2004-2006 Dodge Diesel

I had a 05 2500. Was a good truck. Replaced water pump once and front end once (ball joints, tie rods, u joints, etc). Front wheel bearings were a frequent issue, but they are on most vehicles today. Rear ujoints once. Dash was fine, I live in WI though. Body was starting to get some small rust bubbles under the paint.

I traded it in because I wanted new and didnt need a 2500 diesel anymore and I hate rust. It got a heck of alot better mpg towing than my 18 Ecoboost does towing.

I wouldnt be afraid of a well taken care of 3rd gen, as long as it didnt come from the rust belt.

Oh in 06 they changed the interior a little. I liked the 03-05 better. Some years have tow/haul, some years have OD lock out, some years have both. Unless your towing REAL heavy, I dont see a need for OD lock out.

A lot of good things have been mentioned about the power train, I'll bring up something often over-looked: the chassis of the 3rd gen was a big step up from the 2nd gen.

I have a V10 2nd gen gasser as my "bush truck", and the 3rd gen is much better in chassis stiffness, steering, braking, and NVH. It was the 1st HD pickup to use a hydroformed fully boxed chassis. Good enough they used it all the way into the 4th gen (2012). The 2013s got the upgraded chassis to boost payload and tow ratings.

Flashman wrote:

spoon059 wrote:

Bionic Man wrote:
And OP, ignore the troller (aka fish). He has a hate-hate relationship with anything that isn't wearing his Blue Oval.

As my father always says, "A wise man speaks because he has something to say. A fool speaks because he has to say something."

Fishie... when it comes to your incessant trolling on Dodge/Ram threads, which one are you? Why do you feel the irresistible urge to get involved in threads like this? Have you considered seeing a doctor?

Maybe we should start a "go fund" effort to pay for therapy.

Hey now...Fish has been good lately. In fact he didn't say one word to the contrary in this thread!

The best looking truck I've found is a 2004 model so far, it runs good too.

We bought a 2003 3500 4x4 Dodge diesel new in 2003. It came with 235 HP and 460 lbs of torque 5.9 diesel. Today it has 195,000 miles and still looks new. While we can't keep up with the new 1000 pounds of torque monsters it does pull our horse trailer with ease (14- 16 mpg) and gets 22+mpg on the freeway. We rebuilt the 47RE trans at 150,000 for $2500 including a stronger torque converter.

ScottG wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Going from memory, I was at Cummins NW when they had the 03's on display and could drive one around their facility. The de rated engine did not have the same internal oil cooling system as the HO engine. someone that has specific knowledge please elaborate on this.

That is true. The HO version (like mine) had under piston cooling nozzles that the SO verson did not.
The SO versions (250 or 235 HP) are fairly rare though and even when turned up, they don't seem to have any issues with piston heat.

Thanks! I never understood the logic of the under cooled engine. Thankfully it was for a short time period.

It was so funny my Son was 16 at the time, him me and my Dad hopped into one along with the salesman. Son got the front drivers seat the guy freaked out as Junior was hammering it.

The 03 still used the 47RE so the HO was only available with the manual transmission. In 04 they went to the 48RE and the HO became the standard engine.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Going from memory, I was at Cummins NW when they had the 03's on display and could drive one around their facility. The de rated engine did not have the same internal oil cooling system as the HO engine. someone that has specific knowledge please elaborate on this.

That is true. The HO version (like mine) had under piston cooling nozzles that the SO verson did not.
The SO versions (250 or 235 HP) are fairly rare though and even when turned up, they don't seem to have any issues with piston heat.

spoon059 wrote:

Bionic Man wrote:
And OP, ignore the troller (aka fish). He has a hate-hate relationship with anything that isn't wearing his Blue Oval.

As my father always says, "A wise man speaks because he has something to say. A fool speaks because he has to say something."

Fishie... when it comes to your incessant trolling on Dodge/Ram threads, which one are you? Why do you feel the irresistible urge to get involved in threads like this? Have you considered seeing a doctor?

Maybe we should start a "go fund" effort to pay for therapy.

Going from memory, I was at Cummins NW when they had the 03's on display and could drive one around their facility. The de rated engine did not have the same internal oil cooling system as the HO engine. someone that has specific knowledge please elaborate on this.