Where you at on this deal OP?

 

I decided to talk to the guys at H&S performance and see what they said for my application. also shot an email to the guys over at diesel power products and see what they said. awesome customer service from both! got some info but he said he would call me next week to talk in person.

I think I might stay with ford. I still have to drive these trucks first but I just have a feeling that unless the dodge is amazing I might go ford. I have driven an 04 cummins and it just felt weird. it never felt fast like everyone says they are. but who knows. I have watched a couple videos of the 6.4s that are deleted and tunes and wow talk about rocket ship. I get my new wheels june first and I am beyond stoked about putting them along with the rest of my truck back together! I haven't driven it since february and it just sucks. it should be up and running and then I can focus on buying this new truck and doing some pretty cool things with the shark.

on a side note priced everything I would want for the new truck and it seems way reasonable! most of it I can build myself or buy for way cheaper with some discounts I get. I am going to machine a couple trick things that some people might want so look for that! I'll be sure to post it when I get it!

 

Whichever you choose, I'd go with H&S tuners. THey are a great company. As for the trucks, everyone says the newer Ford and GM diesels feel "racier". The Cummins 6.7 is a torque monster though!

 

I'll give you 3rd gen 5.9 cummins 101. The 03-04.5 has absolutely zero emissions on it. It is the better motor. The 04.5-07 5.9 had some changes to it for emissions. They got a cat converter and a new cam. The cam is an internal egr system. This leaves excessive soot in the engine oil. It is not really a problem unless you are looking to do extended periods of idling (12+ hours). Now the trans. They did get an update in 06. The 06 07 48re trans behind the 5.9 is pretty reliable behind a stock truck. There are several weak points in the trans that should be addressed depending on power level you want to make. If you want a rock solid trans behind a truck that makes under 450hp (325 stock). You will want to upgrade the converter and the valve body. Both the weak points. The valve body being the major one even in a stock truck. It does not flow well enough for fast shifts. The slow shifts build heat and wear the clutches excessively. Billet shafts are not needed for a lightly modded 5.9.

I'm gonna touch on the whole diesel thing. To be honest with you, you probably SHOULDN'T get a newer diesel (03+). They are not rock solid. They are plagued with emissions crap. All of them. They are incredibly expensive to fix. Decent remanned injectors are about $500 each. Decent turboes $800. The cost for absolutely evrything adds up so quick you will be broke in no time. These newer diesels run 20,000 psi fuel pressure at the injectors at IDLE. Injection pumps are worth $1500. If you buy one just be prepared to shell out some big big dollars when it comes time for repairs. I own a 06 5.9 dodge

 

A 6.4L is about 7500 to 8000 psi at idle, and I've seen 32k psi when I'm hossin' on it.

Adrianspeeder

 

so by 3rd gen you mean 06+? when was 3rd gen for the rams? is 20k fuel pressure a lot? I know it sounds like a lot because at my work we run anywhere from 40-100kpsi in our water jet and that cuts through 9" thick steel and 6" thick titanium which is obviously gnarly. whats wrong with running that large of pressure essentially? obviously a blow out would be bad but I don't think they would necessarily just put that much pressure in a enclosed area if they didn't think it could hold. To answer your question no I wont be idling for excessive amounts of time. nothing more than normal usually. and to be safe at 450 a valve body and converter is all I need?


I talked to one of the engineers at H&S. Top notch guys, helped me with a lot of questions from dodge to ford to even chevy (ewww ) from what I've been told the 6.4 is basically a sleeping giant. keep dpf and hes napping, delete it and you've got a firebreather. They said they guarantee me 650hp on their 300 hot damn tune with an exhaust and intake no other mods. thats impressive. he said that running it like that would be somewhat not beneficial, the head gasket would probably pop as well as the trans letting go if I run it everyday and run it hard, 15psi 4x4 boosted launches etc. but he said their mild tunes are safe and says I would most likely be running that while towing as well as daily for a little more pep. He also enlightened me on the 6.7. From the testing they have done the truck holds solid with no problems at a max 560 or so. thats with the dpf. deleted isnt much better and when you do delete get ready to blow that turbo. Its garbage. They have replaced at least ten on their big grey one. to get anything better than 500ish you need to upgrade the turbo and thats 10k. after that you're at 800hp+ and something stupid like 1650tq and thats when the stock trans blows. thats just the "power" numbers. truck wise the 6.7 is obviously way nicer interior and such and apparently tow wise the 6spd is a whole hell of a lot better then the 5 the 6.4 comes with. truck for truck stock the 6.7 is better to a point, but let the dpf go and the 6.4 was their overall choice as of now. less money for power. and as far as the 6.4 being an oddball motor? its not, I was also told that it is used today in numerous service vehicles that aren't affiliated with ford. meaning parts are still available and will continue to be available in the future which is cool. bottom line is I'm leaning for a 6.4 now. 600hp on a whim and the recent prices I have been looking at are looking promising. I'm still curious to the dodges though. I wanna find some more stuff out on those 5.9s and this "cam-ed" emission.

 

The biggest thing with the 6.4L fuel system is that the pressure isn't forgiving. Any trash or water into the pump, it turns into kibbles and bits. If any of the lines are touched for removal of a part, they can't be reused and all need replaced or leaks shortly follow.

Adrianspeeder

 

just to update this thread, I ended up with a 2004.5 dodge 3500 cummins! and couldnt be more happy. drove the trucks mentioned and if anyone has any questions just let me know and I'll be more than happy to give my take on them.

 

Be careful of the flyin' ball joints firin' right out the side of the truck...

Stick or slushbox?

Adrianspeeder

 

its an auto, and I'll keep it in mind. truck runs solid and will be upgraded for sure.

 

poor choice all around. The more I look at mine the more I hate the stupid thing. I have rank amounts of blow by in mine. I bought a low mile truck that was written off just for the motor. These 325 hp cummins are nightmares. The only plus side is that you can work on them easily. Let me know if you need parts lol. On top of the complete truck i bought I also bought a long block with a rod sticking out the side of it complete with exhaust manifold, turbo, injectors, fuel rail, cp3 etc. If and when you need injectors make sure you torque the feed tube nuts down to 41 ft lbs not 37. 04.5 and 05 are the worst all around. You don't have any tuners and you have the 325 hp with 3 injector pulses and the absolute most unreal **** poor piston design ever created.

 

Lol way to be negative! Jk, I have heard some horror stories from both ends in all honesty. I bought the cummins because iy seemed likenthe logical choice. Low payment, more money for upgrades and more money for the big money pit sitting in the garage. The 08s were too close to 13 prices imo. Wasn't worth it and I also couldn't find one I liked. So far my cummins runs great has lots of power and is an awesome choice. Granted you may have had your terrible run down with yours but only time will tell if I have the same issues with mine. You'll probably hear about it either way. I also have a friend who works at a dodge dealership who has the exact same truck essentially. He hasn't had a single issue either and he beats the living hell out of his. So if there's any big issues I'll go see him and figure it out. Don't get me wrong though, I'll have a 13 before its all said and done. And it'll be the baddest thing out there.