so drew...and everyone else (all help is greatly appreciated)...steve05ram360 and i were discussing the different diesel motors in the 2nd gen fourm. he told me to come over here and ask you (drew). so here goes...we established the fact that the truck i intend to be buying has either the 230 or thr 235 because the 8th number in the vin is a 6. im just a first time diesel so im learning as much as i can so any info is helpful to me. which motor is the better one? most reliable? how do i tell out of the 2 which one i have?

heres a link to the truck im in the loan process for and as i said before the 8th number of the vin is a 6 so steve said it has either the 230 or the 235
http://www.bargainnews.com/viewad.cf...431&TheDealer=

thanks for all the help everyone

 

hmm. . .

an 03, is going to have the HPCR engine, in 03 the engine specs were 305hp 555 torque, unless it was a cali motor which was 275hp I think. However I'm realy leaning twards the 305hp motor.

 

easiest way would be to check the data plate on the engine.

 

I have an 03 with the 305/555 motor, and the 8th letter of the vin is a 'C'...........don't know if that helps

 

welcome to DF Dave...

Well the question came up along time ago when I was looking at an '03... it didnt have the 305 motor and the vin # was a 6. that is how I learned to tell which motor was in the '03's Back then, the '03's with the std output motor were pretty cheep. did some research on it and decided I didnt want one, had to be a 305 motor minimum. It also brings back the question I asked a couple of months back... does the std output motor in the '03 have the vp44 pump? Drew, IIRC said no it didnt, which really confuses me to this date. I thought they were putting the '02 motor in the '03 body until they phased it out...

so, long story short, i'm still confused on this.

 

the 3rd gen body style for the 2/3500's did not come out till jan 03. DC wanted to make sure to put the '"new" back then' HPCR engine in the new body style. this is why you see some 02's that have a build date as late as december to get rid of all the 2nd gen body parts DC could before moveing the assembly line to the new 3rd gen body style.

there are NO VP44 pumped engines in the 3rd gen body style unless someone put it in there, the only non HPCR engine I have ever seen in a 3rd gen body was someone slapped a 12 valve head on the block and tossed on a P7100 and uses it as a sled puller.

 

just to let you know, I completely forgot about there was a 250hp 460tq engine that was in these trucks rfom 03-04.4. It was called the Standard Output, with the High Output being the 305 555 engine. they are both HPCR engines, have the exact same engine design and internals, the only difference is programming. the down side, you cannot put the 305hp program on the 250 computer, it will not take it.

the best way to see what engine it is would be to look at the valve cover on the drivers side, there will be a sticker noteing the engine specs and HP rating.

thanks steve.

 

the guy is dropping the truck off tomorrow at my house...so ill hafta pop the hood and check it out. what do i have as choice in an 03? and which is better? and what is this HPCR?

thanks guys. im really confused but thats what im here for

 

engine power ratings for that year were 250 and 305hp. the HPCR stands for High Pressure Common Rail. you basicaly have one pressure line with 6 seperate taps that lead to the injectors. the injectors are no longer fired by pressure from the injector pump but by a 90V power line that opens the injector up. that year it fired twice per power stroke, in 04.5 it went to three injection events. the new 6.7L has a wopping 5 injection events.

even though it may be the 250hp model, dont let that deture you, some guys have been able to easily pump over 400hp out of the engine with very little work. you just have to be mindfull of the transmission. if it is the 250hp model it will most likely have the 47RE, the 305 model will have the 48RE. the 48RE is a better tranny and can handle high engine output, but the 47RE with a new valve body a few other tweaks can still be made to handle the power the 48re can handle.

axels are going to be AAM 11.5 and since it has the off road package you will have 4.10's the only downside with the 4.10's is a high engine speed when on the highway, but that can be easily resolved through getting taller tires.

if you had the time getting an oil sample from the engine will tell you a lot about the engine; such as if you have an injector that is leaking, the oil cooler is failing, the crank or cam bearings are failing(unlikely to ever happen) or if the head gasket is leaking.

if the truck was dealer maintained then chances are it is a good buy and will give you many hundred of thousands of good miles before anything happens.