Im looking at buying a 2005 for an everyday driver. Are there certian things i should know about before buying this particular year model? Any common problems or things to look for when I go to purchase this truck? (it has 50k miles)

 

I have 65,xxx on mine and have no real problems except my slipping feel when it shifts from 1st-2nd...adjusting bands and throwing in new Gov. solenoid next week depending on weather.

Michael

 

My 05 is a daily driver & it has been trouble free. Problems that get discussed are:
- front door seals get torn by the door opening & closing - look right behind the mirrors & you'll see where it rubs. There's a new seal to fix the problem - not a big deal or high cost to remedy
- plastic caps or ends on the turbo intercooler depending for some months -seems to be a problem mostly if the truck has had performance mods -
- speaking of performance mods - check & see if this truck has had any - not that it's a problem, it depends how you feel about it - some report problems with the drivetrain related to high HP mods
- steering recall - there was an issue with some problem parts that caused a recall - dealer (or someone familiar with this issue) can tell with a quick look if this truck has the problem parts)

since I have an 05 too I'm interested to see what others post!

 

One thing i would do for injector longevity is install a 2 mic inline filter to insure good clean fuel to the injectors they are much more sensetive. 12v's could flow a small dog though the injector but at 23,000 psi in the CR's particles bigger than 2 micron can be bad news.

 

oh yeah! thats a great idea for sure! some 05s also had injector issues. i know mine has had 2 fail in its life so far. but i have 100k+ miles on her now.

 

I have just over 50k, and no major problems. I did have the door seal replaced like stated above, and I did have an injector leaking down - but that has cleared up.

Mods - 4" hole and PVC elbow in bottom of the airbox, removed the muffler, added Quad X2, and 285/75 Toyo ATs. I run it on either 45 or 65hp settings mostly for mileage, been running a Quad for the last 30k. I average around 20mpg, but it seems there is a big spread on what each truck gets. I do have the plastic intercooler, but so far it is holding up. I bought the truck new, daily drive it as well as tow my toys. I usually get the new truck bug after the first couple years, but so far I have no intentions on getting rid of it. It has been the best truck I have ever owned.

So far I have not had any tranny issues except for the occassional shuttle shift. I can usually keep that under control by leaving off or giving it a little more throttle.

You can never guarentee the history of the truck unless you know the owner and how well they took care of it. Even though there are posts after posts of people having this and that go wrong, these forums are only a small fraction of owners. A thread started about tranny failures does not mean every truck for that year is going to have the same failure.

 

issue with door seal but dealer put on a new one. REcall items so it was no charge. Other than that the truck operates perfectly. I never ever intend on Getting rid of this truck, I love it and you will too.

 

what he said....I like mine so much I wish I'd have bought two

 

While I was shopping for my truck, I talked to my nephew, who is a mechanic (has his own shop). He recommended I get a Dodge, and opined that he thought the 05 Cummins was the highpoint for the Dodge trucks. I went with that recommendation and am glad I did.

 

I kinda reached that conclusion also. But mostly from reading in here. I did find an all-metal CAC to replace my plastic-capped one, which seemed to be holding up just fine.

67,000 on mine. The last 9k carrying a 3000# Lance Camper.

 

Don't forget about the crummy tow/haul mode,i would much rather have the od lockout than the tow/haul. I wish we had the tow/haul shift points,and would stay out of overdrive.

 

6sp manual for me. Every ad I looked at for a truck with an automatic said something like, "freshly rebuilt trans", or "trans shifts smoothly", or "new trans", or "trans good", all of which told me the auto trans is the weak link on these trucks, and if it had to be rebuilt at 150K, it will have to be rebuilt again before 300. I plan to have my truck a lot longer than that. The NV5600 is about as close to "bullet-proof" as you can get. I can change a clutch myself, every 200K miles or so, but I can't rebuild an auto trans.

 

I have read complaints about it, but it has never bothered me. I like the change of shift points with the T/H engaged.

Auto trannies have problems when they are not taken care of. Yes these stock trannies are weak, but they last longer than some will have you believe. I drive in too much traffic to have a manual, so I will deal with it until it's time to rebuild.

 

Easily remedied with the BD Overdrive Lockout Module

 

I like the fact that in T/H mode, the Torque Converter locks up 2,3 and OD..