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Ram DEF PITA

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Traveler

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Been driving a '14 Ram 2500 Diesel since new. Has about ~72,000 miles on it. Liked it for the most part, got respectable fuel mileage, and pulled pretty well. Has had several issues with the DEF system and with the exhaust regeneration nuisance junk they all have.

Two days ago it got a check engine light (nothing new), yesterday it went out. This morning the wife and I set out on a -maybe 300 mile jaunt. About 50 miles from home (had to be somewhere, no turning around) there was a ding, the check engine light came back on, and a message came up that said something to the effect of~~~~there is a problem with the DEF system, in 150 miles it will shut down and only have a top speed of 5 mph. So got the better half dropped off and headed for the dealer with no way to get all the way there the way the "150" number was counting down. At about 30 miles from powering down, the message went off but the check engine light stayed on, and it did keep running well. To summarize, made a quick decision to trade it for a GMC gasser. Maybe not the best choice but it's done, and it rides pretty nice. Not like a Super Duty that the help avoids using if they can.

Anyway, I find it useful when people pass along the experiences they have with any equipment and are upfront about it. Maybe someone driving a similar vehicle will realize that if they set out on a trip, would be worse pulling a trailer, that something stupid mandated by the EPA could bite them in the rear and ruin their trip. Good idea to have a plan B in the back of your mind. Good luck with your over the top emmissions systems.
 
I've got a 09 F350 that had a gas guzzling v-10 in it the cam broke and now were about done installing a 2nd generation 5.9 cummins quite an undertaking but should make a pretty mean machine when complete. They wanted anywhere from $5000 to $7500 for a used v-10 this conversion is right at $10,000 so far no labor bet it gets more than 7 mpg
 
Talked to the guys in Kalispell some time ago---ended up (so far) leaving my 7.3 with hydrabed alone and buying a dodge with auto to pull with---

https://www.dieselconversion.com/blog/cat/conversion-overviews/post/1999-2003-Ford-7-3L-Diesel/
 
littlejoe said:
Talked to the guys in Kalispell some time ago---ended up (so far) leaving my 7.3 with hydrabed alone and buying a dodge with auto to pull with---

https://www.dieselconversion.com/blog/cat/conversion-overviews/post/1999-2003-Ford-7-3L-Diesel/
Click to expand...

That's where I got my parts or a lot of them anyhow.
 
Forgot to mention they require an expensive ~$700 EGR cleaning -supposedly from the dealer- at about 60,000 miles. You get a message to do that and it doesn't go away until you get it done.
 
I've had two Dodges. My first one and my last one. Same truck.
 
I think this kind of goes along with the thread that Faster horses just posted, titled EPA Overreach.

http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=76046

There has really been nothing mechanical wrong with the pickup, to be fair. It's all emissions related, and required by the EPA. Potentially shutting a vehicle down while the owner is not necessarily in a good place to stop is severe overreach, IMO.

The Chev and GMC Diesels have the DEF tank hanging low behind the RF tire. Looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

I think the honeymoon with a Ford would be over when the cab has to be lifted off to get to the motor. An unloaded SuperDuty rides rough off road. Miserable rough.

The '15 Ram 2500 with the 6.4 liter gas engine that my son drives has had no problems, not so much as a check engine light. It doesn't ride that great, but with the coil rear springs, better than a SuperDuty.

We have some older Dodges left that are still taking their punishment.
 
We run Dodges. When we switched from Fords back in 1998, we felt like traitors because we had driven Fords forever.
We haven't had a Ford since the first Dodge we owned. Mr. FH pulls a lot of loads with his 1-ton Dodge dually and is totally
satisfied, (outside of the DEF) and he is picky. Our current Dodge has the Aisin transmission, which he specifically asked for,
and he is absolutely delighted with that transmission and with the pickup. He says that transmission "really gets ahold" which is important to him as about everything he does with a pickup is pulling a load of some kind.

To each his own. :D :nod: Not trying to convince anyone.

