Alright so I have heard that the Cummins is a sick engine, but I have heard that the Truck around that engine is a bit junky. Does anybody have any experiance with what exactly has been happening with these trucks. I really am looking for honest, un biased answers becuase I am kinda trying to figure out if it will be livable or at one point I could just be driving a frame, motor, and a steering wheel. Also Does anybody out there know how to tell if the 2004 has the regular cummins or the cummins "600"? Thanks for your help.

ehhhhhhh.... You aren't going to get many answers on this site. Try a dodge site. People around here don't much like the Dodge trucks. My experience has been that the engine is decent, although older versions are super loud even for a diesel. The transmissions and rear ends are waay too light duty for the Cummins power plant . Transmissions dont live long stock and rear ends dont either.
Personally I believe the rest of the truck is -:t . Electrical system nightmare and overall poor quality..

ehhhhhhh.... You aren't going to get many answers on this site. Try a dodge site. People around here don't much like the Dodge trucks. My experience has been that the engine is decent, although older versions are super loud even for a diesel. The transmissions and rear ends are waay too light duty for the Cummins power plant . Transmissions dont live long stock and rear ends dont either.
Personally I believe the rest of the truck is -:t . Electrical system nightmare and overall poor quality..

I did not know about rear end and electrical. Is it a pretty big weak spot? And does stuff just break on the dodges?

i think they got a lot of there problems figured out since the new ones came out, friend of mine has one and it seems a good truck no issues with it, the 04.5 got the 600 series but i couldnt tell ya exactly how to tell. i know there were a lot of drivetrain issues on the older ones but havent heard to much about the new ones. i personnally really like the cummins motor after driving it.

I think the HPCR engine came out in '03.

I traded in my Dodge for my current truck, and its a night and day difference. I've owned both, but in my opinion, the Dodge is a poorly engineered and built truck. Bear in mind that I had an '00 1500 (old body style) as opposed to the new gen. truck, but that thing was by far the biggest piece of garbage I have ever owned. Drivetrain noises that I never did find, upper and lower ball joints every 15-20,000 miles, front wheel joints constantly, rear driveshaft u-joints every 10,000 miles, and my favorite- the front unit-hub bearings blowing out once a year to the tune of $270 apiece. The worst part is, I NEVER beat on this truck. Never off-road, never driven hard, and fairly well taken care of. I couldn't believe the lack of quality that Dodge built into that truck. Maybe I just got a bad one, but I doubt I was the only one with problems.

So then it kinda sounds like the older dodges are the ones that suck but the 03 and up have kinda worked out the problems. I have talked to the dodge forum and they said thats where all the problems have been.

I've always driven GM trucks, however, this past January I decided to buy a new Dodge. 10,600 miles on it and it still runs, drives, and works the way it did the day I bought it. Good luck so far I guess.

As a recent dodge owner and still love dodge. I've spent a lot of time talking to techs and mechanics that work for dodge. Up until about 2002 most of the trucks were junk. Even the dealers, mechanics and techs agree. I'm talking about the trucks not the engines. Since about 2003 things have changed and come around a lot. I think the germans have helped out a good amount in this case. My 2001 had tons of random problems. My brothers 03 has had less problems than my dmax and it has almost triple the mileage. I think the new dodges are pretty good.

I've had my 02 for 50k+ almost trouble free miles. I get 20+mpg! The only problem was with the Ip and Lp, both covered under warranty. I got rid of the crappy factory lift pump, and everything has been great. I just got back from a trip and averaged 23.4mpg. :thumb:

my old 93 pulls 6 ton loads on occasion , not big power but ok for me crowding 90k on it and have not done any thing but service it. buy a stick the auto's are junk. my brothers 97 ( the one i have been posting about) one ton dually 4x4 has had bad maintainence from "just take it to the lube and wash shop" brother. it now has 160K on it and most issues were brought on himself. front end didn't have problem until he came off mount hood with seven ton on trailer and no brakes. warped front rotors drove it anyway , shimey , shimey. time for new front end parts. trans burnt up from oil leak , who knows what oil got put in it. front motor pulley parts and radiator replacement at 160K is not that big of disappointment. this thing gets worked hard and put away wet. cab is quiet for the early diesel and doesn't ride to bad. but i am old school . if you want a workhorse buy a buckboard. if you want a car ride buy a car and hire your work done. you cannot make one vehical do all things well .

