Manf. date cut off for nv5600 in a 2005

[RMachida]

I've got so much driveline slack in this thing that it clunks no matter what you do. 6th Gear growls like a rabid hungry dingo on the plains of Australia during a drought.



The G-56 is a dirty DC secret, IMHO. They cut off G-56 orders early. Something's up with these. I can't wait to see what happens with the 06's. If they go with the G-56's it will be a baaaaaad decision IMHO.



I couldn't in good conscience recommend anyone get one with the G-56. Get a NV5600 if you can or nothing if you can't.



The rest of the truck is awesome!

I, for one (and maybe the only one ), am satisfied with the G56, no noise, no clunks, no driveline slack. I only have 4000 miles on it and had I've never tried one with the NV5600 so I can't compare. The gear spacing seem reasonable and my only oddity I've noticed is that 5th and 6th don't line up but I got used to that pretty quickly.



I discovered the TDR site shortly before picking up the vehicle so you all had me wondering about my purchase. Since the only other trans option seemed to be the 4 speed auto, which was absolutely out of the question, I went ahead with the purchase but was concerned. Now it is wait and see what happens. So far, I'm very satisfied with the truck including the G56 and would recommend it to anyone.

 

[67guzzler]

I, for one (and maybe the only one ), am satisfied with the G56, no noise, no clunks, no driveline slack. I only have 4000 miles on it and had I've never tried one with the NV5600 so I can't compare. The gear spacing seem reasonable and my only oddity I've noticed is that 5th and 6th don't line up but I got used to that pretty quickly.



So far, I'm very satisfied with the truck including the G56 and would recommend it to anyone.

I wish my experience was the same. Maybe the problems I'm having are not related to the G-56 (could be xfer case, u-joints, diff, etc... ) so it's probably wrong of me to condemn it prematurely. Just a frustration reaction on my part I have to admit.



Interestingly, for some reason I don't have the 5th to 6th problem although I've read that others have mentioned it too. I seem to just keep the shifter along the right edge naturally but I think I'm in the minority. I do seem to mess up more between 4th & 5th so go figure... .

 

[RJOL]

I, for one (and maybe the only one ), am satisfied with the G56, no noise, no clunks, no driveline slack.

One thing you're going to have to realize is that, although the TDR is a great source for information, you have to take comments with a grain of salt.



With every new generation CTD there have been some noted problems. This is true for any product. Sometimes the problems are well documented. For the most part, the problems are not wide spread and get blown out of all proportions.



I owned a 2nd gen for almost five years and had to have the lift pump replaced once, and the pinion seal replace once (both under warranty). The TDR let me know that the lift pumps were a potential problem and I quickly added a FP gauge to monitor it. That's how I caught the "impending" failure and had it replaced before it failed.



The new 3rd gens have gotten some bad "press" by a few on this board, but, except for a few failures/problems, by in large they are performing just fine.



I have just over 5K on mine and I have absolutely no complaints. The truck runs great, and the G56 has worked flawlessly. This truck is absolutely a great improvement over my 2nd gen. Towing my 13K fifth wheel has been a real joy.



Will there be any problems in the future. Maybe/probably/probably not/who knows... I'll cross that bridge when it comes. Until then... enjoy your ride...

 

[Coyote556]

I guess my big fear is the dual mass flywheel. i dont know why i am so scared of it, maybe because i have heard of all the problems other manufactures had with the design. I will admit, my fear may be unfounded, but i personally would rather not find out.

 

[67guzzler]

Will there be any problems in the future. Maybe/probably/probably not/who knows... I'll cross that bridge when it comes. Until then... enjoy your ride...

I agree 100% with your whole post, Rick. I just wish I could get to the point where I can choose to not worry about problems that may happen down the road. I'm having them now!!! In the past I too have read many other people's complaints and took them with a grain of salt. Not that you did/do this but I have to admit that I somehow allowed myself to think it was their fault in part or maybe they had unrealistic expectations or just didn't have common sense. Now that I'm on my 4th truck (1996 CTD 4x2 5 speed, 1997 CTD 4x4 5 speed, 2004. 5 4x4 CTD AUTO -- all 3 were perfect out of the box) and it's been a dog so far, I see how the other side can suffer.



This is my 4th Dodge Ram Cummins truck. 3rd with a stick. On the prior 3 I never had them in for warranty service except for a burned out fog light bulb and some paint peeling around the headlights and the door jambs and I decided against a free repaint offered by Chrysler. I certainly never had any driveline problems and I basically try to avoid service departments at all costs. I do my own oil changes / lube / filters, etc... because I don't trust the dealers.



On this truck -- In addition to the 3 service appointments so far for the very loose driveline I've had the truck in 3 times for shredding serpentine belts (now they're replacing the power steering pump and I'll be on the 3rd serpentine belt -- no guarantees that will fix this either -- not fun driving 50 mph down a windy road in your 7000 lb brand new truck and lose your power steering and then have to be towed). The truck has 1200 miles on it since May 20th and it's been at two different dealer service departments a total of 6 times. I've already got more service tickets on this truck than the prior 3 trucks combined.



