Ok guys 2gen owner here push me off the fence into a 3rd gen

[EDankievitch]

I've got an 05 now but had an 02 before. I really liked the cab of the 02. the power and the quietness of the 05 is nice. But I do miss seeing my neighbors running out in the morning thinking that they missed the garbage truck as I drove by... Lol. That VP44 pump really sucked dodge replaced 4 of them on my 02. Didn't help that the grease monkey didn't know how to index the cam timing marks, that's how I ended up with the 05... . As for steering issues nothing will steer or last as long as a first gen truck. That said I'm looking for some one to rebuild my lower back after having driven an 89 for 500,000 miles around NYC, one rough riding truck. That truck would bounce so hard that it would tear the rad mounting flange right off the rad. One thing I have learned with the newer 02-2012 front ends is they don't like to be out of spec. About 1/16-1/8 in of toe in favoring the lessor. And No more than about 5 degrees positive castor or it will follow the crown of the road really bad. And run load range "E" tires the D's can handle the weight but there is too much flex in the side wall and they will ware very strange, bad cupping on the outer edges. The track bars all suck both old (94-02) and newer (03-12) they are set up with soft bushings to prevent ride harshness. If you up-grade to the later (and on the Gen 2 trucks earlier) steering inverted T linkage you will hold alighnment much better. That said I'm a big fan of keep it simple old school mecanical engines and steel dashes. But my next truck (hope the 05 lasts this long) will be a 2017 Dodge with the G56 transmission , in 2015 the new emissions regs for lower Co2 go into effect this should lead to better MPG's I hope..... Oh, I do like the cab on the Gen 4 trucks it's much much quieter less wind noise..... Now who ever could hear the wind over the engine in the first gen or the 2nd gen's ?

 

[cerberusiam]

I find allot of old posts discussing the inefficiency (mpg) of the 05 Up cause of a 3rd injection event. Is there not current software or tuning to eliminate that yet?

Finance a little more for a cam change and a Smarty, that will eliminate a lot of the emissions garbage that caused the mileage drop.



Marco claims he turned off the 3rd event as far back as 2006, hard to verify that without a scope but we gotta take him at his word. Once the timing is advanced and a better cam is in there the differences between the years narrow.

 

[rivercat]

Good stuff guys. I appreciate your reply's I used to live on here but now I just don't have the time to search and read for hours. Yeah I think I will end up with an 06 with around 90k looking at laramie's with leather. And I tell you what I am a oiled filter hater. I will never ever buy another truck with an oiled gauze filter. I now have a 01 excursion with 180k on it and it has the scum bucket K&N on it and it just puffs blow by with the cap off they musta had gear oil in it when I bought it cause I went to 5-40 rotella syn and it puffs good now. So moral of the story if you want your cummins to actually pay for itself and live up to its name feed it clean air though paper. This new one will never get other than stock tires either. If you want a mud machine go buy a cheap toyota!

 

[Shadrach]

I have an 03 QC and I have done the frt hub conversation and BJ as well as the 08 steering. I have over 366000 kms ( 225k miles ) on it now. I like the quiet engine and the ride is decent. Every gen has it's own set of problems. Once you know what they are and how to fix them it's not so bad. The 4 doors are nice but the back seat is too short for adults, but I like the 03 engine best. I don't like VP44s ( a P7100 conversation would fix that ) or the noisier engine. To each their own. Shad

 

[rivercat]

Ok guys Im sold on the 06-07 Auto cause I want the lowest Numerically final gear ratio for mileage and that puts the G56 out and I cant find lowmile 03-04s around. I keep seeing trucks advertized as 6 speed autos, Is that possible? I thought that the aison was only available on cab chassis models until the 6. 7 switch. Is it better whats the run down on the 48RE vs ___ give me some coments guys. I plan to leave this truck mostly stock running just a smarty jr or so. But I do wan the best transmission I can get.

 

[Prairie Dog]

No 6 speed auto's in 5. 9's but in later 07 you could also get the 6. 7 with the 6 speed auto.

 

[cerberusiam]

In an 06 an auto is only a 4 speed. In an 07 its a different story with the 6. 7 and 68RFE being installed in the latter half of the MY.



If it has a 5. 9 and auto its a 48RE, irregarless of what somebody puts on an add.



Salesmen are hinky that way, they have been trying to convice people the 48RE has 6 speeds for years. Heck, they have even tried to sell a Cummins Turbo V10 at one time. :-laf

 

[cerberusiam]

in later 07 you could also get the 6. 7 with the 6 speed auto.

You could ONLY get the 6. 7 and 68RFE. Slight difference there.

 

[rivercat]

thats what I thought but I have seen it like 3 times on auto trader. I have even seen 5 speed auto refering to the 545-RFE thats in the hemi trucks

 

[rivercat]

Ok let me ask this so I will know for sure,

The C in vin means HO motor from 03-07 right?
I guess a 03-04 lowmile auto would beat the 05-07 for MPG w stockish setup and with 3. 73s right?

as long as I check 03s to be sure they have the 48 and not the 47 right?

Thanks for all your help guys I still like this board the best and will do what ever I can to support it

 

[rivercat]

Guys I finnaly have a deal struck to sell my 02 so im on the hunt for a 3rd gen. I had planned on going with a long bed single wheel. But now im looking into pulling a 30+ foot enclosed trailer to move furnature over the road, So that puts me looking at duallys. I try and surf fish every chance I get on the coast so I wanted 4x4 but a duallys not gonna do good in the sand anyway.

I am asking you guys if I get a dually for hauling trailers long trips should I get a 2wd at all costs in order to avoid the steering probs or could I still be ok with a 4 x 4? do the 2wds have a king pin style or does it use the same ball joints but with spindles? I never owned a 3/4 or 1 ton 2wd so I wouldn't know.

 

[rivercat]

bump, looking into hotshoting Going with a 3500 not sure weather to do auto w 4. 10 or g56 w 3. 73s