hey guys. im over in the 2nd gen section but i thought id hop over here for a visit. im looking into getting rid of my 2nd gen and getting a 2nd gen CTD. can anyone give me some pros/cons/fuel mileage/reliabily/common problems and their solutions/and anything along those lines. im just looking to get an idea about these suckers. i know a little bit about these trucks but not enough where i would feel comfterable jumping into buying one. i know they are known as million mile motors but if i buy one i dont want it to have crazy miles. and im just looking to find out a little bit

thanks for everything

 

I average about 17mpg higway/city and that is with big hips. As for reliability, the only thing I have seen is the lift pump problem. An aftermarket setup should take care of that.

 

I'm getting about 20 MPG on the road with a light load and 14 MPG pulling a 7,000 # Tank Trailer and 14.5 MPG pulling a 5,500 Race Car & Trailer combo. I do have the Gear Vender Overdrive unit which I use when I'm on the highway with no load, or in the mountians to split gears while towing.

The big thing with the 1 Ton Dualies is to keep the speed down. When I run @ 65-70 the mileage is as above, when I run 75-80 the mileage drops down by 20%.

With my GMC 1 ton Dualie with a 454, I am getting about 9 MPG on the road unloaded and 7 MPG pulling the trailers I normally pull. If I kept the speed down to 55-60, the mileage would go up about 1 mpg. So as you can guess, I use the GMC only monthly to keep everything working.

I really like the early 98 12 valve quad cab, as it has the 4 doors, yet has the 12 valve engine with the better dependability due to a good injection pump. With the mods I have listed, the power is really good. Based on the best information I can develop, the power is probably around 300 HP, yet the fuel economy is good as long as I don't get two heavy on the "Loud" pedal.

Ralph

 

What year is your truck Jake? I had 05 Red Dually 4x4 Quad Cab Cummins.
I trade it in for 06 Chevy Crew 4X4 Diesel. I wanted a bigger cab with at least a 6.5 box
I would of bought another dodge but they dodn't selll a Mega Cab with a 6.5' or bigger box
The other reason I sold the truck is STAR was playing with me about fixing the leaky injectors
Had 3 of them . I don't have time to screw around with replacing a injector every 3 weeks and
losing time. At least Chevy (Believe me Im not Fan Of the Bow Tie) If you have a Injector problem they will just replace all 8 at once and send you on your way! I just wish Star was a little more Consumer friendly. Any enough ranting for Now

BY the way dodge was getting about 21 mpg on the Highway and 12 in city Unloaded Hand Calc
the[sm=groupwave.gif]

 

THERE ARE PROS AND CONS OF DIESEL AND GAS ENGINES ASK YOUR SELF IF U NEED THE EXTA OOMPH!!

 

thanks guys. i see it will deffinately get better mpg's than the gasser. i dont really need the diesel but i want it. something about diesels that i love. and i want one. im going tomorrow to some dealerships. if i get one im either going brand new (probably not) or used from a dealership (most likely) so it has the warranty and i know its "certified" to their specs and everything. any other little tips or info u can give would be great. thanks again everyone

also what about say a bully dog chip. how are those? do they really work? are they worth it? easy to install? price? blah blah blah...anything else you think i should know feel free to fill me in.

thanks

 

If you buy used look for a goose neck or fifth wheel in the bed thats a sure sign that trucks been pullin a load.
Look for sign of repainting missing logos or pin striping, u don't want a wreck.
Look for service records in the truck.
AND DON'T FORGET TO KICK THE TIRES.
Happy hunting[sm=signs003.gif]

 

nothing beats the sound of the turbo spooling up, that diesel screamin RPM's... i wish i had a CTD [:@]... or atleast get a Cummins 4bt.. get some money and shove one into my dakota... now that would be sick...

 

haha fox. i had that thought in my head. put a cummins in my ram 1500. but the whole driveline and axles would need to be redone. it would be better off taking the 1500 logos off my truck and putting them on a 2500. it would be cool to say "i have a 1500 with a diesel in it" or in ur case "i have a dakota with a cummins"