Opinions on Dodge Diesel's

[soutthpaw]

My sister is looking for a newer truck to replace her 95 Ford F250 460.. which she has owned since new. she is wanting something newer. less than 5 yrs old. her Riding buddy also has a 96 F350 CC 4x4 with the 7.3L which they are also planning to sell and just get one truck between them... If they weren't 1100 miles away I would convince them to keep the 7.3L
so the options are a 6.0h Leaker 6.4L or the Dodge Cummins... I don't follow dodge models but I do know the 5.9 was/is a great engine like the 7.3..
Any known issues on the late model dodges.. what should I be looking for and avoiding???.. as she will prob send me the money to buy her one here in CO, go thru it and service/repair, upgrade it then take it out to her in CA....

This is a serious question and not intended as a Cummins/ford debate...
I hate GM's so they are out of the question...

Oh they are asking $8000 for the 7.3 its got a newer tranny and I sent them to get a shift kit put in it after she complained about the towing.. said it made a world of difference (duh) anyway no tuner or chip or any other aftermarket exhaust etc. currently that truck is in Los Angeles area...

[John Anderson]

The 04.5-07 5.9 Dodges are what I would buy. They are pretty nice trucks, run pretty good in stock form, and actually have a decent auto trans. One of the biggest problems I see with them is cp3/injector problems usually due to contaminated fuel or not enough fuel supply. If I was to buy one of those 5.9's the first and only mod I would do to it is put some sort of aftermarket fuel system/pump on it. They would be really reliable trucks short of some front end component quirks.

The more I work on the 6.0's, the more I have a hard time recommending them to anyone. I really like how they run and drive, but I'm starting to have nightmares about them. They have more than their fair share of issues.

[ChuckD]

I heard somewhere that the 03's came stock with a main girdle and in 07 they came out with a better tranny. Most people that I have talked to that have just did an intake and exhaust and no tunes they have been ok. Of course they are not real big HP junkies and don't go crazy with it.

[cleatus12r]

Originally Posted by John Anderson

The 04.5-07 5.9 Dodges are what I would buy. They are pretty nice trucks, run pretty good in stock form, and actually have a decent auto trans. One of the biggest problems I see with them is cp3/injector problems usually due to contaminated fuel or not enough fuel supply. If I was to buy one of those 5.9's the first and only mod I would do to it is put some sort of aftermarket fuel system/pump on it. They would be really reliable trucks short of some front end component quirks.

The more I work on the 6.0's, the more I have a hard time recommending them to anyone. I really like how they run and drive, but I'm starting to have nightmares about them. They have more than their fair share of issues.

I'm not trying to be a postwhore but I agree 100% with John on this one.

[88Racing]

Originally Posted by cleatus12r

I'm not trying to be a postwhore but I agree 100% with John on this one.

Then you have me who really kinda is a postwhore but has a different opinion.
I really favor the first and second generation dodges this is what we use at work other than some general maintenance we have driven several of these to 500k+.
I feel through out the years dodge has had one of the most stable diesel platforms on the market compared to the other 2 mfgrs. But went down when the Mercedes concept way of thinking was introduced.
So John has the right years in his post.
IMHO
Lars

[soutthpaw]

thanks for the replies, I did suggest she get a manual tranny but sitting it LA traffic and towing can get rather tiring with a manual tranny. so looks like it will have to be an automatic...
did they change trannys at the 04.5' model year mark? it will be used almost exclusively for pulling horse trailers, getting hay etc too

[soutthpaw]

Originally Posted by 88Racing

Then you have me who really kinda is a postwhore but has a different opinion.
I really favor the first and second generation dodges this is what we use at work other than some general maintenance we have driven several of these to 500k+.
I feel through out the years dodge has had one of the most stable diesel platforms on the market compared to the other 2 mfgrs. But went down when the Mercedes concept way of thinking was introduced.
So John has the right years in his post.
IMHO
Lars

7 more posts and you will be a the big 2K

[John Anderson]

Originally Posted by soutthpaw

thanks for the replies, I did suggest she get a manual tranny but sitting it LA traffic and towing can get rather tiring with a manual tranny. so looks like it will have to be an automatic...
did they change trannys at the 04.5' model year mark? it will be used almost exclusively for pulling horse trailers, getting hay etc too

The ones I work on and am around alot are pretty stout. My father has an 04.5 with an auto. It has about 210k on it and has the original stock transmission in it. He has a oil field construction business and the truck is used for plowing, towing, and lots of off road use. I have been really impressed by the truck so far.

[cleatus12r]

I owned a 2nd gen. Cummins. It was a 94 with a 5 speed. It was a pulling machine as long as you kept the RPM below about 1800. The early 24V trucks had a similar RPM threshold. The problem associated with the mechanical ones (as well as the first 24V ones up to '02) was that it was hard for a truck to have "multiple personalities" and be easily changeable from a tame commuter into a pulling monster. Besides, those trucks literally fell apart around the engine. The automatic transmissions were made of fine crystal, and the interior smelled like urine.

The advent of the common rail brought with it a much better Dodge truck (that actually came with bushings on each end of the track bar), better transmission strength, and a more versatile RPM range in which to run. They're quieter too....if you're into that sort of thing. Listening to an early 24V all day long gets really old. I don't have a problem with noisy diesels but those were over the top.

[Desert Racer]

My brother had a 2003 Dodge cummins with 170K miles. Of them 100K miles it was chipped witha smarty and predator ran like a rapped ape! I say anything after the 04.5 mark as stock they come with more power and torque. Also my pops has a '06 megacab and boy it is like a hotel for the night out camping! I say if she can swing a '06 or newer get the megacab she will not be disappointed. As for as the 6.7's go do the egr and dpf deletes mileage goes up! Wether doing or not and it is 6speed big plus IMO. Can't go wrong with a dodge as long as you treat them right, just like any other truck.