The transmissions and rear ends are waay too light duty for the Cummins power plant...

I think that the 47RE is the tranny everyone wants to stay away from, but the updated 48RE is capable of handling more than it's share in stock form, and the rear end is the same unit our Dmax's run, AAM 11.5, but with 1/2" larger axle tubes(4" instead of 3 1/2') than we get with the Dmax. I am not a Dodge fan, but just stating the facts.

my parents owned 2 dodge products in the late 80's early 90's. a ram with the cummins and a 5th avenue. the 5th avenue had rack and pinion problems constantly electrical problems etc etc. the ram had a few mechanical issues, (steering wheel would turn farther one way than the other). anyway my dad said hed never buy another one. well this year he bought an 05 quad cab with the cummins. he has put over 50,000 on it in 6-7 months and no problems. it does seem that dodge has gotten most of it worked out but as stated before the trannys behind the diesel and v8's were famous for breaking. ive heard of a few that needed 4 in 50,000 miles.

i would say they make a good truck NOW but not then.

Well.... I've owned Chevys, Ferds and Goats.... I currently have a 94 3500 with Cummins and 5 speed 201 K Miles, A 96 2500 4 x 4 with 163 K, Cummins and NV 4500.

And I have got to say they make just as good a truck as anybody else. As far as U joints, Rear ends ect they use the same ones as everybody else. Even your beloved Chevy and GMC used the NV 4500....

As far as getting a new truck it would be a Dodge. But I have to wear out the old ones first. Just too many problems with the new GM's. Being retired I just couldn't afford to own one....

I Can't wait for the New All GM light duty Diesel....:eek: That should be good for some real good amusement..:ro)

a rear seal that goes from driveshaft to rear differential began to leak and rubber driveshaft cover melted at tip at 32000, both covered on warrenty ,the cat was heating up so , i cut the cat off hollowed it out put a 4 in pipe through it and a 3 ft magna flow muffler and a k and n intake, now i get over 20 mpgs on highway, when i tow the egts are alot lower now . and i had the tranny fluid flushed out , and i put fire stone ats 235 80 17s 6 of them and front brakes and a new brake controller by reese atomatic leveler digital read out so far i like the truck ,i got rid of my 3500 04.5 crew cab dually duramax allison when it had 29000 it was a piece of junk the frame flexed too much when hauling 16000 lb goose neck trailer the wheel base was too long for the weak frame the 3.73 rear gears couldnt handle the weight the tires where too small bald at 8000 the front end too weak the brake couldnt stop, the emergency brake only worked 3 times and the air conditioner couldnt go below 70 on and on the engine and tranny no problems with , but everything elese, i got rid of it ,so far the dodge has been much better the factory tires lasted 32000 4.10 rear gears work good , the front end more stable the frame fully tubular no flexing when backing up trailor etc etc etc.

I heard the new Cummins motos dont have an actual cam..the valves open and close electronically.. is this true??

I have never encountered problems with dodge trucks especially the cummins. We have lots of them for work and they have always been great reliable trucks. We have had a couple minor problems with 2 of our 06's but that has been it. In fact my last truck was a dodge half ton and it had 200,000 trouble free miles when i sold it and its still running around. So it can show that its not just a cummins motor around a junky truck. Dont get me wrong any truck can have its problems but i have never had a bad experience with a dodge.

I heard the new Cummins motos dont have an actual cam..the valves open and close electronically.. is this true??

