Hey guys!

Sellin the hemi for a TD. Found a 2006 2500 SLT ctd megacab 4x4 automatic with about 60,000 miles looks stock.

Choose the Cummins because all the research says ford sucks, and chev is $$ to take care of those injectors. Google tells me cummins is very reliable.

I'm pullin that trailer you see in my signature. 6,000lbs

What should I be looking for? Anyone would like to say "you definately need to look at........"?

How do I sell this to the wife? Hey Sweetie. Found this truck. Pretty cool. 26+mpg. Maintenance free. Purrs like a kitten. Damn you look good tonight. You'd even look better in my new truck.

 

Looks alot cooler that what i have


https://dodgeforum.com/forum/images/...attach/bmp.gif

 

Good truck. As far as what to look out for...the front end parts bein 4wd. Just check for worn parts. You'll love the megacab...there's more room in the back than the front. As far as rear suspension you shouldn't have a squatting issue with ur trailer. There's really not much to look for other than the normal leaks and what not. Oh I would take it on a test drive and get the trans warm then kinda do a hard pull through all gears and overdrive just to see if it shutters at all then brake to a stop.

 

The cummins will school the Powerjoke and Duracrap any day, any condition.

Check your front end out thoroughly so you don't end up with the surprise I did when I bought my Cummins. Ball joints (upper and lower), tie rods, pitman bushing, etc. If balljoints are worn don't replace with OEM or low end ones. Pay the extra for the lifetime warranty greasable fittings. Do a tranny fluid swap within a couple thousand miles within buying to be on the safe side. Front crank seal seems to be a common leak on these trucks. Both my 5.9 and my bosses 5.9 is leaking. Nothing major, just a slow weep.

To sell it to the wife tell her you'll have more money to spend on her as you'll be dumping less money in fuel as compared to the Hemi. Nobody says you actually ahve to spend the money on her though...

 

have you guys heard of a mid year 2006 tranny upgrade?

you are right, i have to buy a chip, chrome this and chrome that.

thanks, i researched the tie rod ball joint issue. I appreciate it. I don't know what I should be really looking for, thanks.

 

You'll love the 2006 Cummins. Great choice!

 

you'll need to get the front end of the truck up in the air. Once it's in the air grab the tire on the top and bottom (12 and 6 o'clock) and try to move (might need to put a pry bar under the tire) it. Any play and the ball joint(s) need to be replaced. With the truck still in the air grab the tire in the middle (3 and 9 o'clock) and try to move. Any movement and the tie rods are worn.

Chances are unless the balljoints have been replaced already (with a good greasable joint) you'll be looking at a balljoint replacement shortly after buying it.

Bring the truck to a mechanic and pay the $100 or so for a thorough inspection. If they wont let you bring the truck somewhere that would be a red flag to me.

 

how do you guys like the 4 speed auto? it has the 3.73 rear end. I was surprised to see the rpm's quite that high on the highway. just over 2k for 75mph. The hemi gets it's best mileage at 55-60 mpg. best has been 16.

how do you attatch a picture? do you have to upload to photobucket or the like or can you just attatch it to the forum? I've downloaded a few pics, but they don't ever seem to show up.

 

... It'd be nice to get that kind of high mileage... realistically though you can likely expect around 17-20mpg. With my beast it doesn't vary from 19mpg for love or money on the highway in the summer. We run winter diesel 4-6 months per year up here so that likely hurts the mpg a bit too. I've actually compared the OHC to hand calculating it and its within .5mpg.. not sure why its so accurate on mine and not on others, but I'm happy.

The 4spd auto has been good to me so far. I don't haul anything super heavy with the truck however, just our 19ft travel trailer. Shifting is in line with what I would consider normal performance. The truck has 100,000km on it now (which IIRC is 60,000miles.) and running strong.

 

I've seen the 4spd auto destroy itself twice on my bosses truck. But his truck sees work everyday of it's life. Whether its plowing snow with a 1yd sander in the box, or pulling our 24' float trailer with a couple thousand kg's of equipment on it. He's also not stock. He has a Banks 6 Gun in it so the added torque can be murder on the tranny.

For the average person you really shouldn't see much troubles.