Ram 1500 EcoDiesel

[CaptPat]

I have a RAM 6.7L Cummins and I won’t be replacing it with another diesel. My local stealership doubles its shop rate for work on diesel, further they are always trying to tell me that I should be using the commercial duty maintenance schedule. To replace a bad turbo actuator at <80,000 miles was $4500. Of course they have you over barrel as the truck is in limp mode. Emissions systems on modern diesels are a ticking time bomb.

Emissions systems have received a lot of bad press in the RV world as many folks were stranded when their DEF sensors failed. There are literally pages in numerous forums about how to DIY a DEF sensor simulator that tells the ECM that the DEF sensor is working to avoid a limp condition. I believe Cummins has a software patch but it’s not generally applied.

I like diesels but regulations have made ownership problematic.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have a RAM 6.7L Cummins and I won’t be replacing it with another diesel. My local stealership doubles its shop rate for work on diesel, further they are always trying to tell me that I should be using the commercial duty maintenance schedule. To replace a bad turbo actuator at <80,000 miles was $4500. Of course they have you over barrel as the truck is in limp mode. Emissions systems on modern diesels are a ticking time bomb.

Emissions systems have received a lot of bad press in the RV world as many folks were stranded when their DEF sensors failed. There are literally pages in numerous forums about how to DIY a DEF sensor simulator that tells the ECM that the DEF sensor is working to avoid a limp condition. I believe Cummins has a software patch but it’s not generally applied.

I like diesels but regulations have made ownership problematic.

I’d like to be “done with diesels” too, but there aint a gas truck in the world that will pull what I have to tow, so I am stuck with them.

My IH 7500 had a failed turbo actuator and I had to replace the entire turbocharger. Said new actuator may not work with old turbo. $3,500. At least it’s an ‘07 so no DEF/DPF

 

[CaptPat]

I’d like to be “done with diesels” too, but there aint a gas truck in the world that will pull what I have to tow, so I am stuck with them.

My IH 7500 had a failed turbo actuator and I had to replace the entire turbocharger. Said new actuator may not work with old turbo. $3,500. At least it’s an ‘07 so no DEF/DPF

I hear you, if it makes you feel better I was quoted $10,000 to replace the entire turbo when my actuator failed.

 

[Renze]

I hear you, if it makes you feel better I was quoted $10,000 to replace the entire turbo when my actuator failed.

At a car dealership, or at a turbo rebuild specialist ?

 

[CaptPat]

At a car dealership, or at a turbo rebuild specialist ?

At the stealership, luckily I only needed the actuator replaced. I hadn’t found an independent shop I trusted and I needed the truck back. Going with an aftermarket turbo or actuator would have been much less expensive.

 

[Hay Dude]

At the stealership, luckily I only needed the actuator replaced. I hadn’t found an independent shop I trusted and I needed the truck back. Going with an aftermarket turbo or actuator would have been much less expensive.

Sadly, I have simply accepted that due to the complexity and expense of repairs, I bought a very comprehensive extended warranty.
Since 2012 and the new federal mandates on diesels, it’s almost an “option” you have to factor in as part of the purchase price. Mine was $3,000.
On a $85,000 purchase, it‘s about the same as some moderate priced options.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have a RAM 6.7L Cummins and I won’t be replacing it with another diesel. My local stealership doubles its shop rate for work on diesel, further they are always trying to tell me that I should be using the commercial duty maintenance schedule. To replace a bad turbo actuator at <80,000 miles was $4500. Of course they have you over barrel as the truck is in limp mode. Emissions systems on modern diesels are a ticking time bomb.

Emissions systems have received a lot of bad press in the RV world as many folks were stranded when their DEF sensors failed. There are literally pages in numerous forums about how to DIY a DEF sensor simulator that tells the ECM that the DEF sensor is working to avoid a limp condition. I believe Cummins has a software patch but it’s not generally applied.

I like diesels but regulations have made ownership problematic.

My dealership doesn’t upcharge on its’ hourly rate to service diesel trucks. I wonder if you’d do better elsewhere?

 

[mrmikey]

....I bought a very comprehensive extended warranty.

I was offered that option when I bought my Ram1500 5.7. I'd heard so many horror stories about people actually trying to make a claim that was refused that I refused it. It was over $3k 3-1/2 years ago.

 

[Blue Mule]

I’ve had two of the Gen 3 versions of the 3.0 EcoDiesel and today I’ve got a Gen 2 6.7 Powerstroke in a F-250. The diesel engines do pull a trailer nicer because they work at lower RPM and stay in higher gears more often, so it’s a less fatiguing experience mentally to tow with them. However, that is the ONLY advantage.

Diesels are more expensive up front, more expensive to maintain, more expensive to fuel up, more expensive to repair, etc. They warm up slow on cold days. They have more problematic emissions equipment on them. They require additives to the fuel to try and prevent the Bosch CP4 injection pump from blowing up. They require additives to the fuel in winter to prevent gelling. They are much heavier engines which reduces traction at the rear axle which in turn requires 4x4 use more often. They are just purely a pain in the a$$.

For those reasons I’m driving my last diesel. From now on I’ll buy my trucks with the biggest gas engine I can get and the deepest axle gearing I can get and never look back.

If a guy were looking for a great truck today, the Ford Super Duty with 7.3L gas engine and 10R140 transmission mated to the 4.30 axle is the cat’s meow. That’s where it’s at. It’ll pull whatever a diesel will pull, for less than half the cost over time.

 

[LouNY]

While a gas engine can be setup to tow good, these newer ones do so at much higher rpm. Many people don't seem to mind running an engine at higher rpm.
I am not one of them I don't like to see a diesel approaching the 3000 rpm mark and much prefer 1600-1800 rpm, when my gas engines exceed 3500 rpm I tend to back off before the 4000 rpm mark. I like to keep them in the 2200-3000 rpm range when being worked.
In my younger days I did twist my stock car engine into the 6500-7000 range, so I do have some experience with higher rpm, but I don't like it in an engine that I expect to work and run with minimal service.
I still prefer diesels over gassers for any kind of work and even light duty, I do miss my RAM Eco-diesel it was a nice running truck that was much nicer operating for me then my current RAM with the 5.7.