Newbie needs Help

[carringb]

I STRONGLY recommend holding out for a V10 van. The 6.0 diesels, especially with higher milage, are likely to fail major mechanical failures on a somewhat regular basis. Diesels are fun, but unless you have deep pockets and a satellite phone, I recommend staying away.

The only exceptions are those motors which have very meticulous maintenance, like annual coolant flushes with an added coolant filter, and quality oil with OE oil filters. NONE of the aftermarket oil filters fit properly, and allow oil bypass, and therefore poor oil quality which eventually damages the injectors and/or HPOP (exception for bypass oil filtration system). The coolant maintenance is essential to prevent the oil cooler plugging up, which causes the EGR cooler to fail, which can cause failed turbos, ruptured intercooler, failed head gaskets, and even a hydro-locked motor. Any extended idling is bad news too because it fouls up the EGR system, which can also cause a turbo failure.

The V10 OTOH usually requires nothing more than oil changes every 7500, spark plugs every 100,000 and coolant every 150k. And it can be idled at will (which is nice, because it quieter than most generators.)