School me on problems you guys are having

[Steve St.Laurent]

I'll be attending the press introduction of the 2010 Ram here in a few weeks for the TDR. I'll be interviewing people at the introduction and asking lots of questions about the drivetrain. I haven't been following the 6. 7 real closely so I'd like you guys to school me on what major issues you've been running into relating to the drivetrain. Especially emissions related stuff. Links to good threads would be great, etc. I want to get the best information I can out of these folks and going into it armed with the best information on the newest models has always been the best way I've found.



TIA,

Steve

 

[AllianceDiesel]

I actually don't own a 6. 7l and I quit the dealership before I ever got to work on one, but I am happy that I didn't get the chance to.



Ask them why they (dodge) don't try to show the epa that putting all this junk on the truck actually puts more emissions into the air going the same distance.

 

[MJarske]

the only problem I've had is the hard downshift into 3rd.



The truck has had the reflash which is suposed to solve it but it still does it anyway.

 

[dlmetzger]

Oil quality and level

I've a 2008 Ram 3500. Changed oil 3 times in 12500 miles (last change at 10053 miles). See photo of oil level on dip stick after 2500 miles. The level is 1/4" above the plastic on the wire cable. I completely drain my oil and let it sit for 15 minutes. There should be no old oil left.



I've also attached oil analysis of 2 of the 3 oil changes I've done. The amount of fuel in the oil is changing the viscosity and raising the level. Is this OK?

 

[Jumbo Jet]

I haven't had any over full oil problems. but O2 sensor sooted up. EGR components were all crudded over.

DPF etc. were all OK. Turbo got a cleaning.

 

[RVTRKN]

What improvement have you (CTD) enginered for the Turbo to prevent the soot up issue? That seems to be the worst case senario on the 6. 7 costing D/C lots of money with replacement as well as lemon law costs

 

[JohnBower]

Ask them what is the purpose of the truck meeting 2010 emissions at a extreme sacrifice of fuel economy especially when the cost of diesel was so high.

Also why can't we be informed of the flashes to the ecm when they come out which are supposed to improve things on these trucks. I have discussed this with both the dealers and Dodge and haven't got a decent answer. To me these flashes should be the same as recalls so that owners can get these improvements installed on their trucks. It's really bad when the only way you find out about these flashes is on forums like this one.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Guys, I'm going to have a limited amount of time and need to focus on real issues with the current trucks and what if anything they've done to fix them on the new trucks. I won't be asking anything political, dealer level, etc. This just isn't the proper forum for that.

 

[RVTRKN]

Guys, I'm going to have a limited amount of time and need to focus on real issues with the current trucks and what if anything they've done to fix them on the new trucks. I won't be asking anything political, dealer level, etc. This just isn't the proper forum for that.

All reg. pickups are having problems with soot in the turbos at some point.

 

[lpagano]

Guys, I'm going to have a limited amount of time and need to focus on real issues with the current trucks and what if anything they've done to fix them on the new trucks. I won't be asking anything political, dealer level, etc. This just isn't the proper forum for that.

The reliability/durability of the emission control system is a real issue, as is the high % of fuel in the crankcase oil along with the loss fuel economy. These seem to be common problems on the 6. 7 and are directly related to the 2007 emission control standards imposed by the EPA. What is Cummins/Dodge doing to rectify our problems while maintaining the EPA requirements?

 

[Austin Diesel]

Climbing Lube Oil Dipstick Readings 2008 2500



The quote above is just like my truck issues,



yea i had a coolant leak on my 2008 when it was brand new was hauling firewood this summer looked like it was pink around the top of the overflow tank cap refilled it and topped it out, lost a little more asked my service manager at the dealer he said some trucks had leaks around coolant lines but never saw a puddle on mine. hasnt lost any coolant in a while ,ambient temp was over 105 degrees temp guage was running a little over 200 degrees, never overheated.



The turbo/cleaning port installed/EGR soot issue cleaned /service done,Flashed \ECM at about 13,000 miles ,dealer service manager said it was 5 ECM updates behind ,Nov 07 build date.



Mechanic said soot accumulation problem was not all that severe and he had seen worse. yet still triggered code.



I run engine brake all the time and try to drive it hard but cant drive 100 MPH around town or on the highway for fear of a ticket.



Now 2 months later at 20,000 miles, I have a check engine light coming off and on now.



Code 2262 turbo pressure sensor, Just barely a year old. dealer said he is trying to source a new turbo , Design issues ? maybe a recall is forthcoming ?



Will i continue to have recurring carbon problems with the Turbo/EGR/DPF/Exhaust next ?



I'm Hearing and reading the Big 3- 2010 models will have urea injection and exhaust revisions.



