Discussing the 3rd Gen over at dieselstop

[rbattelle]

Thought others might find this discussion over at the dieselstop interesting:



03 Cummins has Problems



I'd just like to say that despite what these guys think, any problems or even perceived problems I have with my truck or engine go right into these forums (some of them suggest we don't post our problems... we just quietly live with them).



Enjoy!

 

[Shrimpy]

Rbattelle, I read that and just had to laugh. I am not a ford hater, but they REFUSE to admit that ford RUSHED the engine (or electronics) and is using them (First Year Buyers) as guinea pigs.



If you could go back far enough in their archives, you could find where they were ragging on the GM guys about being the first year guinea pigs.



Ford has a definite problem with the 6. 0. I don't care if it could run a 12. 00 quarter, if a person would still buy one after reading the forums then in my opinion they are plain STUPID. If you would not be caught dead in anything other than a ford, thats fine. Until they fix the problems drive a gas rig.



My question to them is..... "If diesel in the oil toasted the Turbo, what will happen to ALL the other bearings in the engine ???"



On another thread, some Mental Midget said that diesel in oil was not as serious a problem as Gasoline in Oil .



He also went on to state that Diesel engine bearings were ..... harder..... than Gas Engine bearings. PPPPllleeeaaaassseee.

 

[Boonieman]

One thing I really enjoy about TDR is that most of the posts are informative and enjoyable and very little of all the arguing and other dribble I see on some of the other boards. I'm on my second Cummins truck and they have both been relatively trouble-free. I'm glad I went that route... . but I'm not gonna bash the Ford SuperDuty's either because I think those are good looking and basically really good trucks too. I don't get any glee out of the problems the 6. 0 guys might be having right now, and I hope Ford steps up and resolves their problems because they're fellow dieselers... . But it sure does make me appreciate my Dodges right now.

 

[ImagesThatSing]

Kudos to this Forum & Hiding problems is laughable

After reading the linked post, I can see that the casual critical and combattive bull is pretty strong on that forum, and I agree that this forum is mostly civilized and assisting which is greatly appreciated by us.



Some of the bantering reminds me of the sensless arguments about Ford against Chevy, Apple Against IBM, and Tractors against automobiles. All senseless irrational defend at all costs argumentative positions.



The premise that Dodge owners are less likely to gripe and likely to hide their problems (grit and bear it) simply cannot pass the laugh test. Positing that argument questions the credibility of the professor.



Thank the Lord for the Delightful, informed, measured responses of this terrific group.

 

[bighammer]

We had the KDP on the older ones, weak lift pumps on the 24 valve trucks, and hopefully nothing on the 3rd gen. You learn how to prevent them from being problems and they are no big deal.



It sounds like the Fords need an oil level monitor and a box of spare parts, and they will be OK too.



I'll bet they get the issues worked out. I don't think the Ford is junk or anything. There are a lot of happy owners with trouble free trucks. The ones who do encounter trouble would be understandably vocal. It would suck to sort of be a guinea pig for Ford to test their new ideas on.

 

[CATCRACKER]

3rd gens have thier probs just wait. i did not have to wait long hope i am the exception

 

[Fireman]

"lol, imagine Ford screwing something up"



:-laf :-laf :-laf :-laf :-laf Oo.



Fireman

 

[Dean Upson]

:-laf :-laf :-laf :-laf :-laf, too .



Dean

 

[rashwor]

Sounds like...

nothing but a bunch of arguing and out of proportion talk about the '03 Cummins. It is not perfect, but there sure are not as many problems or as serious problems with the '03 Cummins as with the Ford 6. 0.



I wish them all the best in getting their problems resolved. My next truck will be another Cummins powered Ram.



Oh, and I am really glad to be part of the TDR where everyone is helpful with problems instead of being in denial that the problems exist.

