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Are 3rd gen Dodge 2500s crap?

I think all the problems are sorted out. Everyone I know that has stuff like that, has it because they tow stuff with them. I can think of 4 people close to me that bought them new that all had the auto trans go oops all neutrals by 80K miles.

My BIL has an 07 that I think is a nice truck. He says it’s the worst financial mistake he’s ever made. It doesn’t get good fuel mileage like everyone wants to internet brag about. EGT’s spike on steep grades so even though it’s got plenty of power, if you gotta back out of it to keep the engine from torching itself what good is that for a dedicated tow rig.

Cue the Cummins fans that take exception to what I just said in 3.2.1-
 
My experience with 3rd Gen.....06' QC Longbed with 5.9/G-56. 185k mi. 3.73 gears, semi-garage kept truck

Rear fenders rusted out 2 years ago and got repaired-$3,000
Front right bed mount rusted and needs repaired (next)
Blend doors broke and got replaced with aluminum ones at low mileage
Injectors crapped at 120k miles, second set seem to be running strong
DM flywheel went at 120k miles, replaced with solid flywheel, now trans sounds like a box of marbles but holding up fine
Front axle u-joints/unit hubs at 150k
Trackbar/balljoint/steering is a hassle until you spend $ on HD replacements. (Dynatrac/Carli/etc) Mopar makes a good HD direct bolt in steering box/pitman arm.
Interior has held up fine
Frame is holding up fine
Mileage is 15-17 empty, 8-11 towing a 25' goose with various loads
EGT's are fine in stock config. I do have a Smarty that I run a 90 HP tune and it definitely has the ability to melt pistons. I absolutely have to back out of it on hills when towing.

The quicker you get ahead of the steering issues with good quality parts, the less of a money pit the front end becomes.

I'll give it a 7/10 overall.
 
I've had a second gen, third gen and now a first gen. On all of them I bought the engine and the truck came with it. 3/4 and 1 ton trucks with gas motors are full retard in my opinion, all of the negatives plus none of the benefits. 3rd gen was alot nicer inside than the 2nd gen and 1st gen and once deleted it actually ran decent. You will be putting a trans in it sooner or later, it's just a given with those trucks. The front ends wear out pretty quick but it's easy to swap parts out. Mine death wobbled at 80 one time but it was just telling me it's time to change out the shit tires I had on it. If you can find a pre emissions one from before 07.5 it will be alot cheaper to modify engine wise. If you have the time and talent I recommend head studs, pulling a 6.7 head to replace the head gasket ain't necessarily fun.
 
Someone needs to bump the GM thread 😂
Rusty fuel and brake lines
Rotten fuel pump tops
Body rot
Anyone going to say the 4L60e is a good trans in the half ton LOL
Noisy diffs/exploding diffs
Window regulators and electrical problems
Wheel bearings
Tooth pick TRE’s
Frame rot

THEY ALL SUCK
 
People love to jizz all over themselves about a cummins, especially 5.9s.. my experience, they're a complete shitbox truck wrapped around a shitty sounding, mediocre engine. Who the fuck wants to adjust valves and transmission bands on a 2006, fucking things were 10+ years behind a Ford or Chevy of that era. :homer::flipoff2:

I type this as I sit here and stare at the shop truck, a 2004.5 crew cab, short bed with a bunch of Carli bits, deavers, etc. Thing has been absolutely babied it's whole life, rust free, lives inside, etc etc and I'd rather take my 97 7.3 anywhere in the country over it. It has leaf springs front and rear and still rides better than that fucking dodge with its fancy suspension :laughing:
 
JR4X said:
My BIL has an 07 that I think is a nice truck. He says it’s the worst financial mistake he’s ever made. It doesn’t get good fuel mileage like everyone wants to internet brag about. EGT’s spike on steep grades so even though it’s got plenty of power, if you gotta back out of it to keep the engine from torching itself what good is that for a dedicated tow rig.

