Well, it looks like I'm finally going to give in and trade my 2nd gen 2001 Ram for a 4th gen 2011 Ram (I know, once every 10 years isn't so bad.) I'm a little bummed and a little excited all at the same time. Any advice, things I should be looking for, major differences I need to know about, and any other general relevant info will be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

On the 4th gen trucks the first question is to delete or not to delete the emission equipment?

If you don't want to take any chances with your powertrain warranty, will be doing mostly highway driving, not overly concerned with fuel mileage or have emissions checks to worry about then you probably shouldn't delete (or wait until your powertrain warranty has expired if that's your main concern).

If you want your truck to breath clean air (increasing longevity and mileage between oil changes), get better mpgs, or you do a lot of stop-and-go city driving, or "need" more power then do the deletes. Can be done for as little as $600 or so...

 

Spot on!


Congrats on the new truck!

 

Im looking to buy a 4th gen truck too. Can go into the details of deleting and why it would void the power tran warranty? Also what of MPG's will you get? I'm coming from a 3rd truck that gets 15 on average.

 

Thanks for the advice. I knew about the deletes, my friend is the parts manager for a Dodge dealer. They've done a bunch of them but of course, he warned me about the warranty. This truck I'm (hopefully) buying only has 8400 miles on it, so I'm not in a hurry to void my warranty. Diesels are (currently) exempt from emissions testing in PA, so that's not a concern. Use will be mostly hauling stuff in bed (stone, firewood, etc) and towing (camper and car trailer.) Mostly weekend use, occasional weekday backup use if one of the regular cars is in the shop. I can't wait...

 

Deletes- Check out this excellent (but LONG...) thread regarding the two basic types of deletes:

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...t-t278158.html

That was the first thing I did when I started looking for a 4th gen. Very educational but give yourself a couple of hours.

Long answer: Deleting may void your powertrain warranty, or parts of it, depending on the dealer and what breaks. My dealer said "go for it" but if I blow something major like a tranny or engine Chryco will send a representative to look at it. If deleted (obvious by the key-count cycle recorded in the ECM, even if the hardware has been put back to stock config.) then my dealer's hands will be tied, and no warranty coverage on those parts. However, u-joints, drivelines, wheel bearings, maybe even differentials and transfer cases might still still be covered. Of course this depends on the dealer, and what if you are on the road when things go south? You are at the mercy of a different dealer. If this worries you at all then you should probably not do the deletes, even though ironically your truck is better off in the long run with the deletes (if left at stock power or close to it).

Short answer: Deletes are impossible to hide, and Chryco has to assume when you tampered with the emissions you also cranked up the power and broke something.

MPGs- Depends on the tranny, gearing, tires, driving habits etc. I have the auto trans, 285-70s and 3.73 gearing. I get around 14 empty in a mix of city/highway & 16.5 (75mph) -18 (60mph) on the highway. I average 11-12 mpg towing 10k lbs on the highway at 75 mph. Deletes should improve city numbers by 2-3 mpg (no regens, no egr) and highway by 1-2 mpgs based on reports on this forum.

Oh and welcome aboard the 4th gen forum you two!

 

Wow. That thread on deletes just made me drool. I don't know if I'm going to be able to wait until the warranty runs out...

Questions about fuel: do these engines have an optical sensor in the fuel system at all? Just in case any dyed diesel would ever, uhh, ahemm, make its way into the tank, you know, by accident? Also, I've been told this engine needs clean fuel to run right--does anyone recommend an aftermarket fuel filter set-up? My buddy the parts guy said AirDog makes something, but all I see in the DTR store is the combo filter/LP...is this what he was talking about? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

It's official: picked the truck up Saturday morning, removed the tonneau cover, filled the bed with firewood, and hooked up the TT for our week of camping! It's definitely happier towing my 29' TT than the '01 was! I think I'm in love. Plus the prior owner installed a CAI, Firestone airbags on the rear, coil spacers in the front, a rear track bar and swapped the 3.42s for 3.73s. It's like it was made for me. Looking forward to lots of good advice on here!

 

Wow, nice ride! Good move on the diff swap, it will make towing way more enjoyable and the exhaust brake is something to be happy about as well.

 

The exhaust brake might be my favorite feature so far. It's crazy stopping ability over plain old downshifting! My least favorite feature so far, however, is the crappy mileage compared to my old 5.9. Looks like the deletes are going to have to happen sooner rather than later. Anyone know of a good shop in NEPA that will work on our trucks and knows about the deleting process? I'm pretty sure I'd screw something up if I tried to do it myself.