XtremeOverKill
I feel pretty comfortable with a gas engine, AMC's of course, but when it comes to diesels I really don't have much of a clue.
I'm down to 2 trucks:
Dodge Power Wagon with the Cummings and 5 spd Automatic
or
Silverado 2500 HD with the Duramax / Allison 5 spd Auto
I've heard great things about the Cummings,
and I REALLY love the interrior of the Chevy. But I dont know about the Duramax.
Any suggestions?
The truck will be a daily driver, towing will be maybe once a month with pulling a GW made rock crawler, and anything else I want to tow.
Humble thanks,
Mike
pyagid
I have towed with a duramax, and pulling a YJ on a full trailer you could barely tell it was there. It pulled great, and was very comfortable. I am pretty sure te CHevy is available with teh allison automatic, I am not sure about the dodge tranny
-Paul
thejeepingoat
The Cummins is a great diesel motor, and they are beasts on the bottom end, the reliability is great. I work parts and hear all sorts of horror stories, this one guyput a chip and some other goodies on his and blew the tank off his intercooler on an 05 Cummins. He did did this running a 1/4 mile.
Ive also heard good things about the duramax, made by Isuzu and very quiet. Not too many complaints on them, except ive had quite a few people need alternators and other charging components. The water pump up until recently was extremely hard to come by. Ive had a couple of those come in bad.
Every truck is gonna have problems, especially if you use it as it was made. Personally, id go Cummins. The aftermarket is very strong for them. Banks and Edge have about the best stuff out for the Cummins.
check out edge's website, they have akiller truck there.
cheapjeep
Power Stroke :lo1l: . Ford should have the Allison by the end of the year.
thejeepingoat
ive heard nothing but bad bout the new 6.0.........Plus the filters for that beast are really expensive, bout 70 for air and 70 for the fuel.
Maintnence shouldnt hurt. If i was getting a ford it would be a 7.3. The allison will be a nice addition tho.
thejeepingoat
Mudrat
XtremeOverKill wrote
Dodge Power Wagon with the Cummings and 5 spd Automatic
or
Silverado 2500 HD with the Duramax / Allison 5 spd Auto
I should have gotten the diesel, but I went Hemi ... But what I traded off was a Chevy 2500 HD that started to have problems with the front end (4WD) at about 90K miles. So there is more to consider than the motor - but I'd vote Cummins. See if you can talk the dealer into some Cummins beer mugs ... they're etched and say "Hummin Cummins" :lo1l:
Mudrat
rollen dean montoya
go with the cummins. you can get it worked on anywhere that freightliners,
peterbuilt, mack,kenworth and internationals are sold. that a large service
network. cummins warranties the engine not dodge.my uncle bought a
2004 3500 quad cab 5speed auto with the cummins. loves it.
mikew
Powerstroke all the way!!! :lo1l:
I'd wait until the Allison is availiable :?
tufcj
I have a 2003 Duramax. I LOVE it. Drove it from Denver to Chicago and back over the last week (empty). I averaged 18.4 MPG over the entire trip, running the vast majority of the time over 75 MPH. Pulls my Jeep and trailer up the mountains like it isn't there. I still get 13-14 MPG with the 5600 # trailer.
The first year Duramax had some problems with the head gaskets (steel block, aluminum heads), but I heard that's fixed. The only problem I've heard of with the Allison is of clutch failures on rigs that spend their whole lives pulling at or above the rated max. They install the 2000 series clutches in the 1000 series trans, and I've heard of no repeat failures.
I read last week about a guy with a Duramax, no engine mods, factory turbo, bigger intake, bigger intercooler, bigger exhaust, and an Edge products chip. He pulled 572 HP and 1012 ft/lbs on a dyno, and can still get 18 MPG.
Bob
tufcj
XtremeOverKill
Never an easy choice is there.......
Had to take the truck back this morning, but I'm 99% sold on a diesel. Massive power
Respectable Mileage
Minimal Upkeep - might be pricy, but at least its few and far between
So far what I'm hearing is there's nothing BAD about any engines.... as in nothing to absoutly stay away from. It rather comes downt to creature comfort and the "other" features.
So here are my thoughts on the "other stuff"
Dodge has Solid axle Front with coil springs = more articulation, softer ride perhaps?
Chevy's Front is Torsion - minimal front wheel travel - from ride to compression.
Ford.... I dont have a clue.
Interriors:
Chevy - VERY NICE - really like
Dodge - eh.... more truck like... not as much creature comfort
Ford...... 111!!!
Rear End:
All are leaf springs
the Dodge power wagon with Bilstein Shocks
Chevy Z71 has bilstein
Ford :-p
Going out to look at Ford's this weekend. And hopefully to drive a Cummins
But so far nothing BAD to stay away from - if I'm reading these responses correctly.
Mudrat
Overkill - you came to pretty much the same assumptions I did when I started looking. I let my wife talk me into the Hemi because she didn't want to look around for a diesel fuel stopp (it wasn't convienient to the house).
I was leaning towards the Cummins based on aftermarket parts support and availability of service centers. I still have a Dodge - so what's wrong with "Truck like?" And they have Allison tranny's.
Take note too ... "With the latest Ford Power Stroke and even the Cummins chasing the same problems, the result was that our data-logged dBA meter now indicts the Duramax as the noisiest of the trio under every circumstance we probed." read more of the Road Test. Another reason Gigi didn't want a diesel.
Mudrat
cheapjeep
I have the Ford with the 7.3. Its 2wd. I have not had any problems with it. If I did not buy the ford I would have got the Dodge. The chevy is to car like for me. You really can't go wrong with any of the diesel's. Just pick the one you like best. And get ready to get guff from people that own the other make's 8)
CJ Shark
Just got my new Dodge on Saturday.
So far, I think its great. I find the Dodge more "truck" than what my chevy was.
So, not exaclty a power user, but one vote for the cummins here.
(still can't belive its an inline 6, all that power out of a 6?.......crazy)
jeepsr4ever
CJ Shark........nice!
Mudrat
CJ Shark wrote
(still can't belive its an inline 6, all that power out of a 6?.......crazy)
Wait till you stuff the Banks and Power Chip goodies in there ;-)
You know you will - Modification is in our blood!!! :?
Mudrat
CJ Shark
I will not be modifiying the truck at all, I'm leaving it stock.
(shoulder check, yup wife left)
ok maybe a "few" mods :razz:
jeepsr4ever
:?: :?: :?: :?:
Mudrat
CJ Shark wroteI will not be modifiying the truck at all, I'm leaving it stock.
(shoulder check, yup wife left)
ok maybe a "few" mods :razz:
Start with the air breather - and go BIG cause the Banks stuff likes big air :lo1l: And, why redo what your going to do later?? The Chip will really get-ya-going but to get going good, ya need AIR!!!
Mudrat =D>
eight
I think as far as engines go they're all about the same. Over here you get the dodge with the cummins for about $8000 less than a comparable chevy with a duramax.
The allison's a big name transmission, but it was modified to drive nicely for chevy, you're not getting a 2 ton auto. Seems all the autos are now lasting a really long time, they're not just for 100K anymore. I'd get a stick anyway.
Why go with Banks? There's better/cheaper stuff out there. Any way you go, the right way is to do intake and exhaust mods, pyrometer, then a chip. Chip will get you the big power gains, but hurt things if you don't have the airflow capacities for it. The cummins computer knows if a chip was in there, so if you double the power and blow the motor or such, don't expect warranty to cover it.
