Your Favorite Diesel Vehicle?

[UncleDave]

Originally Posted By: njohnson
A little older than your timeframe, but, our dad had a Isuzu PUP when we were growing up. It was a 1986 small truck, he bought it in 1988 and drove it everyday to work until 1996. All he did was change the oil, it just kept going and going.


that was the same as a luv truck right?

The gas pup was a dog - never knew there was a diesel pup.

UD

 

[AZjeff]

The 07 GMC Duramax LBZ that I sold earlier this year when we realized we're never going to hit the road for months with a trailer. Powerful, no soot box or DEF. Man I liked that truck but a 3/4 ton diesel doesn't make much sense as a daily driver short tripper.

 

[bigj_16]

EMD GP60

 

[fdcg27]

Any old IDI Mercedes diesel.
Not much power even mit turboladen, nor even especially good fuel economy, but good sounding and smooth engines that run forever.
The fact that they were installed in very good cars only adds to the charm.
Other than being slower than snail slime, the W115 and W123 are easily as pleasant to drive and to ride in as anything built today, with the W124 not being quite as good although still very nice.

 

[Finz]

Originally Posted By: sasilverbullet
1987 Peugeot 505 Wagon with a 2.5 liter diesel. Had seating for 8, pulled a 2,500 lb trailer all over Europe getting 22-25 mpg. Very reliable!


Ha....! I had a ‘75 504 and my brother had a ‘77 504 diesel.... wagons both. Back in ‘09, rented a diesel Peugeot sedan in Ireland. That thing was simply awesome... nostalgic for me as well.

My next car might well be a diesel so I’ll be following this thread closely

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted By: njohnson
A little older than your timeframe, but, our dad had a Isuzu PUP when we were growing up. It was a 1986 small truck, he bought it in 1988 and drove it everyday to work until 1996. All he did was change the oil, it just kept going and going.

The modern Isuzu D-Max (ute / pick up) or MU-X (SUV) 4x4 both with a 3.0L Turbo Diesel look like great vehicles.
The guy next door has the MU-X. Very solid.

 

[simple_gifts]

Ranger with a Perkins diesel; queue this combo up today and they would fly off the shelves.

 

[bruckus]

Ok maybe it was for sentimental reasons or something but my father gave me his 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 when I needed a car in 1981. The engine was loud, smokey, underpowered and for the most part unreliable.
I have owned alot of cars over the years but this is the one car I wish I still had. My dad thought it was the greatest car and we ordered and picked it up at the dealer together. In no way was my father a wealthy man but he gave me this car when I was down and needed help. The car never let me down
even with its bad reviews.
Short story- My dad and i picked this car up new and drove it to colorado to visit a relative. Going up the mountains it smoked like crazy. A guy pulled up next to us at a stoplight and said your car is burning up. We laughed the whole trip. Only thing I wish I had more than that car was more time with my Father.

 

[AZjeff]

HA! You reminded me of the Pontiac Bonneville diesel my dad had. We borrowed it for our honeymoon and the bellhop at the hotel entrance said about the same thing. It was loud and smoky but got good mileage and he was driving 50k a year so he liked it. 150k in 3 years and sold it.

 

[Elevguy]

08 Grand Cherokee 3.0 Mercedes diesel

 

[krismoriah72]

1998 Dodge Quad Cab "Holy Grail" truck.

12 Valve 215hp p7100 pump only with the 5 speed.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: SR5

The modern Isuzu D-Max (ute / pick up) or MU-X (SUV) 4x4 both with a 3.0L Turbo Diesel look like great vehicles.
The guy next door has the MU-X. Very solid.


What's the 3.0 in those ?

The colorado is a VM engine.

Ask your neighbour to buy my tyres n ebay

 

[02SE]

For personal use, probably my current Cummins 6.7 Ram. The entire truck has been great. I liked the 5.9 Cummins I had in a '95 Dually, but the rest of the truck was a disappointment. The new ones have come a LONG ways in terms of refinement, and reliability.

