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Looking at a 2008. Is it a bad choice?

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2004, 2500, stock, 267,000, electronic issues

Passenger power mirror issue

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That's a nice setup! Maybe convert yours to an automatic?

FWIW we ran RV's and then shipped auto parts all over AZ with our 2008 Duramax. The Emissions were not as tight on it as GM didn't try and meet emissions early like Dodge did. We had some good luck however forget about longer oil change intervals on the stock 2008! Not only does soot take the oil out of grade the cylinder fuel washdown from DPF regen contaminates the oil as well. Biodiesel, that's now mandated in most states, doesn't evaporate very well during regen, won't evaporate out of the oil like #2 diesel will, and biodiesel contamination/dilution isn't detectable on a UOA. Frankly Shell reformulated their CJ4 oil due to problems and inability to reach longer drain intervals fleet managers wanted from it. We had 'low oil pressure stop engine' alarms from biodiesel contamination thinning the engine oil out, couldn't get longer than 10K out of the oil before the change oil light was on and UOA said it was done, several out of grade (into 50 weight rating) oil failures from soot, rising oil level when we used high % of biodiesel... And this doesn't touch the problems other emissions strangled trucks had that we didn't. Towing a 28' cargo trailer loaded to it's limit 550 miles a day over 7% grades. Nevermind the easier RV towing across the USA that also had limited time on the oil.

Simply put when a emission strangled Dodge Diesel broke down requiring over $1000.00 to fix we took over that route with a 1993 IDI 6.5TD Chevy. :-laf Sure we scuffed a piston and blew the engine up, then ran over an Elk totaling the truck after dropping in a surplus engine for $2000.00 :{ Just saying those DPF only years are trouble like others have said esp. when the parts cost for the Forgotten Diesel was less than keeping an emissions troubled late model running. (Frankly I'd have killed for a 12v over the 6.5... :rolleyes: )
 
You all have certainly given me plenty to digest. My friend who has a Hemi (but doesn't tow anything) says to get one. :-laf I told him we have a Toyota Sienna for getting groceries. I need to test drive a few and check put the seat comfort. Is there a minimum towing RPM to keep from lugging the engine? Mine hates anything below 1800 with my timing, but since the new ones don't have static timing is it an issue?
 
I drive mine just like a loaded 18 wheeler, if the exhaust temp stays safe I have lugged to 1200 before if I can see the top of the hill...I simply let up a whisker on the throttle which keeps it from downshifting...if one wants an engine that has to be run at 2100 rpms all the time they should buy a Duramax or something..
 
Agreed, when I tow my 34’ 13k 5er I let it get to around 1300 before I ****. I’m not sure when it would be lugging, but I was told to not let it. It does just fine for me, the sweet spot for me is around 1600-1700,
I am one of the few that really like the 3rd gen seats. Geno’s has an upgraded cushion that is well worth it after the stock one breaks down.
 
Have a 2009 with 80k miles and have owned it since 2010. The truck is mostly in stock form with only small modifications.
Troubles so far:
The truck just ate a second turbo back in November. I like how quiet and stink free the emission system is but it is now time to go. I plan on deleting this winter or spring (when my elbow heals up from a recent surgery) and running a stock power emissions delete tune (efi live). The next hard part will be selecting an exhaust system that will keep the truck reasonably quiet.
The truck needed ball joints in 2015, front u-joints in 2017. I suspect the track bar bushings are toast or the steering box is likely bad as the truck is tough to keep on the road.
Other modifications are the mopar accessory fuel filter (combined water separator/filter), steering box stablizer, carli ball joints and Ziebart undercoating. The odd thing about this 2009 truck is that the seat bases had little to no paint. Several years ago I had to pull the seats and paint the seat bases before the carpet got rust stains.

If I were in your shoes, knowing what I know now, I would either get a 2012 and delete it or a newer 2014 with the better emission system. My brother has a 2012 - 2500 in stock form with 800 lb torque. His 2012 Laramie is night and day difference in how much nicer it is in almost every way over my 2009 SLT truck. Everything from the seat comfort, radio, quietness, heated and cooled seats, better headlights, more power etc......

