Have had my truck in the shop for a week now with a drone between 95 k and 105 k they have put in new engine mounts trnny mounts a new resonator and tailpipe none of this worked .The sevice manager said putting in 4:10 gear set should get rid of this drone as it will change the rpm when the torgue convertor locks.How much mileage would i lose with 4:10s?
They said that this drone is a characteristic of long box quadcabs can you believe it.If i had known it was a(characteristic) i never would have bought this thing in a million years.So now the district service guy is going to be talking to them about this and i have to get this resolved .I don't want it as is.Pro's and cons of 410s should i go that route?

 

4.10', 35's and a 6 speed gets me 24+mpg....

 

Can't speak for 4.10s but the cruising speed with my 4.56 is not good. Running about 2250rpms at 73 or 74ish. It is not a great comparison but something to consider with changing the gearing.

 

I love my 4.10s but I never go very far without the 5er and that's when I want them the most. I get 18-19 empty and 12 towing. If you don't need 4.10s, I think I'd try an aftermarket muffler and resonator. Craig

 

What kind of exhaust do you have? When I put my exhaust on I had the tip in to close that caused a drone issue. I moved the tip out a good ways and bingo, no more drone. If you have the factory exhaust put a tip on it and extend it out past the side of the truck by an inch. It will correct your drone issue. Hope this helps.

 

well i am a bit surprised they never extended the exhaust tip i am putting a list together of a couple more things they should try.They have hung weights on the exhaust and nothing makes a differance.Changed the pinion angle took the front driveshaft off all new driveshafts in the rear and still an awfull drone.i wonder if anything in the tranny could cause this?The scary part is they are now calling this a <characteristic >they are trying to imply it is normal operation if it is i wonder why they have tried to fix it in the first place.They also said that all these trucks have this drone but i don't hear that on this site very often.oh and i have the stock exhaust

 

My first thought while reading your original post was the same thing. If this is a "characteristic" then they would have said it from the start. Not throw a bunch of parts and time at it and then say it is normal. They are lost, and now just want you to leave!!

 

You got a dealer to do all that work and replace all those parts at their expense? That's amazing after having read some of the non-service horror stories on this site.

 

yes they have put in all those parts and there going to put in the 410's on tuesday.they have also given us a rental car during all of this.So i will say they have been very helpful.I just hope that **** drone goes away.

 

May sound too simple, but I have seen tires do this. Throw a new set on and see if it changes, if it does... there you go!! If it doesn't don't buy them.

 

On average you'll lose 1 mpg with the 4:10's vs. 3:73's.

IMO, I don't know why anyone would have anything but the 4:10's in a truck with the kind of pulling power the CTD has.

Make's the truck more capable.

All the Dodge dealers in my area have nothing but 4:10's in the CTD trucks on their lots.

If you want 3:73's you have to special order them.

DT.

 

I've had different year model trucks with 3.55, 3.73, and 4.10s, the best cruising mileage was from the 97 with 3.5(3, 4,or 5)(can't remember exactly), the next best peak cruising mileage is my 04 with 3.73, then it's a toss up between the 91 with 4.10s and the 2000 with 3.55. Cruising consistency was the 91 with 4.10s (got the same mileage on the hwy or running back and forth into and around town) Pulling mileage is hard to compare, but the 91 with got the best then the 97, 00, and 04 are similar pulling the same trailer. The main trailer I pull I didn't have when we had the 91 and the 97, and I really haven't used the 00 enough to measure the fuel consumption, but I can tell you my 3.73s pull better in the higher gears.
Sorry for the long story and no direct answer. But if you want my theory, running empty as long as you stay at the same rpm instead of the same speed, the 4.10s would get the better mileage since the engine is working less to make the same load move.