estesbubba

I have a 2006 with 48RE transmission with 135K miles on it. I've kept up the maintenance on it and in addition to that, had most ball and u-joints replaced plus most of the hoses. I have some of the "common features" like tach is wacky and heater won't blow on floor. It's showing some aging like rust on rear fenders and drivers seat cloth in bad shape. Lately on occasion (not a lot) it will start rough or take 2 tries but runs fine after that.

I changed the oil and filter, air filter, and fuel filter today. Underneath is showing more aging after the winter with quite a bit of rust. The oil pan has a little leak at the seal and has bubbles all over the bottom of the pan now. It didn't have those last oil change.

I pull a fifth wheel with it and this year we have a 1100 mile round trip plus 3 other 400 mile round trips. I'm wondering if it's going to start having more problems, some possibly major? I haven't had any engine or tranny issues yet and all seems well right now. With all the miles and more rust showing up, it is maybe time to trade it in?

Just wondering what others have experienced with their trucks? Is the engine and tranny generally good to 200K or am I in the range where things can start to go South?

torquefan

My guess is that an injector replacement is not too far off at that mileage, especially since you mention the rough startup, etc. That bill can reach several thousand dollars pretty easily.

.boB

As said above, that's about right for an injector swap. I'm doing mine next week, at 126K miles.

Other than that, the Cummins engine will last pretty much forever with good care and maintenance.

The rest of the truck, though, is all Dodge. Time for other stuff to start failing: A/C, suspension, brakes, etc. If the transmission is stock and original, I expect it won't last much longer, either.

ssandlin

I've owned my 06 since new and now have 154K miles on it with not one engine or transmission related issue. I do maintain it religiously in an effort to avoid problems.

With that said, the other side of the coin is that if man makes it, it is not a matter of if, rather it is when something will break or wear out.

In the end one has to do whatever makes them comfortable, good luck with your decision.

Steve-l

At the end of the day it comes down to personal philosophy. As my sig states, I have an early '04. My truck is perfect.........like new. If it breaks, I change it. It it starts to rust, I clean and paint it. I expect a million miles on the motor, but when it goes south, I'll rebuild it, back to 100%. Water pumps, brakes, steering parts, u joints, fuel injectors, tires are all consumables. Bank on changing them, it's called maintenance. If you do this promptly at detection, it\s affordable. It is when you cheat and put things off, that causes folks to consider changing vehicles, because the maintenance cost appears too expensive, but it really isn't. Those folks have made it that way. If you consider the cost of a purchase, the risk of buying an unknown, the interest cost of the loan and depreciation and compare that to a comprehensive maintenance plan, the least expensive route is maintenance.

John_P

I just sold my 2006 Dodge CTD CR this past year with almost 200,000 miles on it.
I had replaced the original set of injectors @ 94,000 miles and the second set were going to need replacing again. I also had a BAD "death wobble" with the truck early on although Dodge fixed that under warranty. In my honest opinion, I feel the injectors on those trucks are JUNK!

Since I have sold it, the new owner has had the rear seal start leaking, the steering box is failing and the camshaft position sensor is also bad.

As the other members said, you can replace parts for less than a new truck but on my 2006, I just felt it was time to "move on" and I feel that I made the right decision.

Good luck with whatever you decide Sir.

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John_P

Danderson

I think the brakes are a strong pt.
The shop I use just did some injectors on an '04.5 @ 126K.
The owner's going to install a GDP MK-2 filtration system.
Poor diesel quality needs superior filtration and it looks Dodge has addressed that in the new ones.
They also earn a good living on Dura's and Ford's. Lots of labor on those puppies. 16 hr shop time for Duramax Bosch injectors vs. 4hrs on ours.
They refer the 6.0's to a shop with more patience and experience.
We'll see how the newer offerings from all companies hold up.
Peeking under the hood is not a joyful event.
I sat in a 2014 F-350 which was in the shop I use for a Carli 2.5 Pintop suspension enhancement. Nice roomy cab and good driving position thanks to the power seats and especially the tilt and telescoping wheel.
I'd just hate to be a tech and have to go to work each day knowing the cab would have come off to do any intensive repair.
That may be the case with the new Dodges too. I don't know.

