Do share more stories on working on old trucks! I have a '99 Ford with a 7.3, and everyone's saying it's not worth fixing, but I just like keeping it on the road...
My extremely limited knowledge of diesel engines is something like "they go a ton of miles, then need a major overhaul, then go a ton more miles". If you're at some kind of major overhaul milestone, then I could see the response you're getting.
'99-ish Ford kicked off the Super Duty series, but it isn't sufficiently interestingly old to a lot of people, so I can understand their the why-bother attitude.
Newer trucks aren’t more reliable. They’re just newer. You won’t find a truck cheaper to maintain than the one you’ve already got.
(The people who tell you your truck ain’t worth fixing sound like my mother in law who traded in her car ‘cause the windshield wipers broke.)
Yup. Not unusual for big rigs to go a million miles between overhauls.
Even for "consumer" diesels, the engine typically outlasts the vehicle around it.
I drove a '97 Dodge which had 300k on the odo, got tired of the poor interior and upgraded to an '06 with 200k. I even threw a mercedes diesel into a 67 chevy pickup, because diesels are great :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFd1ZL2hgMY
I'm no expert on engines, so the the above may not be entirely accurate or current. Most of my knowledge comes from working for a semi truck/diesel engine manufacturer as an IT intern close to two decades ago and touring factories.