Dodge Cummins Engine Concern

[kenmac]

Especially since the Beach Boys did a song about it:

Aaron Z

Back in the day,the old super stock dodges ruled the strips. They were a sight to see

 

[dstig1]

So since you are a self proclaimed "vehicle" expert what is it specifically that makes the steel on Ford trucks rust less then the steel on other branded trucks?

I'm not Chris, but I have seen the issue. In my past I did a bunch of testing of adhesives for auto body work. We had 3 main specs in those days (it's been 20+ yrs...) for Ford GM and Chrysler. The Ford and GM steel were all but identical. Good quality galvanized steel. The Chrysler stuff was another story. They used a cheaper grade where the zinc was not so well adhered. Oftentimes, we would have an adhesive formula that would fail on the ford/GM spec material, but would pull the galvanizing right off the Chrysler samples. They simply used cheaper material, and the owners would pay for it in earlier rusting. Is it still the same today? Dunno as I am out of that racket, but I would not be surprised, based on history.

 

[woodskiff]

I own the Ram Cummins 2500 Quad cab 2004.5 and I would never sell the truck. It is a towing beast but they do share the same issues.
Weak spots I have dealt with.
Lift Pump..filter mounted and can fail without warning and not much service life, Ball Joints..only 2 grease fittings in the front end....Air Conditioning compressor clutch failures common....also the vent mixing doors under the dash break off and are a pain in the ***** to fix,...wiring bundle in the rear door pinches, I have the Quad cab and this can be expected in every truck period...lucky though, very easy DIY fix. FYI if you don't have them on this truck Dodge offered inner wheel well liners for the rear bed...I have them and they were worth the low cost option at the time.

 

[PapaPerk]

I own the Ram Cummins 2500 Quad cab 2004.5 and I would never sell the truck. It is a towing beast but they do share the same issues.
Weak spots I have dealt with.
Lift Pump..filter mounted and can fail without warning and not much service life, Ball Joints..only 2 grease fittings in the front end....Air Conditioning compressor clutch failures common....also the vent mixing doors under the dash break off and are a pain in the ***** to fix,...wiring bundle in the rear door pinches, I have the Quad cab and this can be expected in every truck period...lucky though, very easy DIY fix. FYI if you don't have them on this truck Dodge offered inner wheel well liners for the rear bed...I have them and they were worth the low cost option at the time.

How many miles on your 2004.5? I have around 82,000. My biggest weakness has been u-joints. I have replaced both front one in the knuckles and the on at rear diff. Also had rear calipers seize. But that's been about it.

The lift pump failure concerns me.

 

[kenmac]

I'm not Chris, but I have seen the issue. In my past I did a bunch of testing of adhesives for auto body work. We had 3 main specs in those days (it's been 20+ yrs...) for Ford GM and Chrysler.

20 yrs ago , A lot of things have changed in 20+ yrs ,,Ford makes/has the worst Diesel engine on the market.. Who wants to pull the cab off their truck to work on it ??
I have owned dodges for yrs and have never had a rust issue,, Never had rust issues on any GM vehicles I have owned...Only owned 1 Ford in my life. Will never own another. One was enough

 

[dstig1]

Kenmac, True, which is why I noted it has been a while. But then those are the kinds of details that reputations are built (or destroyed) on. Chrysler skimped on the steel, so it rusted early. Not surprisingly, people said Chryslers rust fast. Is it still true? Dunno, but they made their own bed here... I still have an old friend working in that area, so I should ask him if it has changed or not. Never thought to ask.

Ford had a couple bad diesels in the 6.0-6.4. They also had the legendary 7.3 to balance. There were a lot of problems in that era due to the stupid regs, but they seemed to have it the worst. Is it better now that they make their own? Also dunno, but I consider that a step in the right direction. Bringing things in house is almost always better in the long run as you learn more and can build on it.

