Diesel questions

[06Daytona]

I'm thinking of trading my 08 Ram 1500 4x4 Big Horn in on a diesel. I found an 03 3500 4 door with a 5.9 6 cylinder in my town and the guy is looking to trade for a ford or dodge 4x4. It's got  154,000 miles on it, and if I understand correctly, that's just broken in for a diesel. Since I've never had a diesel before, I'd like to know what to lookout for and what should make me run away screaming.

[moparman82]

Well u are right about the motor, 150k is no biggie for a diesel, the bigger concern I the tranny, look for a 6spd, the autos are notoriously bad, also ask if its a HO or not, they made both in 03, and there is like a 60-70 hp difference

[06Daytona]

6 speeds are really rare down here, I don't think I've even seen one in a truck. I think the local one is non HO. Is it a big concern? When I see the truck, how can I tell what shape trans is in other than checking the fluid and taking it for a spin?

[dodj]

My 6 speed auto has been excellent. I ha e a 2007. Dont know if they are the same?

[06Daytona]

I just noticed in the ad that it's a Laramie. I'm not sure what gingerbread that adds to the truck.

[moparman82]

You got the good one Dodj lol that 6sod auto was Mercedes developed and is a bi upgrade from the previous auto.  As far as checking the tranny, just look for slippage when u r heavy on the gas, and jerky engagement from par/neutral to drive, other than that not much u can do, ask him if its rebuilt.  And the Laramie is loaded, going to have leather seats with suede, maybe heated seats, stuff like that

[onebadfish]

I had an 03 (also had a 89 and a 96 cummins) and it was probably the best Dodge as far as fuel miliage goes. In fact, I had an auto and a 6 spd. The 6 spd came out with 325hp and at the beginning of 03 the auto had 285 or so. I hit a moose with the 6 spd and wrote the truck off. I then purchased an auto (the auto was upgraded to the 325hp engine half way through the year) 285hp. I installled an Edge chip and in the summer months on good fuel mangaged to get 950 to 1100 kilos on a tank of fuel...easily 25 mpg. I put 180,000 kilos on the truck and didn't even change brakes and had NO issues with it but it wasn't driven in the conditions the 08 I have now does. I now have a 2008 with the 6.7. The only concern with a Cummins is always the front end, especially the ball joints. I have replaced the front end twice on my current dodge (210,000k) but I drive a lot of bad dirt/mud roads (oil field) and hammer the heck out of it. The 5.9 was definately the better engine since the 6.7 has a tendency to blow head gaskets under a lot of boost. I just changed the entire head on mine to the tune of 5 grand. Mind you...full 5 inch intake and exhaust and H&S mini tuner on "hot" mode all the time and bigger turbo and injectors. There is just something about breaking the duallys loose any time I want that keeps a big smile on my face!

[06Daytona]

I ended up trading almost straight across for a 2005 Quadcab shortbox 4x4 with 139,000 miles on it. The body is in better shape than my 08, the cd player works, and the front seats recline. My 08 didn't do either of those things. My 08 was to the point of needing a few front end parts, a wheel alignment and brakes, so I think I did pretty good.

[Chryco Psycho]

Generally the trans is not the weak point , the torque converter is the problem , they us a single disc lock up & the torque can eat it for lunch , swap the torque converter for a triple disc & it should last forever . Once you have a Cummins you will not go back to gas & the 05 is the 5.9 which is better for sure , 26 MPG with 4 wd is typical .
 Congrats on the trade up , is the 05  a Laramie ?

[06Daytona]

The 05 is an SLT. It's got a few bells and a couple of whistles. It came with a box of receipts from the previous owner, so I'll see what he had done to it before I do anything.

[Gus cuda]

I agree with cp, once you own a cummins there is no goin back. I would advise a trannie flush, run some Lucas upper cylinder lube through the tank, change oil and filter and change fuel filter soon. After doing this, keep an eye on everything and see what you got. I have an 06 auto that has been flawless. Good trade by the way!

[06Daytona]

Here's a few pics of the new truck.



The brush guard that I bought for my 06 and then brought to Puerto Rico for my 08 will be going on after some clean up and cutting to get around the tie down eyes on the front, and I might pick up a soft tonneu cover to cut down wind resistance.
My wife even likes the truck. I thought she would hate that it's louder and bumpier, but I think my redneckedness is getting to her.

[Chryco Psycho]

Lookin Good 
 Close to the same color too !

[06Daytona]

It's close. The old one was silver and the new one is light gold. It really impressed me yesterday. Took a trip to San Juan and got 22.7 mpg @ 65 mph, drove around San Juan for a few hours which brought it down to about 21, and did 55 on the way back to Hatillo and by the time I got home it was at 23.3 mpg. The old Ram would have been at about 15 to 17 depending on traffic. Diesel was even 1 cent cheaper than premium at the station I filled up at. Ana didn't even complain about bad fuel mileage which is new to me and she really likes that it's 2 or 3 inches higher than the old truck.