Diesel Trucks
From : bob
Q: my little dakota is about to give it up. as much as i hate to trade it in i cant afford to keep it any longer. a truck is no longer my daily driver. i need something to get me around in bad weather carry more than 2 people and tow a light trailer 5000# at high altitude. i looked at the new ram and i like it. but its a lot heavier than my dakota and the hemi doesnt impress me. it would be a step down in the powerweight ratio. it wont tow as well as my 5.9l dakota. of course that points directly at the turbo diesel. excellent power even at 9000 asl. my dakota only gets 6-9mpg while towing. i would expect the turbo diesel to do considerably better than that. there were rumors of the dakota diesel but i dont see that happening any time soon. now heres the rub. i dont know a lot about diesel trucks. i know enough about gas engines to pick a good one and fix it if i have to. but not so with a diesel. i drove them around a bit over the years but never owned one or worked on one. sometime in the next few months ill be buying one. im looking at all three dodge ford and chevy. not particularly biased for or against either one. i like dodge trucks been driving them forever. learned to drive in a dodge work van back in the 70s. i hear that the cummins engine is the best diesel around. i like the fact that its an in line engine; in the gas engines in-lines make more torque. but i also hear the allison transmission in the chevy is the best trans around. for diesel owners what do you like and dis-like if you could buy another new truck today what would it be what about a used truck im probably more interested in a good used one. but all iv seen have 100k miles or more on them. thats fine for the engine but shocks brakes diffs etc dont last that long. if you could have any recent model used truck what would it be i have a bunch of other questions. but that will do for now. -------- ..bob 2006 fxdi hot rod 2008 mustang coupe 2001 dodge dakota qc 5.9/4x4/3.92 1965 ffr cobra - 427w efi damn fast. .
Replies:
From : ddt
hemi has lots of towing power for 5000# so does 310 hp 4.7 in dakota. both much cheaper to own/operate the ram diesel for occational towing. -- dick dickmellon@att.net my little dakota is about to give it up. as much as i hate to trade it in i cant afford to keep it any longer. a truck is no longer my daily driver. i need something to get me around in bad weather carry more than 2 people and tow a light trailer 5000# at high altitude. i looked at the new ram and i like it. but its a lot heavier than my dakota and the hemi doesnt impress me. it would be a step down in the powerweight ratio. it wont tow as well as my 5.9l dakota. of course that points directly at the turbo diesel. excellent power even at 9000 asl. my dakota only gets 6-9mpg while towing. i would expect the turbo diesel to do considerably better than that. there were rumors of the dakota diesel but i dont see that happening any time soon. now heres the rub. i dont know a lot about diesel trucks. i know enough about gas engines to pick a good one and fix it if i have to. but not so with a diesel. i drove them around a bit over the years but never owned one or worked on one. sometime in the next few months ill be buying one. im looking at all three dodge ford and chevy. not particularly biased for or against either one. i like dodge trucks been driving them forever. learned to drive in a dodge work van back in the 70s. i hear that the cummins engine is the best diesel around. i like the fact that its an in line engine; in the gas engines in-lines make more torque. but i also hear the allison transmission in the chevy is the best trans around. for diesel owners what do you like and dis-like if you could buy another new truck today what would it be what about a used truck im probably more interested in a good used one. but all iv seen have 100k miles or more on them. thats fine for the engine but shocks brakes diffs etc dont last that long. if you could have any recent model used truck what would it be i have a bunch of other questions. but that will do for now. -------- .bob 2006 fxdi hot rod 2008 mustang coupe 2001 dodge dakota qc 5.9/4x4/3.92 1965 ffr cobra - 427w efi damn fast. .
