2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Durability question

[jalberring]

I've been reading this site and a few others for a while and had a couple of questions. I don't want to start a brand war here. I would just like logical explanations free from as much emotion as possible. I need something to set my mind at ease I guess.



In many Dodge versus another brand threads people are talking about how much lower quality the Dodge's are. This has me concerned as I plan on keeping my truck for a long time.



One post mentioned that the cab mounts on the 2nd generation are a weak link. Any truth to that? And if so, is there a fix? I have noticed in the cold weather that when I first start out it seems as if the body is flexing a lot. There are many squeaks and sounds coming from the windshield area. Anybody elses truck do this?



Another post mentions that Dodges aren't used as wreckers because the rear frame section is too weak. Yet, I see and hear about hotshotters with thousands of miles on their trucks. I don't hear about any of them breaking their frame while towing heavy. Is there a reason for this?



I know that the internet isn't a good place to get a lot of information, but I have heard many of these sayings before. My Dad also said stay away from Dodge due to poor quality.



The Earthroamer truck doesn't seem to have the problems listed above. At least not from what I have read. You would think that the condtions he drives in would produce some of these faults. Maybe I just haven't heard about them.



In short, Are there any major area that I need work on to make the truck stronger?



Any information is appreciated.

Jason

 

[apkole]

We have all heard the isolated horror stories attached to the different brands of trucks. Just yesterday I spoke with a local construction contractor who had a D-Max transmission go out at 55K. The truck had a "whine" in the drive train from day one which got progressively worse. The kicker is that these trannys really do cost $4k for the rebuild/replacement.



GM problems in the past have been frame failure (1/2 ton, 3/4 ton and 1 ton chassis) and the 700R4 transmission (very high failure rate in snowplowing applications. ) We actually had a local GM dealer stand up in front of our association and state that with the new GM truck "we think we have got the frame and transmission problems figured out. " Wow, that gave all of us a warm fuzzy feeling about GM.



One of my subcontractors who plows for me is on his 4th transmission in his Super Duty F250 Ford. This in less than 2 years and 60K miles.



Our company has been around since 1964, and we have used them all. For our particular application, we have found that the Dodge hold up the best to our particular brand of abuse.



Don't let the postings on this site spook you. The 14k plus members who post here are but a very small percentage of the total number of owners of these trucks.



Both of our CTDs are over 100K miles now, and I've been very happy with their performance. I do expect and budget for an occasional transmission. I would rather budget $2600 for a Dodge transmission than $4K for the Allison. And I don't believe that the failure rate will be much different for either.



Andy

 

[jelvington]

I bought mine used last year with 40k miles and it now has 63k trouble free miles. I know its not a lot but it is my first Dodge and I have been very pleased with it. I used to be a devoted Ford owner but after transmission problems that led to customer service problems I don't care to have another one. Here is another thread to check out.



quality question

 

[DOWG]

This is the second or third time I have seen a reference to the cab mounts. It has been suggested the cab mounts, if not tight, can cause a "thumping" noise in the front end. What are cab mounts and how should one go about a diagnosis and repair?

 

[RustyJC]

We have pulled 5vers since 1996 - the first 5ver was a 30' single slide that weighed about 10,000 lbs. The second is a 36' triple slide that weighs about 13,500 lbs.



Our first "puller" was a 1996 Dodge 3500 V-10/automatic. Total warranty failures were the OEM battery and an oil pressure gauge sending unit. Sold truck at 46,500 miles in 2001 - still looked and drove like new.



Our current "puller" is shown in my signature. This truck has 11,800 miles and has never been back to the dealer for anything. No problems whatsoever. None. Nada.



Before our 1996 3500, I had never owned a Chrysler product in my life - I had bought nothing but Fords and Volvos since 1965. I finally had so many problems with Fords in the late 80's and early 90's that I decided to try a Dodge.



These two trucks, plus my wife's 2000 Durango SLT+, have been probably the most trouble-free, reliable vehicles we've ever owned (and we've owned quite a few!)



Rusty

 

[Sled Puller]

The frame stories are a total lie started by those who brought us the best story, "FORD OWNS CUMMINS. "



The Ford camp is so jealous of our engines they make up storys and pat each other on the back about how junk our trucks are, to reassure that they made the best choice.



I had a 94 auto that I trade on a97 5 speed, the truck was flawless.

My 97 now has 140,000 miles on it, everything that has been broken has been from 550 hp and an idiot driver.

Everything in the cab, frame is still like new.



Look at my sig, I thinK what I do is a pretty good test of frames and cab mounts.