At least we have a lemon law here hope i wont need it .





fuel dilution . 5 %

soot. . 7%

water. . 1%



First oil change at 7,000 miles





FLUID ANALYSIS REPORT -

COMMENTS Data flagged for observation only; Oil Viscosity is low













Austin Diesel

 

[Coalsmoke]

Steve, thanks for taking the time to ask us for our input. If you read my thread here, CLICK it will pretty much sum up my findings and learning curve, along with some fellow TDR members having the same problems.

 

[Jim W]

Steve , Thanks for asking. My biggest problem has been the turbo sooting issue. My turbo was drilled and the entire system was cleaned at 14,000 miles. Warranty paid for this, but my concern is how much will I have to pay for when this is out of warranty. Per my mechanic at the Dodge dealership this will need to be done several times durning the life time of the truck. This will be my expense some time down the road. I use this as a daily driver and to pull my 5er with durning the camping season. I love the truck but I do not want to pay for the turbo sooting issue when the truck is out of warranty. Better fuel economy would be great too.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Steve I don't have a 6. 7 but have read this forum quite a bit. Things that have come up quite a bit (guys correct me if I don't get some of these right):

*DPF Full messages over and over on some trucks, truck gets a new DPF and only days or weeks later same problem, DPF 100% full comes back
*Cracked DPF
*Turbo sooting and needing cleaned
*Service often saying customers idle excessively when it seems truck owner drives in a pretty normal fashion, ie they don't let their truck just sit and idle
*Erratic regen function, some trucks seem to regen excessively
*Overly frequent "Oil change required" intervals (less than 2000-2500 miles sometimes)

I think some of these problems were more acute closer to the introduction of the 6. 7 and may have lessened now.

You may also point out the pluses, guys are raving about how the 6-speed automatic does in towing and the exhaust brake is a real hit. Also have seen quite a few comments about the increased refinement over earlier 3rd Gen trucks, smooth quiet engine operation, etc.

Vaughn

 

[grasmo]

1. Regen ... ... Dumbest thing I've ever heard of
2. Check engine lights ... ... Raise hood and look,... yep engine still in there!
3. Soot int the system..... Turbo, Egr,02 sensors, DPF.

 

[sag2]

Fuel economy penalty over 5. 9.

Excessive CEL from soot accumulation.

Excessive number of flashes (requiring inconvenient return trips to dealer) to correct CEL problems.

Not enough information from overhead module as it relates to regeneration and DPF status.

Frequent oil change based on duty cycle. 12 quarts of expensive oil at 2-3,000 mile interval for some drivers.

Overall cost of ownership concerns based on above after warranty expires.



And thank them for the great power, great power transfer via well matched six speed automatic transmission, and great engine braking from integrated brake. Lets hope none of those are lost on the new truck.

 

[AHarris]

I know a couple folks have mentioned this, but the only issue I've had is the oil over full on the dipstick. Other than that no problems at all with the truck in 11,000 miles. Love the truck but would like to know more about the high oil issue (which many people have told me nothing to worry about).

 

[Cattletrkr]

My truck will be going in to the shop this afternoon to see if I can track down a nasty vibration/noise from the driveline. It feels like the front driveshaft is going out. 2 of them on my '04 and now this one with only 47K miles on it. What is Dodge going to do different so we don't have to complain about lousy u-joints all the time. Whether it's front axle joints, front driveshaft, or rear driveshaft joints, they all suck. I realize that's not 6. 7L specific, but the problemm does seem to be carrying over.

My C+C gets at least as good of MPG as my '04. 5 did. I can't complain about that.

Biggest complaint is that I should be able to program the Aisin shift points. I hate this thing so much it's probably gonna be my last automatic. Not to mention I'm reasonably certain I have some TC slippage.

Also, I'd like to know the address of the website where I can sign up for my EPA exemption so I can legally remove the EGR and DPF...

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Has there been a lot of trouble with u-joints on the 3rd gens? The 2nd gens don't have a problem with that unless they are really abused. I've replaced the rear u-joints twice on my 98 with 240,000 miles on it and the front u-joints (driveshaft and axle) are still the stock ones.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Has there been a lot of trouble with u-joints on the 3rd gens? The 2nd gens don't have a problem with that unless they are really abused. I've replaced the rear u-joints twice on my 98 with 240,000 miles on it and the front u-joints (driveshaft and axle) are still the stock ones.

There was a lot of problems early on. Supposedly someone didn't grease well enough at the factory. Replacements were better.

I finally got the truck in the shop later this afternoon. It's not the front driveshaft, it's the rear u-joint. 47K. My '04. 5 went 44K before the first u-joint went out. I guess that makes this one a little better, huh?

EDIT: I forgot about the front axle joints. The replacements for those weren't any better. Mine were done on the '04. 5 just under 70K so they were warrantied, but they went out again at about the same mileage.

My opinon is that anything with the word "joint" attached to it is pretty much junk. So far this truck isn't doing much to change that opinion.