mastodon.social is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
The original server operated by the Mastodon gGmbH non-profit

Administered by:

Server stats:

366K
active users

Douglas

My parents 2009 F350 had the engine block crack after ~150k miles. The repair bill including a new crate engine is going to be north of $30k. In the last few years they had big bills for the high pressure fuel pump and the front axle swingarm bushings and suspension components.

It's still less expensive though to throw a new engine into it than buy a new diesel truck. An equivalent truck at the base model trim runs $80k MSRP before tax and delivery fees.

The initial diagnosis when it was hauled into the shop was it had too much oil. It was only later that they found the cracked block 🤷🏼‍♀️

My dad hadn't changed the oil for 12k miles so that might be part of the issue...

@douglasvb I think the previous owner of my truck's failure to change the oil for three years probably contributed to the fact that I owned it only six weeks before it needed a new engine. (Fortunately, it was covered under the original warranty.)

Oil changes are the cheapest way to protect your engine. That applies to any engine that uses oil as a lubricant.

@mlanger 💯💯💯 it's way cheaper to do routine maintenance than to get a new motor.

Speaking of which, my Tacoma is almost due. I think I'll call to schedule an appointment now 😅

@douglasvb I use Jiffy Lube, Valvoline, or any of the other quick places. They've got all the right filters and they do have premium oils.

@mlanger I've had some questionable jiffy lube experiences in the past and since this is a manual transmission a lot of the quick lube style places don't have anyone who actually knows how to drive stick 😬

Normally I would do it myself but since this is a pretty new truck I'm still paying someone else to do it.

I guess the question is who...

@douglasvb Well, in the quick lube places nobody drives it except you. You drive it into the garage and you drive it out. So that really shouldn't be an issue. I've generally gotten pretty decent service with these places. They get the job done. My truck is expensive cause it takes so much damn oil and I buy good oil for it. But I don't want to get it done at the dealer. They take enough of my money.

@mlanger @douglasvb My son has recently gotten interested in "Customer States..." videos on YouTube where they show various auto disasters that customers have brought to repair shops. The number of "98,000 miles, no oil change" examples is a little frightening.

And the pictures of the solid mess in the internals-wow.

@reallyjim @douglasvb My truck was three years old and just traded in when I bought it. I guarantee that the rancher who owned it before me, who also fitted it with off-road tires, beat the crap out of it for three years, knowing that he'd be trading it in. I was the sucker Who got it after him. Having the engine under warranty when it quit was sheer luck. 94,000 miles on a 100,000 mile warranty. But I replaced a lot of other things on the truck, too.

@reallyjim @douglasvb Me, too! But I wasn't covered for the starter or the water pump or a handful of other things that went wrong with it in the first two years I owned it.

This only reinforces my desire to buy new instead of used. But who the hell can afford a new truck these days? Yeah, I could scrape up the money, but I'd much rather spend it on something else.

@mlanger @reallyjim if I were in the market for a hauling truck these days, I would be very tempted to track down a 7.3L power stroke f350 with a manual transmission (late 90s era). There are loads of parts available, it's possible to work on those engines myself, they get pretty good MPG when hauling, and then I can have a manual transmission

But they're minimum $20k for a decent condition one with 200k miles on it because they're sought after.

And I'd be committing to doing all my own work

@douglasvb @mlanger Committing to doing my own work was part of the reason to buy my 2004 BMW convertible in 2016. It was borderline on needing some love, and I wanted a project.

I hear people say, "Wow, I could never afford to buy that!" But yeah, you can. What you can't do is afford to pay someone else to maintain it. Many of those vehicles are not something to take on unless you're handy, have tools and space to work, and are up to the challenge.

Under my care, this 330 has had an enormous amount of work done to it, almost all in my garage. I know that car better than any I've ever had. It's been an awesome learning experience.

And no way could I have afforded to pay someone else to do it.

@reallyjim @mlanger that's how I am with motorcycles because I prefer 80s Japanese bikes. I'm still baffled my wife kept dating me after the first time she came to my apartment and I had a motorcycle engine disassembled in my living room.

