I like my friend's 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 better than my 2006 Ford F350, but when the turbo on his 5.9L Cummins kicks in, it's a lot harsher than when the turbo on my 6.0L PowerStroke kicks in. Here in Colorado, he often engages the 4-wheel drive to prevent the turbo from breaking the rear end loose on ice; my dually is just lousy on ice, but the turbo is quite controllable. On dry pavement, his kicks Beamer butt.

I found a nice 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 dually for a good price, but during the test drive, I couldn't even really feel the turbo. Other than that, it drove nice and no indication of a problem. I assume the turbo should really kick in like on my friend's truck, but hate to pass this deal if his has the problem. How should that turbo feel and would there be other symptoms of a malfunctioning turbo?

Thanks for any words of wisdom as my diesel experience is limited - I've only driven these two 3rd generation Dodges.

 

Sounds like your friend has a performance box or programmer installed. The extra fuel spools up the turbo quickly. And boost fooling will create higher than stock boost pressure out of the turbo.

MikeyB

 

If your friend’s truck stock? For a few Benjamin’s a programmer can be had for these Dodges that will really wake them up.

The 2006 was probably stock. I think I low boost condition would make it smoke like a train.

Stock unloaded my truck is worthless in 2WD; the rear end is just too light to get any traction in the snow/ice without 4wd.

 

Your friend may have had a performance enhancing device installed on his truck that he did not tell you about.

The 6.0 only builds about 20-22 psi stock but it should still push you can into the seat a little bit at about 2000 rpm when it starts to build maximum boost.

Do you have an extended crank to start? How about what feels like a slow gradual loss of power?

 

Ask your friend if he has some type of programmer or module first.
My 06 was great in stock form but adding the Smarty to it really woke it up. Like driving a different truck!

 

Thanks for the interesting advice. I have no complaints about the performance of the Ford 6.0L, with new injectors it has no problem pushing me into the seat leaving the stop sign, but the slower pressure buildup is much more controllable. The Ford is really a great truck, I just like the Dodge better.

My friend bought his 2005 Ram 2500 used with just a few miles in 2006 and it performed like that then; he complains about it (although trashing Beamers is nice). Would there be evidence of a programmer or does it just reprogram the existing ECM?

 

A programmer like the smarty or bully dog just reprograms the ECM, nothing to "See"
A Chip or Module like an Edge or Quadzilla is a box that must be plugged into the truck somewhere and is visible.

 

My friend is certain the truck is stock; he's had it on the computer at 2 dealerships and both said the warranty was still good.

Is it true that the only possible symptom of a malfunctioning turbo is excessive smoke? The F350 has a gauge for the turbo boost, but I didn't see anything like that on the Dodge. Should I be able to feel the turbo kick in?