From : fearless fred
it really will depend on the amount of towing you will be doing. if you paln on traveling a lot towing a large trailer such as a fifth wheel youll have to seriously consider the diesel. fred -- black 1999 ram 2500 ctd quad cab sport black 2001 dakota 4.7l 4x4 sport hemi has lots of towing power for 5000# so does 310 hp 4.7 in dakota. both much cheaper to own/operate the ram diesel for occational towing. -- dick dickmellon@att.net my little dakota is about to give it up. as much as i hate to trade it in i cant afford to keep it any longer. a truck is no longer my daily driver. i need something to get me around in bad weather carry more than 2 people and tow a light trailer 5000# at high altitude. i looked at the new ram and i like it. but its a lot heavier than my dakota and the hemi doesnt impress me. it would be a step down in the powerweight ratio. it wont tow as well as my 5.9l dakota. of course that points directly at the turbo diesel. excellent power even at 9000 asl. my dakota only gets 6-9mpg while towing. i would expect the turbo diesel to do considerably better than that. there were rumors of the dakota diesel but i dont see that happening any time soon. now heres the rub. i dont know a lot about diesel trucks. i know enough about gas engines to pick a good one and fix it if i have to. but not so with a diesel. i drove them around a bit over the years but never owned one or worked on one. sometime in the next few months ill be buying one. im looking at all three dodge ford and chevy. not particularly biased for or against either one. i like dodge trucks been driving them forever. learned to drive in a dodge work van back in the 70s. i hear that the cummins engine is the best diesel around. i like the fact that its an in line engine; in the gas engines in-lines make more torque. but i also hear the allison transmission in the chevy is the best trans around. for diesel owners what do you like and dis-like if you could buy another new truck today what would it be what about a used truck im probably more interested in a good used one. but all iv seen have 100k miles or more on them. thats fine for the engine but shocks brakes diffs etc dont last that long. if you could have any recent model used truck what would it be i have a bunch of other questions. but that will do for now. -------- .bob 2006 fxdi hot rod 2008 mustang coupe 2001 dodge dakota qc 5.9/4x4/3.92 1965 ffr cobra - 427w efi damn fast. .
From : tom lawrence
last that long. if you could have any recent model used truck what would it be my first choice would be an 03 or early 04 ram diesel with 6spd trans. the reason being is that its the least complicated of the all-electronic engines and no emissions equipment to speak of. the engine is bomb-proof the transmission bullet-proof and the axles hd-enough to not have to worry about for some time. id take an 03 or 04 over a late 98-02 because of the more reliable injection system. the 24v isbs a fine engine but the injection pump is susceptible to damage if the fuel supply is diminished failed lift pump. comparatively there have been very few cp3 injection pump used on the 03 and up engines failures. ive had my 03 since i first got it and having done a bunch of routine maintenance as well as a bunch of non-routine upgrades its been the easiest truck ive owned to work on. very few times have i ever encountered the now why in the hell did they do that! feeling when working on something. while pulling an enclosed 8x18 trailer loaded with about 9k inside it i was getting about 14mpg on flat land. empty driving around im typically around 18-19mpg but thats because i drive it like its a sports car. if i were more mindful i could easily get 21mpg from it. a performance box helps - keep the power level turned down but the timing a little advanced and it improves fuel economy over stock. yes really. as for working on the engine itself well... theres not really that much to it. oil changes are the same - filters a little tough to get to from underneath but removing the air box good time to clean it out anyway and its only a couple of nuts holding it in place gives you easy access while leaning over the right fender. fuel filter changes are equally as easy - canister with a screw-on lid on the drivers side - might need a stepstool to reach it but you just spin the lid off with a socket wrench pull the filter out wipe out the bowl install a new one and youre done. the injection system is self-priming so no concern about purging the air out first. the serp. belt is no different than any other engine... water pump is two bolts to swap out literally takes about 10 minutes to change one. most sensors are each to reach and so far ive been able to diagnose any problem via the built-in obd-ii code display on the dash most of my problems have been self-induced. valves should be adjusted after 100k and every 100k after that. this is also a simple job - just remove the valve cover and adjust the rocker-arm clearances with a feeler gauge. nothing fancy to worry about there. no timing chain to worry about - no distributor or dis to worry about... overall i think maintaining a diesel engine is easier than a gasoline equivalent. .