You probably heard about the old Bosch mechanical injector pumps which used a cam to pump the fuel to the injectors under pressure. The new HPCR injectors are all solenoid controlled.

A "camshaftless" engine in any form is a ways off IMO, even though I have read in some magazines where (Toyota?) played with the idea and developed a concept engine. Solenoids that are strong and durable enough to cycle the valves millions of times before failure were the hangup. Not to mention the associated noise.
Think of how cool that would be though- once someone figured the programming out, instantly variable valve timing simply by making programming changes.

Hey Steezey, I have a '97 CTD I bought new. It's got 105K on the clock now & the only electrical problems I've had were the alternator, grid heater relays (both replaced) and starter ( changed contacts, cost $20). No problems with the rear end. Just had ball joints done, only the 2nd time, and tie rod ends, replaced the originals. The tracking bar, that's another question...
Luv Diesels, watch out for "water in fuel" problems.

i just put the 03 style trac bar on my brother 97 it looks to be a real fix , i also add the extra bearing on the bottom of the steering box another real fix. steering feels way better.

I bought a 2500 Cummins 5speed 4x4 new in 95. When I inspected the truck before I took delivery of it I noticed the black paint was so thin that in some areas you could see a hint of the yellow primer showing underneath, so that it looked almost like the black had hints of metallic gold in areas. I also noticed the front sway bar was missing the nut on one side where it attached to the axle, and that the front axle was leaking at the location of the CAD assembly. I should have told the dealer no thanks at that point but unfortunately didn't. A month later the first time I used 4x4 I had substantial driveline binding, to the point that if I pushed the clutch in the truck would come to an abrupt stop. I had ordered the truck with 3.54s which is what came in the rear, however the front was shipped with 4.10s inside. During a panic stop the truck blew a front brake line, the pedal went to the floor and the rears locked up and skidded about 150ft. Lucky no one was killed. Usually after about 2 days of plowing from a good snow storm the windshield would have a foot long crack in the bottom driver side corner. Occaissionally I had to climb under the truck and tap on the front 4x4 actuator in order to get the front end to engage and then later disengage. E brake pedal would sometimes pop up and disengage for no reason, that was fun with a stick. At 20k miles an unlifted truck was eating front tires and death wobbling. At 22k I traded it for a 96 F350 PSD which never gave me a problem. New England takes a pretty good toll on a truck and they show their weak points sooner. A lot of the 2nd generation Dodges I see have rot at the bottoms of the doors and rocker panels and the rear bumpers have rotted clean through from the inside. I'm a Mopar fan, I had a 68 Road Runner when I was 16, I've had Power Wagons and Ram Chargers but, after that 95 2500 and more than one Dodge dealer's incompetence I refuse to buy any Chrysler unless it's a pre-94 truck or a pre-75 muscle car. That said, the 12 valve Cummins that was in that 95 truck was powerfull, never gave me an ounce of trouble, and got 24mpg on the highway.

Wow, that sounds like a horrible time. I think that could probably turn anyone off of buying a dodge. I always knew that the dodges bodies were kind of bad but i never even thought about the axels, 4X4, Steering, Etc. Looks liek you are a chevy guy now = )

I owned a 1998 Dodge 12 valve 4X4 with a 5 speed tranny. I went through two transmissions during the 209000 miles. I sold the truck to a buddy, and he drives the truck daily. The last time I talked to him the truck just turned 300000 miles. I relplaced that truck with a 2004.5 Dodge cummins 325/600 with an automatic. The truck pulls a trailer really nice but the tranny went out at 34000 miles. The tranny was fixed under warranty. I now have a 2006 Chevy LBZ. I like the way the chevy drives empty better than the Dodge does. I like the way the Dodge pulls a heavier load. It seems like the Dodge has better brakes, but the grade braking in the chevy works really good too. The Chevy is by far the most quiet and car like. If I had to tow all the time I would by a new Dodge with a 6 speed tranny. The 48re will not handle heavy loads. I still have the 2004.5 Dodge and the chevy. I think I will sell the Dodge because the truck has over 50000 miles and the Chevy only has 8000 miles.

