Would you buy a 1/2 ton diesel?

[NumberCruncher]

I have little interest in a 3/4 ton diesel as everyone I know who has one of the new generation engines putting out 600 lb/ft torque is only getting about 18-19mpg on the highway unloaded. I think most gas V8s get about that without the $5,500 engine upgrade price.

Well why not a half ton truck with something like a turbo charged 4 liter inline 4? An engine like that could easily put out as much torque as gas V8's and still get 20 city 25 highway. I don't ever see me pulling more than 5,000 pounds so a truck like this would make a lot of sense for me.

Would anyone else buy a truck like this?

Greg

[munchieu]

no, and im seeing 22mpg unloaded. the v8' see around 12mpg. thats why i went to diesel. my ol 2000 big block was a gas hog. also that 5,000 engine makes for a great resale.

[BlackBuzzard]

Would anyone else buy a truck like this?

Greg

YES!! ?

You have identified a giant hole in the market that neither the American or Japanese makes have filled....yet.

I think Dodge should put the Sprinter diesel motor/tranny into the 1/2 and 3/4 ton PU truck.

Also, Toyota makes one hell of a good diesel motor for their overseas markets.........great mileage! But we cant get it here. Check out the link below for the specifics.

http://www.toyota.co.za/models/features.aspx?id=12

BlackBuzzard

[hometheaterman]

The only half ton diesel I would buy would be Superhawks over on Pavementsucks.com where he has swapped a diesel into the 1/2 ton. Ok ok I would buy a 1/2 with a diesel but I'd want it to be the same diesel that is in the 3/4 ton trucks I wouldn't buy a smaller one. I wish I had gotten a diesel instead of this gas motor but would also rather have a 2500 too.

[mhr650]

2010. The reason that we don’t already have them is emissions. A ½ ton has to meet car emissions and a ¾ ton and up is emissions exempt. By 2010 all diesels have to meet very tough emissions.

Thanks

Mike

[SidewinderX]

I would definitely buy one.

My 1/2 ton 05' 5.4L F150 gets 17-18MPG commuting.

My Powerstroke 04' 6.0 F350 got 17-18MPG commuting.

My brothers 04' Duramax gets 14-15MPG commuting.

This has a lot to do with our gearing and extra weight that each vehicle weighs. There is no substitute for the 3/4 ton and up Diesel when it is needed but I just do not need it for 31,000 of the 32,000 miles that I drive each year. ??

[Thumpmeister]

YES AGAIN

I would DEFINATLY get a half ton diesel; all the benefits of a diesel, and not the weight of a 3/4 ton to drag around.

I like my truck, but in all honesty, its overkill for what I need on an everyday basis.

[Beyond The Pale]

I say yes get a diesel. I have a 93 F150 6 cylinder 4.9l 4x4 with an eight foot bed, and the best I get is about 14mpg. It's usually 11 to 12. ?

If your going to get a diesel, get the 3/4 ton. I'm always running into load issues. Can't tow anything big, and if I actually fill the bed, it's overloaded!

[Ud_Luz]

Dodge would clean up if they put the 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel from the Sprinter into the Dakota.

DC, just like the idiots at Ford and GM, only build what they think we want, not what we really want.

[BlackBuzzard]

American PU truck diesels have followed the evolutionary path of POWER and TORQUE, with mileage as a distant third issue.

Not all of us intend to pull 3 axle toy haulers.

I gladly would give up lots of power and torque for HIGH FUEL MILEAGE.

If the Dodge Sprinter can get 30mpg highway (so I have read), then it could certainly do so in a PU body too with decent load capabilities.

This is a huge empty hole in the marketplace imho, and the first one to fill it will be ringing the cash register. There are choices out there for automobile diesels in America, so why not in the less-than-3/4-ton truck area?

BlackBuzzard

[mhr650]

I can tell you with 100% certainty that they are in the pipeline. They were supposed to ship in 04 until the new emissions regulations came about. Now no one wants to build an engine to 2007 rules only to have to build a completely new engine to meet 2010 rules. Years ago we had a prototype running, a 4.5L V6 R2S in an Expedition, it got 30 MPG.

Thanks

Mike

[05dr650]

Get one of those old 12 valve cummins motors. I used to have one, and I would get 29 MPG to 32 MPG empty. It did not have the power of the new diesels, but we did injectors and a cam plate. We could pull anything that we wanted. You can find them anywhere and there impossible to kill the motor. The tranny is another story.

[Trail Rider 7]

No. It will need more than a motor to make a good towing truck.

