I recently totalled my Liberty CRD and I have been looking at the Dodge Ram Cummins. I tried to do some search on common issues but I have not been able to find much information. Basically my wife says its too much truck for us (driving to work, occasionally going to Lowes/Homedepot, probably pull a small trailer with my play toy when going to the track etc). We still building an addition on our house and soon will be building a big garage so ...

Saturday I will be looking at a 2003 Quad Cab, 4x4, automatic, SRW, leather seats with 195k miles. The guy is asking $14k and it will need new tires soon. What to look for? I never driven in a Ram Diesel. What to expect? I used to own a 2004 Ram 1500 V6regular cab and we trade it in for the CRD (2 kids and yes, V6).

Also I want to get new tires for the ride and I want to go with factory size tires (better MPG?). Any particular brand to look for?

Thank you,

Gio

 

I have an 2003 with 99,800 miles and the only thing I have really had to fix is the lift pump(warranty), and the transmission which I had built up so I dont have to worry about it again. As far as the cummins motor, they are bullet proof and you are dead on looking into the dodge cummins instead of FERD or chevy. I get 17.5 in the city and 21 on the highway running 33 inch tall tires. When i first bought the truck with stock tires and wheels, I got 28 highway and 19 city if I kept my foot out of it.(Which is really hard to do.) Thats about it.

 

I have a 2004.5 and I only get about 14 mpg, but it seems almost everyone else gets much better. These engines are awesome though. They will run forever if they are taken care of.

 

But the issues, lol, any issues? In the beginning I was looking mainly at powerstrokes (1999-2002) and Duramax because they were considerably cheaper. After a few days lurking around someof theirforums I decided the Ram was the way to go.

You mentioned having the tranny build up. Did it fail or you just beefed it up? Tranny's are as bullet proof as the engines? I'm trying to talk myself out of buying a Cummins and this forum is not very helpful [8D]

 

Think about it. You aren't hearing about any issues because . . . . . . . it's a big dam conspiracy!! No, just kidding. The older ctd have injector pump issues but the common rail (03-up) are absolutely bullet proof from everything I've researched. The only weak link is the tranny and with that many miles, you better get it checked thoroughly. The motor? Barely broke in. Get it and have fun.

And no, I don't own a ctd. But I dreamt about one while staying at a Holiday Inn express.

 

Lol. figured Id jump in here, for 2006 are there any issues with the 6 speed manual?

 

My 03 has 204,xxx on it and is still on the original tranny. the lift pump has been replaced, the front end has been rebuilt once, (ball joints, u-joints and wheel hubs) both drive shafts have been replaced (both bent) but major drivetrain is fine, I'm averaging around 14.5 mpg around town and highway just depends on how fast I drive but 21-23 is pretty normal. I love my truck for the most part, the only thing I don't like is the front seats, they are a bit flat, but poke around and most everyone complains about the seats, the leather seats are a bit better.