Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
This past weekend, my wife and I were at the beach for a mini vacation. We took her '04 as it has a locking hard shell bed cover (more lockable storage) and it's a SWB (easier to maneuver in the tight places there). The first night we were there, Friday night, the engine shut off after stopping for a red light. I was able to get it restarted and we made it back to the condo we were renting without any issue. It bothered me a bit as her '04 has 98K on it and still has the stock lift pump. The next morning I pulled the codes and got a P0191 (Fuel Rail Pressure Sensor Circuit Performance). Looked it up on my Droid and found it was related to the fuel rail pressure relief valve sticking (described symptoms mirrored what happen to us the night before). That made me feel a bit more at ease but I was still worried about the lift pump. After that, we went out for breakfast and puddle jumped around to various places/events for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon without issue. Then, as we went to leave the last event in the afternoon, the engine shut off again after idling for about 20-30 seconds. I got it restarted and we decided to head back to the condo. On the way back back, the engine shut off yet again at a red light. I was able to get it restarted and by this time I knew the lift pump was going. Made it a few more miles till it happened again only this time it would shut off as soon as I put it in gear. I was able to limp it safely off of the road and out of traffic, but there it was done. Pulled the codes again and got a P0628 in addition to the P0191. Looked up the P0628 and confirmed the lift pump was dead. We had it towed to the local dealer and fortunately, had some family in the area that was able to pick us up and take us back to our condo. The next day, on Sunday, my step-daughter and son-in-law came and gave us a ride home.
So, late Monday morning my wife got a call from the dealer and confirmed the lift pump failure. Then they quoted her $1,800 to replace it with a NAPA in-tank module because MOPAR didn't make them anymore. At hearing the price, she freaked out and called me. I knew this was BS because I had the conversion done on my old '03 about two years ago and I was back on the road for $850 total. By the time I was able to call the dealer back, the guy I needed to talk with was at lunch. This was good because it gave me time to call my local dealer, whom I have a good bit of faith in, and talk with their parts guy. He hunted up the exact part I needed, quoted me a list price of $465 plus labor, and even gave me the part number. I also hunted up the part on NAPA's website and it was show $334 for the in-tank pump module. About 45 minutes later, the dealer that had my wife's truck called me back and started running this line about MOPAR not making that kit any more and they used the NAPA kit instead. They wanted to charge me $800 for just the parts and $1K for labor. It was then that I laid on him that MOPAR did indeed still make that part and that I confirmed it with my local dealer. I offered to give him the part number, but he declined and said that he would look it up, reprice everything, and call me back. About an hour later he called back and said he could get us on the road with the MOPAR for $950 total but he was showing 1 week delivery on the part (also confirmed by my local dealer). This sounded a lot better, more in line with what I was expecting, so I told him to go with that. He said that he would try to expedite the shipping but he wouldn't make any guarantees. I thanked him and that was that.
This whole experience showed me two things. First, if dealers (regardless of manufacturer) can use third party parts vice factory parts, they get to freelance their markup and labor charges. There isn't a dealer on the face of the planet that wouldn't try to get away with this if they can. It's just that some a more sleazy about it than others. Second, if you're an out of town customer and get caught like we did, they count on you being desperate to go for the higher priced fix. They don't count on people like me (and all of you on this forum) being highly knowledgeable about the subject matter. Though I have to give this guy credit in that he was willing to work with me on getting/pricing the MOPAR solution and didn't really seem to sound upset about it. I know that he is till going to make some money, but at least I don't have to finance his kid's first semester of college.
On another note, I referred to my '03 as "my old '03" because two weeks ago I sold it and bought a new 2013 Ram 2500 Laramie. So far, I am totally impressed with the 6. 7L engine and the 6 speed automatic. It has definitely got some power! I'm also very impressed with the rest of the truck as it has whole bunch of new bells and whistles that my '03 didn't have (most of which were not available in the Rams at the time). I'm having to learn how to drive it, being used to my '03 with a Banks Six-Gun package. For anyone who is interested, I will be posting some pics along with some more detailed impressions of the 2013 on the 4th Gen forum on Sunday. I just got the Line-X bed liner sprayed in today. Need to finish putting a few more goodies on it over the next few days, then it will me TDR picture ready.
So, late Monday morning my wife got a call from the dealer and confirmed the lift pump failure. Then they quoted her $1,800 to replace it with a NAPA in-tank module because MOPAR didn't make them anymore. At hearing the price, she freaked out and called me. I knew this was BS because I had the conversion done on my old '03 about two years ago and I was back on the road for $850 total. By the time I was able to call the dealer back, the guy I needed to talk with was at lunch. This was good because it gave me time to call my local dealer, whom I have a good bit of faith in, and talk with their parts guy. He hunted up the exact part I needed, quoted me a list price of $465 plus labor, and even gave me the part number. I also hunted up the part on NAPA's website and it was show $334 for the in-tank pump module. About 45 minutes later, the dealer that had my wife's truck called me back and started running this line about MOPAR not making that kit any more and they used the NAPA kit instead. They wanted to charge me $800 for just the parts and $1K for labor. It was then that I laid on him that MOPAR did indeed still make that part and that I confirmed it with my local dealer. I offered to give him the part number, but he declined and said that he would look it up, reprice everything, and call me back. About an hour later he called back and said he could get us on the road with the MOPAR for $950 total but he was showing 1 week delivery on the part (also confirmed by my local dealer). This sounded a lot better, more in line with what I was expecting, so I told him to go with that. He said that he would try to expedite the shipping but he wouldn't make any guarantees. I thanked him and that was that.
This whole experience showed me two things. First, if dealers (regardless of manufacturer) can use third party parts vice factory parts, they get to freelance their markup and labor charges. There isn't a dealer on the face of the planet that wouldn't try to get away with this if they can. It's just that some a more sleazy about it than others. Second, if you're an out of town customer and get caught like we did, they count on you being desperate to go for the higher priced fix. They don't count on people like me (and all of you on this forum) being highly knowledgeable about the subject matter. Though I have to give this guy credit in that he was willing to work with me on getting/pricing the MOPAR solution and didn't really seem to sound upset about it. I know that he is till going to make some money, but at least I don't have to finance his kid's first semester of college.
On another note, I referred to my '03 as "my old '03" because two weeks ago I sold it and bought a new 2013 Ram 2500 Laramie. So far, I am totally impressed with the 6. 7L engine and the 6 speed automatic. It has definitely got some power! I'm also very impressed with the rest of the truck as it has whole bunch of new bells and whistles that my '03 didn't have (most of which were not available in the Rams at the time). I'm having to learn how to drive it, being used to my '03 with a Banks Six-Gun package. For anyone who is interested, I will be posting some pics along with some more detailed impressions of the 2013 on the 4th Gen forum on Sunday. I just got the Line-X bed liner sprayed in today. Need to finish putting a few more goodies on it over the next few days, then it will me TDR picture ready.
