for all the issues I hear about them. and they do have a bad rep, although I don't think it's deserved in the newer years...maybe some of the '03-04s.

well, the prodigal son is also the poor farmer. I had to sell our JD tractor in order to afford the new trailer. And like I said, that was from a repo auction, so we got it for cheap.

so when you pull some of the steep hills in your area, do you just shift into "tow/haul" and leave it? Do you keep your foot in it, or does it do everything for you? the service manager told me to trust that tow/haul feature and let the tranny do everything, and not to manually downshift.

so when yer 12K going up a 8-10% grade, how fast do you go? what is your engine revving at? BTW, you need to install some gauges.

 

I put it in tow/haul and let it do the work itself. I think at a 10%, I'm doing about 30 mph. I can't remember what the engine revs at? I've never had an engine or tranny heat issue. However, I just have the stock gauges which apparently aren't reliable. And yes, I need to install some real ones. All l can say is my F350 6.0 liter PSD tows much better than the duramax (I've towed my train with both). Also, the tranny is much better than my 2000 F250 7.3 liter. Mileage is probably worse though.

 

I don't want to get too far off topic talking about PSDs, trucks, etc...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

what year was the Duramax you used? the '06-07 have 375HP/ 650ft lbs torque. Just listening to the owners, they all swear that Allsion tranny is the do-all end all.

30MPH on 10% is perdee-goood. I may have to just get used to taking it easy on grade.

my 7.3 could pull 8% at around 55mph, towing a 30' travel trailer that weighed around 7000K. I guess I expect to tow that same hill at the same speed, despite almost doubling the weight.