Highway 4x4

I have babied and taken care of this thing till I just can't stand it. Now the dash is cracking and DC says it's not covered under the extended warranty. Five years old and the dash cracks. We have electric meters in Palm Springs 15 years old, in the sun, with plastic covers and they don't crack. Makes me wonder how well the rest of the truck is going to hold up. I have just kind of had it. The blend door, the AC system sucks, the entire audio system, ball joints, unit bearings, rear window, wind niose and front doors that flex in the wind. Rear seat stitching, front pinion seal leaks, headlights as bright as a mag light, lift pumps are a ticking time bomb, and I am sure there is much more. I live in So Cal, no rivers to cross or miles of dirt roads, no snow, ice or salt. Does DC make these things like this by accident? Do I think Fords are built better, I don't know, but at this point I am willing to find out. So tell me how bad Fords are so I will continue to deal with this Dodge and argue with the dealership,,,,,, thanks.

cbrahs

have a buddy with a 6.0 and has gone thru 3 motors and 8 sets of heads! I am sure he is ready to get rid of it. My MATCO tool guy said he knows of fords in the shop that have been there for 3+ months and they can't fix em. Have to lift the cab off the chassis to do any motor work. They all have their problems just the type of deal to pick your battles kind of thing. I went from a GM guy all my lift to a Dodge and i love it. I love the motor and it's capabilities. It comes down to what you want really.

madhat

Well, I can understand your pain with dodge's junky trucks... but I bought the truck for the Cummins.

Don't feel bad if you have to go, it's your money. Gotta do what makes you happy.

Best of luck to ya!

mastercaster

well, i had 2 superduties. a '99 an '05. the 6.0 did suck, but both trucks overall were constructed better than this dodge. i am not really unhappy (yet) with it, but the build quality just isn't what ford offers. if i were buying a truck today, for my needs i would get a superduty F-350 v10. the gasser '99 i had was a super truck. never saw the shop after i bought it. not one problem. i have been dealing with the horrible a/c issues with this dodge. how they can't get a friggin a/c system in that can actually cool is beyond me. i don't know, maybe you have to step up to the $60k territory for that. anyway, i just did the heater core mod on mine and now it cools far better than it did. i just don't think i could buy a diesel again right now with all of the little issues, poor mileage, etc. that they are having. i believe i'll be back to ford after this truck, whenever that is.

Dodge04

There is good ones and bad ones in all of them!

I have had my share of the bad ones too.

If i was going to buy a gasser, i would buy a Ford.
If diesel i would stay with a Cummins.

CD in NM

I have had no real issues with my 2006 Dodge. If I were to think about going to Ford, it would be a cab size up with the same Cummins engine I have now, not sure about the tranny, but it would be a standard.

I was a Ford truck owner for 45 years, all gassers, all were good performing trucks and stood the test of time.

My AC gets so cold I have to turn down the fan, even in 100+ temps where the truck is setting locked up tight and like a furnace had run, it cools down right away, and is cold in no time flat.

I am at 30K right now, might consider the cab up in the next truck, for now I am very happy with my truck.

Sorry to hear about all your issues, maybe it IS your time to move on?

Seeder

At our work the pick-ups are the most over worked vehicles we have, and we have everything from semis, a 5500 chev, 4800 IH and all the way down to a 1/2 ton truck. We have had two ford trucks, 01 and an 04. Still have the 01 with one rear end through it and on it's 5th trans in 140K. The 04 made ot to 70K until the head gaskets went out and it was on it's second trans at the time. Had the ball joints and front u-joints done at 40K under warranty. Traded the 04 F-350 in on our 05 2500 Dodge and with 50K , plow mount, airbags and fith wheel the truck has had one rear u-joint and one fron u-joint replaced and one set of brakes and that is it. Very often this truck pulls a S220 skid and a TN70 new holland tractor together and never misses a beat. Pulls it easier than the Ford ever did and get s better mileage. So far our Dodge has been just as tough as any Ford that I have heard of if not tougher. Every truck is different, go with what you want and be happy with it.


-Seeder

Grit Dog

Too bad you got one built on a Friday or something.
I'm on my 5th Dodge, 4 - 2nd Gens and the new 07. They all held up way better than what you're describing. Matter of fact, the '01, other than defective rear axle assembly when new, never saw the inside of a shop in 120,000 mi. Went thru alot of brake pads, but that's it.
Fords overall are well built trucks, IMO, but I'd never buy a diesel unless it was a 7.3.
If you must switch, take a look at GM!

chilly

I would say sell the truck. I had a ford bronco that the deal said it leaked oil from places it didn't have holes. I finally paid the Subaru dealer to take it. The relief was immediate.

I've had 3 good Dodges "94","02", and "08". Each better than the last.

cincydiesel

I love my 05 Cummins. If I was a rich man I'd put a 5.9 CR in a 05 Ford. That would be my ultimate truck

Highway 4x4

I did some research on the dash cracks. Bottom line, bad plastic. So, if you have no cracks, you just havn't had your truck long enough. There are plastic caps made that match the factory and do not crack. Easy to install and supposed to look like factory new. Any one have or see one? I probably will just do that and maybe a dashmatt of some type. The new trucks look like they are going to be very tough to work on. It is insane under the ford hood. The more that goes wrong with the dodge, the more I know how to fix it. It's a love/hate relationship. Someday we will part, but not for now, thanks all.

Spooler

Another thing, if you put armor all on the dash or any other so called protectent, those are the ones that usually crack. The reason is they cause heat build up. By chance did you armor all it?

Highway 4x4

Never have used armor all but have used others. I agree that armor all is not good but they crack because they are poorly designed, built, or the plastic is just no good. Come on now, they have been building trucks for so many years now they could build one with no problems but they never do, it's like it's planed to fail in just enough places to make you get a new one. Did they re-design the areas that they know are bad?

Dodgezilla

Genos sells dash covers........

m21221

My experience with my 02 Ford f250 7.3... Constant rattle from left front door jam (dealer couldn't fix), went through 3 sets of rotors in 45k miles until I spent the money and upgraded (dealer service said they had a dumpster full, Ignition lock failed at 20k, frozen right front caliper at 30k, leaking windshield gasket, altenator died at 36k as I was driving down a mountain road at night (coasted in the dark until I could pull off), injector module failed leaving me dead on the road at 60k (dealer tried to deny warranty saying the 2 inch crack in my windshield caused water to leak into the dash and fry the part ( I called BS and they fixed it), failed fuel pump at 79k. The last three failures left me found on road dead (ford) in the middle of no where.

Now with all that said is Dodge or GM any better, probably not. I tell all my customers (automotive aftermarket business) as they roll in their brand new 50K rigs that they are all junk in their in their own loving way. I chose the CTD for the engine and as money allows I am upgrading as many parts as I can. In today market you are going to get hosed selling the truck but if you're past the point of no return (been there) then it will probably keep you up at night until you dump her. IMO good luck.