The 68RFE transmission has been reliable but suffers from the constant want to upshift with lazy down shifts. The transmission in my brothers 2012 is a little better albeit due to the increased power from the factory on the later models.
My truck is used as an all around vehicle and pulls a 8500 lb camper the spring, summer and fall and it has more than enough power in stock form for what I use it for. The exhaust brake/tow haul mode is awesome when towing heavy loads.
 
Reading through the magazine I see that 2012 had a transmission improvement. I have a friend who tows a pretty heavy RV with one and is pleased as punch with it. The search goes on.
 
Does the ultragauge monitor each EGT port, soot levels in the DPF, etc?
I am about to send in my several year old scangauge to be updated for those mentioned reasons.
 
Yes, that is it. Has about 70 parameters it can monitor on these trucks. The boost pressure is inaccurate for actual value, but gives a reliable trend. It can also reset a CEL, as well as read codes. You get to cutomize up to 7 pages with a max of 8 parameters per page. In my Dual Alternator thread there is a picture of where I installed in the center dash area. Hard to find a better value for a monitor.

 
Does the ultragauge monitor each EGT port, soot levels in the DPF, etc?
I am about to send in my several year old scangauge to be updated for those mentioned reasons.
It does both EGTs, not soot level unfortunately. I'm able to see a regen by a drop in boost pressure (goes negative) and increased EGTs.. I do have a ScanGuage that was set up for my Gen 1 Chevy Cruze Diesel, but have not used it, because I use the Torque App, with a special add on called bi-scan for GM. That app let's me see everything, and do command normal and service regens. It's pretty amazing what it can do. It could also do some parameters for Cummins, I've tried it just to see, but found the hardwired Ultraguage to be more reliable. The Bluetooth sometimes resets and other glitches, that's not a problem with Ultragage. There is also a Bluetooth version of Ultragage. I use it with my 2004 Land Rover, it works pretty well, more reliable than the other adapter, but can also glitch. The hardwired is the most reliable, and it's pretty cheap.

 
After your rebuild, did you reset the engine hours readout, or is that even possible (taking it back to zero hours)?
 
After your rebuild, did you reset the engine hours readout, or is that even possible (taking it back to zero hours)?

I have a 12 valve, it doesn't have an ECM. I wasn't aware that RAMS that do have an ECM kept track of engine hours, and if they do, why?
 
I have a 12 valve, it doesn't have an ECM. I wasn't aware that RAMS that do have an ECM kept track of engine hours, and if they do, why?
Engine hours compared to miles will give a good idea of how the truck is being used. Buyers were required to acknowledge excessive idle, short drives, especially cold weather, could harm the emmisions and cause damage. I imagine they can use the hours vs. miles to catch that type of pattern. Newer trucks specically record idle time!

 
I assumed you had the readout; I guess that's another reason to trade up. Does anyone know whether the engine hours can be reset after a rebuild or engine replacement either via a scanner or from FCA?
 
Actually, an ECM is the main reason I'm resisting trading "up". I really enjoy being able to troubleshoot and repair my engine myself. The reason for an hour meter makes sense.
 
Actually, an ECM is the main reason I'm resisting trading "up". I really enjoy being able to troubleshoot and repair my engine myself. The reason for an hour meter makes sense.
With a decent Scan Tool the ECM will help diagnose the problems. Granted a good Scan Tool is going to be about $300 to $400, but even an el-cheapo will pull codes, and a quick internet search will get you considerable information on the issues. The $60 Ultragage can even pull OBD2 codes. TDR has a complete breakdown on what the codes mean. It's actually not as bad as many assume. Look at it this way, the service Tech's today are not any smarter than the were pre computer, in fact if anything less, since they now have computers to take failure data and record freeze frame data of engine conditions at time of error condition. In the old days this was more of an art, often knowing what to listen to, and what it meant.

 
In the old days this was more of an art, often knowing what to listen to, and what it meant.

Yes, and I enjoy practicing that art. The myriad of things a computer can monitor are often things the computer causes to fail. For instance, my wife's last car had the AC fail in the middle of the summer. It failed because of the control module, an item that was no longer available.
 
Why not just get something newer but only up to 07.5 w/o all that smog crap on it? There would be alot less hassel and more effiency anyway...
 
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