HI all,

Question for the Cummin's Owners as I am looking to purchase an 06 or 07 Dodge Ram 2500, and I am thinking about the Cummins.

1) I see the Automatic 48RE Tranny will come with the 4.10 differentail ratio and the 6-speed manual only comes with the 3.73. As I am not towing, only off-roading with 33-inch tires, which would be a better choice? It seems the automatic has an awful high final ratio ??

2) Which tranny has been more reliable automatic or 6-speed manual?

3) How is off-roading with a diesel? I am used to using the engine and low low gears for braking in down hill off-road situations. Does the diesel work the same with the trans in 1st and the transfer case in low, or does the engine tend to just pick up speed on a down hill?

Thanks for your help.

 

welcome to DF...
I think you may have that backwards on the gearing... the AT's have the 3.73's (my '05 does anyway) and I think the MT's get the 4.11's

both tranny's will have their normal life span, however the AT can be built pretty close to bullet proof with HP clutch kits, beefier input & intermediate shafts etc... I think it comes down to how you take care of it.

off roading is the same as a gasser, you can still use the engine to control your downhill decent. I have crawled my truck down some moderatley steep grades w/o problems in 4x4 lo.

If your looking to upgrade it (motor & power) you may want to research the new emissions parts that are going on the '07's. from what I hear, the cat is replaced with a ceramic filter of some kind, (Drew can elaborate on this I'm sure) which is supposed to be pretty expensive to replace when it needs it.

 

You'll want an exhaust brake to help slow you down, also remeber if your planing on going through mud, diesels have a tendancy to sink. The ceramic filter is expensive, in the $2000 plus range. The rearend gears should be fine with all that torque coming from the cummins.

 

Thanks,

I wish I could get the 4.10 with the manual, but It looks like the diff gear ration for the manual is only 3.73. The auto does have the choice of either 3.73 or 4.10, but I figured it may not be an issue do to torque as you have stated.

It sort of sounds like the cost of maintenance on the Diesels is high in comparision to gas - $2k for an exhaust filter and I read there was some fule pump that was also costly. Is this the case, are these things really more costly to maintain?

 

It would be better to get an '06 which doesnt have the $2000 filter. Drew has a manual and 4.10's IIRC...

 

Drew has a nv5600 the new trucks come with a new 6 speed a g56 i think (mercedes), if it were geared with 4.10s you wouldn't be able to go down the freeway. maintenance is a lot less on a diesel, no plugs rotors caps, ect. Just a few filters and some oil, also i think the autos need a band adjustment every 30,000 miles, but that is really easy to do.

 

Regarding the gearing, this is from master Drew in another thread:

If memory serves, he told me that the 6-sp w/ 3.73s would be basically the same as auto w/ 4.10s

As far as low gears for offroad, 1st gear in 4h has always (at least so far) been suffiecently low for anywhere I go.

 

Based on a transfer case with a low of 2.73 to 1, I think the final crawl ratios for each are:
G56 with 3.73:
6.29 X 2.73 X 3.73 = 64 to 1

48RE with 3.73:
2.45 X 2.73 X 3.73 = 25:1

48RE with 4.10:
2.45 X 2.73 X 4.10 = 27.4:1

 

well there you have it... Drew can correct me and he's not even here...[&:] lol, thanks Dennis for finding that and clearing it up.

 

Steve, I just can't believe I actually remembered where to find that