If this is not a test enough, look at www.enterpriseengine.com, he was still pulling on the factory hitch until summer of 2001, when it ripped in half. The Frame is fine. Dave is running about twice my power.



Any of the minor problems that plague all the brands, have been fixed on this site from the Members, the other brands just scratch their heads and complain, and buy another new one.

 

[Kingram]

Hey Jason,



I have not experienced any of these problems or heard of them.



I can't add much here except to say I was in the same place you are a few years ago. We had just bought the wife a Durango and I found the Durango Owner's Club on the WEB. After spending a few evenings reading the posts and all of the problems people were having with their Durango's, I was sick!! I thought I had just bought the biggest lemon on the market. I was considering getting rid of it before these problems started happening to me.



After 4 years and 70k miles on the trouble-free Durango, I have a slightly different opinion on these issues.



1) After re-reading some posts, I realized that some of these "problems" were the results of modifing the trucks different than DC had intended. People would crank up the torsion bars to raise the front, then complain about uneven tire wear, etc.



2) The people reporting the problems with their machines were a TINY portion of the total ownership. Also, the WEB is such a great place to post your problem to get help with it. So, naturally, you only hear about the problems.



3) Every auto maker has less than 100% reliability. Most of the problems with the Durango had/have a very easy fix. Engine detonation can be easily cured (for the most part) by a 180 t-stat. , etc.



When I started looking for a truck, I "thought" Dodge had the lowest quality of the big 3. The Cummins was its only savior. But after driving all 3 and talking with owners of all three, I really feel we are in the same boat as everyone else. Some problems, but not as bad as it may appear on WEB sites. Actually, I'm right happy with the fit and finish of my Dodge compared to other brands. I only have 35k on it, so time will tell.



Like I said, I don't have much to help you with. :{



Sorry for being so long-winded with nothing to say



Chris

 

[Berrigan]

I agree with you guys,



All three have had problems at one time or another. Talk abuot cab mounts the late 70s and early 80s chevys you had to change em every 50k just to keep the cab at the same height as the bed, but they were the smoothest riding truck you could drive.



I think sometimes the factory decides to build them a certain way to improve in one area but many times that is a compromise in another.



Ive driven and worked on all three and I think quality is basically the same. Ya maybe one is better in this area but the other is better in another. JMHO Bill

 

[jrollins]

DOWG:



In reference to your question about cab mounts, they are just what the name states, they mount the cab of the truck to the frame, there are several rubber bushings with bolts through them that hold the cab in place and keep it secure. If you look under your truck in front of the drivers door you will see one on both sides. they are pretty simple and to my knowledge there hasn't been much change in there design through the years. I personally have never heard any of these cab mount failure stories. I bent the frame of my 2001. 5 almost a inch behind the front drivers wheel not too long ago and had no cab mount issues . have heard of some talk about weak frames but i think most of those issues were addressed with the release of the 03 ram. GM had poor frame construction for many years, they tried to correct this issue when they released the HD series of trucks, unfortunately its pretty easy to tell what they did when you look at the truck, the frame now has very large rails that stick it looks about a foot below the cab, for me ground Clarence is a good thing to have so i don't buy into that super size frame rail!

 

[DOWG]

jrollins: Thanks for the reply regarding cab mounts.

 

[CUMAPART]

At work we have had Dodge, Ford, and Chevy. All 1 ton dumps some gas and some diesels. Every one of them has had one kind of problem or another. We couldn't keep a transmission behind the PSD and it didn't like the cold. I'm on my fourth transmission and 3rd rear in my 1997 Chevy 3500 w/52000 mi. All but one of our Chevy 1 tons frame horns have cracked. The Dodge had a transmission replaced and the door hinges are something to be desired. Yes these trucks get worked and I should say over worked. All of them get 9' plows and spreaders hung on them every winter. Then you load up the dump with salt and are sometimes are out for 30 hrs straight pushing that white stuff and laying down the salt. We plow large commercial lots and if you want to keep your truck looking and driving nice do not hang a plow on it. I bought my Dodge b/c I liked it the best. One of the guys I work with bought a PSD F350, he liked Ford the best. My boss bought a new Chevy gasser; he loves Chevy. To each his own I guess but I love my Dodge/Cummins

 

[jalberring]

Thanks guys,



I knew that I bought the right engine. It is much better than the others IMO.



My problem was with the truck.



It doesn't seem like I have anything to worry about though.