 

[Silk]

Of the small diesels the Nissan TD27 would be the pick, not a power house, but almost indestructable. Gear drive, pushrod, nothing complicated to go wrong. When overheated, unlike other Japanese diesels they seldom crack a head, but will sieze a piston. The QD32 is a more modern version with electronic injector pump, but not common rail.

Real diesel engines, used in real trucks, my favourite is always the Rootes TS3, but any old British diesel is therapy to me...a 680 Leyland, AEC, Gardner.

 

[marine65]

my favorite diesel vehicle is the one behind me.
the one in front of me stinks.
I dont like diesels.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Silk
Of the small diesels the Nissan TD27 would be the pick, not a power house, but almost indestructable. Gear drive, pushrod, nothing complicated to go wrong. When overheated, unlike other Japanese diesels they seldom crack a head, but will sieze a piston. The QD32 is a more modern version with electronic injector pump, but not common rail.

Real diesel engines, used in real trucks, my favourite is always the Rootes TS3, but any old British diesel is therapy to me...a 680 Leyland, AEC, Gardner.


Silk, I really do think that there's a distinction there.

There are "diesel engines" which run forever, are robustly built, and can take a hammering.

Then there's the modern engines that "run on diesel", like the VMs in my Colorado and Captiva.

 

[GSCJR]

Originally Posted By: bruckus
Ok maybe it was for sentimental reasons or something but my father gave me his 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88 when I needed a car in 1981. The engine was loud, smokey, underpowered and for the most part unreliable.
I have owned alot of cars over the years but this is the one car I wish I still had. My dad thought it was the greatest car and we ordered and picked it up at the dealer together. In no way was my father a wealthy man but he gave me this car when I was down and needed help. The car never let me down
even with its bad reviews.
Short story- My dad and i picked this car up new and drove it to colorado to visit a relative. Going up the mountains it smoked like crazy. A guy pulled up next to us at a stoplight and said your car is burning up. We laughed the whole trip. Only thing I wish I had more than that car was more time with my Father.


Thanks for sharing your story. I enjoyed reading it.

 

[skyactiv]

Originally Posted By: marine65
my favorite diesel vehicle is the one behind me.
the one in front of me stinks.
I dont like diesels.


Diesel vehicles don't emit nearly the smell they use to since the introduction of ULSD in 2006.

 

[Alex_V]

I don't have much to compare it to but I really do like my 5 cylinder Mercedes. The OM617 isn't the smoking, clattering powerplant a lot of diesels could be chalked up as. No, you can't mistake that it's a diesel, but it revs nicely, has good power at speed, and is fairly quiet.

I've spent some time around a 1Z, ALH, and PD Volkswagen 1.9's, and while they're plenty durable and economical, they're just closer to the "shake, rattle, and roll coal" thing than the Benz. Not to mention they have a timing belt.

I've never pulled much with any of the big 3's diesel trucks, but have driven each a little and I'd rank them Duramax>Cummins>Powerstroke. The Cummins just pulls like a locomotive, and it's an inline 6, but the Duramax is just as powerful and... more refined? I also simply prefer Chevy and believe the truck the Duramax sits in is probably a better one. (Perfection might be a 24V Cummins set in a GMT800 Chevy body with the Allison trans., with Ford solid front axle.) However, I'm speaking outside my bounds because I'll likely never own a post-mechanical-injection era diesel pickup.

 

[George7941]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
I have a soft spot for the 6.0, 6.4, and 6.7 Fords mostly because selling parts helps my paycheck. I also like the V10 Tourags, my friend's grandpa had one and from a standstill it would light the tires up through 3rd gear.


I have not heard anything negative about the 6.7s. Are they turning out to be unreliable? All late diesels have issues with emission devices like DPF and DOC. Do the 6.7s have issues unrelated to emissions?