hello, im looking at up grading from my 98 5.9l v8 mag to a cummins. had a few questions. what are the gear ratios for the 05? vs the 01?

 

iirc 01 would have 3.55 or 4.10 gears, and in 05 it should be 3.73 or 4.10

 

sounds about right. 3.73 will be the most common in 05.

big difference in engines as well.

24v VP44 electronic controlled mechanical injection vs 100% electronic common rail injection.

 

would i want the 3.55 gears for if im towing a bunch or the 3.73/ just for gas mileage persay

 

3.55 would give you better mileage while empty. 4.10 would be better for towing.

HOWEVER, I got similar mileage between my 08 with 3.73 gears and my current 98 with 3.55 gears towing a similar load.

 

Honestly I hate my 4.10's! Unless you are towing super heavy with big over sized tires then yeah the 4.10's are the way to go. The 3.55's will be just fine for everyday driving and moderate towing. I prefer the 2nd gens over the 3rds. Less electronic crap

 

And the 3rd gens are head and shoulders a better truck than the 2nd gen...

3.73 is a good all around ratio; not too high for towing, not too low for highway.

 

I disagree...

Between electronic issues I've seen and heard about on 3rd gens, the extremely expensive to fix and possibility of a catastrophic engine failure (as in melted pistons) due to the possibility of injector tips cracking on the common rails causing uncontrolled fueling. Oh and that HVAC blend door that y'all can never seem to keep fixed...

I love my second gen

2nd gen has its issues too, but less issues IMO...

weak injection pump that can easily be made to work hard and live a very long time with proper fuel pressure and lubrication.

and junk steering (3rd gen steering isn't any better other than the track bar) easily fixed... I have 4th gen steering (08.5 and later T-steering) with a 3rd gen style adjustable track bar and a steering gear brace.

All those issues addressed, great truck definitely better looking than a 3rd gen (again my opinion)