I've been out of the diesel truck game for awhile but probably going to pick another one up here pretty soon. I'm looking for an older 2500 (2003 to 2010) and more concerned with fuel economy and reliability. This will eventually be pulling a 10k 5th wheel toy hauler down the road and looking to spend around $15k. Any advice?
Thanks,
Craig
You stepping your race program up a couple of notches? Or can't figure out what to do with all the money you saved by not going to the TT.
05-07 Dodge Cummins. Early 07 with the 5.9 not the late with the 6.7 engine. I had both and the 6.7 was pain and had I spent a ton of money removing the EGR system and replacing the exhaust just to get more that 12 mpg. The 5.9 engines get good mileage. The 04 had transmission issues and the 05-07 was improved but it still only made it to 135K before it also needed a new one.
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Get a manual transmission, but yes the 5.9 Cummins is a work horse. My 05' had 324,000 on it.
I have a 14 Dodge 2500 Cummins, get about 13 towing and 19 without. My trailer only weighs about 8000 loaded though
Lol @ Ty! Oh....I know the way you drive and no transmission can w/stand the beatdown you put on it. I've had a 5th wheel before but downsized. However, after hanging out in the Hogge's RV at Cota I've decided that's what I want towards the end of the year. On a whim I stuck the Tundra on Clist and this guy wants it so I figure I might as well get the truck part out of the way right now. I'm looking at an 04 2500 5.9 right now. Its clea, 95k, manual, for $16k. What do ya think?
Last edited by Craig Montgomery; 04-29-2015 at 10:27 AM.
^ probably a good deal.. trucks are expensive. we use a 2014 dodge 3500 and its a beast..but they are 60K new.. the 5.9s where great motors and regularly see 250K+ with good maintenance. just dont get the ford -_-.. we had an 07 ford 2500 and it just couldnt keep up. was in the shop several times a year.
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Decent deal right there, I have a 04.5 that gets 20 mpg unloaded and 19 pulling my little open trailer. Tune ,intake, exhaust and lighter wheels. Just do your self a favor and get all the gauges to ensure she's running right, it would have saved me from missing the first round when I lost fuel pressure north of Houston. Good call on the manual except rowing the boat after a day of riding, haha.Originally Posted by Craig Montgomery
The main difference between the 04 and 04.5 is that the 4.5 has the 05 motor with 25 extra horse and a better option of tuner boxes.
Dodge and Chevy will get you the best mileage. I get 10-11 with my 06 Ford. In the $15k price range you'll be looking towards a lower end model. The 5.9 dodge usually lists for $5k or more than a comparable ford or Chevy.
If you look towards the ford for that price it's going to end up being a 6.0L. Look for an 05-07 that has the egr delete and heads studded. Along with the other maintenance items with the whole process the 6.0 will be a reliable truck. If it doesn't have that work one expect to pay around $2k parts and labor for it. I ended up paying $5k but I have a laundry list of other things I told them to do while in there.
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Curious what the gauges would have told you that would have kept this from happening. I ask because I've been in the tuner world a long time and see guys spend $1k+ on gauges but they don't know what to do with the info, and the types of failures they experience rarely would have been detected by the gauges before they could have done anything.
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I am by no means a pro on this subject but here is what I would use as a base line to keep it operating in the safe zone, well at least what I follow on my cummins.
5 most common ones
- EGT (exhaust gas temp) cruising temp around 800-1000 (more for towing, hills and acting a fool) makes sure your not over fueling on the new tune/ driving situation.
- Trans temp, keeping it below 180 for obvious reasons
- Fuel pressure, should be at a minimum of 10psi even at WOT (my issue I'll get to in a second)
- Rail Pressure, should not exceed 23k psi on stock injectors, not enough pressure your cp3 is going out
- Boost - Becuase who doesn't like watching the turbo spool, but not really to ensure your not over pressurizing boost and shucking a head stud. (stock is good to 50lbs)
Is this going to catch spinning a rod bearing, no.... but it's always best to see what's going in and coming out of your motor.
In my situation, my lift pump (fuel pump) went south. If I had a fuel pressure gauge I would have been able to identify that it could not supply the CP3 with enough needed fuel, thus it could have been proactively replaced instead of sitting on the side 45 near Madisonville. It wasn't until after it went out that it threw a code to say the lift pump had an issue. Just for reference stock fuel pump, with 125k miles.
But your post nailed the issue in the head, [/QUOTE]they don't know what to do with the info[/QUOTE].
Oh, and $1k for gauges?!? you can get top of the line autometers to under $600
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