2003 dodge 2500 4x4 wore out or not??????

[WPeschel]

I have a 03 cummins HO 6 spd 4x4 with 48,000 miles... With that in mind I took all my after market mods except for the exhaust and guages off to take it in to the shop for some coolant that I noticed that had ran down the side of the engine. . I told them while they have it to check it out for other problems that I might have... I also told them that sometimes I hear a sqeek in the front end, and sometimes the A/C blows colder then other times...



This is what they told me...





Covered under warranty

1. coolant was comeing from a loose plug in the head tighten up with no problem...

2. Front drive shaft u joints wore out, whole shaft needs replaceing. . 100$ deductible

3. Engine needs Oil pan gasket and front gasket under timeing chain cover



Not covered under warranty:--) :{

1. A/C compressor leaks 330$ whith mandatory dryer 106$ total 436$ in parts alone

2. Front end upper and lower ball joints aver 550$ installed

3. Front steering sector wore out aver 400$ installed this is the second one since 33,000 miles. .



I don't know how to take this but I am rather pi$$ed off ... The shop manager said that they would take care of the steering sector since it only has a few thousand miles on it... I paid 37,000 dollars for this truck one and a half years ago. . I do not intend to put 1500 dollars a year in it... The shop manager also said that we will talk to the district manager next week because he is out of town to see if there is any thing that they can do...



Those Ford Power Strokes are looking better and better. . So is Chevy Duramax

Most of these miles were on I10 to work and back...







:-{}

 

[ata]

Well I see that Dodge hasn't fixed the weak front end on the G-3's either. With all the Ball Joint problems that have been showing up here lately and Rear Ends and Vibration's. As for the other stuff that's why I got the extended Warranty and it payed for it's self Double. When I replace this Dodge it's back to G. M. for me.

 

[SRadke]

Originally posted by ata

When I replace this Dodge it's back to G. M. for me.

You couldn't pay me to own a four wheels drive "truck" with IFS.



-Scott

 

[ata]

Well Scott you couldn't pay me enough money to buy another Dodge. I had to come back and Edit this. Even though I've had problems with the Ball Joints and Front Wheel Bearings (both sides) Track Bar, Rear Hub Seals, Trailer Hitch cracked Both sides at frame flange,Paint peeled on Hood, Windshield looked like it was full of Spider Web. That's all I can think of right now and at least it was ALL UNDER WARRANTY. (except the trailer hitch) It's going to be a long time before I replace this 97 Dodge. I just hope that the after market companies keep making parts for my 97 so I don't have to give anymore money to Dodge. I don't want anything to do with any of the Electronic Controlled Engines. (Chev,GMC,Dodge,Ford) If it wasn't for the Cummin's I would not have bought a Dodge.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Originally posted by ata

Well I see that Dodge hasn't fixed the weak front end on the G-3's either. With all the Ball Joint problems that have been showing up here lately and Rear Ends and Vibration's. As for the other stuff that's why I got the extended Warranty and it payed for it's self Double. When I replace this Dodge it's back to G. M. for me.

Funny, I unloaded my GM for the same reasons... . weak front end. I figured I'd rather have a SFA and fix it than an IFS and fix it.



Dodge is now using the same axles that GM is using so you aren't running to anything different as far as axle manufacturer is concerned.



In some ways they are all junk.





Not everybody has the problems which is hard to explain.

 

[WPeschel]

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=107387 everyone with ball joint problems please check out this thread... .

 

[shendren]

well ata, i tend to agree. however, i just sold my 04 psd that i bought in jan 04. was in the shop with major problems. pos. had 13k mi on it.

 

[ata]

Dodge and G. M. use the same Rear Axle but not the same Front with one being I. F. S and the other Solid axle. Yes I know more then I want to about the Fords. My young son bought a 99 and it was in the shop more than on the road the first year and a half. And now he's buying another one 05 and he talked his brother in to buying one too! They both had Chev's before 93 and 94 and only the 94 had a problem with one Injection Pump. NO I. F. S. problems at all and I have a 99 Tahoe with only one problem a cracked timing chain cover. So your right about all of them having problems but it seems like the Chev's and G. M. C's have less.

 

[Matt400]

Originally posted by ata

Dodge and G. M. use the same Rear Axle

Thats weird cuz an 04 GM 2500 was in the shop the other day, (might have been an 03) and it was obvious that the rear axle in that truck was very different than what is in mine.



They might have been from the same manufacture- dunno but having changed the fluid on that GM I noticed the overall size of the tubes and pumpkin area was much smaller than my 2500. I also noticed the GM had a drilled housing for a drain plug which was nice but I laughed at the overall size of the housing

 

[ata]

The G. M. probably was not a H. D. with the 8. 1L gas or the D-Max Diesel. G. M. and Dodge use the same AAM axle.

