ok well with yojur help and a few more things going wrong iv decided to get a new truck, decided on a 6 speed but dont know if i should look at 3rd gen pre 2004.5 or second gen post 2001.5 any prefs here? pros cons?

 

Why not look at 05's as well? Even 06's and 07's if you like the style change.

 

price for one, and id like it to stay as close to what i got now so im not almost starting over in learning everything about it.

 

my dads girlfriend has a 05 4dr dually 4wd 6spd and it is a wonderful truck, the only problem we have had is the power steering pump which was replaced by the factory at no charge, it has only 60,000 miles on it but they have all been hard, and no major problems, great truck.

 

The 01.5 or 02 will be most like what you have (24 valve with VP44), but the 03-04 Common Rails are different. They have the bigger quad cabs, more standard hp, ride smoother, and are quieter (but still sound nice with a straight pipe). I would recommend the 03-04, as I don't think you gain much going to the 01.5-02.

 

haha, quieter isnt a plus for me. iv got mine so itll set off car alarms and love it. i know commen rails are going to be different, bigset thing i worry about is milage, one of my frinds gfs truck doesnt get very good milage and its an 03

 

I drove an '05 a few weeks back, relatives truck, with the edge and other perf mods. Oh man was it sweet, I forgot about the uncomfortable seats and lower mileage, and the fact that I think the 2nd gens are the best looking pick-ups on the road, but just for a little while! Don't forget that the late 02's have a different front 4x4 locking system and a specific repair manual, also the nv5600 is supposedly hard to get certain parts for.... Kurt

 

I hear you on the quieter isn't better, a straight pipe will louden it up some and would set off some car alarms. I liked the way it sounded that way. I had an 03 HO 6 speed 4x4 and got 18-19mpg pretty consistently and 20-21ish on all freeway under 70mph.

 

Go with 3rd gen. All else aside, do you really want to deal with the vp44 again? I thought 3rd gens get just as good mileage.

 

My 06 gets better mileage than my 02 did....and everything about it is nicer.

 

ok well i think its pritty consistent on 3rd gen then, now to find one, expecely in a 6 speed.

 

I like my 02. But, if I had to do it over again, I would have bought one of the 03s that were showing up on the lot when I bought mine.

 

I probably would have also. I bought mine in late 02, and 03s were available.

The HPCR fuel system alone is worth the upgrade, never mind that it comes wrapped in a much better all around truck (except the seats! IMO, the 2nd gen seat are better).

JM2¢W

 

Honestly I own both and they each have their good points. I think the 12v looks better and is more fun to drive as the power comes on better in my opinion. The VP44 has more bottor end than my 600 series.
The 03-04 will have a NV5600 which are strong with rebuild parts available but the hard parts are a little difficult. The 555 motors have a funny injector spray pattern that limits the aftermarket parts last time I checked. Turbo aint the best but it is mechanical. 555s also have very little support from the box companies. There is however a smarty for them which seems to be about the best. As a side note the 555s got better MPG than the 600s. Comm0om Rail injectors are also expensive and alot more prone to failure. They max out at 24.5K PSI and 26k PSI on the latest motors.
A towel covers the seat in my 95 after 262,000 miles and it still beats the 04.5!!!!!!!!!

 

VP44's have been coming down in price