dodge man
Super Star Member
Yeah it was a known issue. I'm a member of a Dodge Ram forum and the wrong axle ratio was the talk for quite a while. Most guys wanted the correct one installed. I'd say you came out ahead with a great warranty.
EcoDiesel, A Maiden Voyage
- Thread starter msb1766
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fordmantpw
Veteran Member
That's impressive! I would be keeping that truck for LOOOONG time!
Well, there were also many customers who ordered new trucks and had them delivered with the wrong ratio. It wasn't just a matter of the window sticker being wrong.
Monster5601
Platinum Member
As much as you may wish there was more to it there isn't. I have first hand knowledge regarding the issue from the Chrysler district rep I settled with and from the Detroit auto news sites, and my son who is a Chrysler powertrain engineer. If a customer didn't receive the ratio they ordered, they can look no further than their dealer. There was never a shortage of any axle ratio, it was simply a change of the standard axle ratio based on the transmission, 3:55 for the six speed and 3:21 for the eight speed transmission. Chrysler simply overlooked the standard feature column on the window sticker and didn't inform dealers until after the fact.
Somehow that doesn't surprise me.
That is what I was thinking. If they would have came out with this truck around 2000 it would have been great. I really can't see a point in buying the Ecodiesel. If you want power get the Hemi. If you want something that is fuel efficient get the V6. I think a 1/2 ton with a diesel needs to get around 30mpg to be worthwhile.
Monster5601
Platinum Member
You may have your wish. Eco-Diesel owners are reporting 28 to 29 MPG. Look at the last pages of this thread;
http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=170093
wawajake
Veteran Member
We would of had diesels ten years ago if the USA had went with similar emission standards that Europe had. The USA has caused North America to be its own island in that regard. Can you imagine if Toyota would of been allowed to sell their famous world wide small diesel pickup truck, or for that matter any of the diesel cars they get over there. Where the diesel option engine is the same price as a gas engine......North American governments are major factor to blame for not having better choices of diesels that make it worthwhile for the truck makers. Finally we started to see 6 cyl diesels show up in the Jeep GrandCherokees a few years back when Mercedes had large chunk of Chrysler and I imagine they saw how that marketplace reacted and found ways to make it happen now in half ton trucks....good for them. .....I am trying to remember the name of that trade bill in the USA that prevented imports of small trucks, and even caused some Japanese makers to trick the system (like Subaru Brat putting a seat in the box to make it a car) that was another trade barrier Ford and GM and Chrysler Government lobbiests kept in place.
mo1
Platinum Member
There are two big reasons diesels didn't really take off in passenger vehicles and compact and half-ton ton pickups.
The first reason is that diesels were introduced that very same market in the U.S. during the second fuel crisis and they were just terrible. The engines were all naturally-aspirated and grossly underpowered for the land yachts they propelled. They stank, they smoked, and at least some were infamously unreliable such as GM's notorious 350 cid V8 diesel. That turned a lot of "non-truck" people off to diesels for a good long time. You otherwise would have expected a fair number of diesels to have been produced in the later 1980s through the early 2000s as turbocharging and thus appropriate power levels became commonplace, engine technology still was often fairly simple (mechanical injection pumps instead of ECUs + common rail) diesel fuel was significantly less expensive than gasoline, and there were no emissions hassles to deal with for diesel engines.
Post-2007 diesel engines are hamstrung by the significantly higher cost of currently very complex diesel engines, the complexity and price of the newly mandated emissions equipment, and the current higher cost of diesel fuel.
wawajake
Veteran Member
Good for you Mo........you descibed the American biases to diesels.........but for the rest of the world the diesel vehicles and engines have worked fine and the complexity of the engines in Europe are the same post 2007 and they work fine anf fuel prices are almost equal in other parts of planet including Canada.............sometimes North America is behind the curve, fortunately some are finally realizing that. Actually us North Americans (I include myself as a Canadian) are behind the curve in vehicle technology, music, fashion, building techniques, heating systems and even sports (smile World Cup is on and real football (soccer ) is occurring and Holland is still advancing...but I digress.
