Seems to me that the Duramax acts more like a gasser the way it runs. To me the only real diesel is the Cummins. It liteally is closer to the 18 wheelers than the others because most of all semi's are I6s.

 

I to am pretty pro Cummins. I've owned over 30 Dodge/Cummins, but like I said before, the Duramax IS a contender. I know a couple with a couple hundred thousand miles on em with nothing done to the engine and tranny. And the GM's seem to be a lot easier on front end and steering parts than the Dodge's.

 

I know a few D/max owners who have had ball joints at less then 100k.Tie rod ends also,plus numerous leaks.Not engine but trans and transfer cases.

 

How about dowel pin issues on the Dmax. I read that is the recent problem. They have a failing dowel pin on the camshaft gear that seems to shear for whatever reason. Never mind having to wait for a warrenty switch on injectors. FWIW I have heard alot of the injector "problems" with the CTD are mis-diagnosed pump or return valve issues.

Pretty much shows what the V-8 DM is made of if its only any good with an auto. You need electronic 6 speed to keep that engine in its narrow power band ( I don't care what the Promo docs say). I have driven a DM lots and they have nothing under 1800 Rpm, which is a huge difference from the ol 12V. The power comes on full at 1400 for me, shifting at 2500. Now thats torque... .

 

That is quite possible. But as a whole, here at our two dealerships, we have to put ball joints in about every Dodge we sell at some point before say 80k miles or so. As far as Chevy's, I can recall maybe putting one set in in the last few years. But hey, I am not bashing Dodge, I own 3 of them personally.

 

Dowel pin issue's? Does the term "KDP" mean anything to you? Again, not bashing Dodge/Cummins, but the Duramax is not near as bad as all of the Dodge guys think it is.

 

I know of several 03 2500s with over 150k and one 05 with 90k and no ball joint issues.In fact they have been checked a few times with no issues and ONLY the 05 has been aligned ONCE.I READ about the ball joint issues but the dealer I use has also NOT seen any warn out yet.Now their NOT a big dealer but they are rural and do a tidy truck service business.My luck MINE will be the one with a ball joint issue(only 21k on it)

 

I don't mean to bash Dodge at all cuz I own one and I love it. But the there is not a thing wrong with the Duramax/Allison combo. IMO this is the best setup going right now. I work for an excavating company out of Vienna, MO and all they have is Dmax's. They have auto's and sticks. They have never been in for any problems except some recalls. The have all years of them and they are by far the best riding, driving, and possibly running trucks out there. A stock DMAX/allison is a VERY fun to drive truck. Pulling wise they do good enough. Maybe not as good as a cummins. If you have never drove a dmax/ally combo, I recommend you do. I agree the 6 speeds ain't worth a crap. I hate them. The main reason I would go to a dmax/ally is because of the Allison. If Dodge would get on the ball and make a high quality 5 or 6 speed auto, I would stick with Dodge. Just my $ .02.

 

The Dmax has a very peaky tq curve stock. Peak hp and torque are not that real world useable. The Cummins will pullllllll from 1000rpm up to speed. A Dmax will shift 3 times to do the same. The DMax is a very good combination of motor and tranny. The chassis is still a very light and flexible piece of work. Ford is a good Joe Blow work chassis with a piece of crap motor and a poison tranny. The Dodge is an excellent chassis with a capable auto tranny, a great 6speed manual, and the best diesel motor in a light duty truck. To me a megacab long box 6speed CTD truck with 3.55 would be the greatest truck ever built. 2nd would be the above in a powerwagon. ks

 

One of my good buddies had an LLY dura and he loved it. Great milage. 23 mpg hwy. He put a Bully Dog Downloader on it and it was almost too fast(single cab SRW). He bought an 05' LB7 and hates it compared to his old truck. He said the tranny doesn't feel the same and the mpg are horrible compared to the old truck. Although he used to tow a 55' 5ver with the old one, don't know if that made any difference.

 

We are a rural dealer with about 90% of our business being Ram 3500 diesels, and I'll be the first to stand up and say Dodge ball joints and u-joints suck, period. Not a week goes by that we don't replace a set of ball joints in a Dodge truck. One of our own trucks hold the record for the lowest number of miles before needing ball joints and that was an of 3500 dually with 16,000 miles, they were getting pretty loose. I love Dodge's, I make my living selling them, but I don't wear rose colored glasses, they need to do somthing about these cheap dang ball joints.

 

I have an 06 Chevy 6.6L Allison 6 speed dually crew cab 4x4 and a 06 Dodge 5.9L auto Quad cab 4x4. The Chevy is my 5th wheel and boat hauler. My Dodge is my work truck. I prefer each one for the duties I have assigned them. Although either can do the others job with no problem. I have my likes and dislikes between both of them.

Since they have done similar work in the past I know the Dodge gets a bit better MPG. But not by much.

The Duramax responds like most other Diesel V-8's. You have to get some RPM's in them to get them to go unlike the straight 6's.

 

We should get a macine shop to build tool steel ball joints and forget about it!

 

I agree. There is enough power to boot. If you want more you can BOMB. I do get 25 MPG but only going 55 MPH on the highway unloaded.

 

Dodge could easily offer the 3.9BTA as an option which gets around 36 MPG in a fullsize 4X4. It would fit right in where the 5.9 is, except the fan shroud would need to be extended.

I think it is absolutely insane for Dodge not to do this. They would sell a crap load of them, and they can be bombed like crazy.