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Comments
rexallen, No I would say most are getting 19-21 mpg at 70 mph. You could probably get 22-24 at 55-60 mph, but who drives that slow.
So how many miles do you have on your truck now?
Did my first oil change this weekend @ 5k. Would like to rotate the tires this week. Pulled my 5th wheel for the first time for a long trip (150 miles). There's a big difference between this truck and my '90. I can accelerate going up hill no problem, neat feeling.
imatomboy, Why would you want a Cummins diesel in a 1500 truck?
My last trip was to Colorado a couple of weeks ago. This truck seems to have unlimited power..Going up the Raton Pass Pulling my 5th wheel it never shifted out of drive. (I locked it out of OD) It got out of 3rd gear lock up a couple of times but never shifted to 2nd.
A friend of ours that was towing a 21' 5th wheel with a 90 Ford 7.3 diesel(non turbo)w/4.10 could not keep up even on the relatively flat stretches because of a 20mph head wind. I didn't even know there was a head wind until he complained about having to keep it to the floor. He's looking for a new truck now...
Two friends of mine have Dodge Ram PU's, '96 & '97 I believe. Each has had brake problems. The problem being warped rotors.
Kevin had less than 20K miles when his problem developed.
Has anyone else seen brake problems with Dodge Ram PU's? Has anyone else had warped rotor problems?
I have been searching for a new truck to tow an 6500lb trailer on extended trips in the West. (Homebase is PHX.) This would be about 60% of the use of the truck. I entered the search with no bias.
Afer research and driving the various truck, my impressions are:
If I were to go gas, the new Chevy V-10 is very appealling. But I think I will go diesel so its a Ford or Dodge...
Drove the Ford 250SD...liked it... but concerned about the reported cavitation problems with this engine. Also did not like the instrumentation on the Ford... I like real gauges vs. ones that just report "low" and "high"...there is also at least a 3-5 month wait for 250SD's in my area.
Based on all the posts at several sites, I have concluded that I do not want to spend $30K+ to take a chance on the Dodge's automatic transmission. I believe the Cummins is the superior diesel engine however and I like the dash lay-out of the Dodge better. Milage also seems to be better than Ford's. I also believe that the brakes have been improved...
Drove a 5-speed 2500 turbo diesel and was very impressed. It also has a built-in exhaust brake. I believe that I will wait until January before ordering as I hear that a six-speed will be available for the Dodge then. Can anyone confirm that please? (My salesman can't...) I also think that Dodge/Cummins may have ironed out the electronic problems that are plaguing some of the new 24V Cummins by then.
Also, I note that according to 99 Dodge prices posted at www.autosite.com that the transmission auxiliary oil cooler and heavy duty engine cooling is available ONLY with the automatic transmission.
Can anyone comment on that? I want both, but I don't want an automatic tranmission to get them...doesn't make sense to me...
So then...so far... a white 99 Dodge 2/4 2500 QUAD diesel, LB, 3.54 w/six speed seems to be the ticket for me...
Question to those of you towing with newer Dodges...did you get the extended mirrors or did you find the regular larger mirrors to be sufficient (or did you just add portable mirror extensions?). (The girlfriend can handle a standard no problem, but she thinks parking that beast is problem enough without having to worry about the extended mirrors as well...)
Chevy doesn't make a v10, only a v8 454 cubic in.
You really don't need a trans. cooler on manual trannies, thats probably why it isn't offered, although i can honestly say i've never researched the fact if it is an option. In an automatic transmission, 90% of the heat generated in the transmission is due to the torque converter. The heat generated from gear lubrication in a manual tranny is really rather minor.
The heavy duty engine cooling is available with the stickshift. In fact, it is standard with all diesels. It includes a 700 square inch radiator - my temp gauge has bever gone past 180, even in stop-and-go summer traffic. And as of right now, the 6 speed is scheduled for Job One the first week of January 1999. It's a New Venture box, model NVG5600, with granny 1st and reverse, and 6th is overdrive.
As for the mirrors, I don't tow, so I stayed with the standard 6x9s, but unlike the new towing mirrors on the Ford SD trucks, the old style x-frame mirrors on the Dodge still allow you to pivot the mirror head to a non-extended position, making the frame arms themselves the widest part of the body, approximately an inch or so difference from the regular mirror. Ford is really missing the boat by not making the towing mirrors retractable to a non-extended position.
