Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few eyes.

[Soundguy]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

GM and some of the others have been using it for a few years. I think its just as reliable as any other system.

As for conventional systems, I have never had a issue with any other then the on one of my tractors. Never a leak, drip, bad pump, bad rack, bad hose, anything. Guess I am just lucky.

Chris

i have had a ps pump go out on my old 1990 ford mini van... it squealed alot before it went out.. was a cheap fix. I've had more problems with window motors though.. probably have had 6 of them go out on various vehicles over the last 20ys

 

[WilliamBos]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

i have had a ps pump go out on my old 1990 ford mini van... it squealed alot before it went out.. was a cheap fix. I've had more problems with window motors though.. probably have had 6 of them go out on various vehicles over the last 20ys

And I bet that PS pump costs alot less than an entire EPS unit? Do you have any friends with EPS quads? Yamaha was the first to introduce it. I am hearing that a new EPS unit will run in the $1000-$1,200 range.

 

[Soundguy]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

good grief.

I'm all for some technology upgrades.. but then there are some that when they go, cost so much they 'total' the car. wife used to have a 94 lincoln mk8 great car, awesom engine.. could make a donut in a parking lot with the tap of the pedal.

air ride system went out in it.. all the quotes I got to fix it were 1200-2500$ this was in probably 06.. so at 12ys old.. that air ride system totaled the car. couldn't find a good delete kit to go to shocks / struts either. ended up trading the car out, value wise, for some work on another vehicle ( different mechanic )..

soundguy

 

[WilliamBos]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

good grief.

I'm all for some technology upgrades.. but then there are some that when they go, cost so much they 'total' the car. wife used to have a 94 lincoln mk8 great car, awesom engine.. could make a donut in a parking lot with the tap of the pedal.

air ride system went out in it.. all the quotes I got to fix it were 1200-2500$ this was in probably 06.. so at 12ys old.. that air ride system totaled the car. couldn't find a good delete kit to go to shocks / struts either. ended up trading the car out, value wise, for some work on another vehicle ( different mechanic )..

soundguy

I am looking at replacements for my current truck, and so far, a 2500HD GMC is where I am headed. My biggest reason, no electric fan in the HD, one less headache to deal with. Even though, some folks say that it robs 300 HP from the engine, I don't care.

 

[jcaldarelli]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

Man It is Crazy on how the truck market has turned into. I have a 95 Chevy Pickup and during that body style of truck which ran 10 years in half tons, 12 in 1 tons, and there were only really 2 major changes in that Generation with the Interior change in 95 and the Vortec repower in 96. And Ford and Dodge were about the same too then and it didnt bother your Truck Crowd.

To me what has made the market ridiculous is when SUV's were the in-thing in the early 2000's and now Johnny Wallstreet thinks he needs a Pickup truck, screwing it up for people like us that actually USE a Pickup truck. And with how the 4 spd Granny Gear, Straight Sixes, Bemch Seats and all have fallen by the wayside in favor of heated/cooled seats and Cupholders, "Rotary Shifters" (dumb Idea IMO) to me are a reflection on that making up a big portion of the pickup Truck Market, therefore prices have been jacked up ridiculously. A buddy of mine has a 2001 Diesel Dodge 2500 4x4 Laramie Package that his uncle bought for 27-28K Brand New. Your Looking at 50-60 today for that simarly equipped 2012 truck, which is insane.

Im not one of those people that completely hate progress, but im thinking ill hold on to my old truck with a 350, codes you can check with a Paper clip (OBD-1) A firm Ride, (If you want a Caddilac, then buy a Cadillac) and simple stuff compared to one of these new monstrosities. Now If Chevy can make me a regular Cab 3/4 Ton Straight 6 4x4, Truck with a 4spd Granny Gear and a Straight Axle then maybe ill buy one but with everyone claiming they "Need" 4-500 HP and 800 ft-lbs of torque thatll never happen Just like posted before. Ill be surprised if Dodge holds onto the 6 speed Stick in there trucks much longer with how the market is.

And again as said before, if the Electric Power Steering, Air Ride or any other Electrical Garbage goes out, the truck is Worthless. I can put an all new factory GM Driveline in my truck, do what i need it to do, and itll be under 5000 Dollars and probally last almost another 20 years like this original one has.

Anyways, Im not here to start a conflict, as im not a Dodge fan at all, BUT in todays Pickup Truck Market, its almost neccessary to have the newest electric digital dash and tranny with the mist gears. Its amazing how nowadays a truck GM put out 5 years ago (With a Major suspension and Drivetrain UPgradee in the '11 Heavy Duty Truck) is now wayy outdated and sorely lacking, but woth the way technology is nowadays, its definitlely the truth

 

[Soundguy]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

I am looking at replacements for my current truck, and so far, a 2500HD GMC is where I am headed. My biggest reason, no electric fan in the HD, one less headache to deal with. Even though, some folks say that it robs 300 HP from the engine, I don't care.

