Guys, I'm going to say it right off the bat. I'm a chevy man. But I'm always looking for new things to try. Still, I realize that I'm out of my element here. But the Cummins is such a great motor. My father doesen't like Dodges , and frankly it would probalbly be bad news if I bought one . So here's your chance to tell me why I should buy a Dodge. Money is no object. I wouldn't get the automatic tranny. I'm a hunter and dirt biker, so I spend much of my time in the dirt, so 4x4 is a must .

So, lets here it. My main question though is about reliability. If the motor is a cummins, then what left on the truck is DODGE ?

 

You are not buying a truck you are buying a killer motor!

 

Nice, that's a great way of thinking about it. Let's hear more.

 

Awesome motor, good drivetrain, pretty good mpg for a full size truck, incredibly reliable..

 

It just so happen that there is a dodge truck wrapped around it!!

Dodge ain't so bad I have only wron out 2 in 5 years. working on #3

 

my whole family is born and bred chevy, so when i brought home a dodge cummins, i was pretty much disowned,, ,, but ,you shoulda saw the look on my dads face when i hooked to the tractor and pulled it outta the ditch,,, priceless

 

If money is no object then buy the dodge and drive for month if your not happy edit for language it and buy another chevy

 

Same with me, my dad would disown me. I'm pretty young though and want to do it right the first time.

 

if money is no object, then build a truck like you want.

if it was me, i would find a rolled dodge, then pull the body off. Then i would get an old chevy (and i mean old, like 50's or so) truck and and put that body over on the frame.

Thats just my style though... i like the classics...

 

know alot of guys around here that have early 90's chevy's with cummins in em,,, very nice,,, if it were me,, i would find an extend cab chebby and i can find a 92 5-speed cummins,,, and do the swap,,, but i work too much and don't have enough mechanicin ability to do the swap

 

If you want a new truck, you should make a quick decision because the trucks with the 5.9's are disappearing. The G56 is pretty nice from what I hear once you take care of the flywheel if you are buying a standard. Our friend was a die hard chevy guy, he owned 2 dmax' and you should have seen the look on his face when my dad told him we bought a ram. Soon after that he got rid of both and has had a 2500 ram for two years, he's happy.

 

I dont know what you plan to do with the truck, but here is one way to look at it. If you plan on lifting the truck the Dodge is far simpler and cheaper to lift, it also has more power down low, which makes it better for towing.

If I was just going to haul dirt bikes and what not with the truck, and not lift it, I would take a look at the Chevy. I have some friends that have Chevy's and most are nice trucks.

The bottom line is this, all these trucks can have problems, but by doing your research and your homework, like you are right now, you can help to minimize these plroblems. In the end, it has to make you happy, don't do it to make anyone happy in your family. It is you that will be paying for it, so it is important that you be happy with your choice.

The only concrete advice I can offer is DO NOT buy the Ford 6.0 or DEFINANTLY DO NOT buy the new 6.4 Ford.

 

Alright, you've got me convinced that it's techniacally not a Dodge if it has the CTD. But what parts are left are Dodge. You still have the little problems of the static electricity and the headlights.

So the main part of the drivetrain isn't Dodge. So what about the transmission problems and the driveshaft as well as the rear axle and front axle. I'm not for sure, but I think that they are DANA axles, and if so, then I have no problem with them at all. The main concern now is the tranny. I want the six speed, I want the new engine. But what's this about the flywheel. And now I've also heard that the new automatics are Mercadez Benz transmissions. Are they? And does this mean that they are more reliable then the earlier automatics?

 

I don't even like the new Ford's body style. I have nothing against Ford itself, but the body style doesen't look that great.


So to sum it up. I'm buying a great motor that happens to be inside of a Dodge chassis. The trannys aren't so great, but this truck should last a long time of daily driving it and off-roading and camping. I would also buy it because it has the motor that I definately want but on the down side a company that I would rather not own has wrapped it's body around it.

There is one last question that I would like to know though. Has everybody here had great luck with their warranties, if any? Have they fixed all of your problems?

 

The G56 manual transmission has a dual mass flywheel that will handle stock power very reliably. If you plan on doing any power mods, it will only handle moderate upgrades over stock. This transmission has been used in Mercedes medium duty trucks in Europe for several years with a pretty good track record from what I understand. I think it's made by Diamler/Chrysler. Somebody correct me on these things if I'm wrong.

The axles are AAM. Dodge switched from the DANA axles to American when they went to the new body style in 2003. No problems with drive shafts, differentials or axles. Overall a very good drivetrain. And for off-road, I'd much prefer the solid front AAM axle to the IFS on the Chevy.

The only warranty claim I've had was a leaking power steering pump when I first took delivery of the truck two and a half years ago. They fixed the problem with no hassle. I've heard more bad things than good about warranty issues with DC though.