Thanks for any help,
JTO
I went to order a 99 Ram quad cab 2500, and just
before the autobytel salesman was going to write
the order up he said that he had just remembered
from a past order that they are not building
orders for the 2500 series with 3.54 ratio only
the 4.10. I said why and he said that they gave
no reason. All the trouble in research I went
through in deciding upon either the 1500 or the
2500 and finally deciding on the 2500 because
of it looking more heavy duty and just all around
better I had to hear this. This would just eat
up too much gas, and I don't haul horses or plow
snow. So I had to order a 1500 series to get
the gear ratio that I wanted. Does anyone know
why Dodge is doing this? They can lose many sales
on the 2500 with this dumb decision. The 99
brochure shows either ratio on the 2500 but they
are only building 3/4 ton with the 4.10
This is assinnine on their part.
#1 of 1: One comment: (stanford) Mon 19 Oct '98 (07:14 AM)
As you just proved, they aren't losing sales. You
still bought a Dodge, didn't you? It could just
be that the higher ratio (3.54) in the stronger
rear axle casing was very rare. Large assembly
lines save money by reducing options. This sounds
like one of those decisions.
Fords or Chevy's 3/4 ton options Dodge options are as follows if you want anti-spin differential
in the 3/4 ton it states (Req's Axle Ration-DMF When in Combe w/EML 5.9 Engine. So this means that you can still get the 3.55 rear but only with a regular rear end. Anti spin should be a must for anyone that orders a 4x4. Chevy's call it locking rear diff. When I told this to a friend he said that is why there are more Ford trucks on the road. They give you what you want. You want
anti spin with 3.55 you get it. Dodge you got to
change this in the years to come.
As part of the settlement, 51,200 Dodge Ram pickup trucks equipped with optional diesel engines are to be recalled to have controls recalibrated.
Chrysler Corp. spokeswoman Sonja Bultynck said the recall is a consensual action between the EPA and Cummins Encore, which makes the diesels in the pickups. Cummins Encore is to provide software for
reprogramming the engine controls, but the job will be done at Dodge dealerships, Bultynck said. The trucks in question were built between Nov. 1, 1997, and July 15, 1998.
I should be able to have at least 2 options of
the rear end not just one. I wanted 3.55 but for some god forsaken reason Dodge is only offering the 4.11 if you want anti-spin.
Now I don't own a farm, pull trailers,horses or plow snow, but I wanted a 3/4 ton ram because I like the word heavy duty. The snow prep group offered a HD transfer case and I like that word
heavy duty transfer case sounds indestructable right? I drive 52 miles round trip for work and the 4.11 would not fit for that. I am just dissapointed that is all.
Heavy duty means that it can handle more torque for a given application. It will still wear out at nearly the same rate as a standard transfer case. And since your application is light duty, save your money and buy a 1500 and get the rear end you want.
Or you can do what Stanford mentioned, and swap out the rear gears. The cost for the gears only it typically $200 with labor in the $300-800 range. Just remember that NO ONE would want your emasculated 3/4 ton truck when you go to sell it.
I just purchased a 5.9 quad slt with the 3.55 and have averaged 14 mpg for the first two tanks. Its too early to tell, but I expect it to come up 1 or 2 mpg after the engine breaks in.
I too was planning on buying a new silverado but due to lack of supply the dealers were just not dealing. I got an excellent deal on the dodge compared with what I could get with chevy right now, and I got an extra door. I also got a $1000 cash back on the 99 model.
Bri
You sure picked the wrong post to paste if you're down on Dodge. Read the response by Red. Stan doesn't know what he's talking about. First of all, steady torque does not cause your speed to drop. Just the opposite, it allows you to maintain your speed! Second, the horsepower is steadily increasing during that torque plateau. How does steady torque and increasing horsepower cause you to LOSE speed? Stan needs a lesson in diesel engines, because he just shot a load of nothing out of his mouth.
fasteddie, if you want the Dodge with the Cummins engine, go get it. There is nothing wrong with it.
just my interpretation.
Stan just doesn't understand how diesels work....or something is wrong with his truck.