[dannypage]

Hi all,

I'm sure this topic has been beaten to death, but just curious after purchasing my first diesel truck if the claims of longevity are true? And if so, why? My truck has 146,000 miles on it as a 2013, so naturally, the PO did a lot of highway driving.

Engine Hours: 3686
Idle Hours: 771

No way to determine actual service history as I purchased it through an intermediary, but it has motocraft batteries and other stuff so it's possible it was serviced at the dealer. Can I expect to get 100k miles out of it?
I read somewhere on average, diesel motors outlast their gasoline counterparts by double. In conventional terms, this suggests diesels trucks should accrue 400,000 in a usable life cycle.
One thing to note, the truck came with a B&W turnover hitch installed in the bed, and the truck is from texas, so I'm assuming the PO towed with it frequently and assuming this load reduces longevity.

Anyway, excited to join this forum and hope all is well.

 

[jd4010]

Yes it is true that diesels have a tendency to have quite long lifespans. Now of course there are plenty of caveats to this including maintenance. But in general, they can run 500k miles easily IF they are maintained. But then again, gassers can run long too. For example, my 1993 Mercury Villager had 370k+ on her when I sold it. Motor didn't burn any oil (seals leaked a little) and she ran like a top.

An engine oil analysis would be a good place to start to see if there are any metals wearing excessively or antifreeze in the oil. Also when you start, when it's running, accelerating, etc do you see any blue smoke coming out the exhaust (which would be oil as diesel would be darker). Of course if you had the tools you could do a compression test, etc but that's going quite far IMO.

Anyway, if the price on her is right and it starts well, has good getty up and go, no/minimal exhaust smoke and no leaks coming from the engine or trans, then good chance if you get her and do a FULL service (engine oil/filter, trans oil/filter, differential oils, brake and power steering flushes, etc) you'll be good to go.

Again just my opinion. But I will say....diesels can take some pretty good use and abuse and keep running strong. I love all my diesel equipment.

Edit: Your idle time is about 20% of your total engine time. That's not necessarily bad IMO but with those idle hours, I would definitely invest in the fluid changes, etc.

 

[richc22aa]

I have had a few powerstrokes, 2 over 300,000 miles, an 07 that had some typical 6.0 issues, an 08 that couldn't get any mileage, the 99 and 2011 my favorites, as the prior post, maintenance is a big help. I have used my trucks in a manner that is totally against all the rules, it idles a lot as it is my office when working, but I keep my oil changes regular, use synthetic, and tow a fifth wheel all over. No real experience with gas trucks since 1999, after 7 transmissions in a 1500 chevy, i moved up and never looked back. No electrical ignition parts to wear, they just seem to get better the harder they work...

 

[355spider]

Depends on the manufacturer. Land Cruisers can easily go 400k as well. And the rest of the truck will go 400k unlike most trucks. I think most trucks will have other problems long before the engines will break.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Kmfinley93]

Maintenance maintenance maintenance. The question I've always asked is: Was it maintained routinely? Or as things broke?

Here are two of the best running vehicles I've had:

• 2001 GMC 2wd Duramax. Purchased for $20 as a favor at 383,000 miles. NO HITCH. Strictly used to haul up to 2k lbs or run around town. Dealer visits every 5000 miles on the nose and whatever they said, a check was cut and work was done. I sold at 400,000. The next owner drove it to 472,000 and got rear ended. This truck was on it's third bench seat, it's second box, and most of the panels had a dent in them. The steering wheel was worn down to actual metal and I had to add foam and electrical tape just to get a steering wheel cover to fit over it.
  
• 2000 Pontiac Bonneville: Paid $1900 and it had 210,000 miles on it but was in miraculously mint condition other than the seat belt having a "between the boobs" curl to it which was very annoying. This car was also meticulously maintained and I drove it 30k with no issues at all and then my sister put another 25k grueling miles on it, hitting everything in sight, before selling it. The only issue she had was a fuel pump, and the geniuses back then put an access hatch in the trunk. 15 minutes and done.

Now let's go over a few vehicles I've purchased that are known for their reliability:

• 2002 Honda Accord EX 5 speed: Paid $4500 at 95k miles. A nice low mile accord should be reliable right? I immediately put $800 into a timing chain and 02 sensors, then had to do ball joints, wheel bearings, and pretty much every wear component you could think of in the next 40k miles. The defferred maintenance in the first 95k miles really cost me down the road. Selling at 139k miles I had put over $4000 additional into it...
  