On my old 4x4 rock crawler truck I did everything except welding work because I don't have the tools of experience.

My parents have been trying to get me to do all of the work on their vehicles for decades for free labor 🙄

@douglasvb @reallyjim That sounds like an awesome truck.

But I don't fix trucks. Heck, I need a ladder just to change my wiper blades.

@mlanger @reallyjim my cousin had one for a while but he sold it without telling me when he needed a commuter car. I would have bought it from him if I had known!

@dougfir @mlanger @reallyjim haha I think those are pretty far out of their price range.

@mlanger @douglasvb @reallyjim
This was just an example. If you look for a while, there are better ones.
Back when I was insulating, I drove straight trucks this size all over California. Only the chevys were a problem.

@dougfir @douglasvb @reallyjim A friend of mine had something like that. I have my suspicions on why he bought it, because he certainly didn't need it. And then when he realized it was overkill for his application, he had a hard time selling it. He took quite a loss.

Sometimes the standard solution is the best.

@douglasvb Sounds to me like Ford has a quality problem if the block cracked at 150K and both fuel pump and suspension needed $$$ repairs.

For the price they have always charged for the F350, you'd THINK the truck would last longer.

My 1995 Toyota T100 just clocked 270K, runs like when bought it new (with their solid 2.7L four-banger), and I've only had to replace a radiator and the shocks (other than the usual batteries and tires). I usually go 5K between oil changes. It is bulletproof.

@Av8rdan they have used the truck for towing a 5th wheel through the west mostly so most of its life has been "severe duty" driving (or whatever Ford calls it).

But yeah this truck has had a lot of problems.

Surprisingly there's been zero electrical issues though.

@douglasvb it's crazy how expensive vehicles are these days. The auto industry is desperate to keep the low-cost alternatives out of the market. I'm really glad I live in a walkable neighborhood. Fortunately our 2009 Suby is still going strong. The most expensive repair so far was a $3k head gasket replacement.

@swart my parents were planning to replace their Subaru Forester this year with about 150k on it (2017 model year) because it's got a lot of severe duty miles on it from going up and down the mountain several times a week and driving in rough snowy conditions every winter. They had to replace an axle half shaft a year ago and I'm guessing they haven't kept up on the oil changes 🙄

But now I guess they'll put all of that money into the truck instead.

@douglasvb ouch. my wife raised me well and she's always been extremely insistent on regular oil changes. hopefully both vehicles will last a while longer, we are up to about the same mileage on ours, with lot of trips between San Jose and Whistler.

@swart my mother I think finally gave up trying to get my dad to do the maintenance on time and this is the result.

Maybe they'll also start listening to me about maintenance on their heavy equipment... They've got a bobcat that needs a major service interval done including new seals on the main hydraulic cylinders and new hoses and I've been trying to convince them to do that for a couple years.

They recently had a costly engine repair on their UTV for similar reasons 🙄

@douglasvb A new truck would also have many new technologies installed, including probably some tracking and recording of data constantly transmitted back to the manufacturer.

@EricFielding very true!

It would be nice if they had the upgraded lane departure warning and integrated tire pressure monitors though.

@douglasvb I am very happy with my 2017 Mazda. It has blind spot and backup scanners but it does not have any cellular radio built in, so it can’t phone home

@douglasvb
I don't get these delivery fees. You don't have to pay them for other goods.
Can you imagine: loaf of bread $5, plus $1 delivery fee! 😡

@godzero seriously! Buying vehicles is so annoying. Just tell me the out the door price!

@douglasvb
And the process is utterly insane! I will never buy a new car ever again.

@douglasvb

In Australia, American "trucks" are looked on in two ways.

1) unreliable, oversized, easily broken, gas guzzling ego boosts

2) gas guzzling, oversized, easily broken, unreliable work vehicles.

Mostly it's number 1.

The downside, in your case, is they are caught with a lemon and there aren't too many ways out of there.

@douglasvb

Junk yards may have a unit for less... but you only want one from a crash on backside of the vehicle - not a front impact.

Issue: no warranty - like you'd get from Crate unit.

For $30k --- you could probably find a used vehicle...

Y'all have probably had those considerations thought through...