There is a sticker on the valve cover of the Dodge and it will say 325/600 on the sticker. The tow haul mode of the 2005 Dodge is better than the 2004.5 tow haul mode.

This is just my two cents worth.

as far as rigs go my brother bought a new chevrolet '77 3/4 ton 4x4 first time out showing off in the mud with less than two hundred miles on it the linkage inside the transfer case took a dump and had to have it towed to dealership. then on his 84 chev with a diesel 6.2 it came with a unleaded only gas gauge and all the rest the gauges were for a gas rig to. dealer changed it out. at 20k miles dads dmax six speed stick lost it first clutch with a 29 foot house trailer on it . dealer would not cover it under warrenty said it was normal wear . no chip all stock dad has drove sticks all his 82 years. 4 to 5k miles later dmass flywheel is bad again with daily driving installing south bend clutch and flywheel as we speak. i am a only dissappointed with the dealership not standing behind the clutch/flywheel issue. talked to the fleet mech i worked with for years have several gm 4500 with list of unresolved issues. i am not to impressed with the big three or any other new vehicals i will just keep fixing my old fleet.

Just to add to the monotony here, an by the way, I love my (wife's ) DMax and was atotal GM guy until the 2nd Gen Dodge body style came out.
Haven't ahd a Cummins yet, but have owned 4 Dodge 1500 4x4's from 95 to 01 models. Never had any problems or breakdowns w/ any of them.
They don't ride like Chevs because of stiff front springs and solid axle, same for handling, they handle like a truck.
My only gripe w/ all 4 trucks was the transmission hunted gears alot at highway speeds in the hills. More than a Chev and not as smooth shifting as a Ford.
My last 01 1500 went 120,000 miles before I sold it and it drove and looked like the day I bought it new. Wouldve never sold it if I didn't need a crew cab.
That said, comparing new to new diesels, I don't like the 48re trans only because it needs another gear or 2 especially w/ the low revving Cummins. Otherwise, I was in the market for a new CTD MegaCab when I found my current 02 DMax.. (Actually bought one and the dealer welched on the deal when I came back w/ a cashier's check...said they screwed up the price and now wanted more money!...***kers!)
If I ahd my choice, I'd have one of both!

All the trucks will have their issues, I've done ball joints once, changed track bar to a skyjacker adjustable unit, no probs with the dana 60 front/70 rear, original unitized bearings ( I add grease through the ABS sensor opening to keep it lubed ) , rotors are slotted and cross-drilled ( pads last alot longer ), tranny is holding up ( I would rather have an alli ). So far so good with 145K especially with 140K riding on lift, big tires and 450+ HP. I bought my truck for the cummins.

My 2000 was a great truck.

My 2000 was a great truck. I drove it hard and never had an engine problem. The trannny are crap though. I sold it for an 06 whick Im veryy happy with.

So then it kinda sounds like the older dodges are the ones that suck but the 03 and up have kinda worked out the problems. I have talked to the dodge forum and they said thats where all the problems have been.

well go to diesel truck resource and use the search terms to check on DEATH WOBBLE and see what you think after that. $40K is too much too spend on any truck the the manufacture denies such serious problems with. I KNOW!!! I own a 2005 QC 4x4 , GREAT engine though especially for towing which i do little of but what a SMOOOOOOOOOTH powerhouse.the truck is crappy though?? I drove all three and came home with a CUmiins it just happens to be in a Dodge truck.

go to diesel truck resource DTR and do a search for death wobble and read that just so you are aware of what COULD happen with a new $40,ooo truck. i was a main contributor to that thread. crossy

I just read it, that sounds horrible. It sounds like dodge seriously needs to re-think how they build their "Trucks"