gsxr-rider137

getting ready to purchase a 2012..either a 2500 or 3500 diesel with a 6 speed manual. the reason i buy manual is 1st...i like to shift, 2nd...too many of my friends have had the dodge tranny failures...and i'd rather shell out $1600 for a clucth rather than $4500 to build the tranny the right way...
i have owned 2 other dodges.. a 2001 dually and currently a 99 dually. some modest upgrades were done to both, so i am used to a little more power than the stock truck has to offer.
heres my question

has anyone bought a new dodge, being a former owner of the olders models..have some advice? i don't want to regret buying a truck , or maybe avoid someone else's mistake.


chris in ct

Busboy

First manual trans trucks are hard to find and the engine is de-rated compared to an auto trans because the clutch is junk and can't handle any additional power, you like power plan on a new clutch. Stock your fuel economy is not good and get the 3.42 gears, if you live anywhere cold and plan to use the truck as a daily driver on short runs make sure you can delete it and not have to pass emission checks. Your oil change interval will suck unless you delete.

To be honest the auto truck has more going for it and I'm a manual trans guy myself, I even convinced my son to get the Aisin auto in his 2013 and he is a manual guy himself. One draw back with the 2011/12 trucks is the payload, there isn't any so if you want to haul heavy stuff check the door sticker closely.

Back up camera is worth it's weight in gold so are the heated and cooled seats and the heated wheel is great on long trips with the AC on. While I like the way my 2011 drives and looks I was disappointed I was forced to delete it to make it run properly, I wanted a manual trans with a manual xfr case but ended up with the auto and electric XFR case. The manual has no high idle and no remote start, both of which are necessities of life.

SOhappy

I agree with the above assessment on the new autos. Worlds apart from the old 47/48RE. They seem to be holding up as long as you don't go crazy with the mods. Plus, you CAN shift them yourself with the autostick if that's your thing.

HOTSHOT11

I to bought an auto and was concerned about longevity but i kept the truck stock and i tow everyday truck has 285k on it

Busboy

Thanks hotshot good to hear the auto has some longevity to it. My 2011 might be the last truck I buy unless... the 2013's are THAT good and worth putting up with the DEF.

Clik

I'm also shopping new Ram Diesel. I have a 97 3500 4x4 5 speed manual that has 75,000 miles on it and is in the shop for the third trans repair. Lost 5th twice without serios damage, did the after market nut keeper thing twice and this time shatterd some stuff. I like manuals but heard the new ones had problems too. It sounds like they put a weak clutch in to save the tranny. [COLOR="Purple"]Does anyone know if the Chassis Cabs have beefier trannys? What about 4500 or 5500?[/COLOR]

Busboy

The 4500/5500 do have the Aisin transmission but you can also get that in the 3500 pickup for 2013. The problem with the 4500/5500 is the tallest gear you can get is 4.10's and only on the 2013's, the 2012's have even lower gears where in the 2013 3500 you get 3.42's. These engines have tons of power but don't like to rev high and give good fuel efficiency. We looked at going with a 4500 but have now decided to take delivery of the 3500 my son has on order. Have a look at this thread where ridofpwrstroke is going to put a pick up truck box on a 5500, you will see he will be limited in the fuel tank he can use. https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...p-t309915.html