curious. what do you guys think of the 2001-ish dodge 3/4 ton diesel trucks?

[vash]

one of my miners bought one. i have been casually looking on/off for one of that vintage. i figured a 4x4, short bed diesel truck wouldnt suck in having around as a utility rig. the one the miner bought was super clean, with a LEER shell. white, cloth interior. i think he overpaid at $15k but it only had 80k miles on it. he found it in utah, and drove it back. he said he got 22-23 mpg on the way home rattling back at 75mph. not bad.

anyone have one? any horror stories? the last year of that style was 2002, right?

cliff

[kaisen]

Vinman and joeaska have them. They love them. I'm sure they'll chime in.

$15K is ridiculous

[vash]

Originally Posted by kaisen

$15K is ridiculous

too high, or too low?

[kaisen]

Buy one with a stick shift, pref the H.O. with the 6 speed

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by vash

too high, or too low?

Way, way high

[afterburn 549]

Both the standard and auto trans are crap....The key is not to make a wrong decision when they fail...If it is a standard Pay the extra and get Mercedes unit out of the newer trucks (wreck yard) as the GTRAG and the NV stuff is real junk
I could go on and on with the pedigree of problems..But they are better then the next brand.

[Joeaksa]

$15k is 3-4k too much for a 2002, and far too high for a 2001. Look around on CraigsList or Ebay and you will find the price is closer to $11k unless its a low mileage version.

First thing your friend needs to get is a fuel pressure gauge, either do a one time check or most of us install them in the cockpit so we can watch it while driving.

The fuel injection pump on the Cummins engine is VERY dependent on the Lift Pump (that's the pump takes the fuel from the tank to the injector pump) having a MINIMUM of 10 psi all of the time. It uses fuel pressure to lubricate the high pressure injection pump. Low pressure, no lube and pump eats itself to death. If he is really getting 22-23 mpg on the road then my guess is that his lift pump is going out and has pressure lower than 10 psi. At that point the VP-44 Injector pump starts to eat itself alive internally. Costs about $1500 to have the injector pump replaced, so keeping good Lift Pump pressure is well worth it.

Long story short, when the mileage is low like this (I get 27 on the road at 70 mph and 23 in town) it usually means that the injector pump is going bad and this will strand you on the road.

Agree with the above comment on the 6 speed manual, especially if you are doing any towing. Auto boxes get hot while towing and the manual box does wonders to fuel mileage.

Have had mine 6 months and love the truck. I have a "Edge with Attitude" controller on mine that shows all sorts of data (fuel and boost pressure, along with water temp, Turbo inlet temp and volts are set up on mine right now) and can be used to dial in more power. I do not need the power but needed the information display so love the unit.

Personally I do not like the short bed but got a long bed and extended cabin, not the four door model. Do not need the 4 doors but love the extra space behind the seats. Once you put a tool box (I have the 50 gallon/tool box combo on mine) in there with a short bed you would have no space to carry things.

A Cummins is good for 500,000 miles if you take care of them. They are not really broken until around 100,000-150,000 miles. Excellent engines and the truck is a good one. You hear people bash the Ram 2500/3500 but its usually Ford drivers who do not like anything but a Ford. Try to find one of the 2000-2002 versions as the newer versions do not get as good a fuel mileage as these models. Mine has 115,000 miles on it and still like new.

Also do you really need a 4X4? Mine is a 2 wd version and does fine for 90% of the places I go. The last 10% I do not need to be there, just playing around and thats what a friend with a jeep is for. Having the 4X4 eats up a LOT of fuel mileage in your regular day to day driving so if its not really needed look for a standard version.

Joe A

[afterburn 549]

Joeaksa --------- Is Absolutly correct +1 !

[VINMAN]

Everything Joe said!!

Like Joe said, unless you intend to take it offroad the 2wd is fine. I take mine on the beach to surf fish on a regular basis and do take it off road once in a while. thats why I got the 4x4. then again every truck I ever owned was 4wd.
The weak point in these trucks is the auto trans. The torque converters suck. they use a gas engine t/c behind a high torque diesel and they get torn up. Mine went at 105k . but I also tow a 10,000 lb boat. I know guys with the same truck that never had an issue with them. When I replaced I put in an aftermarket heavy duty unit, and its been great since.
I have the Edge unit that Joe has also. Great thing to have.

I'm going on 129k. The trans problem was the only issue I've ever had. I wouldnt trade this truck for anything.

[vash]

thanks everyone...

yes i need a 4x4.

[porsche4life]

Dad has a 99 3/4ton that will roll over 200k this year and an 01 1ton with a man lift and a service body full of tools. The '01 just shelled the auto tranny at about 170k but its had a very very hard life. The '99 is a stick and I would recommend it. Doesn't seem weak at all.

[924slover]

from my personal expierience, I had a 2000 durango and at work we have a small fleet of dodges. dodges eat transmissions and brakes like we eat breakfast but the engine's are awesome. but that could have just been a fluke for us.

[porsche4life]

The sticks aren't bad. The main issue is that not many trannies can take the torque a cummins engine puts down

[vash]

thanks joe...i had to re-read your post this morning (now that i am sober)..thanks for the great info.

[turbo6bar]

I don't know how you guys get over 25 mpg. I got 20-21.5 mpg on the highway. 2wd, quad cab, long bed, 2001.5 with auto gearbox. Tops is around 19 mpg highway with biodiesel.

Weak points I have seen: poor design front calipers (brakes always vibrate), terrible lift pump (replaced 3 times before going with a geared pump driven off the crankshaft. Pluses: good mileage, nice drivetrain (original transmission with 140k miles). I feel a fuel pressure gauge is mandatory. I also run boost, egt, oil pressure, and transmission temp.

If I had to do it again, I would definitely consider the Dodge, again, but I would also seriously consider Ford's F-250 due to the fact F did not get bailout bucks from the government.

[porsche4life]

Joe is running a programmable chip to get that kind of mileage.

Vash I would think that you wouldn't need to worry about the tranny for what you will be using it for. As long as you aren't towing 10k plus daily they are good. Just get on with a good stick and you should be set.

[VINMAN]

Guys on the Dodge Ram forums brag about some outrageous mileage figures. most are full of crap. High teens is pretty realistic average mileage The best I ever did was low 20's on the highway without the programmer. That was taking it easy long level road keeping the cruise set at 65. You can easily push over 25 with the chip.
Vash, unless your doing heavy towing, I wouldnt worry about the auto trans.

[kaisen]

Almost any 2001-up 3/4 ton diesel truck will return within +/- 10% (2 miles/gallon) of each other if they are spec'd similarly.

Is it 2wd or 4wd?
Is it 3.55, 3.73. or 4.10 geared?
Is it a 5 speed, 6 speed manual? If automatic is it 4,5, or 6 speeds?
Is it dual rear wheels or single?
Is it regular cab, cab-and-a-half, or full four door crew cab?
Street tires or all-terrain? What size?

These things make more difference than what brand.

I had a client that had a 1997 Ford F250 7.3 Powerstroke 5spd manual 3.55 2wd reg cab and he regularly got 30mpg at 60mph.

My 1995 Dodge 2500 5.9 Cummins 4spd auto 4.10 4wd reg cab wouldn't do better than 20mpg (and I was pretty happy with that).

[vash]

you guys are the best... the heaviest i would tow, would maybe be a 911, or if all goes well (in my dreams), a refurbished airstream, or a free 69 camaro in austin texas.

[porsche4life]

Ya an auto would suffice. I guess its up to you but I prefer a manual.