Jason

 

[rwitt]

I bought my truck last year and it's the first Dodge I've owned. I've previously owned new Fords and Chevys and can say this has been the best vehicle I've had without question. All three trucks have their issues but to keep hearing that the Dodge quality isn't up to the other two just doesn't cut it with me. I work for a large electrical utility and the majority of the trucks we use are Ford Super Dutys and Chevys. They both have problems, transmissions, frames, you name it. I drive an '02 F450 PSD every day for work and theres a lot of things I like about the truck and could very easily own one for my personnal use but prefer the Dodge. The fit and finish in my company truck and other Fords I've driven/ridden in is no better/no worse than my Dodge. Its all a matter of what you like the best. As for why you don't see many Dodge wreckers, its mainly a GVWR issue. Dodge doesn't make a chassis that can compete with Fords F450/550. A 3500 just doesn't have enough GVWR.

Rich

 

[jalberring]

I noticed in the cab mount thread that someone talks about their cab flexing a lot.



I checked my mounts and they seem OK. Is this just how the truck is designed?



As I posted above their is noise coming from the windshield area when the truck is cold. It seems as if the cab is flexing a lot just going over my gravel driveway. Apparently this isn't too much of a problem right?



I haven't seen a whole lot of these trucks in off road magazines. Is there a reason for this?

 

[Ladders]

Take a look at

the pics of DRIFTY. This shows the abuse that these can take and walk away from (also do a search and you will find that most have walked away from a total).



If you have too much flex the w/s would probably pop out but some is normal, depends on how much is too much. Any after market accessories that "may" be adding to the problem? Heavy run boards, nerfs or? These could be giving you more stress than normal and in the cold could be causing more flex fo u to hear.



just my el-cheapo assist @ 0. 015$



Da diesel-less SOTSU!!

\\BF//

 

[jalberring]

WOW



Hate to see those things happen. Everyone was OK though right?



I don't have any add-ons except for vent visors. I guess it's probably the cold weather causing the noises. It got down to Zero degrees a couple of nights.

 

[fbaurley]

I beleive there are 2 kinds of quality. design quality, and quality from manufacturing. The first would be weather or not the design of something is heavy enough or strong enough, will it stand up to abuse. The second is weather or not it was manufactured and assembled properly such as torqued corrrectly, peice missing assembled wrong, or peice machined wrong. The first type of quality has a lot to do with personal preference, and time. You cant evaluate if something is good in one or two years, only if it is bad. Most american manufactureers have the same quality programs, and the basic quality of weather or not it was put together or made properly is about the same, but weather or not something was designed in a quality way is were some manufacturers differ. therefore Id say go for the one that is designed the way you like the most when it is time to buy a truck.

 

[Deezul1]

I had always been a happy Ford owner but when it came time for a Diesel it wasnt going to be a Powerstroke. I had to buy used due to cost concerns and wasnt sure I would like the Dodge that much even though i have always liked the look. I am on my 2nd used Dodge and have been very impressed with the quality so far. My current truck has 175,000 on it and other than replacing the drivers side seat bottom bolster I have done nothing to it that wasnt for high performance. I was amazed when I bought it at 135,000 there wasnt anything that needed fixed and still isnt. The other truck had 325,000 on and I couldnt tell by looking or driving and the speedo was broke so I only found out later. It had some minor issues, mostly stuff any average person would take care of but the Bozo that had just let go but it ran and drove and looked great.

 

[EB]

I run oilfield hotshot and tow pretty heavy (20,000 to 25,000 lbs. gross with the trailer and have had 8,000 lbs. on the bed with no frame problems. This is done day in and day out. Other than problems with the factory transmission, (fixed that with a DTT transmission) I have had no problems other than the normal wear and tare that you would expect on a truck with over 400,000 miles on it. There are some drivers where I work with Fords and they are always having problems of some kind with them. When I get another truck, if I ever wear this one out, it will be a Dodge.

 

[tractorface]

I gotta put my 2 cents in on this one. I think a lot of so called "quaility" problems stem from Abuse. For instance, just because a vehicle is 4wd does not mean it is inteded to be driven "off-road". The CTD weighs around 1000lbs, getting it bouncing over the front end is not going to be good for any OEM suspension designed for a good highway ride. "Bombing" your truck puts the power levels well passed what some parts of the vehicle were designed for. Problems should be expected at this point. I look at the reported problems as areas that may need to be addressed if I "bomb" or otherwise "abuse" my truck. Be careful because some problems seem to be "rteal" problems such as the lift pumps in 24v trucks. Obviously I am no expert. but I broke a lot of stuff (all types of trucks" when I was into "running hard", since I am a little more mellow and drive easy I do not have near as many problems. Many people think the truck should stand up to whatever they can dish out. I think this is ridiculous. Understand how systems work and back off where needed or be prepared to correct the weaknesses. Don't get me wrong I plan on bombing and fixing this thing a whole lot more, this board is great at crystal balling my future repairs.