so it is true that dodge no longer offers stick in 1/2 tons? at all?

 

Yep its true. ^^^^^^

 

at least they kept it until now

 

hahahahahahahaha I just read the last page. The 318 and 5spd is the most reliable??? Well compared to the auto I guess. Let's see if I can remember. . . . .

Bought at 40k in 2001,
-broken headlight
-pinging started at 45k
-deathflash at 50k
-pinging still
-water pump replaced
-wheel hubs, seals, u-joints, rear brakes at 65k
-pinging still
-plenum replaced at 80k
-thermostat
-another set of ujoints and seals
-drive shaft seal
-three track bars
-two tie rods
-belt tensioner
-another thermostat
-again another thermostat
-sway bar end link
-still pinging
-steering gone to crap
-axle seal is leaking again
-dash crack
-drive shaft seal leaking again
-grinding noise in engine just started
-countless sets of spark plugs, wires, seafoams and other 'remedies' for pinging
-109k as of now

So like I said, as long as I constantly pour money into it, its reliable.

 

well i am sorry you have had troubles, but aside from the axle seal and trac bars i don't really see anything out of the ordinary for a ten year old 100k+ truck. to me it sounds like nothing major has gone wrong with the driveline at all (u-joints wear out). sounds pretty solid. the pinging would suck but i've never gotten it so idk how it is. but is is an easy fix (louder exhaust). i guess we will have to agree to disagree.

 

No offense intended in any of the below, just clarifying if you don't mind...

What broke exactly?

Most of those items are common wear things (excluding the hubs), especially if you get stock or stock equivalent replacements. If you get better, HD-ish replacements, they will break less often.

Again, common wear items. Three track bars is a little odd, of course. Did you use stock replacements, or HD-ish type replacements?

Was this the truck's fault, or did you buy Autozone brand (or equivalent) junk replacement? Not accusing you, just asking for clarification.

Have you tried the remedy for this mentioned several times in the forums and (I believe) on the DIY page?

This one I will give you. Common problem, crappy dash.

Have you tried to pinpoint the grinding noise?

Did you route the wires correctly?

The Hypertech should have rectified the death flash. What gas do you use, is it from Shell, BP, Mobil 1, ...? Have you ever replaced your O2 sensors, especially after the plenum gasket fix? How about the sensors attached to the TB?

 

my boss has a 07 f150 and has had only one problem, the cd player messed up twice now. it has about 50k on it and it gets mud run everyday, for hours.(strip miner) it is has the 4.6 and it definitly under powered though. he also just got a 09 ram 1500 crew. that is one nice truck. it will freakin run. the new hp upgrade on the 09 makes it run ALOT better than the 03-08 hemi models. i have drove them all. the other boss at work has a 08 2500 chebby with the big gas motor (cannt remember what it is right now) and it has been to the shop more times than you can imagine. all of these are 4x4.

and my old lady has a 06 kia sorento 4x4 with 61k on it now, and we havent had one single problem. and the only thing i have replaced on my truck is a tie rod and the alternator.

 

if it is the big vortec engine I think it is the 6.0
The 5.3's are so pitiful it isnt even funny.
My family, has owned all of the big three, and I am currently the only one in the family that is a Chrysler fan.
My step dad is a GM person to the core, but he currently drives an 04 F-350 King ranch. The only reason he went with the ford was because of the Duramax heads and injectors issues that were going on at the time.
Those trucks are built like a tank, that is a good thing about it, and the power is respectable. We have had our issues with it though. We blew the head gaskets out hauling an extremely heavy load on it. ( Not entirely the trucks fault, but Ford admits to it being an issue on the 6.0's) Since we upgraded the head bolts we havent had a problem since.
We have to baby the tranny in it since it is starting to slip as well.
When we got that truck we put an edsge chip in it, a cold ait intake, and a Banks 5in exhaust. (there are more details of it in my garage portion of my profile)
Overall its a stout truck.

I think its funny though since my stepdad would rather drive and work on our 1997 Dodge 3500 ctd. I think I might have convinced him to go to Dodge for is next truck as well.


My mother drives a 2008 Chevy Avalanche. (5.3) That thing is majorly under powered. I know a lot of it has to do with the electronic throttle control, but still its sad. When we got it the first thing we did to it was exhaust and a K and N CAI. Those two helped a bunch, but not enough to justify the money we dropped doing it.

I am a big person and getting in and out of all the newer chevy's is a major PIA. I stand 6'3 and with the seats all the way on the floor, and tilted back to the point that I can barely reach the steering wheel, my head still touches the cieling. That may not be too big of an issue, but let me tell ya, when you hit a dip in the road doing 55mph and when you smack your head on the roof, it kinda pisses a person off.
Another thing that I dont like about the chevy is the suspension. I have not crawled under it to see exactly what components are on it, but rebound from little rabbit hills is almost dangerous. They will sink really low and then bounce back quick enough to jack with your steering.

One more issue that I have with all the new chevy trucks is the fact that the interior is very cheaply made. ( I know, all the brands out there are made of cheap parts) The secoind day she had it there was a plastic cover shield for something in the back seat (cant remember now what it was) and it snapped when I barely pushed on it with my foot. Also, within one month of owning it, ALL of the LT emblems had fallen off of it. I wasnt impressed with that either.

I pick dodge for a few main things: 1. interior design 2. reliablity 3. overall styling 4. I think that they are very easy to work on.
My truck currently has 140,000 miles on it, and I dont have near as many issues as some of the people on hear complain about. I dont know what the deal is either, I beat that truck to death, and I can promise you that half the miles put on that truck are off road.
I will also say that almost every issue I have had with my truck was caused by me (except for the tranny) Hell, I got that truck on my 15th birthday. I abused the hell of my truck while I wa sin high school. That truck is on its third paint job, I grenaded the rear end in it after having it for two years (those c clipped rear ends dont like extremely long burnouts ), the front end has been rebuilt two times becasue of collisions (once was NOT my fault).
Most of my family called me a stupid SOB when I turned 16, because my grand mother gave me the option of either the Dodge, or a 2006 Chevy. I can tell you that the ONLY reason I picked the Dodge that time was because of the sentimental value.

My point is, all the brands have their good and bad points, and it comes down to personal preference. I dont like the handleing on he chevy's, and the HP from the motor to the tires on it are sad for an engine that suposidly puts out 375hp at the crank.
I dont care for the ford due to the styling, and the inerior design. (The Ford trucks that year were an absolute bitch to install an after market stero in them)

 

I haven't had nearly that much trouble with mine. Replaced the trans because I beat it to
death with offroading and supercharging. Replaced brakes because, well they wear.
Replaced hubs (cause they are a wearable part), u-joints, and ball joints. Put in a plenum
kit. Beat the crap out of the lsd so I replaced that. Everything else has been fun upgrades.

 

personally, i think you either get a good one, or a bad one, no matter what the make. its a crap shoot with all brands.