 

[Matt400]

It was a 3/4 ton but did have a smaller gas engine. The Rams with the Hemi's don't have smaller axles do they?

 

[jimnance]

Originally posted by ata

Well I see that Dodge hasn't fixed the weak front end on the G-3's either. With all the Ball Joint problems that have been showing up here lately and Rear Ends and Vibration's. As for the other stuff that's why I got the extended Warranty and it payed for it's self Double. When I replace this Dodge it's back to G. M. for me.

Perhaps it's the way it's being driven. I don't think these trucks are really built for harsh off road work.



I've had a '91, 95, 99, and now an '03. I put 100K on each of my earlier trucks and never did anything to the suspension except replace pads and rotors. Most of my driving is on road with very little off road.



I suppose you'd expect a 4X4 to be built to take on rough roads. Perhaps Dodge isn't building the suspension stout enough for off roading.

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

Not saying any one manufacturer is better or worse but here is my experience.

My dad has owned only ford 250s or 350s 4x4 diesels. His front ends needed about the same maintanence schedule as mine. Other than track bars every 50k. I have read of fords needing front end work at 50-60k. With much more repairs needed than your listing. Its a matter of driving style. My truck is due at 100k. Until now I bought one track bar. I do offroad frequently though.

I went off roading with a chevy and it just didnt have the ground clearance. It was a major issue and we had to work around it. I dont know how long they last but the clearance is a major hobble.

Sorry about your luck. I hope yours is one of very few with so many problems. Both mine made it to 100k and I dont drive nice. Granted neither was a gen3.

Now Ford is adopting the coil setup. So your choices for new are coil or ifs. The ifs out of the box needs beefed up. Though not expensive. If you dont need the clearance the dmax might be just the ticket for you. The 6. 0s havent impressed me with reliability might want to wait on that one. Ford has a tendency to say that all do that if they dont want to spend the money to fix the problem.

I would definitely sell that one and find one more reliable soon. Ive found that once they start eating money. They dont stop.

 

[DPKetchum]

My neighbor has a 03 3500 SRW 4x4. 6 speed 3. 73 gears. As of last week 133K and NOTHING but filter and oil changes. First set of tires went over 90k and still NOT quite on wear bars. OVER 50% brake pads left. 90% of those miles TOWING a 3 horse trailer. Serpitine belt still looks good! Changed diff. and trans fliuds for the FIRST time at around 90k. Tight as as a tick and runs and drives great. HE did replace the POWERSTEERING hose after asking me several times about the FAN that came on at 70mph. I finally figured out what he was talking about. It was the DRONE! He said DAMN its REALLY smooth NOW.

 

[Guest]

Forget Dodge, I bought the truck for whats under the hood. The 02 I just sold I miss bad but I hated the interior material and the front bumper, the transmission, and @ one point the injection pump(when I fried it), but the Cummins made all of those things obsolete and I compensated w/ transmission mods, really dark windows, and I lived w/ the front bumper. . As far as axles go I dont do any work to wear out stuff so I cant chime in on that...





The Cummins is hands down a superior design when it comes to comparing the Navistar and Isuzu Motors, hah!!!!!



So when is ford gonna put Navistar on the side of its trucks, and G. M. Isuzu?



Dont get me wrong G. M. has had great looking sheet metal until the 04's new front end on the Chevs...

 

[champspa]

I would take it have the major item fixed and buy another brand my truck has 171k and hasn't had any of the things that you say is wrong with yours, it's a lemon get something else.

 

[DPelletier]

Without getting in to a long dragged out post, If you trade your Dodge hoping to get better reliability out of brand X or Y, your setting yourself up for disappointment. I have 3 fords, 1 chevy and 2 dodge pickup's currently and have owned many more over the past years. The Dodges have required the least amount of work. GM's aluminum center section IFS front end is hardly heavy duty IMO.

The last three new trucks I bought have been Dodge Cummins because I believe that a Cummins engine, NV-5600 and solid front axle represent the absolute pinacle of strength and longevity available.



Cheers

Dave

 

[Guest]

DPelletier said it best, THE CUMMINS!!!!!

 

[XcumminsX]

Maybe you just beat the hell out of your truck and thats why your having all these problems. There are people here with 5x more miles than you and there trucks are fine... Maybe you got a lemon. Dont jump on here and say oh im going to GM or Ford. Have fun with GM and there POS IFS. . And have fun with all the bugs ford is going to have to work out with there new coil front axle design...

 

[RustyJC]

Wow - glad I bought the last of the 2nd generation trucks! Our 2002 spends 90% of its working life towing our 13,500 lb 5th wheel RV and has yet to go back to the dealer for anything since we took delivery on 8/15/01. Nothing. Nada. No warranty problems whatsoever.



Our experience wasn't that different with our previous 1996 V-10/47RE 3500. It had two warranty failures between 1996 and 2001 - an OEM battery and an oil pressure sending unit.



Rusty