 

[ImagesThatSing]

Cummins, Cummins, oh yeah, Cummins

We did over a year of research, wathcing boards like this, in order to get a truck to pull a travel trailer. We bought the 99, and it was underpowered, the gearing was poor, and the brakes sucked, but it still did a good job. When we read about the new, now proven, 6 speed, and the HO, we decided since we boondock every weekend and more during the summer, that we owed itself to upgrade.



The fit and finish is much better in the 03, but it is still about larger parts, better reputation, longer service, higher reliability, and confidence in the tradition of cummins. It is not perfect, but it provides the best choice in a truck engine.



BTW, I would have never even driven a Dodge, if it had not had the CTD.



The other discussions by the Ford and Chevy Folks seem to be about loyalty rather than the fairly straight forward facts.



I would never "hold back" problems, and I think that is a bunch of bunk.



Go TDR! It is a wonderful Forum.

 

[Dean Upson]

Re: Cummins, Cummins, oh yeah, Cummins

Originally posted by GSevison

The fit and finish is much better in the 03, but it is still about larger parts, better reputation, longer service, higher reliability, and confidence in the tradition of cummins. It is not perfect, but it provides the best choice in a truck engine.



BTW, I would have never even driven a Dodge, if it had not had the CTD.



The other discussions by the Ford and Chevy Folks seem to be about loyalty rather than the fairly straight forward facts.



I would never "hold back" problems, and I think that is a bunch of bunk.



Go TDR! It is a wonderful Forum.

Ditto to all of that. I always had Fords, the last one was a '86 F350 DRW 6. 9L disel. When Dodge came out with the CTD in '89, I said "that if they ever put the Cummins in a truck that I can stand to look at and ride in, I'll buy one". Dodge did that in 94 and I have had 3 of them and the '03 is the best yet, not perfect, but the best yet.



Dean

 

[BHolm]

Good point, NONE of them are perfect. At least this board is able to admit that. I was as much as thrown off the Chevy board back in '01 for complaining about the Duramax/Allison. Chevy rated that truck for 22k gross, higher than Ford or Dodge at the time. I figured I would give one a try. I bought a Unimog down in Atlanta so we hooked the Dmax up to my triple axle gooseneck and headed out. That dang truck would not under any circumstances pull that load in top gear. So here I am with the most powerful TD truck out at the time, with the vaunted 5-speed Allison trans and the truck is running in fourth gear getting about 5mpg. To top it off the short box trucks only have a 23 gal tank, so we were stopping all the time. I complained enough that someone from Allison showed up at my door with a laptop. We loaded up the truck and collected some data. They did come up with a decent reflash for the trans but the truck was still a pooch IMO.



Yesterday I loaded up the Unimog on the same trailer and then added my 5600lb G-wagen for a load about 20,000lbs not including the truck. The Dually wasn't even on the over loads and the truck pulled it up to 75 mph. It stayed in OD at 65-70 like the Ford and Chev would not. I am very impressed with the truck. I have tried them all with the same load, the CTD flat out works the competition.



Of course, I wish the dodge had the chevys interior and stereo system, or something similar to fords king ranch versions, see nothings perfect. I always try to buy what suits my needs the best. I will always be honest when I have a problem. This is the third time I have been a "first year" guinea pig, 99 ford, 01 dmax, '03 dodge. The ford was exceptional, the chev fair and the dodges have been great so far. Its a roll of the dice no matter who you buy from. Of course, I wouldn't want to be rolling ford dice right now, the 6. 0 dice are loaded

 

[Ladders]

And since we dont reallly have MAJOR problems, we tend to pick on the smaller "dislikes" more than the others. I guess if it isnt running its more "critical" than if it runs and the lites aint quite bright enuff or (add your own "PET" dislike). Just another SATISFIED (knock-on-wood) Cummins owner with a good service dept behind me.





SOTSU!!

