Need C/R buying advise

[Jim Fulmer]

I'm looking..... just looking at C/R's! Not for all out performance but more for a daily driver that is dependable. What year trucks are the best to stay away from + and - from all are wanted here.



If I buy one it will be (used) so don't even think about a new one. Doing this will all but kill the 12V for additions.



Jim

 

[JLibert]

03 and 04 non calif. HO's seem to be getting the best mileage. Rated at 305/555. The 04. 5-06's are rated at 325 hp and 600-610 torque. Other than lift pumps on the 04. 5's I can't think of any year in particular to "stay away from". I love my 04. 5.

 

[JHardwick]

'03-'04 had the block mounted lift pump. '04. 5 and up were in the tank. '03-'04 trucks with lift pump failures were converted to in tank pumps like '04. 5 and up.

 

[WUnderwood]

well, since your going to leave it relatively stock, this doesn't matter, but the valves in the 04. 5+ are better than the 03 and 04s; I believe the 04. 5+ are inconel, and can stand higher temps. I love my 04. 5

 

[BradyWilliams]

Jim 03-04 had some valve seat dropping problems. Not all and not all the time but I have seen more than a few. The 03-04 do get better gas mileage but mine is running 18-19 right now and I have made some very good hp with mine. If you sell your truck make sure you get your SPS66/80 because we can change it over to fit you new truck. The lift pump in the tank needs to be replaced with a Fass system with either the 3 micron filter set up or if you get the 95gph then a Racor 2 micron filter is very sweet. These third gen trucks are much more sensitve to contamination. 5 micron particules are causing injector problems. We did'nt need to worry about 5 micron particules before so much. Good filteration and you should have good luck with any year you get. Thanks, Brady

 

[Jim Fulmer]

Thanks guys for the knowledge. I'm going to try and keep the 12V I just need something better to drive on a day to day basis. Like right now I got called in to pee in the bottle today and I have one truck with a snapped camshaft and the other with a blown head gasket... ... ... kind of makes recall an issue. I'll look around then ask questions back here again or be a knuckle head and buy another gasser.



Jim

 

[p-Bar]

'03-'04 had the block mounted lift pump. '04. 5 and up were in the tank. '03-'04 trucks with lift pump failures were converted to in tank pumps like '04. 5 and up.

04. 5 fuel pumps were still block mounted ,I think 05 up were tank mounted

 

[BigDan]

Hey Jim what alot alot of these guy's that support the 03-04 wont tell you is that the 03-04 os pretty lame when it comes to electronis HP mods, and some bolt ons.



A 04. 5+ will ALWAYS have more hp mod vs mod dollar for dollar over a 03-04



I asked the same questions you're asking right now and people feed me the same info. But I soon found out that alot of cool stuff was NOT avaiable for the 03-04. The Smarty puts down 40+ more HP in a 04. 5+, you can only get BDDL Crazy Larry in 04. 5+ (220+hp) you cant enable any cool factory features like idle-up and cold start. There's alot of people out there putting down awesome numbers with their 04. 5+ with simple bolt on's. I'm talking about 600-650 HP on a single charger, no injectors, no cp3 mods, no twins, no No2.



I know you said it's not about performance but I feel like someone needs to tell you this. It just goes to show how much better the technology is on the 04. 5+. I have a 03 HO and it doesnt get the greatest mpg. There's alot of newer trucks getting better mpg. Maybe if I didnt live in the mountains and lived where its flat and set the cruise to 65 everyday on the freeway id get better mpg but I dont.



Yes I love my 03 HO but I wish someone would of told me about the other differences between the two. You say it now that it doesnt matter but I can easily see you wanting to add a Smarty or something similar and then the vicious cycle begins.





Goodluck



BigDan (poor 03 syndrome)



Oh a side note the 03-04 and the 04. 5+ become equal at the really high levels like 650-700HP once you changed out all the parts.

 

[Jim Fulmer]

So how about an 05' if I can't find an 04. 5.



There are a few I'm looking at but dang there high, at least the 4wd's are so I may try to find another 2wd.



Jim

 

[WUnderwood]

yeah, '05s are great trucks too

 

[Jim Fulmer]

One of the trucks I want to look at is a Laramie 4x4 Red/Gray Leather, loaded, CD player, hard loaded with 55K on the clock. I think it's a little over priced at 31K.



One the 04. 5's how do you tell..... by the Vin number?



Jim

 

[d90boy]

I think an 04. 5 will say 325hp/600 tq on the engine data sticker as opposed to 305/555. Watch out for the 05 plastic intercoolers too.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

One of the trucks I want to look at is a Laramie 4x4 Red/Gray Leather, loaded, CD player, hard loaded with 55K on the clock. I think it's a little over priced at 31K.



One the 04. 5's how do you tell..... by the Vin number?



Jim

man, that sounds high!



you might take a look at a remaining 5. 9 new truck, I swear my buddy got his out the door for $34k-ish. They'll sell 'em pretty cheap in TX

 

[thejeepdude]

I second the '05... everything an 04. 5 has plus lift pump in the tank, without the crippled electrical system of the '06. True there are some 05's out there getting bad MPG, but I'm getting 18-20 highway, about . 5mpg worse than my '99 was on average, but there's a lot more power on tap as well. I'd say find one you like, and on the test drive reset the overhead on the highway and make sure it'll put up 20-24mpg at 65 on flat ground over the course of a couple miles. The overhead is varyingly optimistic, but this should at least ensure you don't get one of the trucks only getting 16mpg on average...

 

[Smokin Joes 2500]

One of the trucks I want to look at is a Laramie 4x4 Red/Gray Leather, loaded, CD player, hard loaded with 55K on the clock. I think it's a little over priced at 31K.



One the 04. 5's how do you tell..... by the Vin number?



Jim

Thats exactly like my truck, Its red & silver on the bottom, Laramie, 4x4, leather, Sirius, heated seats, all the goodies except Navigation, Ive got 16,700 miles on it... . it should be worth more than I paid for it right :-laf

 

[WUnderwood]

Jim-

yeah, that 05 sounds pretty high, keep shopping, and dont be afraid of coming to the Lone Star State

 

[Jim Fulmer]

It just seems silly to pay that much for a truck when the payoff on my home loan is 56K. I may just end up buying a little older gasser! Don't really want a 24V as I already have one to work on all the time.



Jim

 

[Forrest Nearing]

man, if I only owed $56k on my house and already had a couple diesel trucks to play with, I'd probably just buy a gasser/beater... something cheap... maybe an old 302 powered F150 if you gotta have a truck, or *gulp* even a little 4cyl econobox.



just throwin' it out there

 

[driverno8]

you cant enable any cool factory features like idle-up and cold start.

I have idle-up and cold start on my '04

 

[Bekim]

In-tank lift pumps started in 05. Everyone with an 04. 5 KNOWS!

Mike
###

'03-'04 had the block mounted lift pump. '04. 5 and up were in the tank. '03-'04 trucks with lift pump failures were converted to in tank pumps like '04. 5 and up.