My brother is looking to get a used one ton 4X4 pickup and asked me about the Dodge/Ram with the Cummins.He is looking at all three makers. I told him that I actually know very little about them. Which generation is best and why? How many miles are acceptable for a given age and how many miles is too many miles? What are the trouble spots to look out for?

Thanks in advance for the information.

A guy could write a 5 page essay to cover that question. You'll want to narrow that down to either a price or age range your bro is interested in. Engine wise, generally the most reliable ones are the 12 valve engines, which are mechanical engines in that they have no computer controls. Those were put in dodge trucks until 1998. In terms of transmissions, the 90's/2000's 4 speed auto is generally the worst, not holding up well to the output of the cummins. As the trucks got newer, engine size, power output and complexity all went up while fuel mileage generally went down.

Indeed, but Lenguevo is one of the few Guys left on Moparts that actually contributes to this site, has a sense of humour/a bit of sarcasm and is more like what Moparts used to be like. So lets do something for him as opposed to the rest of these lazy Twits that never give anything to the site and ask this same question twice a month.




You want to buy a second-hand Cummins from someone who has the first clue of how to look after a diesel engine.

1. If some Meathead has a "hot air kit" or some stupid straight-pipe on it: walk away. Don't even waste your time. The explanation is long, but just trust me, they don't have a clue and that's all you need to know.

2. Talk to your local Cummins shop and ask them if they know of anyone with a Dodge they might be willing to part with. These guys know diesel power not these Posers on the Internet with a chip and lift-kit in their truck.

3. For your Brothers' own good, just simply steer clear of Fords. Latest report from a good Friend that is an HD Mechanic, even the latest Ford (engine number 7 or 8 I think since the 80's for that hopeless operation) is littered with expensive problems: transmission, turbos. Leave it to Ford to create jobs for Mechanics.

4. Isuzu. Well, it's pretty well-known that I can't stand anything Blunder Motors puts out, but Isuzu does know what they are doing. Total shame you have to take the crap tin-can they are wrapped in. Not worth the trouble or humiliation of driving a vehicle that our Gov lost 11 billion on, or being seen in one of those gawd-awful ugly things. Have some pride Man, you are on a Mopar site, tell your Brother they are under top secret recall like the gm ignition switches for example. gm would rather see dead Customers than build a proper vehicle, so you take your chances with them. Avoid at all costs.

5. Direct from the Guys I know at Cummins: as soon as the engine was bumped to 300hp everything has gone downhill since. In a nutshell, that is all you need to know. The ISB was never meant to have ridiculous 3.73 gears behind it, or some funky "pre-injection event" to reduce the noise. Both equal one thing in a diesel: piss-poor fuel mileage. Sheldon may argue with Me, but it's all I've heard since the '03/04's came out.

6. I've owned a few, and the best is the '94 to 2002 with 3.54 gears. They will go down in history as the best-looking, and best performing Cummins ever. Many know this, and Ebay listings prove it. The ride is harsh, the noise from the Cummins is almost unbearable, but they are the real deal and you just have to live with it.

7. Get a brand-new Cummins. Disclosure: I have been out of this since the 6.7 festival of failure, so......... if you have deep pockets, have work for the engine to do (read: no short trips and should be loaded 50% of the time), and have a good dealer it could be the way to go. I'd lease one though: if it turns out to be a fuel-buring pig and needs to go to the shop every once in a while for some emmission excuse, you don't want to own it. Somewhere, off-warranty, that B!tch will cost you ten grand and I've run into many new Hemi Owners that don't miss their old diesels for that very reason.

What I've typed out can be found in various forms on the Cummins forums, and is real-world experience: I've been around diesel my whole life and in my opinion: diesel was once the future but those days are long gone. The fuel is more expensive, the maintenance is expensive, the REAL WORLD fuel mileage sucks and they are problematic.

Get a 6.4 Hemi with 4.10's and stop looking at diesel: The Manufactures are purposely rail-roading diesels into the ground by crippling them. Anyone that can't see it isn't following the big picture.

Lets start with the basics, what kind of use will the truck see? Is it going to be a work truck that will see lots of miles? Will it be a commuter truck that occasionally hauls a load of mulch?

My point in asking is that there a lot of people who want a diesel but not many who need one.

That said, Daytona is right, we need much more info to help determine which may be a good fit. Also Grizzly is right that you want one that hasn't been hotrodded to death.

He's looking for something to pull a trailer/5th wheel a few times a year along with occasional trips to the home supply/dump etc. He's looking for something that will pull the load with ease and still deliver reasonable fuel mileage. He wants 4 wheel drive because he traverses the Cascade montain passes many times a year. He thought I may know something more about the subject than he does but I don't. I will tell him to steer clear of the Fords and peruse the cummins boards himself.
Thanks Fellas

"Early" 1998 Quad Cab, Dually, 12 Valve (NOT 24 VALVE).....I have owned a few Cummins trucks and besides my 03 HO diesel with a 6 speed....that was the best truck I have ever owned.... The transmissions (auto and 5-speed) in that year of truck suck for hauling a heavy load but still a great truck....

I'm holding out for a 12 valve 3500, I saw one the other day, guy bought it for 6500, put 20k in it, it was brand new, stunning...And way better than anything new. The Gen II Dodge RAM 3500 dually is the best looking dually ever built.

My sole experience was with a '99 2500 5-speed 4x4 that I just flat loved. I drove it for about 5 months and hated to give it up. Highway mileage with a 1500 lb "interesting" camper shell was 23mpg. I liked the 24 valve engine, the original owner had never had any problems with it and it had decent power with noticeable turbo boost coming in around 1300 rpm. Truck had 167,000 miles and seemed like it would keep running forever.

I think the 3500 is too much truck for what you are going to use it for.

R.

From a current owners perspective and having owned two trucks I have to say I've been very pleased with my 5.9 diesel. I had a 2002 2wd and it pulled like a freight train while getting fairly decent fuel mileage. My second and current truck is a 4wd 2500 and it too has a lot of power but falls short on the fuel mileage. The 3.73s combined with the additional emissions probably probably contributes to that.

I have 213k on the truck now and it hasn't missed a beat power or reliability wise. As far as the transmissions I can't speak to the manuals but as far as the automatic no problems. The key to making the autos live is maintenance. As long as the trans is serviced on a regular basis it will live a long life.

If I were in the market I would be looking at a 2005 or 2006 CTD.