I find myself in a little bit of a dilemma. Ive got a nice 01 2500 4x2, 47RE, with only 80,000 miles on it. Runs strong, I havent done any lift pump work on it yet, but the pump is in the fuel tank (i guess this was a TSB on some models).
However, I work at a dealership and yesterday, A lady traded in an 05 2500HD (is there a difference between HD and regular in this year model?), 6 spd manual, 4x2 with 43,000 miles. I have driven it because I had to fix it, (overtired owner put 1/2 tank of gas in it), it still runs like it should now that I got her all cleaned up on the insides.
I already have a buyer for my 01 if I can get into the 05, but my main question is; is it a good idea to make this change? Or will i basically be stepping sideways? Same fuel economy? Was the lift pump issue fixed when the engine was swapped to CR? Dont wanna jump on this thing, and then realize that it was just a case of the grass looking greener on the other side.

Thanks

 

2005 5.9 has more power (and no economy sacrifice), lift pump was not an issue on these trucks, plus you get a nicer interior...doesn't sound like a side step to me.

Only part that concerns me was gas in the tank, but if it fixed properly it shouldn't be a problem.

 

Thanks for the input. One thing I didnt ask that I should have; What -if any- kind of issues do the 05s have? Since the lift pump was an issue and was fixed, and this truck doesnt havethe auto tranny, what is left to cause problems?

 

Front end is crap. But then again that's an issue across the Dodge lineup.

Since it's not the automatic I really can't think of any issues. Only problems I've had with my '05 have been wear and tear and related to extreme use.