When you cant afford a Duramax

[Stumped]

And my brother calls me 2 hrs after buying this one with a good deal on his Duramax.The common rail is awesome.H.O. 5.9 24 valve 325 horse,610 tq

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computer guru im not.....

[Garth J]

Thats enough dodge stuff.....G

[deerefanatic]

Well Garth, this is "off-topic"...... :)

Nice truck....... I like.... I'm a chevy guy, but that cummins beats any other pickup diesel engine to pieces...... That's why my '47 1.5 ton is getting one of them. :)

[Stumped]

I wanted a Duramax bad.But with over 100K,they want just a few thousand less than new.I feel the price they are demanding must show how well the market likes these things.I drove my brothers truck a few months ago,the v-8 is so smoooth and the Allison..I would also note that the old 6.5 is staying close to home,I just love that old truck and cant seem to quit driving it.

[Sasquatch]

The older duramax trucks are still pricey because they don’t have all the new problematic emissions crap on them. We have a couple of 08 GMC’s for work and they have had to go in for problems with the exhaust filters a couple of times already. We have a hard time making money on a truck that’s in the shop every month for emission problems. I hear Dodge has had problems with there’s also.

[johnodiesel]

Thats why i Love my 6.5 No emissions crap. its realiable truck and with some upgrades becomes a snappy truck. Durmax is nice but with all the computer crap upgrades are expensive. i have drove duramaxs but will always go back to the old 6.5 i love it and wouldnt trade it for anything

[Garth J]

As my old dad said "If it's got tires or tits it will give you problems"
The Cummins is a good engine but very heavy for a light pickup hense Dodge front end problems and Im sure you will have the same problems if you put one in a Ford or GM
I bought my 01 d-max in Houston Texas for $11.450 and I love it.I pull my 8000 lb. 5th wheel in the mountains around here with no problem.
There is a guy in Edmonton Alberta that has been putting D-max Allisons in 90's trucks for a long time and ive been to his shop and was impressed
Dont get me wrong I loved my souped up 94- 6.5 with all Walts stuff but it couldnt do the job...G

[Stumped]

After driving both,my take is the 6.5 for lighter duty stuff is better.The 4l80 doesnt shift constantly like the 48re does(may be converter lockup) and the GM IFS is nice and smooth compared to the Dodge straight axle.I had a couple people try and buy the old Chevy,but didnt want to see it go.It just wouldnt pull the heavy military stuff I have been getting.That 12k load last fall was ALL the old truck wanted and was too much from a power standpoint and safety as well(the old Chev wasnt designed for anywhere near that) 8 6.5 injectors around $300. 5.9 commonrail from Dodge is $3K.4l80 with converter probably $1500,48re and converter is $4500 or so...apples to apples so to speak

[JD_countryboy]

$300 for converter, 200 for rebuild kit, 130 for the shift kit. Not including time and labor to rebuild 4l80e. But i will say the 4l80e is a super stout beast. I can tow in overdrive withno problems, except id like to have more horsepower. But who wouldn't. My 6.5 runs well, very well for a 6.5. But it wont run with the duramax's. But it will keep up with a 7.3 joke, or at least in my opinion the jokes i run at work. But they are stock. And my tranny doesn't slip. Darn fords slip-o-matics. Cummins engines are built well, but the rattle they produce will drive ya batty. Talked to a few people that bought 6.7 cummins instead of the Duramax they wanted. Reason, the chevy rode too smoth for them. Pulling their 30' loaded trailer the truck acted like it was nuthin. Rode smooth, had tons of power and would flat out run. Bought the Dodge cause of the ruffer ride, ( and cheaper im fairly sure) and the loud ass engine. Yes, they pipped it with banks exhaust, six gun, and such. Id rather have the older Duramax, but bank says not yet.

[Stumped]

I was at a local Cummins guru's shop trying to sell the Quadzilla box that was hooked to mine.A fellow there had the new 6.7 litre.He said best mpg so far with the emissions was 12mpg Ouch!I took everything except the cold air box off and returned to stock.

[johnodiesel]

jd is right the 4l80e is a very stout tranny they hold up to alot. and a 6.5 can beat a 7.3 power jok my buddy has one intake straight pipe and we uped the boost. I can still smoke him enerttime we race half a truck length all day long! rock on 6.5 td

[Stumped]

Im thinking since the old 6.5 now has a backup,I might try cranking up the fuel and boost.I have a GM 5 (presently a 3) and a reman 4911.I just dont want to pull the intake again.And the turbo drain bolts...Im pulling the inner fender out this time

[johnodiesel]

Everyone douts the 6.5 and gives them a bad rep. but with a little know how they are strong running powerful engines. stumped turn up the fuel and boost and enjoy. you will love the added power and be suprised by what a 6.5 really can do

[deerefanatic]

The dodge front end problems have nothing to do with the weight of the cummins. It only weighs about 200-300 lbs more than a D-max or powerstroke...... In fact, the dodge half-tons have the most problems, and they all get light V-8 gas burners..... Plus, dodge has improved their front ends.. Just put new tires on a 2004 Ram 2500 at work...... Had ORIGINAL tires on it at 83,000 miles!! That truck obviously doesn't have front end problems.....

As for smooth, well,you can have smooth; I'll go for torque.. My buddies 99 24v has an edge chip, and on number 3, the acceleration in overdrive is awesome.....

Now, I agree that the 4L80e is a better tranny than the dodge trannies (heck, personally, I'll take a 4L80 over an allison.......) But, a dodge tranny isn't the only thing you can run behind a cummins... In fact, that's the beauty of it, just about any transmission made can run behind a cummins with the appropriate bellhousing.....

Just my $.02

[Stumped]

I went to the NHRDA drags Saturday at Indy.Didnt these guys take physics in high school? 7400lbs trucks running 10 second 1/4 mile times.The dyno shootout was something to witness also(Fords scattering parts everywhere) we saw a 6.0 Ford put down 749 HP,1130 tq and then bang.Oil and antifreeze everywhere.My old Dodge Duster does 11:83@116,wouldnt hold a candle to dually trucks there.And they are not gutted race vehicles,as most were driven to the track.It appears that the Fords cant even compete without really big$$,most were out with tranny explosions.Walking thru the pits made me realize that i am poor $$.Duramax owned the pulling track,probably cause they turn so many RPMs and the reliability of the Allison.Dodge had the dragstrip with high 8 second timeslips in some rail dragsters and 9s in the pro stocks.Other than $7.00 hamburgers and $4.00 hotdogs,it was a really good event.If you like drag racing and diesel,this was the one to see.Hmmm...drag slicks on a full floater rear..not something you see every day.