Which heavy duty gas engine is the most reliable? Which one would make the most sense to buy in a used HD truck? We recently received this question via the TFLtruck Facebook page from Seth Greene.
I am looking at older heavy duty trucks, like the ram 2500 with the 5.7L, or the Chevy with the 6.0L, Or the ford with the 5.4L or 6.8L. I was just wondering what is the best engine and truck?
This is a great question. We have experience with some of these engines, transmissions, and trucks. Older Ram trucks with the 5.7L V8 had many transmission issues, although the engine has a better record. We know that the GM 6.0L Vortec V8 engine and the 4-speed automatic have been fairly reliable. We had experience with several trucks with this engine. Most recently, it has been the 2003 Hummer H2 with the 6.0L V8 that has about 115,000 miles without any major powertrain issue. Ford’s 6.2L gas V8 has been relatively trouble-free. We put about 60,000 miles on a 2014 Ford Raptor with the 6.2L gas V8 without a single engine hick-up.
TFLtruck does not have all the data and experience with every HD gas engine out there. This is why we need your help to provide some feedback on the most reliable and/or inexpensive to fix and maintain HD powertrains and trucks out there.
How do you decide whether to get a 3/4-ton or a 1-ton truck? This video helps make this decision.
