The Merc

[knappyfeet]

I`m glad the #`s work for you ......Ford had the nerve to ask 47K for a V-6 pickup ? ........we bought the Tundra in `13 the asking was 33K he got it for 26K work trim truck ......holy sheet by the time you retire they`ll be paying you a $1000 an hour !

47K....35K......too many K's. Old trucks are great if you don't use them as daily drivers. This cost me $4500. I've since dropped about a $1000 on this or that. But that saves me $25000 over something newer and nicer and at 6% my $25000 will turn into around $40000 in 7 or 8 years.......the average term of large car loans.

I know it's dated but I get some thumbs up and some chuckles......whatever.

[Evan Hagenow]

The 7.3 is great and might be one of the best produced motors of all time, but the one and only problem is that they are all in trucks that are coming up on 20 years old. A buddy of mine thought the same thing and bought a 2002 5.9 cummins with 1750000 on the clock and it was clean as a whistle, original powdercoat still in perfect shape on the frame and you could still read the stamped markings on the rear leaf springs. He bought it thinking it would give him hundreds of thousands of miles no problem. With in a year he put a clutch, u-joints, ball joints, brakes, wheel bearings, and now his fan and radio don't work from some electrical bug in the wiring harness. Could just be a dodge quality thing I guess, or things just wear out.

Have you thought about doing a builder, finding a truck that was wrecked and rebuilding it with a salvage title. You can get a newer truck for much less money.

[bkm]

The 7.3 is great and might be one of the best produced motors of all time, but the one and only problem is that they are all in trucks that are coming up on 20 years old. A buddy of mine thought the same thing and bought a 2002 5.9 cummins with 1750000 on the clock and it was clean as a whistle, original powdercoat still in perfect shape on the frame and you could still read the stamped markings on the rear leaf springs. He bought it thinking it would give him hundreds of thousands of miles no problem. With in a year he put a clutch, u-joints, ball joints, brakes, wheel bearings, and now his fan and radio don't work from some electrical bug in the wiring harness. Could just be a dodge quality thing I guess, or things just wear out.

Have you thought about doing a builder, finding a truck that was wrecked and rebuilding it with a salvage title. You can get a newer truck for much less money.

The one problem with the 5.9 Cummins is it has a Dodge truck wrapped around it. Great engines in horrible trucks. I'm perfectly fine with ball joints, u-joints, bearings and such because those are normal wear items as far as I'm concerned and I'm no body man so I'd never buy a wrecked truck with a salvage title. When buying a truck with 150 -200k on the clock you have to be careful because that's right about the time everything you mentioned will need to be addressed. If you play your cards right you can find one with all that already done and let that poor sap absorb the cost. Sorry El, I didn't mean to turn this into bkm's 7.3 thread.

[El Camexican]

I always suspected that the biggest problem with my Mercedes was that Chrysler built it in Alabama.

[sledcrazyinCT]

The 7.3 is great and might be one of the best produced motors of all time, but the one and only problem is that they are all in trucks that are coming up on 20 years old. A buddy of mine thought the same thing and bought a 2002 5.9 cummins with 1750000 on the clock and it was clean as a whistle, original powdercoat still in perfect shape on the frame and you could still read the stamped markings on the rear leaf springs. He bought it thinking it would give him hundreds of thousands of miles no problem. With in a year he put a clutch, u-joints, ball joints, brakes, wheel bearings, and now his fan and radio don't work from some electrical bug in the wiring harness. Could just be a dodge quality thing I guess, or things just wear out.

That is pretty much maintenance on any vehicle with 40,000+ on it....especially when people like Ironchop and others can attest to the minimal quality built into parts anymore. Stuff is made to the bed two months out of warranty.....

[Ghostv2]

All this talk about newer fords...buy an OBS powerstroke! Get a truck that actually looks good.

[fabiodriven]

The OBS's do look great, but the Powerstroke 7.3 is the pinnacle of that motor. It's better than the non Powerstroke version for a lot of reasons. Nice looking rig Ghost!

[Ghostv2]

The OBS's do look great, but the Powerstroke 7.3 is the pinnacle of that motor. It's better than the non Powerstroke version for a lot of reasons. Nice looking rig Ghost!

You might wanna tell that to whoever owns the truck/google.
My OBS had a headache earlier this month.



I have an ugly thunderbird now. But was well taken care of and I love it. She's old, but still has some pretty cool technology in those old thunderchickens. Drives like a cadallic.

[Evan Hagenow]

The one problem with the 5.9 Cummins is it has a Dodge truck wrapped around it. Great engines in horrible trucks. I'm perfectly fine with ball joints, u-joints, bearings and such because those are normal wear items as far as I'm concerned and I'm no body man so I'd never buy a wrecked truck with a salvage title. When buying a truck with 150 -200k on the clock you have to be careful because that's right about the time everything you mentioned will need to be addressed. If you play your cards right you can find one with all that already done and let that poor sap absorb the cost. Sorry El, I didn't mean to turn this into bkm's 7.3 thread.

There are shops that will do a builder just for you. My brother just had one done. It was all bolt on parts and its good as new. Would never know its been wrecked. The company bought it from texas specifically for him. It has a salvage title but if your going to drive the truck for a long time, resale is a minor detail.

They way your talking about doing it by going all across the country is the way to do it. Its just a matter of time until all trucks in the midwest are rusty. The liquid brine they put on the roads doesn't help at all.

[bkm]

There are shops that will do a builder just for you. My brother just had one done. It was all bolt on parts and its good as new. Would never know its been wrecked. The company bought it from texas specifically for him. It has a salvage title but if your going to drive the truck for a long time, resale is a minor detail.

They way your talking about doing it by going all across the country is the way to do it. Its just a matter of time until all trucks in the midwest are rusty. The liquid brine they put on the roads doesn't help at all.

Salvage titles are a pain in the arse here in Missouri. If it's from out of state it has to be inspected by the Highway Patrol and receipts of all parts provided. I ran into this with an 87 F150 from Arizona with a salvage title.

[sledcrazyinCT]

Funny the thread titled 'The Merc' made me think of boat motors or an XR7 not about Mercedes but then the thread turned into Ford Diesels.

[Hurley250R]

My old boss had a 06 E350 Mercedes. He had the dealer service it every couple months for oil changes and routine stuff. I used to drive the car to the dealer and back on occasion and really didn't feel like anything special to me. I know they charged alot to do the simplest of jobs on that car. One time he backed into something and broke the tail light, I think it was $1100 to repair it.

I love driving my Cadillac and besides a water pump and a wheel sensor she has been reliable. But now my waranty is up I kinda fear anything breaking.