Reminds me of my dad....we were having Thanksgiving dinner years ago at some relatives who swore by Internationals. Dad
loved his Fords.....so when he got there and parked in a yard full of Internationals (I said this was years ago) he remarked,
"I'm sure glad my Ford made it out here in this International country." :D
 
I really don't have much brand loyalty, except Angus cattle, and damn sure don't need nothing made of metal to boost my ego. Been so long since I owned a car I don't hardly remember how one rides. :lol: If you all have such good backs you can spend the day checking pastures in a Super Duty and still walk...........good on you. My favorite pickups were probably the F150s of the late 70s. Then Ford made some that weren't so good in the 80s, but the twin I Beam F250s in the 90s, get one with a 460...were beasts. Wish they still made them like that.
 
Riding a Ford all day is a cake walk compared to bouncing across hay fields 15 hours a day. That's been my week, my super duty would feel like a recliner at this point.
 
Traveler said:
I really don't have much brand loyalty, except Angus cattle, and damn sure don't need nothing made of metal to boost my ego. Been so long since I owned a car I don't hardly remember how one rides. :lol: If you all have such good backs you can spend the day checking pastures in a Super Duty and still walk...........good on you. My favorite pickups were probably the F150s of the late 70s. Then Ford made some that weren't so good in the 80s, but the twin I Beam F250s in the 90s, get one with a 460...were beasts. Wish they still made them like that.
Click to expand...

We owned a lot of Ford pickups with Armstrong steering. I so remember when we got the first one with Power Steering. It was a '79 Ford 3/4 Ton 4x4 with a 400 cu engine. I loved that pickup. It was so easy to STEER. :D
 
I bounce around pastures, stalk fields, corrals, etc., all day in an F550. I don't have back problems. I was provided, thanks to my insurance company, a brand new 2012 Silverado 4x4 for a couple of weeks. It rode rougher and was harder on gas than my 07 F250 crewcab 4x4. No tears were shed when it went back. All the shops here absolutely hate to work on the Doodges. Dad had a little D300 years ago. That was a permanent cure for ever wanting another.
 
A website devoted to this: 4btswaps.com

They also deal with 6bt and 6ct swaps. That 4 cylinder cummins is so perfect for everything but stump pulling - they sell fords in Brazil with that 4 cylinder cummins (lots of those bread vans and commercial service vans pound those 4 cylinder cummins.

The EPA ruined big trucks so bad there is a glider truck industry getting around the foible
 
Cut the EPA crap out of my 09 Dodge 3500 dually and chipped it. Problem fixed.

If I could build a truck it would be an F550 with Cummins and Dodge running gear.
 
Faster horses said:
We run Dodges. When we switched from Fords back in 1998, we felt like traitors because we had driven Fords forever.
We haven't had a Ford since the first Dodge we owned. Mr. FH pulls a lot of loads with his 1-ton Dodge dually and is totally
satisfied, (outside of the DEF) and he is picky. Our current Dodge has the Aisin transmission, which he specifically asked for,
and he is absolutely delighted with that transmission and with the pickup. He says that transmission "really gets ahold" which is important to him as about everything he does with a pickup is pulling a load of some kind.

To each his own. :D :nod: Not trying to convince anyone.

Reminds me of my dad....we were having Thanksgiving dinner years ago at some relatives who swore by Internationals. Dad
loved his Fords.....so when he got there and parked in a yard full of Internationals (I said this was years ago) he remarked,
"I'm sure glad my Ford made it out here in this International country." :D
Click to expand...

What year is your current one? I'm thinking my next one will be a 2013. Heard lots of good things. I'm researching and the "Asian Transmission" is something I hadn't heard before.
 
Ours is 2016. Not sure how long that transmission has been put in the Dodges. Mr. FH reads the Turbo Diesel Register and read about them there. He says that transmission is great, really gets ahold (you would know better than me, what that means) when pulling
a load. He's pretty hard to please....but he is totally sold on that transmission.

Our last one was a 2011 not a 2010.
 

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