i've only ever had 1 clutch fan go out. it was on my f450, and the mechanic looked up the mart code and it was the original fan with a 98 year code on it.. so i don't feel bad. I went back with an oe part as a buddy of mine bought a replacement from napa to save 100$ and the fan noise from the non oe part was horrendous.. also seemed to cycle aggressively.

as far as trucks and manufacturers go.. I like ford, and I like dodge. I'm happy with my ford diesels, but had I not found one, I'd probably have a dodge diesel ( 5.9 ).. we have a couple 07 gm diesels at work... I don't hate them.. but, ergonomically, i'm not a fan of their particular suspension (body lift) and tire choices as stock. They do run quiet though.. not sure if that is a plus or not... i've grown accustom to the 7.3 and 6.0 psd's and the odd 7.3 ats turbo we have at work, that the gm diesels sound 'strange' to me. couple guys I work with drive the dodge diesels.. they sound ok to me.. and I'm a fan of the late 90's body styles the dodges had.. hood and all.

soundguy

 

[deerefan]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

Man It is Crazy on how the truck market has turned into. I have a 95 Chevy Pickup and during that body style of truck which ran 10 years in half tons, 12 in 1 tons, and there were only really 2 major changes in that Generation with the Interior change in 95 and the Vortec repower in 96. And Ford and Dodge were about the same too then and it didnt bother your Truck Crowd.

To me what has made the market ridiculous is when SUV's were the in-thing in the early 2000's and now Johnny Wallstreet thinks he needs a Pickup truck, screwing it up for people like us that actually USE a Pickup truck. And with how the 4 spd Granny Gear, Straight Sixes, Bemch Seats and all have fallen by the wayside in favor of heated/cooled seats and Cupholders, "Rotary Shifters" (dumb Idea IMO) to me are a reflection on that making up a big portion of the pickup Truck Market, therefore prices have been jacked up ridiculously. A buddy of mine has a 2001 Diesel Dodge 2500 4x4 Laramie Package that his uncle bought for 27-28K Brand New. Your Looking at 50-60 today for that simarly equipped 2012 truck, which is insane.

Im not one of those people that completely hate progress, but im thinking ill hold on to my old truck with a 350, codes you can check with a Paper clip (OBD-1) A firm Ride, (If you want a Caddilac, then buy a Cadillac) and simple stuff compared to one of these new monstrosities. Now If Chevy can make me a regular Cab 3/4 Ton Straight 6 4x4, Truck with a 4spd Granny Gear and a Straight Axle then maybe ill buy one but with everyone claiming they "Need" 4-500 HP and 800 ft-lbs of torque thatll never happen Just like posted before. Ill be surprised if Dodge holds onto the 6 speed Stick in there trucks much longer with how the market is.

And again as said before, if the Electric Power Steering, Air Ride or any other Electrical Garbage goes out, the truck is Worthless. I can put an all new factory GM Driveline in my truck, do what i need it to do, and itll be under 5000 Dollars and probally last almost another 20 years like this original one has.

Anyways, Im not here to start a conflict, as im not a Dodge fan at all, BUT in todays Pickup Truck Market, its almost neccessary to have the newest electric digital dash and tranny with the mist gears. Its amazing how nowadays a truck GM put out 5 years ago (With a Major suspension and Drivetrain UPgradee in the '11 Heavy Duty Truck) is now wayy outdated and sorely lacking, but woth the way technology is nowadays, its definitlely the truth

You and I share some of the same thoughts. Actually, take away the 6spd tranny and driver info system and your 95 and my 2011 chevy 4x4 are not that much different. Power locks, power windows, cruise and a c/d player are about it. Some say gm is lagging behind in the tech dept, but when I get the same mpg as a comparably equipped truck with an Eco-Boost engine (18 mpg average on my chevy) then I will stick with simple, especially when it works. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of the 6spd tranny. I liked the 4l60e and 700R4 in the old trucks.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

With the 8 speed tranny when does the torque convertor lock up?
On my F350 the torque convertor locks up in 3rd...
Lot of heat is generated without the TC locked up...

 

[77bronco]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

It seems that with the EPS, you're moving the engine load from the belt driven PS pump to the alternator. There's no free lunch here. (Maybe a 1/2 priced one)
How much bigger does the alt/battery need to be to handle the extra load on the system?
It's the same for all newer vehicles with more electrical load than just a few years ago. I read a few years ago that the mfgs were looking into going to 36 or 42 volt systems just to be able to handle the extra load required by all the electrical extras being added to cars.

 

[aczlan]

Re: Say what you want about Dodge...errrr "Ram" trucks, but they are catching a few e

While they are making good transmissions now, I'm sure the cost to develop a new one just isn't feasible when they already have a top company like ZF making 8 speeds for their autos.

ZF left a bad state in my mouth with the problems that they had with the 4HP22s in Diesel Volvos, but I have heard good things about them in other applications.

It seems that with the EPS, you're moving the engine load from the belt driven PS pump to the alternator. There's no free lunch here. (Maybe a 1/2 priced one)

Actually, you are eliminating the drag of the power steering pump unless you are actually turning the steering wheel, so you should gain efficiency (even with the conversion losses to/from electricity).

Aaron Z