dwhite

I went to a dealer today with the intention of trading my 600 for a 555. I found out several things.

1. The 555 will outrun the 600 hands down.
2. The 600 pinging IS a problem...the 555 had no pinging.
3. The 555 fuel mileage is at least 4mpg better (when brand new).
4. I'm stuck with the 600.. cause a $4k loss will buy a lot of diesel.

My advice: Get a 555 while you can and put the safest mods on it and you will be way better off all the way around.

Mcmopar

Where did all of that info come from??

dwhite

My personal experience today. I have always heard that you lose several $1000 when you drive off the lot...well I found that out. As far as the numbers, I tested both trucks ( mine and the 555) on the same stretch of road by the overhead computer(which has been on the money for me). I can feel that the 555 has better pickup than my 600. And also there was NO pinging or clatter with the 555...I can't stand this on my 600.

Original Junior

I guess the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Sorry to hear about the problems. Hopefully all works out in the long run for you.

Rusty69

If that's true, I'm glad I got an 04 before the 04.5's came out.

NJMurvin

Well, for those of us in Calif and selected other states, this isn't an option. It's either SO or 600. I would have to find a used 555 with over 7500 miles on it to be imported into the state. I'm not particularly fond of the idea of shopping for a used car in another state.

I'm hopin' DC will get its act together and figure out how to make the 600 get up to its full potential. If not, some aftermarket genius will do it and make a load of $$$$ in the process.

From what I've read, there doesn't appear to be any logical reason, based on the engineering changes between the 555 and 600, for decreased performance and lower mpg. Has anyone dyno'ed the 600 and compared the numbers to the 555. It should have more power, right? I seem to recall that Ford had a lot of problems with the Mustang Cobra a few years back when its real output was less than "advertised". They had to recall all those pony cars and make changes to get them up to the claimed numbers. Now, I understand that they advertise on the conservative side just to avoid this issue.

Seems like DC might be a bit exposed if this turns out to be the case for them - especially with the current commercial campaign.

Neil

jlasich

The 600 ping/clatter is not a problem. Yes, the 555 doesn't do it. The 555 also does not have a post-injection event. Perhaps Jack can put a sticky of this information in this forum because some people sure are complaining about something that IS normal. Could they lessen the noise? Sure with some programming changes, but that would affect the emissions. As long as there are 3 injection events, there's going to be some added noise.

I think it's still too early to talk about fuel mileage.Time will tell with added miles and warmer weather. Plus once the novelty of driving a new Cummins wears off, and people aren't punching the throttle at every stoplight, mileage may increase. Who knows?

As far as power, I can't really comment. The only 555s I ever drove was my brother's '03 6-speed and an '04 auto at the dealer. This past weekend, I drove a new 600 auto and I thought it was fantastic. It had a lot of get up and go and I wasn't disappointed with it at all. Keep in mind that I've been used to driving a chipped 7.3l PSD for over 2 years that actually put out more power. I think the 600 is fantastic and I can't wait until mine comes in.

mymaur

During my Sunday browse of the dealership, I found there are A LOT of 04's out there. Both my local dodge dealers had at least 12 and no 04.5's

jlasich

mymaur, I talked to my brother who lives in Wyoming and he said the same thing. Quite a few '04s on the lot still but every 600 that the dealer gets in is sold very quickly. The dealer can't keep 'em on the lots. So, there MUST be something good about them.

wexman

None on the lots because the dealers can't get 'em delivered! (See the ordering thread).

Seriously, I think it's a little early to be drawing all these conclusions about this new matter.

One thing IS for sure - it's GONNA be 100x better than what I have now.

millerperf

i just bought a 2004.5 yes its noisey! i have a 2003 but the 2004.5 is faster also just out ran a duromax fun day my milage sucks 14.5 seems to be getting better though my 2003 gets 20 on the road plus i still have the new vinbration i the 2004.5

Danram20

You wanna trade??

dwhite

The 600 ping/clatter is not a problem. Yes, the 555 doesn't do it. The 555 also does not have a post-injection event. Perhaps Jack can put a sticky of this information in this forum because some people sure are complaining about something that IS normal. Could they lessen the noise? Sure with some programming changes, but that would affect the emissions. As long as there are 3 injection events, there's going to be some added noise.

