Im picking my first diesel truck next wednesday, its a 04 CTD 600 A4 4WD LWB quad cab SLT black. I've driven many diesels at the asphalt company i've been working at for 6 years and have been driving a F350 flatbed 6.0 PSD for about 7 months. I've never driven an automatic diesel yet though, so its gonna be a little new. Any problems i should be looking for with the new truck? the 70 mph vib? Any links to a good break in procedure?

thanks
ben

 

first off, congrats, you'll love it. As far as break in, go to cummins.com, and click the ram link... They basically say to drive it like you're gonna drive it. They talk about how much longer it takes if you "baby it" Worth a look. As far as the auto, can't help ya, I pull heavy trailers, and like the controll of the 6 spd


Enjoy!!!

 

I think mainly they say not to tow heavy for the first 500 miles, mainly to let the rest of the drivetrain break in. Other than that, avoid long periods at a fixed speed, and no synthetic motor oil until fully broken in. Cummins also says to avoid running the engine with a load below 1,600 rpm, and not to idle for more than a few minutes.

Have fun with the new truck.

 

txpi239

How about a comparison report between your new Cummings 600 and the Ford 6.0 you're driving for work. Would be very interesting!!

Thanks!!!

 

I picked mine up about 3 weeks ago (my first diesel). I have all the quirks that people speak of, rear vib, engine knock, poor milage, ect...
However, I love the truck so far. The vibe SEEMS to be going away, gas milage has improved as I learned to drive the auto in a way that the overhead says is increasing milage. Engine knock is still there, but I'm not worried about that because I have LOTS of warranty left. I'm a life long Toyota owner until now, IMO the Dodge is lacking in build quality compared to the Toy, but has obviously have come a long, long way in the past 10 or 11 yrs.

I think your appreciation of the truck has much to do with what you use it for.

 

My owner's manual doen't say anything about limiting your towing weight during break in, but it does say to keep it under 50mph for the first 500 miles of towing... which I had to do this weekend . Sure makes for a long trip on these fast AZ highways, not to mention the embarrassing looks from all the guys blowing by you in their Furds, and Chebbies... that won't last long tho... one more round trip like that and I'll finally be able to unleash the beast.

If memory serves me correctly, when you first get the truck, you should vary your speed for the first 50 miles or something like that... it's in the manual so be sure to read that section before you drive away. After that, for day to day driving you just do your normal thing... no special precautions that I'm aware of. The dealer, as well as several members of this board (including myself) recommend towing something fairly substantial to assist in break in. I've been told that if you just drive it around empty it could take upwards of 20k-30k to break it in.

Regarding your question about the 70mph vibe, just do a search on this forum for it... there are several hot threads in the 3rd gen area regarding this. Although I have not seen a complete fix yet, a few guys have been able to get rid of it themselves through a variety of different means. If I were you, just to save yourself the headache, I'd test drive the truck, run it up to 70, then 75 then 80... back it down and repeat several times to see if it has the vibe. If so, make the dealer fix it before you sign anything or take delivery. That puts the ball in your court and the'd be more likely to fix it knowing that the sale is on the line.

Good luck!