I could walk on the hood of my 89. Mahogany seeds falling from my trees put dents in my 94 hood. The 94 tailgate disintegrated like most 2nd gen tailgates. Each generation they do what they can to save weight to minimize production costs (and prices) and to meet CAFE standards. You can expect the metal to continue to get thinner. It's just a fact of life... .
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I'm startin to hate this truck!!
- Thread starter JHardwick
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If only it weren't so...
Since there seems to be so many crappy '03s out there here goes my story:
I had 397,000 on my '94 2500 DC when I sold it and it was tight and running strong. So... time to get another great Cummins in a Dodge wrapper.
I live in Virginia and bought an 3500 Dually "03 in Jan "03 and by May I had it in the shop for AC problems that I was told were "normal" which included poor AC on pass. side and stinking, rotten smells when AC on high. Two more times in the shop and still my AC complaints got the same "normal operation" runaround! Under warrenty there were no attempts made to correct the problems. Well, they made excuses so thats something I guess.
In June, my up-north vacation was ruined when the power steering hose blew and it took the dealers in New England 5 days to find a replacement. Seems the fitting on the pressure side of the pump was cross-threaded at the factory. 900 miles from home, no truck and the local dealer gave me a tiny beater chevy that would not hold my family of 6. I rented my own car at my expense for the week.
All winter of '03 there was some vibration in the drive train, but didn't have the heart to hear another "normal" story from the local dealer. Reading TDR forums gave me no joy about this problem.
Come May of this year, the AC is still giving me headaches (literally from the stink) and warm air on pass. side. This time, the warrenty is expired so they yank the dash and pull a handful of pine needles out of my air box. No parts used and the cost was nearly $600. AC is still warm on the drivers side and the stink is a bit better. Not bad for $600 - hey, we're talking Dodge here, with the big B series!!!
Now winter is setting in and vibration in the rear end is getting strong enough to rattle my teeth. Time to see the local dealer again for a ride on the merry-go-round. Even they can't get off with the "Normal" this time.
I still like this truck but I wish that Dodge realized that even the most ardent Cummins fan can get to a breaking point. Hope all you with problems find your Nevana.
Since there seems to be so many crappy '03s out there here goes my story:
I had 397,000 on my '94 2500 DC when I sold it and it was tight and running strong. So... time to get another great Cummins in a Dodge wrapper.
I live in Virginia and bought an 3500 Dually "03 in Jan "03 and by May I had it in the shop for AC problems that I was told were "normal" which included poor AC on pass. side and stinking, rotten smells when AC on high. Two more times in the shop and still my AC complaints got the same "normal operation" runaround! Under warrenty there were no attempts made to correct the problems. Well, they made excuses so thats something I guess.
In June, my up-north vacation was ruined when the power steering hose blew and it took the dealers in New England 5 days to find a replacement. Seems the fitting on the pressure side of the pump was cross-threaded at the factory. 900 miles from home, no truck and the local dealer gave me a tiny beater chevy that would not hold my family of 6. I rented my own car at my expense for the week.
All winter of '03 there was some vibration in the drive train, but didn't have the heart to hear another "normal" story from the local dealer. Reading TDR forums gave me no joy about this problem.
Come May of this year, the AC is still giving me headaches (literally from the stink) and warm air on pass. side. This time, the warrenty is expired so they yank the dash and pull a handful of pine needles out of my air box. No parts used and the cost was nearly $600. AC is still warm on the drivers side and the stink is a bit better. Not bad for $600 - hey, we're talking Dodge here, with the big B series!!!
Now winter is setting in and vibration in the rear end is getting strong enough to rattle my teeth. Time to see the local dealer again for a ride on the merry-go-round. Even they can't get off with the "Normal" this time.
I still like this truck but I wish that Dodge realized that even the most ardent Cummins fan can get to a breaking point. Hope all you with problems find your Nevana.
Another "thread from the dead"! 
13 months, 30,000 miles and my '03 still hasn't graced the pavement on the dealerships lot. My '04. 5 is 8mo old and hasn't been in for any warranty work either. My '03 is the best truck I've ever owned so far (I've had 7 Fords, 4 Dodges and 3 GM's, 6 of which were diesels). I fully expect to replace U-joints on a 4x4 by 50,000 or 60,000 miles - all the Fords needed u-joints by then.
Cheers,
Dave
13 months, 30,000 miles and my '03 still hasn't graced the pavement on the dealerships lot. My '04. 5 is 8mo old and hasn't been in for any warranty work either. My '03 is the best truck I've ever owned so far (I've had 7 Fords, 4 Dodges and 3 GM's, 6 of which were diesels). I fully expect to replace U-joints on a 4x4 by 50,000 or 60,000 miles - all the Fords needed u-joints by then.
Cheers,
Dave
Wow,sorry to hear of all the problems,has me concerned.
