04-06 owners. How was your truck?

[Prairie Dog]

The steering vibe thing wasn't a recall either, just a TSB for those who complained about the problem.

 

[EDankievitch]

Hmm lets see... Ball joints... ball joints again (2nd time I went with Carli they are lasting over 100,000 miles on them now) Cylinder #4 jumper pipe. Injectors. Fuel lift pump... Aside from that it just runs... ... 175,000 miles and counting (Breaks and the clutch are normal wear items)

 

[DFranks]

2006, 2500 laramie

Brakes at 30k miles, Faulty caliper(seized slider) no warranty

All u joints by 60k

leak drivers side pillar pod at 40k

leak passenger side pillar pod, 50k

rear driver auto door lock fail 80k,

Rear passenger door lock fail 90k

ball joints, shocks at 100k

transmission fail at 100k

rust through on passenger rear fender, fixed 3 times at 120k, finally new whole new side replacement

Passenger pillar pod leak (again) 120k

both rear auto locks fail (again) 120k

Oil sample sent in to Blackstone, 125k very high copper count, turbo failure speculated.



Truck not hotrodded, 60 hp tuner only ( first 100k then removed and sold)(pretty sure that did transmission in my fault). Installed gauges for towing never above 1400F. ever.

bypass oilfilter, used full synthetic fluids front to back. Flettgaurd filters used. Oil analysis ever second oil change.



Never really happy with this truck, allways something not right... .



Truck traded at 125K for 2012 laramie 3500 srw MC. I hope I have better luck with this one.

 

[DonFitzwater]

First 06 had lot's of problems during its life. Made in St Louis and the fit and finish was very poor. Doors and other body parts didn't line up right, orange peel in the door jams.



I would recommend buying a truck made in Mexico. The have much better build quality over all. The third gen trucks are very good in my opinion, I own another now and will look for another when the time comes.

 

[Sandflea]

Here's the tally with 109,000 miles so far. I pull a FW about 5 weekends a year, otherwise the truck is lightly used.



Heater blend door motor

Ball joints bad (replaced with Carlis)

U-joints front and rear (replaced with Spicers)

transfer case rear output shaft bushing

pretty much everything in the front end

steering stabilizer

#4 fuel line failed in the middle of nowhere. Glad I had AAA.

3 injectors replaced due to overfueling at 108,000 mi. 3 more to go.

water pump

intermediate steering shaft

lumbar support snapped

passenger side motor mount

front pinion seal

serpentine belt and brakes (normal service life)

wheel bearings

rear main seal leaking. will replace when Goerend rebuilds transmission.

new shocks on the list

re-tighten small silicone heater hose annually due to leaks.

high EGT (1500 deg) pulling FW at high elevations (9000'+)

high transmission temps pulling FW in the mountains of Colorado

radio/CD changer #1 button sticking

steering wheel radio/CD volume control starting to go bad

rebuilt driver's side seat cushions.



Other than that, no complaints. Since I've replaced as many failed parts as possible with better-than-mopar parts, I've got no plans to get something different. I'll keep it as long as the Cummins keep running.

 

[JimB1]

'06 & '07 5. 9's, full OEM electronics integrate tow-haul/od lock-out/cruise control/ exhaust brake/ turbo waste-gate, unlike earlier 3rd gens.



Seattle, King Cnty, required SMOG test for my '06 tabs. Full snap throttle, hold it till tester says let up, about 2 sec after full throttle. Bone stock, b-20 fuel, blew 3% opacity of 40% limit and am impressed at how well engine electronics managed fast smooth surge on no-load engine. Didn't even check the air filter before test.



My rigs, Plane Jane rock crushers, inexpensive for serious reliable hot-rod hp, aftermarket will support these model years for long long time and that skinny engine allows such a short turning radius I can 360 a inner city neighborhood traffic circle like riding a merry-go-round. No V-8 will ever manage that.



Don't figure I'll ever need buy new iron.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Just the usual LIFT PUMP CRAP changed it out to Air Dog. Had the trans rebuilt didn't really need it but with close to 100K on it when it was done it would not have been much longer IMO so had it done before it tore something more expensive up. IMO I wish I had drove it off the dealership lot and had the trans done then its not the same truck . Changed out the water pump and belt just to be safe its a long way to a shop around here at times and didnt want to get caught at the end of the road some place with truck problems. Same with the U Joints. Im big into changing parts BEFORE they give up on me.

 

[CBarr]

Have a 2004. 5 3/4 manual 6 sp, single cab w/124,00 miles. Other than brakes, shocks and just replaced lift pump and water pump. Great truck. Trouble free other than above, even has the original batteries. Lot of highway miles, abt 1/2, towing excess weight about 1/4 of time. Best truck ever owned.

 

[jgillott]

'07 5. 9L 2500 4x4 6-speed. Other than the issues related to a bad load of fuel, here's the rundown in 62K.



Front axle u-joints and alignment at 49K

Water pump at ~52K?

Rear drive shaft u-joint at 54K

Blend doors now at 62K



Other than that, one set of tires and just the normal oil and filter changes.



The '04. 5 has been flat out amazing with as many miles and the type of work it does. 2 sets of ball joints and front u-joints, and I think 3 sets of brakes all around in ~300+K I believe now. Oh... and I forgot 1 AC compressor and 1 throttle position sensor. It needs a new back bumper due to the salt spreader, but still very solid all around.

 

[TGVET]

Where to start ?

I'm just going to keep dumping more $$ into as I never want another payment nor do I want another truck of any manufacture.



