Posted by Charlie on Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at 8:31PM :
In Reply to: Ford Diesel vs Dodge posted by Mike on Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at 7:19PM :
If you want to see a "built" F350 crewcab then check out mine at www.ford-diesel.com, "feature articles". It's getting a NP203/205 "doubler" transfer case to replace the aluminum BW1356.
Both Ford and Dodge come standard with 6 spds. I think the Cummins is probably a better motor, but Navistar puts the 7.3 in chassis up to 30,000 lb GVW also. The 7.3 is more "drivable" because it has a broader rpm band but the 6spd and the fact that Cummins has increased the rpms on the motor to about 3000 pretty well evens things out.
Other Ford advantages: curved wheelwells, much easier to put big tires on without a big lift (front bumper needs to be replaced); crewcab available.
Both have strong rear axles. The Dodge front axle is a Dana 60 BUT you can't put hubs on and I don't even know if it's full floating!!! Instead of a splindle and two tapered bearings there's a big exposed nut under a dust cover like a regular passenger car. The Ford Dana 50 looks very much like a 60, I don't know what's smaller inside. You can get a 60 if you order duals; you can tkae a bolted on spacer off the front hubs to convert back to singles with single type wheels (they outght to have a "snowplow/offroad SRW/Dana 60 front option).
The so-called Dana 80 Dodge rear axle is actually a mishmash of 70 and 80 parts.
Both trucks have "heavy duty" "modern" aluminum transfer cases (that have known to break in half), complete with whirring tiny planetary gears for low range and chains for 4WD that have been known to stretch and skip/slip. Now that adapters are avaialble, if I were buying a new diesel 1 ton and "building" it for offroad, the transfer case would come right off and be replaced by a 203/205 doubler. The size of the gears in the 203 reduction box and 205 transfer case is very impressive. The choice of 2:1 and 4:1 low ranges is nice too.
Charlie
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