What is the best DIESEL truck engine for a pickup truck?

Cummins, 5.9L 24 Valve if your not opposed to computer controlled diesels.

If so, I'd have to say the old International 7.3 IDI's (Not Powerful though) or the GM 6.0's

cant give you much of a clue as to what to buy but from
a mechanics pespective I HATE MODERN FORD DIESELS

the company i work for want to keep buying POS fords with all the bells and whistles 9 times out of 10 it needs to go back to a ford dealer for repair.

i would go chev and i would reconsider diesol they are great
for long term running but most of you weekend warriors would be much better of with a petrol/gasoline vehical.

2.8 litre toyota

I would go with anything manufactured by Cummins. I had a Dodge Ram 2500 with a 5.9 liter Cummins and it was reliable for the most part. I averaged over 18 MPG for the time I did have it and it had a 6 speed trans.

The only problem I had with the engine was the fuel injection pump went out at 77K miles. It was covered under their warranty, but it still left me stranded on the side of the freeway.

Diesels are good, but they need more attention than gas engines.

6.4L Power Stroke

[link to www.powerstroke.org]

pre-emissions cummins 6 as used by dodge. sleeve cyls so the basic block, provided you dont throw a rod through a wall, will last just about forever. cummins has been around about a week short of always, and their parts are available near universally. the engines are used on smaller commercial boats, so reliability is pretty much a given. of course, still hard to start in the cold, but there are plenty of modern devices to ease that headache, including propane heaters for the cooling system(no need for a plug in a wall).

remember he wants a small one!!!

of course the first idiot poster had to be canadian LOL
the OP asked for something easy to repair and maintain
most backyard mechanics could not change the fanbelt in a ford POS

Back a few years ago (late 90's maybe) Volkswagen made a small pickup that had a 4 cylinder diesel that you couldn't kill - don't know if they still make the or not.

Mercedes Benz OM617.

You'll have to swap it into any truck you're looking for though. I recommend an older 90's Toyota SR5 4x4 with manual transmission, but that's just me.

If you do any real amount of heavy hauling, towing, or off roading (kinda the point of having a truck, right?) do NOT get a Dodge!

cummins no doubt

Thank you all.
I especially appreciate the consideration given to cold-weather starting and the availability/necessity of 'propane heaters'

I've owned a 71 Ford P/U and a 82 Datsun Kingcab 4x4,
so diesel will be new to me.

Your asking about a diesel yet hauling capacity is not an issue? That's the main reason why diesel engines are used to haul, pulling capacity and life expectancy VERSUS fuel costs and cheap horsepower.

Or were you just looking for a quick opinion?

EMP proof eh?

diesels also get about 30% better mileage

why you mad bro

GM blow jizz monkeys.

The Dodge are ok. I liked the 2500 when I had it.

The Ford has been running great since the purchase. 2008 and has never given me a problem. Works well on the farm and the F-150 supercrew is one of the best trucks we have used (tried them all).

You're like my bro-inlaw who masturbates to his chevy.

oh i just had another thought if your after small 4 x 4 pickup forget diesel and get a subaru brumby/brat/284

if your not doing 24/7 heavy duty work then you have no need
for a diesel the start and stop that most people do is actually very detrimental to a diesel.ad to that the extra
weight you are haulng around to own a diesel and its like WTF no brainer.

gasoline man thats the way of the future

I figure 2-3K can be towed with most of the diesel Pickups out there.
I guess I wanted to specify, 'large' towing capacity is not needed. Thanks.

This is.

My $.02 and old VW diesel from the 70's to mid to late 80's. Doesn't have jack for torque or horsepower but they can get 40mpg with NO ECU WHAT'S SO EVER. Mechanical injection ran off the timing belt, manual advancement knob on the inside cabin for cold starts.

Little playing with the injection pump mounting bolts and you could be running filtered fry oil.

The only electronics worth mentioning are a simple circuit which holds the glow plugs on for 5-30 seconds depending on how cold it is and a solenoid which shuts off fuel to the injection pump. The first you could rig up with a toggle switch and guess based on how cold it is. The second you could bypass with a mechanical inline valve if it came down to it.

Find a '79 Dodge D-150 with the optional Mitsubishi inline 6 cylinder diesel.

One that ain't broke. Dummy.

yeah well my 62 chev petroll is still running on the original engine and the company i work for just recycled
a 2003 ford with a blown head gasket that should tell you something.

ford are ok as long as you budget in regular trips to the ford dealer and dont want to be able to do the work yourself

ROFL i love my chev shes called betsy

Cummins is by far, the best light/medium truck diesel engine except it's surrounded by a piece of shit Dodge. The Ford 7.3 is not bad, but for God's sake DO NOT buy any Ford truck with the 6.0L diesel engine. What a piece of shit!

Remember, all diesel truck engine parts and repairs are very, very expensive. If you are not hauling anything and looking for a diesel truck, then you must have a small penis.

Last Edited by Mulletman on 08/07/2012 10:47 PM

7.3L Ford hands down. late 90's early 2000

all diesel engines except the newfangled computer controlled ones are "emp proof", as there is no actual electrical device used in the running cycle. for cold weather, ALL diesels are hard to start, due to the fact the fuel "cooks off" by being atomized into air that has been superheated by compression. way cold air, way cold head cyl and piston faces, lots of the heat is used just warming all that metal. glow plugs ease the headache a bit, but blockheaters and the like would pretty much be required in those frigid "americas dairyland" winters. most just plug into a wall. some epoxy to the bottom of the oilpan, some replace a freezeout plug on the engine. the propane heater i mentioned has the advantage of needing NO outside power source(its a catylitic heater that replaces a radiator hose)so it can be used hunting, camping, wtshtf, etc. of course, it does need propane,lol. thinking about biodiesel?

OP are you hoarding used vegetable oil?

Don't have a clue where the hell you would obtain one, but this thing is bitchin! Can supposedly run on straight vegetable oil.

[link to blogs.dieselpowermag.com]

lol I don't know what he names her (don't want to know though.

We have gone through so many trucks over the years. I was always a Dodge man but I changed into liking the Fords. We do a shit load of work that require trucks and they just seem to be the one right now (for our needs).

We do our own repairs and maint. The chevy or gm diesels that my neighbours own have major issues and tons of down time. The dodge 2500 were outstanding when we had them.

ah anyways just rambling now.......I love my trucks

LOL and since you want to compare trucks to women
a chev is like a woman who will tell you whats wrong and let
you fix it.

a ford is probably a democrat she needs the advice of a
shrink and prescription meds she costs you a fortune then divorces you because it is all your fault.