Picked up my first Diesel truck... few questions..

uncc civilengineer

uncc civilengineer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2006
Location
Pfafftown, NC
OK well I found myself a truck and bought it:

2005 Dodge 2500 QC SLT 6spd w/ 17,9xx miles.... Bone stock...

Anything I should do first (already got tags,insurance)... Is it worth picking up an intake, exhaust? What's the best bang for the buck on these trucks? Not looking to go crazy on HP/Tq. just dependable, maybe a few MPGs, sound, etc....



I'll throw up some pics when I pick it up from the detailer tomorrow evening.
 
fass or air dog system....intake, straight pipe
 
I've seen melted turbos and blown up transmissions(5 and 6 speeds), stock program they are most durable. A intake and exhaust will gain fuel mileage and not harm anything.
 
SolarYellow05 said:
When a 500 hp cummins gets better mileage than a stock cummins you can't tell me it is less durable.
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Stock they get 21-22 highway empty. Hand calculated. What sort of mileage is your 500hp truck pulling down? And what did you have to pay to get there?

Aftermarket intakes and exhausts aren't going to provide power or efficiency improvements to offset their purchase price, and most anything else voids the motor warranty. That truck is still under warranty for a long time. It's probably best to keep it that way.
 
saf-t scissors said:
Stock they get 21-22 highway empty. Hand calculated. What sort of mileage is your 500hp truck pulling down? And what did you have to pay to get there?
Aftermarket intakes and exhausts aren't going to provide power or efficiency improvements to offset their purchase price, and most anything else voids the motor warranty. That truck is still under warranty for a long time. It's probably best to keep it that way.
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Really, I didnt think it would still be under warranty... I'll be honest I havent even had a chance to look through the manual yet... guess I need to do some searching/reading...

anyone know the warranty terms off the top of their head?
 
The motor warranty goes to 100k miles. Depending on the year, there may be a D/C warranty on the truck as well. Some of them got 7yr/100k miles on the vehicle. I'm not sure which years got it, though.
 
turbo, trans temp, pyro, and fuel pressure gauges would be where i start. Not sure if the newer cummins are regulated with a melt-down safe guard, but it cant hurt to know what the motor is doing. Plus it is just fun to watch the gauge as the turbo spools up :bounce2:
 
Yeah, I plan to pick up some gauges.. boost, fuel and EGT.... probably not worry about the trans temp since it's a manual.

As for the warranty:

I called the local dealership and the engine is good through 100k miles, I can pay a $150transfer fee to get the Powertrain (transmission, axles, etc.) extended to 2012 or 70k miles so I'm going to do that tomorrow... I meant to ask if it included the clutch, etc... I'll do that tomorrow as well.

As for modifications, all i'm looking to do is an Intake and Exhaust and I don't think that will void the warranties.
 
uncc civilengineer said:
Yeah, I plan to pick up some gauges.. boost, fuel and EGT.... probably not worry about the trans temp since it's a manual.
As for the warranty:
I called the local dealership and the engine is good through 100k miles, I can pay a $150transfer fee to get the Powertrain (transmission, axles, etc.) extended to 2012 or 70k miles so I'm going to do that tomorrow... I meant to ask if it included the clutch, etc... I'll do that tomorrow as well.
As for modifications, all i'm looking to do is an Intake and Exhaust and I don't think that will void the warranties.
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As long as you're only the 2nd owner (with that mileage, I'm sure you are) the 7/70 powertrain warranty will transfer with payment of that fee. Check the Warranty manual to make sure, but there is a time limit from time of purchase (for 2nd owner) to transfer that warranty. Clutch will likely not be covered.
 
jrraw23 said:
Intake/exhaust, then possibly a mild chip that has a max mileage feature on it, if something goes wrong you can just unplug the chip and they'll never know you had it on there.
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Yes we can (dealerships)... If freeze frame data shows crazy fuel pressures (or other sensor values) that a stock program CANNOT attain, we know something's fishy.
 
Wanted to update this with a few pictures...

2005 5.9 6spd w/ 18,132K miles... Went to the dealership today and paid the $150 to extend the Powertrain Warranty until 70K/2012...

So far I'm very happy with it...

ai52.photobucket.com_albums_g18_CTFriel_Dodge_001jpg.jpg


ai52.photobucket.com_albums_g18_CTFriel_Dodge_002jpg.jpg


ai52.photobucket.com_albums_g18_CTFriel_Dodge_005jpg.jpg
 
That's a pretty nice looking house! Nice green grass too, it really makes the truck stand out :huggy:
 
wow I'd love to find one like that nice find :beer:
 
I'm around 87k with my '03 and it has been very reliable. I've stayed stock with the exception of adjusting the tone ring to get a couple of degrees of timing and running H2 rims/tires. Others like to tweak their rigs, but I'd rather run stock.

The only problems I've had were ball joints worn at 60k and a replacement steer box at the same time.
 
on mine, i left the cat. (general consensus is that it doesn't really impede power etc) but removed the muffler. without a cat or muffler, the drone is a little much for me.
 
uncc civilengineer said:
Thanks for that info.. I was just going to remove the Cat as opposed to the muffler...
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Just don't throw it away. You might need it in a year or three when diesel emissions checks come to NC.

Don't expect to see any performance increases, either. There's a guy on DTR that dyno'd 750hp through the stock exhaust. Swapped on a straight pipe and picked up 10hp. That's nearly a rounding error.
 
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