I think it's still too early to talk about fuel mileage.Time will tell with added miles and warmer weather. Plus once the novelty of driving a new Cummins wears off, and people aren't punching the throttle at every stoplight, mileage may increase. Who knows?

As far as power, I can't really comment. The only 555s I ever drove was my brother's '03 6-speed and an '04 auto at the dealer. This past weekend, I drove a new 600 auto and I thought it was fantastic. It had a lot of get up and go and I wasn't disappointed with it at all. Keep in mind that I've been used to driving a chipped 7.3l PSD for over 2 years that actually put out more power. I think the 600 is fantastic and I can't wait until mine comes in.

I have had 3 PSD'S and several friends that have had 2nd generation Cummins'. I would rather have that kind of noise than this pinging. You need to understand that I have one of these 600's and I am not just talking hear-say. I hope yours is different than mine because I don't wish bad luck on anyone. But if my opinion can help someone that feels the same way I do then I don't need to be hammered for it. I paid good money for my truck and expect it to be comparable to the older models.
Also it has been 70 to 80 degrees here and I have checked mileage driving very lightly for a tank and also driving like most people would do normally. 14mpg on the highway (450 miles) is the absolute best this truck has gotten...and driving with a heavy foot it gets 11.8 to 12.5mpg. I have never seen 500 miles on a tank of fuel and yes I do spend the 15 minutes to top it all the way off.

stevenknapp

Drove a 600 tonight, and a 6.0L '04 Powerstroke, and a new F150.

Thoughts, trying to keep them powertrain/drivetrain related.

F150 is a nice truck. Quiet, drives nice, rides nice. The new 5.4L had a very GM-feel to it. Lazy, never needed to rev, shifting at 2000RPM. But was smooth when kicked. Nice interior. Let me make this my benchmark for "nice" truck.

F250SD is a truck. The 6.0L PSD was loud, a bit quieter than the 7.3L's I've seen, but still there, in your face, every time your foot is on the pedal, at idle. Noise, diesel clatter. The trans shifted great. Power from the combo was good, but maybe a little lag. The steering was subpar requiring lots of corrections over bumps. The "real" crew cab was bigger than I'd need. The Ford mirrors, which look good, don't seem useful when driving, at least not as much as either the F150 or Dodge ones. they are tall and thin and the eyeball portion doesn't move with the rest of the mirror.

Now the Cummins 600. Quiet. Drove/rode almost as nice as the F150. I know this isn't 100% true, but they were close, same road, same bumps, same one hand on the steering wheel barely moving over bumps. Impressive.

Power? Well hard to compare it to the 555. It pulled hard. It wasn't weak. But OTOH the 48RE wanted to let the motor really rev. Push the pedal hard and the motor was at 3000RPM in a blink of an eye. The gearchanges kept it up there too. Part-pedal acceleration at low RPMs felt stronger. No stopwatch, no test gear, just my ***-dyno. It was strong, little or no lag. Compared to the 555, not sure, both knocked my socks off. I think perhaps the trans shift points are more setup for hauling, not speed...thoughts?

The motor is just $#!#$!# quiet, and hate to say it, but I like that. There is a "nuts and bolts bouncing around under the hood" sort of ping, but I agree it's just the sound of the injection. It's sorta weird as it was somewhat random. But it's mechanical clatter and it, for me, was noticeable as the rest of the truck was quiet. The PSD had all sorts of noises going on, mixed into "diesel noise". If you don't like that sort of noise, or like it mixed with other noises too, it could be an issue. For me it's a diesel, and all the clatter is gone but that? Seems ok to me!

The mileage on my test drive, via the overhead at least, was really bad. I got the truck warmed up, reset the gizmo, and coasted down a hill. Didn't get higher than 15MPH on that type of thing. A bit shocking. I'm used to these things reading 99.9MPG when doing stuff like this.

jlasich

dwhite, I apologize if it sounded like I was hammering on you as that was not my intent. It just seems people are getting wrapped up into the ping/clatter and mileage issues without all of the information. For what it's worth, take a look at this thread from the TDR:

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...threadid=94558

Some of the posts make it seem that the reflash to correct the hesitation issue may have helped the fuel mileage. Even though you're in Texas, and thus don't really need the reflash, it might be worth it to investigate and see if your truck already has it or not.

You're right Steven. The 6.0l sounds terrible, very rattley. I'll take a Cummins, any Cummins, any day over a 6.0l.