Buying new Dodge Diesel tomorrow...

Leaving my 2002 Silverado Duramax for a new 2011 Ram 2500 Cummins/4x4/automatic tomorrow. Feel like I did good price wise but wanted input on the newer Dodge transmissions before I ink the deal. I tow a 7x18 trailer with the normal track supplies and 2 or 3 bikes. Buying diesel again cause I may upgrade to a toy hauler. I shouldn't even be straining it with what I plan to tow, and I have avoided the power hop-ups with my current rig, so I should be good to go, right? Couldn't find a new Chevy for a price even close and not willing to chance a new Ford. Any one have a tran s puke out on one during regular use like I described? Thanks for your reply...

 

I haven't personally, but my uncle had 2 dodge trans shit themselves...in the first year. And all he was pulling was a car on a flatbed.

My advice, keep looking for a Chevy with the Allison...or at least get the Extended warranty.

Good luck.

 

my dad has two diesel rams that do a fair put of heavy towing (he sells trailers)...

the 3/4-ton is a manual and the 1-ton dually is an automatic.

he prefers towing with the manual, but the auto has never given him any issues. both trucks have ~200k on 'em.

 

what was the year of his truck... the second gen dodge where pretty bad in the transmission department (94 through 2001 i believe) I personally have a 97 1500 4x4 with close to 300,000 miles on it....3rd transmission..mainly due to large tires and lift kit.

however...with the newer dodges i think they addressed the transmission issues. You can leark on the dodge forum but i think your making a good choice. Ive beat the shit out of my truck and all its ever done is keep on rollin

 

3 transmission replacements is it keeping on rollin?

 

The aforementioned dodge that my uncle had issues with is an '08.

He finally got tired of it, got rid of it and got a Ford. Then ended up having to replace the entire motor in it within the first year.

 

slightly lol
first was at 180,000 miles from general wear and tear. 2nd was 60,000 miles after i put 36" tires on and overheated it..on the 3rd one right now. Installed a seperate transmission cooler and havent had problems since. If i had to do it over again..i would still buy the truck. Its been an amazing truck and never left me stranded. When i had transmission issues it always gave me "signs". Im pretty sure the newer ones where fixed of any transmission grimlins though

 

Just get another d-max! Dodge is ok but there are some known issues. I just dont think you can beat a new duramax with an allison hooked to it.

 

I have an '08 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins and no issues at 60K miles. A lot of those miles towing my 25' ~8000lb toy hauler. The new tranny is super smooth, 6 speed auto, doesn't hunt for gears, and includes exhaust brake.

I have heard of a lot of tranny issues with the 2nd gens, not near as much with the 3rd gens.

 

Hey, for a Dodge that's darn good!

 

Had a 3/4 ton with a cummins in it,

Put 380,000 miles on it before I sold it, it was the usual single cab/long bed with an automatic..I beat the living piss out of it, between over loading it, to being able to do smokey burn outs, it was a great truck.

Trans never slipped or had issues, but good god did that truck EAT tires and front brakes CONSTANTLY.

Edit: was a 1997, got it from an auction.

 

I bought a 2011 F250 Super Duty in Oct. of 2010, with the new 6.7 Diesel in it. The new engine is a Ford engine, not an International, as was the case with the 6.0 and 6.4 diesel. The new Ford has been absolutely phenominal so far. As with any totally new design/engine, there will be some issues, but overall, the new 6.7 has been incredible. Probably the most talked about issues with the new Ford is the transmission "re-flashes" that have been done. The transmission is totally new also and is very similar to the Allison, from what I understand. If I'm not mistaken, it seems that I read somewhere that there are over 400,000 of the new 6.7's on the road and just aren't having a lot of issues, and especially considering that they are pretty much new from the ground up. I'm well satisfied with mine and hopefully it will be a truck that I enjoy for many years to come. Bone stock numbers are..
400HP/800 ft. lbs of torque

 

400hp, and 800 ft lbs of torque..I'd love to see that truck on a good dyno..

 

I'm getting a new leftover 2011 with the latest 6spd auto. Like I said, I just couldn't find another Duramax in the same price range. Looking forward to having warranty again, just hoping not to need it. I was familiar with the earlier Dodge tranny issues so I had to ask. I hope I don't miss my dmaz/ally too much.

 

Now I just need someone to drive my Hummer that I am also trading to North Carolina. I'm in the Knoxville area. 8-10 hr round trip.

 

That is the numbers published by Ford for the new 6.7 Scorpion diesel. Chevy DMax is only a few HP below that and only about 50 or so ft. lbs of torque less. I'm only going by the numbers that are out there........don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger. I do know that it's got kick ass power though.....whatever the actual numbers are.

 

I could believe a "close" to 400 hp, it's the 800 ft lbs of tq...that I would question.
I
figured that you had gotten those #'s from ford's source..All manufactures cheat like crazy on the power of their vehicles...so no messenger shooting here..

Hey Jon, good luck with the new truck, even if it isn't a Dmax..

 

The 68RFE transmission found behind all 6.7's is a huge step forward from the older 48RE's found on the final generation of 5.9's. Stock. Modified, the 48RE is tough to beat. In my '05, I did a billet input shaft, triple disc torque converter, billet flex plate, billet servo pistons and apply lever and anchor, billet first gear clutch basket, TransTech shift kit, and a standard Raybestos rebuild kit, and I was good for 800 HP/ 2200ish ft lbs of torque, and it was still daily drivable. It handled 4WD launches at 45 PSI, and once I was rolling, I'd manually lock the torque converter so it'd stay locked through all the gears, and I removed the defueling between shifts. It shifted about as fast as a sport bike. In 2WD, once I the TC locked in 1st under full boost, the 7500 lb. truck on 35" MT's would stay sideways 'till about 65 MPH when it grabbed 3rd and found traction at which point your head would bounce off the head rest. It was an angry, hairy- chested truck and the tranny took it all and kept asking for more like a sorority girl with low self esteem.

If you spent what I spent, but on an Allison 1000, you couldn't have beat it nearly as bad as I did.

Older Dodge automatics did suck, but their failings were high fluid temps due to loose torque converters and soft shifts. A shift kit and a tighter TC cured all that ailed them at up to +60HP levels. The 68RFE is an awesome transmission that I would not worry about at all even up to max GCVWR unless you start going heavy with the tuner or twins. What I'd concern myself with first would be the diesel particulate filter (cat) and the EGR valves. Those two devices help it run cleaner at the expense of losing about 4 MPG and 50 HP off the bat. Do the DPF and EGR deletes, and make it so you can put them back on easily for inspection, and you will LOVE the truck in otherwise stock form. If you're still trigger shy on the transmission, add an aftermarket cooler with a fan for piece of mind. FWIW, there's plenty of short haulers out there towing 30,000 lbs. with nothing more than a TC, shift kit and cooler on the older RE and RH series transmissions; the trick is to keep tranny temps down.

 

Where in NC, and when?