I don't know what the deal is with the G-56. I may not have a problem with my G-56. I don't know if the dual mass flywheel will come to bite people in the butt in the long run. I shouldn't condemn the G-56 until I can get some answers on my truck and the large amount of slack I have on the driveline. So for that part of my comments I agree with Rick 100% -- it should be taken with a grain of salt at this point. If anyone has already bought a G-56 equipped truck and they're happy I'm envious and my problems are irrelevant. Hey -- Like I said -- the problems could be elsewhere in the driveline. Having said that -- in this thread the buyer is concerned about the dual mass flywheel. All I can say is that if it's in any way possible that the G-56 is involved with my troubles, then my case should be considered in making a purchase. I wouldn't risk it over again so maybe someone else wouldn't want to risk it the first time... . #ad




I think that $40k truck that has a chronic driveline problem and a dangerous propensity for shredding serpentine belts while driving down the road which I don't trust it to drive more than 20 miles away from home after having such good luck in the past with 3 other CTD trucks is really hard to take.



Deep breaths -- Deep breaths..... #ad




________________________

2005 (Build 3/15/05) 2500 SLT 4x4 G56 Quad Cab SWB Thunder Road

 

[RJOL]

My post was not meant, in any way, to imply that your problems aren't real, or that you don't have a right to complain about your truck. My real point is that these problem trucks are in the extreme minority, and occur with not only the CTD but all other brands of trucks.



I remember all the bad reports about the lift pump in my 2001 and how it would probably eventually take out the VP44. I listened to them and did what I thought was prudent in preventing a future problem. If I'd listened to all the complaints on the TDR, I would have never enjoyed the truck.



Maybe you should look into your local lemon laws and see about getting the truck replaced. The other way to look at this is that you've owned four CTDs and have had problems with only one. Your doing better then 75%. If my Seattle Mariners were doing that well, they would be on their way to the World Series instead of sitting in the cellar and wondering what happened...

 

[67guzzler]

My post was not meant, in any way, to imply that your problems aren't real, or that you don't have a right to complain about your truck. My real point is that these problem trucks are in the extreme minority, and occur with not only the CTD but all other brands of trucks... .

I hear ya Rick. That's why I said "Not that you did/do this but I have to admit that I somehow allowed myself to think it was their fault in part or maybe they had unrealistic expectations or just didn't have common sense... . " because I wanted you to be sure that I wasn't accusing you of anything.



It's interesting to note that what appears to be so plain to me is so fuzzy to the dealer. It's very amusing. For instance, after showing the problem to the service manager he said, "I hear the clunking and see you can induce it in various ways but we don't have one on the lot to compare it to so I think it's normal. " #ad
Nice logic, aye? We can't compare it to something else so we'll have to assume that the constant clunking is normal. The fact that this was my 3rd stick and I've had experience with two other CTD 5 speeds held little weight.



Regarding Lemon Laws -- Florida is a little tough as it's a very business friendly state -- Basically you have to have 3 attempts made by the manufacturer or it's representatives (read: dealers) to try to repair the vehicle OR something like 30 days of the vehicle being out of service total or something like 15 days of it being out of service for a particular problem AND then provide them in writing your lemon law complaint, then they get an additional 10 days to try again to fix it. The net result is they get as many as 4 bites at the apple. Then I think the case can go to arbitration. So I'm not there yet but I may end up there. I think that I might have a case with an unrelated serpentine belt shredding problem (on the 3rd belt at 1200 miles!) if I don't with the driveline.



I'd strongly prefer to keep the truck and have it fixed. It's beautiful -- Patriot Blue / Silver Two Tone, SWB, Quad Cab, Black Door Moldings, Chromed Alloys, Roof Marker Lights, Fog Lights, Laramie/Sport Billet Grille, etc... . Exactly as I ordered it. I get thumbs up at stop lights by all sorts of people young and old. I'm locked in at 4% financing at my credit union over 60 months & got a great deal on the purchase price & $3k in rebates. I'm sitting pretty. I'm still a Dodge Ram / CTD fan through and through.



I guess my frustration comes down to this. I can't stop thinking that the mid year switch-aroony on the transmission is problematic because 1) changed the final gear ratio (a big deal to those who do a lot of highway driving while empty loadwise), 2) it changed the nature of the shifts, 3) put those who ordered vehicles in January and Feburary based upon test drives of vehicles built last fall in a difficult position when what arrived was materially different (different final drive ratio) than what they test drove and 4) it called into question the quality & nature of the product & added confusion / another factor for those of us who are having driveline problems. I have nothing against the G-56 -- I just wish my driveline (G-56?) were like yours. But like others have said, however, there's nothing we can do about it & it's water under the bridge at this point. Additionally, all manufacturers reserve the right to change features / specifications at any time without notice.



I'm sure it will work out in the end -- with some head scratching #ad
, a little laughing #ad
and a little ranting #ad
here on TDR to help me get through it. I'll try not to bring everyone down. It's just a truck... .



Hey -- why are my posts so damn long? #ad