My 2000 which I traded last May was an excellent truck,other that a new fuse box under the hood and the steering damper replaced 3 days after I got it,other than that one lift pump and a belt tentioner and pully all I ever did to it in 120000 miles,I traded because of the dreaded #53 block.
Now this new one,had it since May had been good so far,only has 5800 miles on it but seems to be pretty good,we will see how it holds up down the road. .
As far a sheet metal goes it is very thin on the 3G trucks,but so it the Superduty,I had a 99 and if you coughed on it there would be a dent. .
Cummins is only as good as the truck it is rapped in
My 2000 which I traded last May was an excellent truck,other that a new fuse box under the hood and the steering damper replaced 3 days after I got it,other than that one lift pump and a belt tentioner and pully all I ever did to it in 120000 miles,I traded because of the dreaded #53 block.
Now this new one,had it since May had been good so far,only has 5800 miles on it but seems to be pretty good,we will see how it holds up down the road. .
As far a sheet metal goes it is very thin on the 3G trucks,but so it the Superduty,I had a 99 and if you coughed on it there would be a dent. .
Cummins is only as good as the truck it is rapped in
They don't make anything like the use to, You can't beat a Cummins but the hard part anymore is finding a good skin.
I suggest pre 1994
I suggest pre 1994
amsoilman
Staff Alumni
JHardwick said:Okay, I can deal with the alternator bracket as an engineering flaw with a quick fix.
I had a hard time understanding why I had to make 3 trips to the dealer for an air box mixing door/AC problem seein as how they have had heaters and AC in vehicles since way before I was born ... ... ..... not to mention the price tag ... ... ... ... . but I can deal with it.
Now this I am having a terrible time with.
I have already posted this to some degree, but I'm gettin mad now.
@ ~ 25,000mi I need a new rear drive shaft because the u-joints are shot and they can't get the assembly balanced with new u-joints.
@~ 50,000mi same situation with the rear driveshaft, but now I need a u-joint in the front axle and 2 new front hubs.
U-joints are on back order so I took my truck home. They were okay with that and didn't advise otherwise.
Yesterday I'm coming off the highway and this thing starts vibrating so bad it nearly took my eye teeth out!
I got out and crawled under it and the only play I can really find is in the carrier and the left front axle which I knew was bad because of the clinking coming to a stop and the tech @ DC who is on top of it all.
I try to drive off and it literally felt like the driveshaft was loose and beating the dents back up from the underside of the bed!
I finally limped the couple miles to my shop and finished up some work not knowing how I was gonna get home, but thinking f*ck'em they designed this POS!!!
So, a few hours later I fire up the trustworthy Cummins and head to the house ... ... ... ... . very little vibrationBy the time I drive the 30mi home, the vibration is only as bad as it was when I took it in to DC
I'm starting to think it's the carrier and not the u-joints at all.
Beyond that, what truck needs rear u-joints every 25,000mi and front hub assemblies every 50,000mi?
Crazy.
Another thing I noticed. When you open your door to get out of this tin can, do you hit the door stop? I guess I do and imagine most people do. For some reason, my eye caught the hinge area the other day getting out ... ... ... ..... look at what the hinges are fastened to and how bad it deforms while simply opening the door. The motor may last 1000,000mi, but I'll prolly be without doors!!!!!!!
I'm done now!
On edit ... ... .....
I have another concern. My '99 4x2 dually needed ball joints some where around 70,000mi ... ... ... ... ... yeah, I'm looking foreward to that too Oo.
I think its time to get rid of your truck! Hate to see people so upset with somthing that can be fixed just by selling it, and getting something else!
Wayne
amsoilman
Just got my truck back from the dealer (it's still under warranty) for a leaking left front axle seal. It took them two weeks to replace because they broke the hub/bearing assembly on the passenger side when removing it... . so I got a new one of those as well. They went ahead and put both the right and left axle seals in, since they had to completely tear the front end down anyway.
Guess what..... now BOTH SIDES are leaking like crazy!
It looks to me like the left side axle tube comes out at an angle. Are they supposed to? If you are in front of the truck, crouched down looking straight ahead at the differential, you can see the long tube on the passenger side comes out nice and straight with the pumpkin, but the left side comes out and goes up? Think mine maybe made wrong and caused premature wear on the seal on that side?
Soooo... . Back to the dealer... .
Visited the dealer today on my way home from Mt. Sterling. Not a good day! The service manager was busy, so I headed into the garage to talk to the mechanic. Asked him where my truck was, he said around back. "How come?" "Because it needs a complete front differential, the tube is bent. " I said "Remember, we talked about that the last time it was here... the other mechanic said that was normal" "There is a rivet loose and I found some pavement on the bottom of the pumpkin" "How long to get a new one?" "Don't know, ask the service manager" Went in to talk to service manager "How long for a new differential?" "Only a few days probably. You need to call your insurance to see if they will cover this, I don't know if warranty will, it looks like it's been hit" "I don't know what I would have hit" "They really look at the stuff we send back under warranty since we are not a 5-star dealer anymore" "Why aren't you a 5-star dealer anymore" "We've been on probation too long" "Why are you on probation" "Because we have low points" At this time, I'm not feeling too good, so I left.