• 2008 Toyota Rav4: Purchased at 80k miles from your classic little old lady who only drove it to the grocery store. Later found out that she possibly didn't ever change the oil either and the short tripping had a disastrous effect on the motor. This car currently has 120k and burns through about 3-4 quarts per oil change... I don't even want to know what the maintenance bills have added up to.

Now the moral of my stupidly long post- If a diesel truck and a 4 door sedan are maintained properly and used to the maximum of what they are designed, I would expect them to last 250k miles on simply routine maintenance (tires, brakes, fluids, suspension, etc)... ie a 4 door sedan hauls 4 200lb people and 3 suitcases around, and a diesel truck hauls a 24k trailer around a mix of rough job sites, construction sites, and highway. at 250k miles or sooner, I would expect both of these fictional vehicles to need a major overhaul or rebuild.

A good chunk of the super high mileage diesel trucks you see belong to RV haulers. While they are hauling much of the time, RVs rarely hit your maximum weight limit and most of this is done at highway speeds in optimal mileage conditions. Most of these drivers are also owner occupants and they follow the maintenance schedule religiously, as breakdowns are very costly. Add in that these trucks are running a greater percentage of the time at their designed operating temps, and you've got a nice formula for longevity.

Let's add another profile to the case- A greater percentage of car or gasser owners will "set it and forget it" and will miss or stretch maintenance intervals. Typically when someone or a company drops $50k+ on a truck, they maintain their investment.


I hope this offered insight and obviously these are all theories that take out known issues with certain vehicles. Your 2013 doesn't have any glaring issues or problems to date so I didn't think it necessary to cover.

 

[F250_SUPER_4x4]

The bottom line is all about revolutions of the engine. Generally a Diesel engine operates at 1500-2000 RPM, whereas a gasser will operate at 3000-4000 RPM which supports the general durability claim as twice as long

 

[Kmfinley93]

The bottom line is all about revolutions of the engine. Generally a Diesel engine operates at 1500-2000 RPM, whereas a gasser will operate at 3000-4000 RPM which supports the general durability claim as twice as long

yeah. This as well. Asking Michael Phelps to swim 5 miles is going to go a lot better than asking me to swim 5 miles... or 500 feet for that matter

 

[dannypage]

I came from a 1500 Silerado aswell and the transmissions were terrible.

 

[dannypage]

For the 2013 6.7 what is the weak link, or what is what will presumably fail? Are the trannys strong? I'm imagining probably turbo, but they are said to be redesigned from the 11-12' predecessors

 

[dannypage]

Never thought about this principle, but it's sensible. Thank you for another creative way to look at it.

 

[dannypage]

Maintenance maintenance maintenance. The question I've always asked is: Was it maintained routinely? Or as things broke?

Here are two of the best running vehicles I've had:

• 2001 GMC 2wd Duramax. Purchased for $20 as a favor at 383,000 miles. NO HITCH. Strictly used to haul up to 2k lbs or run around town. Dealer visits every 5000 miles on the nose and whatever they said, a check was cut and work was done. I sold at 400,000. The next owner drove it to 472,000 and got rear ended. This truck was on it's third bench seat, it's second box, and most of the panels had a dent in them. The steering wheel was worn down to actual metal and I had to add foam and electrical tape just to get a steering wheel cover to fit over it.
  
• 2000 Pontiac Bonneville: Paid $1900 and it had 210,000 miles on it but was in miraculously mint condition other than the seat belt having a "between the boobs" curl to it which was very annoying. This car was also meticulously maintained and I drove it 30k with no issues at all and then my sister put another 25k grueling miles on it, hitting everything in sight, before selling it. The only issue she had was a fuel pump, and the geniuses back then put an access hatch in the trunk. 15 minutes and done.

Now let's go over a few vehicles I've purchased that are known for their reliability:

• 2002 Honda Accord EX 5 speed: Paid $4500 at 95k miles. A nice low mile accord should be reliable right? I immediately put $800 into a timing chain and 02 sensors, then had to do ball joints, wheel bearings, and pretty much every wear component you could think of in the next 40k miles. The defferred maintenance in the first 95k miles really cost me down the road. Selling at 139k miles I had put over $4000 additional into it...
  
• 2008 Toyota Rav4: Purchased at 80k miles from your classic little old lady who only drove it to the grocery store. Later found out that she possibly didn't ever change the oil either and the short tripping had a disastrous effect on the motor. This car currently has 120k and burns through about 3-4 quarts per oil change... I don't even want to know what the maintenance bills have added up to.