Steve-l

John-P,
I respect your opinion. It is after all, your choice. You complained about the injectors as being junk. Well, they're not made by Dodge or Cummins. They are made by Bosch and Bosch makes injectors for everybody. Could it be that your experience was due to a pressure box that you installed to go drag racing? Excessive fuel pressure does cause erosion and early injector failure. If so, no problem, it's your choice, but for you to declare the injectors junk after you operated them outside of their design envelope isn't a fair assessment, just sayin!

John_P

Let me add that the Bosch Injectors on the newer 4th Gen Dodge CTD CR 6.7 Trucks are even WORSE on wear than the 3rd Gen Dodge Diesels because they fire more times on each stroke than the older 5.9 engines do. They are basically the same injector internally.

John_P

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Your right, it is my choice and my opinion Sir!

Hey, you don't have to tell me that the injectors are made by Bosch!
I am WELL aware of that and have most likely been driving and working on these trucks alot longer than you have. I have removed and installed way too many of these injectors on the Dodge CTD CR Trucks and some Chevy Duramax Engines that failed BEFORE 100,000 miles to be able to say that IMHO,.....yes,....I think they are junk! Sorry to "ruffle your feathers" but that is what makes DTR great. Anyone can give their opinion on these trucks and I want the OP to know the "reliability" issues on these injectors. They are expensive to replace.

To answer your questions, these Bosch CR Injectors fail on BONE STOCK 2003-2008.5 Dodge CTD CR 5.9 Cummins Engines on a pretty regular basis.
They fail on a higher rate on the newer 4th gen Dodge CTD CR 6.7 Cummins Engines because the injectors in those engines fire more on each stroke than they did in the 5.9 Cummins Engines due to all of the emissions stuff.

Can a "pressure box" cause a "premature" failure?? Sure, but why are there so many that are stock that also fail? FWIW,....as I said above, these Bosch Injectors are also in the earlier Chevy Duramax 6.6 Diesel and they also have a high failure rate! That is a fact Sir.

And for your information, I had an "aftermarket" fuel system on my 2006 with
the 3 micron filters and I STILL had issues! Also, my 2006 was not set-up as
"drag truck" as you implied. My 1996 Dodge CTD 12 valve is used for that.
And here is another fact for you to think about. My ORIGINAL stock injectors in that 1996 Dodge CTD 12 valve did not need ANY service until they hit
202,000 miles! And my fuel system on that 1996 was BONE STOCK!

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Respectfully,

John_P

Reelay

This might be "closing the barn door after the cow got out", but a good filitration system is a must on these diesels and others. If you are traveling the country with your trailer as we do and you fill up at multiple states you never know how fast the turn over is on a back road fuel stop. So I have added extra filters as suggested by other forum users to help prevent early failure of my injectors. Also good insurance so when I do add new injectors.
Luckily I have no rust we do not salt roads here but use a brine mix spray ocassionaly on the roads. So far so good with my truck at 152k, clutch replaced, water pump, jake vacum pump, brakes, and of course all fluids as regular maintance,

Steve-l

The problem as I understand it with these injectors is really tip erosion caused by pressure. CR injectors operate at much higher fuel pressures than the single event mechanical PT pump systems. Of course, it is also true that the 3rd gen engines up to early '04 are two event systems (Pre & Main). Starting in 2004.5, Dodge went to three event software when they added the CAT (Pre, Main & Post). Based on the multi-injection philosophy of Common Rail (CR) systems, the duty cycle of these injectors is at least twice that of the old mechanical injectors and in the later systems 3 times the duty cycle for the same mileage. All of a sudden 100,000 mile life spans is more understandable.

Spooler

He is right, the injectors suck. Enough said. 84-87k and mine were done.

Danderson

What injectors does Ford use and does Ford provide superior filtration?
I spoke to a 6.7 owner today at an alignment shop. That truck was quieter than V-8's almost. The owner said it was too fast.
I haven't gotten on the Ford site in ages.
Do they have a longevity issue?

Good luck with the 6.7 John P.
Competition is healthy.

John_P

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Thanks Spooler!