Cue the Cummins fans that take exception to what I just said in 3.2.1-
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Thats my experience too, living in the mountains. In the shop truck you can hit 1550* EGT on flat ground, no trailer, with a mild tow tune.. :laughing:
 
Nvr-enough said:
fucking things were 10+ years behind a Ford or Chevy of that era. :homer::flipoff2:
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That’s part of the draw for some. My grandfather loves his second gen. He’s in his mid eighties and it’s his last truck, it’s 100% stock and has been pretty trouble free for the 21 years he’s had it.

He’s such a maintenance snob he figured out how to disassemble the unit bearings on the front and change the grease in them.
 
I bought a 4th gen and not much trouble at all out of it coming up on 280K. I had several buddies that spoke like their 3rd gen truck was amazing, but the fucking things always had something wrong with them. My 4th gen is deleted with a mild tune and pulls everything I need to. It's not a race car, but it's fast enough. I've had to put front end under it at 160K. I user errored and shelled the front ring and pinion and driveshaft. I did have to have BCM reflashed under warranty when the heater quit working. No parts, just download a new program. That part makes me nervous, because it's deleted, it's hard to get the dealership to do shit any more on it. I do like the high 17s for mileage with my typical drive. If it's straight interstate unloaded, you can creep up on 20 if you keep it under 80. Towing is 11 to 13 depending on how heavy it is. I've changed the trans fluid in it twice and no issues at all. I would definitely go 4th over 3rd.
 
JR4X said:
That’s part of the draw for some. My grandfather loves his second gen. He’s in his mid eighties and it’s his last truck, it’s 100% stock and has been pretty trouble free for the 21 years he’s had it.

He’s such a maintenance snob he figured out how to disassemble the unit bearings on the front and change the grease in them.
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Okay, that I'm okay with :laughing: but for the rest of us that have a race to make it to...
 
I had a 2005 for close to ten years. Had zero issues with it, but it was stock minus a new exhaust the last year I owned it. That’s because the stock one rotted off at that point. At that point the paint was also bubbling on the rear fenders.
 
Not a 3rd Gen, but I have owned a 2nd Gen for 300k. As most I purchased that engine, and the truck parts were attached to it
Also, every problem that I have had except one was a Dodge problem, was a cracked injector line
I also got the trans to last to 275k before it left the chat.
 
MuntCuffin said:
If I didn't NEED the engine, I would not buy a Chrysler product.

Sure, the engine is great...but transmission issues, ball joint issues, ub issues, crappy steering issues, interior falling apart issues....seems to be a lot of potential (and common) headache for something you don't need.

If you enjoy tinkering, spending money, and working on shit, then I guess you wouldn't be bored....so there is that.
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Had those problems and more with the Furds I had back in the '00s.

Plus shitty engines and transmissions.

And we plow, salt, tow trailers with them. Plows are heavy, 1,100-1,500#. We may or may not be slightly overloaded with salt when we leave the shop.

I had far more issues with all those Furds than my current fleet of RAMs. 3 2500's, 2 5500's.
 
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[memphis] said:
If they were that offset to cause premature failure the truck would have memory steer that was incurable

See retard exhibit A. Wallowed out bore and blames the product. There is an oversized option available because he didn’t check the bore. You can also see that he hammered the shit out of the worn out units in the truck. Nice swing and miss fuckface
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Steering has been dogshit in dodges since 1994.

94-02 used convensional balljoints and sleeve systems like ford bjd60.
03+ use a lower bj and a cylidrical shanked upper that plunges to account for variances in c and knuckle.

With a fresh upper in position it points to the outter edge of the lower balljoint bore. When reinstalling the knuckle it put them in a slight bind. Its a dumbfuck design.


I have never, not fucking once, hammered a bj into position. I will hammer c's, knuckles, and tre ends to get them to release when needed. Ive had the snapon bjp1 bj tool since '10/11.
 
AKnate said:
I've been calling them Cummins shipping crates for many years.
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:lmao::lmao::lmao:

the irony tho my dakota, same vintage - ROCK solid interior, not even a squeak, doors, bed, everything. Different engineers for ram and dakota obviously.
 
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