Now the moral of my stupidly long post- If a diesel truck and a 4 door sedan are maintained properly and used to the maximum of what they are designed, I would expect them to last 250k miles on simply routine maintenance (tires, brakes, fluids, suspension, etc)... ie a 4 door sedan hauls 4 200lb people and 3 suitcases around, and a diesel truck hauls a 24k trailer around a mix of rough job sites, construction sites, and highway. at 250k miles or sooner, I would expect both of these fictional vehicles to need a major overhaul or rebuild.

A good chunk of the super high mileage diesel trucks you see belong to RV haulers. While they are hauling much of the time, RVs rarely hit your maximum weight limit and most of this is done at highway speeds in optimal mileage conditions. Most of these drivers are also owner occupants and they follow the maintenance schedule religiously, as breakdowns are very costly. Add in that these trucks are running a greater percentage of the time at their designed operating temps, and you've got a nice formula for longevity.

Let's add another profile to the case- A greater percentage of car or gasser owners will "set it and forget it" and will miss or stretch maintenance intervals. Typically when someone or a company drops $50k+ on a truck, they maintain their investment.


I hope this offered insight and obviously these are all theories that take out known issues with certain vehicles. Your 2013 doesn't have any glaring issues or problems to date so I didn't think it necessary to cover.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. The manner in which I proucred this vehicle didn't give me very much information save what I observe physcially with my own eyes. Whenever I see dealer brand maintencance items I rejoice a little inside. For this truck specifically, clearly the PO lived on the road, and I imagine they took care of it. Based on what I paid I want to see 100k miles out of it, but would be delighted to see 150-200k if that's really possible.

 

[DiggerDerrik]

For the 2013 6.7 what is the weak link, or what is what will presumably fail? Are the trannys strong? I'm imagining probably turbo, but they are said to be redesigned from the 11-12' predecessors

The 11-14 all have the same turbo. Just the 13+14 used steel bearing instead of ceramic in the 11+12. This is the GT32 turbo. The 15+ models have the GT37 which is a bigger turbo but so far much more reliable. I think all 11-14 turbos are prone to failure. Some people fry them every few thousand miles and some have hundreds of thousands of miles on the original with no issue. They don’t like being over spooled.

The 6R140 transmission is a tank.

The fuel systems do not handle water very well. So clean fuel and frequent water separator draining is necessary. I’m on the side of running a fuel additive to help keep the fuel system running well. I use Ford’s PM22 since it’s recommended by them. But there are many good options provided it’s a demulsifier.

 

[00t444e]

The main weak link on any 08 and newer diesel pickup are the emissions equipment, but if you live in a place that doesn't have inspections that can all be deleted.

 

[dannypage]

The main weak link on any 08 and newer diesel pickup are the emissions equipment, but if you live in a place that doesn't have inspections that can all be deleted.

Seattle, WA, they won't be happy until we are all on bicycles.

 

[DiggerDerrik]

Seattle, WA, they won't be happy until we are all on bicycles.

For the most part this is true. They’d also be pleased to have you ride the bus or eventually get mugged on the new light rail that we’re all paying an exorbitant amount for. Glad the Super Duty doesn’t qualify for that.

On a side note. In case you didn’t know. WA state doesn’t require emission testing on diesel vehicles 2007 and newer.

http://www.emissiontestwa.com/e/faq.aspx#2

 

[dannypage]

For the most part this is true. They’d also be pleased to have you ride the bus or eventually get mugged on the new light rail that we’re all paying an exorbitant amount for. Glad the Super Duty doesn’t qualify for that.

On a side note. In case you didn’t know. WA state doesn’t require emission testing on diesel vehicles 2007 and newer.


Ha ha, YES!! Thank you for this, I didn't know that. I asked if I needed emissions and they said no, but I assumed i just had some more time remaining, but I thought there is no way my brother could have passed anything emissions related with his cummins, so this all makes sense. I plan to move to San diego within the year so perhaps I just need to try and find a way to keep my registration in WA as long as I can.

 

[rogersbonntr]

Seattle, WA, they won't be happy until we are all on bicycles.

Well said. I'm in Puyallup. I'll probably delete ours when the dpf needs to be replaced.
Seattle can keep their homeless also.

 

[White_Buffalo7.3]

Well if you are questioning the reliability of a highway driven truck here is a good example for you. He tows 100% of the time. He does extended oil changes but uses good oil.
The only thing i can say to you is to pull that turbo and replace it with a 15+ or a grab a T-4 kit and put a s366 or an s364.5. As of now no one that i know(big name) of makes a drop in replacement turbo for the 6.7 but, KC Turbos is currently developing one.