\\BF//

 

[DLeach]

Originally posted by BHolm





Of course, I wish the dodge had the chevys interior and stereo system, or something similar to fords king ranch versions, see nothings perfect. I always try to buy what suits my needs the best. I will always be honest when I have a problem. This is the third time I have been a "first year" guinea pig, 99 ford, 01 dmax, '03 dodge. The ford was exceptional, the chev fair and the dodges have been great so far. Its a roll of the dice no matter who you buy from. Of course, I wouldn't want to be rolling ford dice right now, the 6. 0 dice are loaded

The king ranch version would be the only selling point for me on a power stroke. I love that interior design. How come dodge cant come up with something fancy like that. I think it adds alot of class to a vehicle.





Aloha

 

[ImagesThatSing]

Originally posted by DLeach

The king ranch version would be the only selling point for me on a power stroke. I love that interior design. How come dodge cant come up with something fancy like that. I think it adds alot of class to a vehicle.





Aloha

Now you have got me curious, am going to have to stop by my friendly f**d dealer and check out the King Ranch Version.





Ron & Jodi Hitch Covers & Stuff Ready Soon, Xmas Drawing for Product

 

[BHolm]

Even the King Ranch is a flawed package. The interiors are very nice, the leather smells great. The exteriors are only availible in three colors I think, white with tan, burgundy or a nasty pea green soup color. The price is pretty steep to, makes for a $50k pick-up with the diesel. I bought the Chev with the LT package, much nicer than a Laramie IMO and less money than the Ford. Besides, I just couldn't buy the 6. 0, so it was out of the running before the race began.

 

[Steve M]

King Ranch?... The name just reeks of Elvis tacky gawdy looking decor. What next? King Salami?

We just returned from a trip from central Florida to Pensacola and back. On the return trip we saw two new Superduty's with the light metal colored badges on the side of the road. One was with a good sized 5th wheel. The other was not towing and was accompanied by a fellow in an S10. They were looking under the hood as we passed. I always worry to a small degree about a mechanical failure or tire failure while on a trip but to buy a truck with known defects acknowledged by the manufacturer and then deny they exist while taking cheap shots at the reliable competitors is ludicrous. I wouldn't put myself through that much less my family.

Needless to say, my father in law and I had a very comfortable trip in the front seats of my SLT and my wife and MIL had plenty of leg room and were happy and complaint free of the back seat of my QC for the 1,011 miles they rode back there. We had no problems at all with the Dodge Cummins and averaged 11-12mpg towing my 10,400 lb 5th wheel 68-70mph. Some of the steeper long rolling hills slowed us to about 58mph but the standard output Cummns held it there and the 47RE never shifted out of O/D even with cruise on. I'm very happy with this truck.

Face it Ford fans... There's problems with the 6. 0. Ford makes a great truck but the 6. 0 isn't making a stellar debut. My Bro in law's '03 F250 with V-10 is flawless and tows his 5th wheel like a champ. He's making up for the gas mileage each month with lower payments. He sure likes my truck!

 

[rmcnamee]

I've been towing for a couple years on the side for a buddy and I've never towed a Dodge Cummins. However, I've towed plenty of Powerstrokes (all years and models). I just recently towed a 6. 0L with 148 miles (bought 2 days earlier) becuase the engine kept overheating. Needless to say, with only a 148 miles on it, the truck wasn't the only thing overheating that day.

Bottom line is that the Powerstrokes are decent engines with lots of power, but they just aren't as reliable as the Cummins.



Ryan

 

[Deerezilla]

As of right now My next truck is going to be a CDT ho5. 9 with a 6 speed I drive a ford with a 7. 3 and it's been a good truck but I will not buy a 6. 0 with all the trouble. I'm a farmer and I use my truck every day had pull big loads and need my truck to start and do the job I ask with out a question every time as I feel right now ford lost the ball with the new pos 6. 0

 

[MCummings]

Originally posted by Ben Stair

And since we dont reallly have MAJOR problems, we tend to pick on the smaller "dislikes" more than the others.

Yah,, How do you complain about a fuel tank that is hard to top off when you can't make it past the first tank!?



Merrick Cummings Jr