Stay clear of transmission rebuilders north of the border, no legal recourse as they are not in this country. I got royally you know what by that outfit. Hard lessons learned by not keeping to local folks.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Early 2004. Evertyhing I have done is chronicled in the magazine. Very few malfunctions--water pump, front hubs, maintenance items like tires, brake pads, fan clutch. Most of the parts I replaced were to stay ahead of the curve because I take long trips and don't want to fix something at the side of the road.

 

[BLNRAY]

you ask about 04-06,mine is an 03,it has 392576mi. other than normal wear items brakes at least 3 times several front bearing hubs,complete front suspension rebuild nothing major,knock on wood. original turbo and injectors. at least half the miles are towing miles,somtimes pretty heavy. love the truck.

 

[Wayne M.]

you ask about 04-06,mine is an 03,it has 392576mi. other than normal wear items brakes at least 3 times several front bearing hubs,complete front suspension rebuild nothing major,knock on wood. original turbo and injectors. at least half the miles are towing miles,somtimes pretty heavy. love the truck.

392576..... On the clock... Original injectors? Please tell us what your fuel filtration is? Thanks!

My sig truck now has 103,XXX (as I always say) mostly hard NYC city miles on it. Not a lot of towing- definitely never saw more than 8500 on a trailer- never been to the rockies- Never seen a power adder/ programmer. Engine's never been apart except to change the oil pan and the crankcase filter. Still got the original batteries, the (-) posts were only off once in the entire life of the truck for the oil pan job. It's been to the dealer once for warranty work back when all the CP3's were leaking, and Fullerton Dodge in NJ did a fantastic, leave no trace job. Since I share the same philisophy as Mr. Donnelly, I did the front hubs a bit before their time (see too many go without warning in the trade) and was able to afford spyntecs. At the same time I did the other components. Other one time replacements are; Rear shaft U joints, All brakes, the cab clearance lamps, and the left rear door harness.
Thats the only real gripe I have. Certain quality issues, like the brittle wiring in the doors. That's just uncalled for! When I made the deal for the truck, I thought I got a good one. I have no regrets as it's the first new vehicle I ever (will?) buy. I thought I got a decent value, since I see people paying more money for way less a vehicle. It's all mine now and every day it runs for me is like paying itself back a bit at a time.

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

170K miles on truck. Normal wear parts- 5 sets of tires, one set of front brake pads and shocks and stabilizer.
I'm on my 3rd set of ball joints and 2nd set of u joints front to back and second center/carrier bearing. Second front diff pinion seal. Both front hub assemblies and rotors changed. Power steering pump and gear box blew out around 50K miles, fixed under warranty. On 3rd FCA and second CPS. Replaced injectors around 150K miles. In take lift pump quit around 100K miles, replaced with BD's Flowmax pump, which I just replaced for the 3rd time. I fixed both rear door harnesses, wires cracked. Completely rebuilt both front seat lower cushions, huge improvement. Blend doors have been broke for about 3 years, I have the Heater Treater kit, just too lazy to fix. AC has never worked too good, recharged with no improvement. Replaced transmission with a Goerends around 100K miles, nothing wrong with stock, just had the money. Been running with a malfunctioning tach since 40K miles, doesn't really bother me enough to fix it. Replaced complete exhaust system around 100K miles, rusted thru in several spots. Replaced batteries around 160K miles and 7 years, not too bad.

They may be more, but if so, not much. All in all, truck has been fantastic. This truck gets used pretty hard. The first 90K miles it pulled a gooseneck that ranged between 5K-20K pounds depending on the day. It spends plenty of time in the woods, mostly places it should never go. I've owned this truck since new and am very satisfied with my purchase. I would definitely do it again, in serious hopes of the same outcome!

 

[BLNRAY]

Fass 150 pump one of the first things i put on the truck,HF6004 secondary and FS1065 primary. and i am very careful about where i buy fuel. also use Lucas fuel treatment ocasionaly.

 

[rscurtis]

you ask about 04-06,mine is an 03,it has 392576mi. other than normal wear items brakes at least 3 times several front bearing hubs,complete front suspension rebuild nothing major,knock on wood. original turbo and injectors. at least half the miles are towing miles,somtimes pretty heavy. love the truck.

That gives me some degree of confidence that my signature truck will last another 310,000 miles. The only issue I've had is a premature water pump failure (58K miles), and the HVAC doors. First to go was the recirc door which I did myself, and when the mode 1 door went, I had the local dealer replace all of them with HeaterTreater parts. Up until then, the AC system had never been touched. Still on its original brakes, tires, and ball joints. The Cross Bronx Expressway killed the original shocks. And it still looks like new, unlike my '95, which had begun to experience paint failure when about 7 years old.

 

[Wayne M.]

"The Cross Bronx Expressway killed the original shocks"
LOL- rs, you were going to your in-laws in Queens weren't you? That IS a tough road. Funny that my truck was baptized by fire there. I had to go almost halfway across from the GW Bridge to the garage where I was attached to for most of that summer.

 

[rscurtis]

No. I make return visits to LI about three times per year. Haven't had in-laws for over 40 years. The good news is that on the last return trip at the end of August, the beginning of the WB lanes had been repaved, removing the jumps and the foot-tall berms on the pavement. I wonder how it will be on my next trip before winter sets in.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

My 04. 5 has been a great truck, back to the dealer once because the horn would blow on its own. 137,000 hard towing miles so far. Everything still works just like the day I got it. 09/30/2013

 

[mfurrh55]

Mine is an 07, 5. 9 i have 122,000 on it and the only thing i've had to replace is the rear u-joint twice and i tow with it 80% of the time, Monte