[NumberCruncher]

American PU truck diesels have followed the evolutionary path of POWER and TORQUE, with mileage as a distant third issue.

Not all of us intend to pull 3 axle toy haulers.

I gladly would give up lots of power and torque for HIGH FUEL MILEAGE.

If the Dodge Sprinter can get 30mpg highway (so I have read), then it could certainly do so in a PU body too with decent load capabilities.

This is a huge empty hole in the marketplace imho, and the first one to fill it will be ringing the cash register. There are choices out there for automobile diesels in America, so why not in the less-than-3/4-ton truck area?

BlackBuzzard

Exactly my point. I have done some research at Australian car web sites. Toyota does have a nice turbo diesel 3.0 liter inline four that puts out about 150 hp, and 349Nm torque. The HP rating is fairly low but in line with what the gas 4 cylinder puts out. That 349 torque rating has to be close to 260 ft/lbs. With torque being nearly flat from 1,800 to 3,000 rpm, that truck should get off the line just fine. It may not be a 1/4 mile machine, but at 28mpg I could live with it. Also, that torque rating should allow for a tow rating of at least 5,000 pounds. Hopefully this type of engine will land here sooner than later.

Greg

[matt gibbs]

chevy is coming out with 1/2 ton duramax v-6 next year

[Ud_Luz]

I can tell you with 100% certainty that they are in the pipeline. They were supposed to ship in 04 until the new emissions regulations came about. Now no one wants to build an engine to 2007 rules only to have to build a completely new engine to meet 2010 rules. Years ago we had a prototype running, a 4.5L V6 R2S in an Expedition, it got 30 MPG.

Thanks

Mike

I believe it goes much deeper than that. GM vitually destroyed the diesel engine as a viable option for cars and light trucks in the US. The Oldsmobile diesel pretty much guaranteed that virtually nobody would want a diesel powered passenger car. The nasty old 6.2/6.5 didn't help matters much either.

Mercedes and Volkswagen import diesels and have for a long time but they are a niche market with a long record of good diesels. It's not enough to overcome the negative image in most people's minds.

The end result is a situation where GM doesn't dare try again for a light diesel in the US for fear nobody will touch it which makes Ford and DC leery also.

GM, Ford and DC all have excellent light diesels in Europe that would have passed our emissions regulations for quite a while. With low sulfur diesel now on the books future emission standards aren't going to be terribly difficult to achieve. Mercedes BlueTec light diesels are already 2010 compliant but after the disasters with GM's offerings would the American public buy them if they were used in Dodges and Chryslers?

I think diesel is a much better option than hybrids or gassers.

[idahoaggie99]

Exactly my point. I have done some research at Australian car web sites. Toyota does have a nice turbo diesel 3.0 liter inline four that puts out about 150 hp, and 349Nm torque. The HP rating is fairly low but in line with what the gas 4 cylinder puts out. That 349 torque rating has to be close to 300 ft/lbs. With torque being literally flat from 1,800 to 3,000 rpm, that truck should get off the line just fine. It may not be a 1/4 mile machine, but at 28mpg I could live with it. Also, that 300 lb/ft torque rating should allow for a tow rating of at least 5,000 pounds. Hopefully this type of engine will land here sooner than later.

Greg

If I remember correctly, a 1Nm=1J. If so, 349J = 249ft-lbs of torque.

Yes, I would like to buy an in-line 4 cylinder in a 1/2 ton. The sprinter engine may work well also.

[NumberCruncher]

If I remember correctly, a 1Nm=1J. If so, 349J = 249ft-lbs of torque.

Yes, I would like to buy an in-line 4 cylinder in a 1/2 ton. The sprinter engine may work well also.

I guess my estimate was off. According to the below, the 4.0 liter gas and 3.0 turbo diesel have about the same torque rating. I would think the TD should be higher but who knows.

http://www.drive.com.au/buy/commercial/car_features.asp?from=$%7Bfrom%7D&m=toyota%7Chilux&pg=3&spg=414&&vt=2&init=15875320050321

http://www.drive.com.au/buy/commercial/car_features.asp?from=$%7Bfrom%7D&m=toyota%7Chilux&pg=3&spg=414&&vt=2&init=70380720050521

Greg

[BlackBuzzard]

chevy is coming out with 1/2 ton duramax v-6 next year

This is news to me.....got any links?

Maybe its a quicky conversion their existing gas V6?

??

BlackBuzzard

[milje]

My friend has a 1998 Chev Z71 1/2 ton with a 6.5 TD. He pulls around 25 mpg highway last I asked him. He said he's only seen two other trucks like his. I have yet to see another like it.