littlebuddie

Whenever you kick the dog or ignore the wife, there's going to be trouble. The same can be said for any vehicle. I bought my truck new 10 years ago and the only repairs to this truck have taken place in the last 6 months:
(1) Replaced the 2 original batteries
(2) Replaced the original fuel sending unit
(3) Replaced the starter contacts
(4) Turned drums and replaced the original rear brake shoes
Lower left ball joint is a little worn so I will be replacing all of them soon. The rest has been usual maintenance of fluids.


In your case, you don't know how the PO of your truck treated it in the past. And yes, these trucks have expensive replacement parts. Truth is, not a single manufacturer makes trucks like they used to. I have a Chevy 1/2 ton my father bought new in 1948. It has never been restored but has had regular maintenance and care for its 60 years of life. Since it didn't come out of Aladdin's lamp, I have to figure that good care is behind its longevity. Everything on it now was there in 1948 except tires, battery, a set of front leaf springs a couple of U-joints, 2 water pumps, rebuilt radiator, 3 carb rebuilds and a paint job in 1992. Oh, the engine was rebuilt 35 years ago. Your truck should last a long time if you are good to it and the PO didn't leave any hidden bruises.

thumper549

That's what I mean..they are the best thing offered.......but they could have been so much better !
I keep saying if the Big 3 go away then the World market will be allowed to make one for us that will be just great.
Funnny part is it wiil be made in Alabama or somewhere here in the states.

xtoyz17

I guess I'm not really sure how your complaints about a truck made 11 years ago is a fair comparison to the quality of the vehicles made today. I agree though, they have their fair share of issues.

thumper549

I am not sure how some, Or why some get so exited to defend these excuses for trucks.
Please , I know we love our trucks - But I do not want to make excuses for them
My engine came apart @ 111,000 miles ( Yes you read it right ) The PLASTIC OIL SQUIRTES jumped out of the hole in the main bearing webs ..so #7 main bearing burnt up. So if you have plastic oil jets..you too might have this problem which of course Cummings told me "Not their problem"
The problem with these trucks is they come with congenital problems, not so much a use thing or wear thing, or mileage thing
My pt. is with out getting all warm and fuzzy about these mechanical night mares IS they could have been SO much better with just a little more thought, 2 cents more not less.
1 grade better engineer , not less
One less profit guzzling sucking company doing their utmost to give the least most.
Now they want you and I to Bail therm out !!
Wish I could build a inferior product for years and have the tax payers bail my butt out

AllanP

I guess it depends on what day of the week your truck was built. I bought my truck new in March of '99 and it has been very dependable and has never let me down. It's been a heavy duty work truck and daily driver. I had to replace the VP44 at 144k miles. Other than that no problems at all.
I bet most of the problems are that people are buying a used truck and you dont know how it was treated before you got it.
Also for the most part people dont come on the forums to say how great their truck is. They come on when they have a problem. So you usually dont hear the stories about the good trucks.

thumper549

Well I have been on this forum for a lot of years (diff name as they threw me off because some one was having a oil argument..all I said was then buy it because of the color of the label LOL )
Any way as far as P.O. ...dono maybe they used it like a TRK and that caused the NV45 to have a bad 5 th gear design?
They caused it to have bad headLIGHT switches ?
AND bad lift pumps ??
They did something to the suspension so they will not go dwn the road straight ?
The P.O. caused the bad routing of the vacuum to the 4WD to placed as such it will surly get knocked off and unplugged in deep snow ?
I could go on ....

See what I mean ? These TRKS come from Detroit with some major birth defects.

AllanP

^^^^Dont know what to tell ya. I have had my truck for ten years and I havent had any of the problems you listed. Maybe the lift pump?
10 years and 186,000 miles.
Maybe you dont talk to your truck the right way.

kstinson

The VP44 was designed for LSD not ULSD. It usually fails at the rotor causing timing error 216 i believe. Add ashless 2-stroke to your fuel should help lubricate the rotor housing...slowing down the failure.

Don't get me wrong this truck has its quirks, but so does every vehicle. Look up the recalls and TSB's on any vehicle and you will find a lot.

Lockman

I bought my 2002 24V 6spd almost two years ago. Knowing nothing about diesels at the time,"I took it in the shorts". The lift pump was all but gone and the vp44 was fighting for life.

The truck was throwing codes left and right. I finally took it to a diesel mechanic and he replaced the dead lift pump and a burned up VP44 and at the same time replaced the APPS.

The truck runs great now and I'm one for doing preventive maintenance so it should last me for a long time.

I'm 6-6 and I've never had a truck that was a comfortable as this Dodge and btw,did I mention that I'm 65 years young?

The only thing I have planned for my truck is a new sound system, the stocker sucks!!

Don aka lockman

AllanP

Yeh talk about comfortable. I just had a nerve problem going from my as.s to my ankle. The whole leg felt like it was on fire. Anyway I couldnt find a place to sit in my entire house without pain. The only place I found was my seat in the truck. I could sit there with no pain at all. Even slept out there a couple of nights.

DRD

I'm the opposite, I think I've just about worn out the power seat trying to find a comfortable postion.

Lockman

Thats unreal! I fell in love with my truck the first time I drove to the east side of Dallas from north of El Paso. Only stopped for fuel and food. Never felt tired or anything. Was able to go out and party hearty after the drive.

My seat(s) are manual and I just played with it for a little bit and have never had to change the position.

Good luck on finding the "sweet spot"

Don

thumper549

I have not ever had a comfort problem with the TRK Other then my wallet getting thin trying to keep up with all the crap......... LOL

cumalong

I have owned 2 hondas and 1 toyota truck. Zero problems with those three with a total of over 500,00 miles between them. I have had more problems in 40k with this truch then them all put together. Where do I start. Lift pump, IP pump, tranny issues, trac bar isses so far, I have 90 thousand miles and getting ready to rebuild tranny. It runs strong when everything is working and I love cummins and I love the abilities of a 3/4 ton trucks. I understand bearings are due to wear out soon now. I just wish I could get 100k with no issues. Should not be too much to ask for a 30k truck with a cummins?

Lockman

Like I said, I'm 65. I got my first car when I was 16. Being something of a gearhead I was always screwing around trying to make them go faster and look better etc. Spent small fortunes on them over the years

My Dodge is pure stock. I plan on leaving it that way. People around here have the same truck as I do with over 300k miles on them and still running strong. I don't think diesels were truely meant to be hot rodded. Having said that I know there are many beefed up cummins that go like nothing else.

All well and said. I can tell you right now that they are pouring money into those trucks left and right to keep them running. Bunches of money for this, that and the next trick thing that comes along.

My cummins will plug along at 85 all day long without any problems except for fuel. That's the way I like mine.

I have a 65 Impala that I've been working on for about 4 years. Pure stock 350 with a 700r4. It will get me there and bring me back without costing me a fortune. I have a 86 Blazer with a lukewarm 350 700R-4 4X4. It will go just about anywhere I want and bring me back without breaking the bank. I built it to be dependable.

I guess what I'm trying to say is if you want a hot rod, build a hot rod and be ready with the cc. If you want a truck that is going to be dependable for many thousands of miles leave it stock and enjoy the fact that it will take you there and bring you back without maxing out the cc.

All of this is one old man's opinion and like belly buttons every has one!

Good luck with your truck!!

Don the Lockman