06 was the last year for the duramax with the manual tranny. GM came out with the lbz engine in 06, all of those had the allison, but they offered the previous year lly engine with the manual. The lly had less power than the lbz and had some issues with overheating on a side note. Also, the dual mass flywheel in the gm manuals were notorious for failure... even worse if you add power. I am a GM guy from the get go, all my family buys GM and all my other vehicles are GM. When it came to buying a truck to tow my pulling truck I researched everywhere for about a year. After driving all 3, buying a Dodge was the best decision I made.... Had to drive 500 miles to get a 6-speed with low miles but it was more than worth it!!!!

CP

 

I do need college and I need a truck that I can rely on and not have to worry if the truck is going to make the 800 mile trip to Texas every summer and spring. I am going into the National Guard next fall and will have a good amount of money that I could feel comfortable with taking out a loan on a vehicle, so thats where I stand with getting a new truck.

What year had the taller O/D gear in the Manual tranny? So overall, what year is the best for the Dodge Cummins between 2003-2007?

Thanks for all the replies guys!

 

Our '07 gets a consistent 20mpg at a steady 68mph unloaded on the highway with the 48RE and 285/70 17s. The 1st Gen still beats it by one or two mpg the way it's set up right now.

The couple grand you save on the dually will be gone after the 2nd or 3rd set of tires, depending on how high up the tire price chart you go.

 

they rate the Auto a little more because the clutch dies out with all that power...


Get a 06/07 5.9 if you can find it ...no perfulatior filter.....

 

Duramaxes are nicer for everyday driving, I agree...my biz partner has an 06' LBZ and it's unbelieveably comfortable and has tons of power...EMPTY that is. Depends what you are doing with your truck, if you are using it for heavy work...towing and such everyday...get a Cummins. Here is the test: Get in any of the V8 diesels with a heavy load and.....drive up-hill....I can't wait to get back in a Cummins, about 60 days out for me...Bye Ford . And my partners' D-max wimps out too towing anything over 6K.

 

dont get the late 05 thru early 07 they have the lower od ratio in the g56, get an early 05 with nv56 or a late 07 5.9 it will have the higher od g56.

 

Unless you're pulling heavy loads alot, I'd say it is a toss up between the 2. Pulling the same loads over the same passes in CO with my '02 DMax/Alli with Edge on lvl 3 and my '07 5.9/G56 with Bullydog on lvl 2, I'd say they both pull about the same. Both get up to about 1200deg EGT with OEM exhausts. Both get real close to the same mpg. 18-19 mpg at 75-80 mph empty, 13-15 mpg towing 3-4000lbs at 75-80 mph hwy.
Dodge has the appearance of being the stouter truck, and no doubt the Cummins will last longer in high mile applications, but if the DMax is gonna crap out at say 300k mi, how much truck are you going to have left to drive at that point anyway? (Unless you're a hot shotter puttin 200k a year on, then the Cummins will last you 3 yrs compared to the Chebby at 1.5yrs)

I love my new Dodge, but hated to sell the Chevy and still wish I had it too.

 

I'm confused on this...G56 high OD ratio? I didn't know there was such a thing as a late 2007 5.9. Thought after the first few months of 2007 that the engine went to the 6.7 with the 6 speed?

 

6.7 came out in the 01-07 models you could get a late made my 07 was bought in 9-06 with 5.9 some say youcan get the differ g56 in later made 5.9 07's. anything made after sept usually is next years model. early g56 .74 od ratio later is .79

 

My dream would be GMC w/ Cummins if they would ever do it.I had to settle for 07 qclb w/5.9.

 

If I was buying used I would get a '03 to '05 Ram. If I was buying new I would get a Silverado.

 

one more thing to consider is the chevy's weak IFS suspension..Theres a reason why they ride nice, its at the expense of 4x4.

 

A fair amount of 48REs go over 300k with no issues, even adding power. Its not the power its your right foot that will make the difference.

A clutch every 70k on a 6.5? You are either death on clutches or buying lousy components. Take the money you would spend on replacing the DMF and getting a good clutch, put that in the correct mods for an auto and never look back. Add 100 HP and tow at the max with no worries.

Unless you are towing heavy, get the auto. Much more enjoyable and versatile plus the taller gears make a difference in cost to operate.

 

I have had a dmax 2500 srw and a cummins 3500 drw both with bully dog, the heavier 3500 has a lot more get up n go, a lot more fun to drive, but the gmc was a lot nicer inside, better creature comforts, Dodge is a bit backward in interior cab comforts, but the power and sure footedness has my vote.