Impressions of my Dodge

[dodge man]

I've owned my 2004 Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 Quad Cab with the Cummins and auto transmission about 3 months now. It had about 105,000 miles on it when I got it and I've put about 2000 miles on it. I thought I would share my imprssions of it.

First off let me say there is really no sane reason for me to own a 3/4 ton diesel. Like a lot of 1/2 ton owners, there had been several times I had overloaded my half tons, so that is why I wanted a 3/4 ton, and I have always wanted a diesel since Dodge came out with them in the late 80's. So the truth is its more of a want than a need. My half ton Chevy with the 5.3 and 3.73 gears was getting a lot of 12mpg driving the same way.

First off the engine and drive train. Its what is known as a high pressure common rail. So far I think I'm going to be lucky in terms of the engine and injectors. Common rails can eat injectors and they can be costly to replace. The engine seems tight, doesn't use oil, it starts easy and pulls well. I've only towed with it once and that was about a 5000lb load, and it towed it well. I have 4.10's in it and the auto is a 4 speed. It needs one more gear, or 3.73 gears. Your really don't need 4.10's unless you tow heavy a lot. The truck has an early Edge chip on it and it was set to level 3 when I got it, I've backed it down to level 2. It also has straight exhaust, which I'm having changed out this weekend to more of a performance exhaust with a muffler. So far the transmission seems fine also. It rides rough empty, but it doesn't seem any more bouncy or skitish over bumps than the half tons I've owned. I have some rattles in the truck, sway bar end links if I were to guess. I can also tell the front drive shaft and some of the U joints have been replaced.

The interior. The interior of the truck looked much better than the outside of the truck when I got it. Its a cloth interior and looks and functions great. The only real problem is some dash lights are burned out, which are easy to fix, but so far I haven't really missed them. The CD player also refuses to eject CD's most of the time, but they do pop out after a few days of trying.

The exterior of the truck is where I was dissapointed after I got it home. I spent some money getting some rust repaired, but it looks great now. Its had a leveling kit put on the front, which I wouldn't pay for, but I will probably leave it on. It looks like the truck was used hard at times and it has a few scratches and dings, but I think it will hold up well for me.

Economy. So far about 14mpg on average. A lot of in town driving and rural driving. I've never really burned through a tank of highway driving, so I don't know what it will do on the interstate. I've used it some for my job, so that isn't helping the fuel mileage any.

I work with someone that owns a newer Duramax. The biggest difference I notice between his truck and mine is the noise. The Duramax seems very quiet compared to the Cummins. I'd also say his rides better.

 

[jeffsw6]

I hate those "tuners" / "chips" that people put on their trucks now. I hope you have good results from yours. If you read like any diesel forum you can see dozens of threads like "my new 6.4 blew up and ford wants $10k to fix it, help!" along with a signature from that poster telling about how he got 150 more HP because some guy on the Internet decided that was a safe thing to do, as if ford themselves didn't have a team of engineers figuring out a good balance of durability vs performance.

 

[dodge man]

I think tuners are O.K. as long as you don't try to turn up your truck too much. Thats one problem with newer diesels, people can turn up a truck over 100hp with nothing more than a tuner. Mine is turned up about 40hp right now. There is no way around it, making more power isn't going to help long term durability.

As a side note, the newer (2011 and newer) Dodges with the Hemi have a rolling code in the computer that so far none of the aftermarket tuners have been able to crack. Its pretty easy to untune a car before you take it in and the dealer doesn't know the car had been turned up. My guess is this was done to keep people from hot rodding there cars and then asking for warranty work. I don't know if the Dodge diesels have this or not, but I don't think so.

 

[Peacock]

The Dodge trucks have the best diesel engine in the business. Period. The B series engine is amazing. It will reliably make 3 times it's factory output, gets great fuel economy and makes bottom end torque that the other makes can only dream of.

