buying a new diesel

Cos it's installed in the worst truck?

Seriously, the Ram is a nasty, cheap truck.

 

i'd rather have the best engine than the best looking truck...

 

If your planning on keeping it for 350k + miles then I would go with the cummins. I'm definately biased as I've had a few in the past but I did drive them all to over 200k and sold them still running in great shape. The cummins wasn't the fastest once the newer dmax's came out but overall as a 4x4 truck they seem to hold up better with the solid axle making it alot cheaper to maintain the suspension. If your planning on only driving it 100-150k I'd get a dmax but if you plan on keeping to 300k+ cummins all the way.

 

Someone here with knowledge in engines or physics can help. It was explianed to me once by someone of knowledge that the reason for the in-line six's life span is due to the straight up and down motion of the pistons in relation to torque management compared to those of the "V" motors. Something about how the motion outward scrubs away torque and also has an increased wear factor.

I'll look around in my notes and see how this relates.

http://forums.dieselpowermag.com/70/6711295/cummins/inline-6-vs-v8-diesel/index.html This may shed some light but be careful, just like all links, it's gonna be like peeling an onion.

Also...Me included...If you are thinking about a new Dodge, You might want to wait till the new body style 2500/3500's come out. Take a look at Dodge's site. Just like all things a new, I'm hooked at the moment on it.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both designs. From a strength standpoint, an inline-six definitely has an advantage over a V8 because of main bearing area. A V8 has five, and an inline-6 has seven. In theory, you'd have a little more torsional stress on the crank with an inline-six, but I think it's more than offset by the bearing area and strength.

As mentioned, a comparable-displacement straight-six compared to a V8 will generally be heavier and bulkier, but if that's not a factor, it's probably preferable to go with the six.

 

the reason in-line 6s are have more torque/hp than v6s is because in an inline, the pistons have a longer stroke, which may (im not sure) have an effect on wear and tear on the engine

 

Years ago a friend of mine was a Cummins mechanic who swore by those engines. He said the Cummins in the Dodge truck would go hundreds of thousands of miles and then it could be re-sleeved and go hundreds of thousands of miles more. The problem he said was the rest of the truck, especially the transmissions, wouldn't make it as long. It's basically an industrial grade diesel in a light duty truck. This is all second hand opinion, but he seemed to know what he was talking about.

 

I found what I was looking for so if you scroll back up, there's some good reading.

 

I have worked for Cummins for over a year now........so I can tell you from the inside that they are a fantastic company holding together well through this downturn in the economy. Excellent people taking pride in their work. I vote Cummins.

 

I'm not talking about looks - I'm talking about quality. The Ram has more cheap plastic than a Joan Rivers event.

 

well whatever, i'd still go for the best motor.

 

A Silverado LTZ K2500 with a Cummins 6.7 w/ Allison 6 speed trans. Now were talkin'.

 

i say the ford body and frame, the cummins motor and allison trans.

 

Yea, the new Ford is really nice, I just like the simple, elegant interiors of the Chevy. The Ford frame is probably heavier duty, so I guess that would make for a better truck.

 

Yea, they are not nearly as quiet as the DMAX or Cummins.

 

Have you heard the 6.4 liter? It is incredibly quiet.

 

all 3 are extremely quiet. ive been looking at different forums and they all say they have problems. kinda wondering if i should just get a gas engine?!?

 

No dont buy a gasser. Get the duramax. The ford is the best truck with the worst motor right now, and the dodge has the best motor in the worst possible truck. The chevy/gmc is the middle man, quality truck and quality motor with an awesome transmission. Or wait a while and see what the new diesels will have to offer, as ford and chevy are making new ones in the next year or two.

 

we just got a call about an hour ago, the 2010 dodge will go significant changes tell me what yall think about this machine!

 

if i remember right i have heard someone say that cummins is now owned by ford

 

you might have heard this back in the 90's ford sold all the stock shares. when dodge signed the contract with cummins