From : peterd
on tue 14 oct 2008 193454 -0400 tom lawrence tlawrence5@earthlink.not wrote last that long. if you could have any recent model used truck what would it be my first choice would be an 03 or early 04 ram diesel with 6spd trans. the reason being is that its the least complicated of the all-electronic engines and no emissions equipment to speak of. the engine is bomb-proof the transmission bullet-proof and the axles hd-enough to not have to worry about for some time. things to check on that 03/04 would be front axel u-joints and ball joints which seem to have a much higher than normal failure rate. ball joints seem to be a very common failure and can provide some price negoiation room for you! .
From : bob
peterd wrote on tue 14 oct 2008 193454 -0400 tom lawrence tlawrence5@earthlink.not wrote last that long. if you could have any recent model used truck what would it be my first choice would be an 03 or early 04 ram diesel with 6spd trans. the reason being is that its the least complicated of the all-electronic engines and no emissions equipment to speak of. the engine is bomb-proof the transmission bullet-proof and the axles hd-enough to not have to worry about for some time. things to check on that 03/04 would be front axel u-joints and ball joints which seem to have a much higher than normal failure rate. ball joints seem to be a very common failure and can provide some price negoiation room for you! thanx to both of you. thats valuable information. -------- ..bob 2006 fxdi hot rod 2008 mustang coupe 2001 dodge dakota qc 5.9/4x4/3.92 1965 ffr cobra - 427w efi damn fast. .
From : brokersdad
one thing ive found owning a diesel 02 ram ctd any money you think your saving now they usually get you when it comes time to repair it! dont really know if its worth owning one unless your heavy into hauling .
From : carolina watercraft works
unless you can fix your own. -- ------------------------------------------ laszlo almasi ----cool toys ----mack daddy trailers ----ice angels one thing ive found owning a diesel 02 ram ctd any money you think your saving now they usually get you when it comes time to repair it! dont really know if its worth owning one unless your heavy into hauling .
From : tom lawrence
one thing ive found owning a diesel 02 ram ctd any money you think your saving now they usually get you when it comes time to repair it! such as .
From : mac davis
on mon 17 nov 2008 000300 -0500 tom lawrence tlawrence5@earthlink.not wrote one thing ive found owning a diesel 02 ram ctd any money you think your saving now they usually get you when it comes time to repair it! such as probably all those spark plugs and distributor caps.. mac please remove splinters before emailing .
From : brokersdad
on the 02 dodge cummins right back to 98.5 its the notorious lift pump and injection pump problem. lift pump pressure fails and if you dont notice quick enough it takes the injection pump with it and that job can run you about $3000. the 03 and up dodge has a different injection pump so i dont think its an issue on those but i still hear of them having lift pump issues. so you may be looking at an upgrade to an aftermarket pump to solve a potential problem. thats how i solved my 02s problem. throttle posistion sensors are another one i hear about they run about $500 from what im told. oil changes run you about $75-$100 bucks and of course dont forget the price of diesel...more than gas. if your a guy that cant do any of your own work on the engine part of the truck yourself a good mechanic can run you about $100 an hour..at leat thats what cummins eastern in dartmouth was charging. .
From : brokersdad
on the 02 dodge cummins right back to 98.5 its the notorious lift pump and injection pump problem. lift pump pressure fails and if you dont notice quick enough it takes the injection pump with it and that job can run you about $3000. the 03 and up dodge has a different injection pump so i dont think its an issue on those but i still hear of them having lift pump issues. so you may be looking at an upgrade to an aftermarket pump to solve a potential problem. thats how i solved my 02s problem. throttle posistion sensors are another one i hear about they run about $500 from what im told. oil changes run you about $75-$100 bucks and of course dont forget the price of diesel...more than gas. if your a guy that cant do any of your own work on the engine part of the truck yourself a good mechanic can run you about $100 an hour..at leat thats what cummins eastern in dartmouth was charging. .