 

[Jamming]

The new 3 valve Cummings are weak in the mains and don't have the options of more machine work. The 2 valve bt6 is a far better engine than the new ones. I see quite a few smoked transmissions and rear ends from dodge. There trucks don't match cummins engines for durability. If you can put a ford rear end and a 6 speed manual in a dodge Cummings then you will have something.

 

[dodge man]

Um, I think they are known as 24 valve engines, and you could get and can still get a 6 speed stick in a Dodge. I've never heard of the mains being a weak point. For my year, I think it could either be a 6 speed or a 5 speed stick, but mine has an auto. I've never heard of people having problems with the rear ends, but if they get turned up a lot, the auto transmissions and the clutchs on a stick can be weak.

 

[crashz]

Thanks for the informative review Dave!

My father had the same truck, but regular cab. His routinely got 21 mpg on the highway, as long as he was driving conservatively.

A couple things we learned:

- A fuel pressure guage is a good way to keep an eye on the performance of the lift pump. In 04 they were mounted on the back of the fuel filter housing. Dodge changed this to an in-tank pump in 05, and was offering a retro fit kit. We opted to replace the existing pump with an original due to dealer issues, however it took us a while to diagnose and get parts. It left my 60 yr old father stranded twice on the highway due to the failing fuel pump.

- Apparently the dash panel guages and controls are prone to failure. Dealer replacements are very expensive ($1000), but I didn't research aftermarket or repairs. There are many repair options for GM gauge panels, so I assume there would be for the Dodge as well.

- The fan clutches are prone to fail, but you won't notice it in normal driving. The trucks cooling system is so strong that its not really stressed until you tow heavy in the summer or do some heavy snowplowing.

- Nothing cures the stop-squeak. Engine shuts down, all the the accesories screach to a halt. A new belt helps for a few cycles, but lasts a reasonable amount of time.

- The transmission in not nearly as fragile as most people say, but the wrong "techs" can destroy it quickly. My father's was perfect up to 70K miles. Heavy towing. Abusive plowing. Worked fine, fluid always stayed clear and clean. While at the dealer for the dash, he asked for a transmission service. Normal services were fluid and filter changes up to then. He witnessed then drain clear, pink fluid from the transmission. They replaced the filter and adjust some bands, and replaced the fluid. 100 miles later, the transmission would not shift to OD, and had late hard shifts. Back to the dealer. Fluid burnt. Dealer would not support him, and would not even SELL him a new trans. Which brings me to my final recommendation...

- Find a good Cummins mechanic or a trusted dealer with a diesel tech. Both dealers close to my father are terrible.

 

[Peacock]

The new 3 valve Cummings are weak in the mains and don't have the options of more machine work. The 2 valve bt6 is a far better engine than the new ones. I see quite a few smoked transmissions and rear ends from dodge. There trucks don't match cummins engines for durability. If you can put a ford rear end and a 6 speed manual in a dodge Cummings then you will have something.

No problems with the bottom ends in any Cummins b series.

Rear ends? They all have Dana 70's, 80's or the 11.5 AAM. ALL of which are stronger than the Sterling offered by Ford.

 

[dodge man]

My gauges have "freaked" out a couple of times, but go back to normal. I have written on the radiator cowl that the lift pump has been replaced and the computer reflashed.

There is a diesel pick up repair shop that has a good rep. in my area. I will probably use them if needed. They are the ones putting on my exhaust this Saturday.

 

[Jamming]

Um, I think they are known as 24 valve engines, and you could get and can still get a 6 speed stick in a Dodge. I've never heard of the mains being a weak point. For my year, I think it could either be a 6 speed or a 5 speed stick, but mine has an auto. I've never heard of people having problems with the rear ends, but if they get turned up a lot, the auto transmissions and the clutchs on a stick can be weak.

The b series didn't come out until 89 and dodge used several series of blocks they used. The newer cumming 2006 and up have different valves than the b series. Known as a 3 valve. The engines last and the drive trains are ok but the trucks fall apart.