I am finally looking at used trucks. What is the latest year model I can buy without the convertor burn system on it? I am leaning towards dodge but tell why I do and don't want one. The V-10 ford has done well but ford has used too many different engines and I've heard horror stories on duramax. Please no war but let me hear why. Thanks in advance.
Personally I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Dodge Cummins trucks. Anything that is the first half of 07 or earlier is a 5.9, that is the engine you want. It has no emissions control devices, other then a Cat on the 04.5 - 07 HO motors.
The older 12 valves from 89 - 93 and 94 - the first half of 98, are getting harder to find but they make highly reliable vehicles and can pull a trailer with the best of them. The 12 valves have a fully mechanical fuel injection system so its very easy to make them go fast without a lot of money. The electronic-mechanically injected 24 valve engines, 98.5 - 02, make good power in stock form for an excellent daily driver or strictly a tow vehicle. There are known issues with the lift pumps dieing and then in turn causing the injection pump to die, but it's not as bad as it sounds. A simple fuel pressure gauge will allow you to monitor this and catch it before it happens. Don't let this discourage you from 98.5 - 02 in anyway.
In 03 Dodge introduced the trucks with a new version of the 5.9 with a high pressure common rail injection system. One of the most notable features of this design is it eliminated the "diesel loudness" that the previous generation of 5.9's had. In the 04.5's, this same engine was then upgraded to a total of 325 hp/600 ft. lbs. and then later was further upgraded to 610 ft. lbs.
As far as other manufacturers go, Ford use to have the 7.3 Powerstroke in there trucks from 94 - 03. Any of those trucks make reliable vehicles, though the intercooled version of the 7.3 is the best IMO. The horror stories your referring to are probably of the 6.0 and personally I wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole. Some people have had good luck with them but a lot haven't, I wouldn't take the risk.
If you are looking at Chevy then you can't go wrong there either IMO. The Duramax is a nice engine and the Allison transmission is like the Cummins of light duty pick-up transmissions.
