Is There More Or Less Maintenance Required For A Diesel Cargo Van Versus Gas Cargo Van (fuel, trucks)

[fordtrucks]

Ive been looking into possible purchasing a diesel and was wondering regarding cost of maintenance.

[TrapperL]

COST of maintenance is higher than a gas engine. Todays gas engines will go the miles if properly maintained so the playing field about diesels lasting longer to offset the initial cost is all but gone. A diesel will not put up with much abuse when it comes to maintenance due to the extreme pressures it works under. Usually they take a lot more oil per change and filters can be expensive depending on the engine. Whatever you're considering buying in a diesel it would be wise to check out cost of filters. An air filter on some can run over 50 bucks and oil filters over 15. You can't just use any off the shelf oil in one, it has to be at least a dual rated or diesel rated oil to handle the deposits formed by the diesel fuel during combustion. Rotella, DelVac, and Delo are the most common with Delo having the far better formulation today. If you need the power, diesel is the answer. In a town delivery van of a 1 ton size, a gas engine is a better choice from a cost of maintenance perspective for most applications. Any savings due to the increase of fuel mileage on a diesel will be eaten by the cost of maintenance. Assuming that this unit will be driven a lot. If not, diesel fuel can get infected with bacteria's that will kill the injection system. It can be an extremely expensive fix. It's not a good idea to have a diesel that sits a lot.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by fordtrucks

Ive been looking into possible purchasing a diesel and was wondering regarding cost of maintenance.

If your intended application can and will effectively utilize the HP/torque curve and fuel economy of a diesel engine, then it may be worthwhile.

The ultimate answer will be specific to your situation to arrive at the net "costs per mile". There is no generalized cost figure that anybody can provide without more specific information about your intended use of the vehicle. In some uses, a diesel is by far and away a more efficient use of your resources ... such as heavy loads (ie, freight loads, trailer hauling, for example). In some uses, a diesel engine may not be a net benefit due to many factors.

So we need a lot more information about your situation to give any truly meaningful response.