I'll be honest, I do some off-roading, but nothing serious. It's not like I've jumped it or anything, just horsing around and doing donuts, nothing that should have bent an axle. Besides, how come when I took it in, only the drivers side was leaking, and now both sides are leaking? Help! What should I do?
Guess what..... now BOTH SIDES are leaking like crazy!
It looks to me like the left side axle tube comes out at an angle. Are they supposed to? If you are in front of the truck, crouched down looking straight ahead at the differential, you can see the long tube on the passenger side comes out nice and straight with the pumpkin, but the left side comes out and goes up? Think mine maybe made wrong and caused premature wear on the seal on that side?
Soooo... . Back to the dealer... .
Visited the dealer today on my way home from Mt. Sterling. Not a good day! The service manager was busy, so I headed into the garage to talk to the mechanic. Asked him where my truck was, he said around back. "How come?" "Because it needs a complete front differential, the tube is bent. " I said "Remember, we talked about that the last time it was here... the other mechanic said that was normal" "There is a rivet loose and I found some pavement on the bottom of the pumpkin" "How long to get a new one?" "Don't know, ask the service manager" Went in to talk to service manager "How long for a new differential?" "Only a few days probably. You need to call your insurance to see if they will cover this, I don't know if warranty will, it looks like it's been hit" "I don't know what I would have hit" "They really look at the stuff we send back under warranty since we are not a 5-star dealer anymore" "Why aren't you a 5-star dealer anymore" "We've been on probation too long" "Why are you on probation" "Because we have low points" At this time, I'm not feeling too good, so I left.
I'll be honest, I do some off-roading, but nothing serious. It's not like I've jumped it or anything, just horsing around and doing donuts, nothing that should have bent an axle. Besides, how come when I took it in, only the drivers side was leaking, and now both sides are leaking? Help! What should I do?
NJ - say it ain't so! You and I went through our ordering process together?
Aside from my belt breakage incident in August, my early-build has been great. Oo. Luck o' the draw I guess.
I went through it with my 7. 3 PSD. POS, but most others I know were perfect.
Luck o' the draw.
Scott
Whats this? Some *&^% piping in to chortle about someone else's misfortune. Get a life.
Oh, you forgot the 2G steering (like a barge at best and death wobbles at worst), the suicide quad doors, the frame, and smaller brakes.
Don't get me wrong, I liked both my 2Gs. All in all I am quite happy with my 3G. Of course I have not had some of the teething problems that come with a new model design that others have had - like from 1G to 2G or from 2G to 3G.
swexlin said:
Yea, I know. :{ Believe me - it is breaking my heart to do this but like a ill dog she must be put down. I'm just done with it.
To make matters worse I convinced my brother to buy a Dodge over the Ford (his heart was set on the F-350). So far, he has no trouble. But then again, he only has about 3k miles. I've got 29k.
I'll still be sticking my head in from time to time so maybe we'll talk again. Good luck with your dually!!!
ND
NJTackle said:
You did your brother a big favour, statistically speaking. He'd be much more likely to have problems with a Ford PSD. Just because you had trouble with your Dodge does not change the fact that the Dodge is a much more reliable truck than the Ford. Not opinion, just fact.
Dave
Okay, mine is 2yrs old, and with 59K miles, here is what I've had to do.
Dual zone A/C, blowing warm on passenger side, turned out to be low on freon. tech I deal with at Dodge dealer said alot of them are low from the factory he sees.
Rear driveshaft companion flange seeping ATF from transfercase. This I was able to get covered even though it was past 36K miles. New driveshaft.
6 speed was leaking oil from shifter base seal, dealer re-sealed it under warranty.
No P/S issues, and no driveline vibrations at any speed.
Sorry to hear about those with issues. Unfortunately, with the amount of trucks sold, there are going to be ones with issues. Doesn't matter the brand. And there are some dealers willing to work it out, just not many that I have found.
Dual zone A/C, blowing warm on passenger side, turned out to be low on freon. tech I deal with at Dodge dealer said alot of them are low from the factory he sees.
Rear driveshaft companion flange seeping ATF from transfercase. This I was able to get covered even though it was past 36K miles. New driveshaft.
6 speed was leaking oil from shifter base seal, dealer re-sealed it under warranty.
No P/S issues, and no driveline vibrations at any speed.
Sorry to hear about those with issues. Unfortunately, with the amount of trucks sold, there are going to be ones with issues. Doesn't matter the brand. And there are some dealers willing to work it out, just not many that I have found.
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