In my case, I had a couple Chrysler products (not Cummins trucks) that did not serve me well, so I now avoid them. Amazing what a car or two will do to your attitude towards the brand, isn't it? My Fords have been mixed - some great, some so-so, nothing awful. Hondas have been similar - one has been so-so and another is doing great so far (newer). My Chryslers were not good. I have a friend who is a die-hard Toyota guy. His experiences have been mixed too, though he would not admit it. He has had major tranny problems and a block crack, but "toyotas are great". I try to be a bit more objective. Some on here are on the "my choice" is great program. I try to call it like I see it, but like many folks, I have only limited experience as I have not owned 200 vehicles. Ford has been pretty decent to me. I would buy more. Same with Honda. My bad experience was more about the OP maintenance than the brand, I think. I like what works, and I know what works (that I have had). Hard to argue with that in the end.

 

[woodskiff]

How many miles on your 2004.5? I have around 82,000. My biggest weakness has been u-joints. I have replaced both front one in the knuckles and the on at rear diff. Also had rear calipers seize. But that's been about it.

The lift pump failure concerns me.

Hello PapaPerk, My Cummins has 92,000 on it. Funny, I too had the rear calipers seize up at around 50k if I remember correctly. The Carter Lift pump is around $125 bucks and very easy to swap out. I keep a spare in the truck tool box just in case, but it's not something to dwell on and I enjoy truck. The Dealer would replace the original lift pump if it failed and locate the new lift pump into the fuel tank. I didn't want them to modify or touch my truck so I kept it original. By the way, the OP should know that you can check the original HOURS on that motor and compare the miles with engine Idle time. It's a Key on/off hold trip A type of check, but the hours are logged in the system module for that engine.

 

[kenmac]

Kenmac, True, which is why I noted it has been a while. But then those are the kinds of details that reputations are built (or destroyed) on. Chrysler skimped on the steel, so it rusted early. Not surprisingly, people said Chryslers rust fast. Is it still true? Dunno, but they made their own bed here... I still have an old friend working in that area, so I should ask him if it has changed or not. Never thought to ask.

Ford had a couple bad diesels in the 6.0-6.4. They also had the legendary 7.3 to balance. There were a lot of problems in that era due to the stupid regs, but they seemed to have it the worst. Is it better now that they make their own? Also dunno, but I consider that a step in the right direction. Bringing things in house is almost always better in the long run as you learn more and can build on it.

All the manufactures had to deal with the same emission regs. they added nothing extra to ford/ navstar. others were able to deal with the regs better than Ford / navstar.. The new ford diesels are no better. My son is a medic and drives the Ford built diesel rescue trucks. He says the Fire Dept has already stated the next rescue trucks won't be a Fords due to the many problems they have had with their rescue trucks. I forget what he said it cost every time the truck goes to the shop to have the cab pulled just to work on the engine , but it isn't cheap.. Pull the cab just to work on the engine ????? Now that's a better Idea !!!!. The only good diesel that ford built was the 7.3...That 1 good engine hardly makes up for the many bad diesels ford made.... Like I said , I've owned many dodge cars/ trucks over my life ...Never a rust issue... If I had had the rust problems that many here mention, I wouldn't have owned as many Dodges as I have owned. I currently also own an 07 Toyota tundra... I haven't had any issued with the Toyota. I've own several Chevy / Dodge vehicles as service vehicles... No problems. As previously stated,,, I will never own another Ford , as 1 was plenty

 

[RickB]

The only good diesel that ford built was the 7.3...That 1 good engine hardly makes up for the many bad diesels ford made..

Just to clarify, Ford bought every 7.3 from Navistar.

 

[RobertN]

Interesting how that is; no advertising of that really. Not a secret, but not advertised with the Powerstroke. Cummins on the other hand,is clearly stated with Dodge.
The GM's were that way too; didn't Detroit make some of the 80's/90's GM diesels? A buddy had an 80's Blaser with non-turbo diesel. Ran good, but not a powerhouse...

Just to clarify, Ford bought every 7.3 from Navistar.