chevy vs. dodge

[alumi numb]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

hello there i am now pulling my larson senza 210 lx br about 5000 lbs with a gmc sierra xtra-cab 4x4 w/ 5.3L v8. I am looking at getting a different truck since this one is an 01 and its getting tired. Just wanted some opinions on an 07 dodge 1/2 ton with the hemi, compared to a gmc 1/2 with the 5.3. For the same money i get an 06 gmc w/ 40,000 miles or an 07 dodge w/ 23,000. All opinons would be greatly appreciated because right now i am leaning towards dodge

make your own choice, it's your money.
having said that i have a 04.5 dodge cummins with 80,000 miles on it now.
still have 1/2 the brake pads and best is 23 mpg, great truck.
hills just do not exist except for the annoyance of gassers.
they speed up going down hill, i don't.
they slow down going up hill, i don't.
then again nothing is made in the U.S. today so guess brand name means nothing.
the parts are all made someplace else.
my truck was built in mexico but there not built there any more.
no mexicans, they all came here.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

This GMC was a great truck. Never had any problems with it other than the costly front end parts I had to replace. Pitman arm, idler arm, rack and pinion assembly.

I call bull****. You either have the pitman arm, idler arm setup OR the rack and pinion, but not both. Sorry, maybe you mean the steering box.

However I have friends that have nothing but problems with their Dodges.
Mainly transmission and brake problems.
I have talked to a few Snow removal contractors and they tell me the newer dodge transmissions are junk so they buy a new dodge and run it until the trans goes and then throw in one of the old school transmissions

Once again, I call B.S. --People don't know what they are talking about. points;1- We never had trans problems in the trucks, it was the minivans that they were trying to use Neon transmissions in that kept breaking down. This trans worked fine in the Neons, but not in the heavier minivans.
point 2- The newer Dodge trans are computer controlled and wouldn't even run with an "old-school" trans, not to mention all the "old school" engines aren't used anymore and the newer engines have different bolt patterns.

I would find out if this dodge your looking at still has the original trans in it or if has been replaced.
If the trans is original I would keep looking.

Dude, it isn't even due for it first trans service yet....jeez..

All this being said.....I am a ceritfied Master Elite Chrylser Dodge Jeep tech. I drive a 2001 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 liter (that's 496 cubic inches) and tow a 28 foot Wellcraft Nova 3 several thousand miles each year. But that is not what you are asking, is it?

I worked on Dodges, but I love Chevy and GM. Even so, in this particular instance, for the same money, I would go with the Dodge just because it has the bigger engine. You will most likely be disappointed with the 5.3 Chevy.

Now..if it was the 6.0 you were looking at...well then it would be a no-brainer for the GM.


P.S. This was all meant light-hearted soo please don't anyone take offense. If I did offend...I apologize in advance.

 

[shonie777]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

I call bull****. You either have the pitman arm, idler arm setup OR the rack and pinion, but not both. Sorry, maybe you mean the steering box.


Once again, I call B.S. --People don't know what they are talking about. points;1- We never had trans problems in the trucks, it was the minivans that they were trying to use Neon transmissions in that kept breaking down. This trans worked fine in the Neons, but not in the heavier minivans.
point 2- The newer Dodge trans are computer controlled and wouldn't even run with an "old-school" trans, not to mention all the "old school" engines aren't used anymore and the newer engines have different bolt patterns.


Dude, it isn't even due for it first trans service yet....jeez..

All this being said.....I am a ceritfied Master Elite Chrylser Dodge Jeep tech. I drive a 2001 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 liter (that's 496 cubic inches) and tow a 28 foot Wellcraft Nova 3 several thousand miles each year. But that is not what you are asking, is it?

I worked on Dodges, but I love Chevy and GM. Even so, in this particular instance, for the same money, I would go with the Dodge just because it has the bigger engine. You will most likely be disappointed with the 5.3 Chevy.

Now..if it was the 6.0 you were looking at...well then it would be a no-brainer for the GM.


P.S. This was all meant light-hearted soo please don't anyone take offense. If I did offend...I apologize in advance.

I call bull****. You either have the pitman arm, idler arm setup OR the rack and pinion, but not both. Sorry, maybe you mean the steering box.

Call what you want. Either way, it was jacked up. No offense taken.

As far as the Dodge Tranny go. yes, there were tons of problems with them. I live here in the 4 corners area where 90% of the vehicles here are trucks. All GM, Ford, Dodge, Toys, Nissan. Mostly american trucks though. when I had my Dodge truck, I had nothing but tranny problems with it. I asked a lot of Dodge owners that had around the same year truck I had about tranny problems, and at least 50% of them had tranny problems too. I even asked the Dodge service department here about it, and they admitted (well a few mechanics did) there was problems with the truck transmissions.

When my tranny screwed up for the 4th time (stuck in 2nd gear, no reverse, only second) I drove to the GMC dealer and traded it in. I just got sick of it. Other than the tranny problem, I loved that truck. And I missed it. So I got another one.

 

[alumi numb]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

wow what did i get started here. living here in upstate ny i travel alot of hills (mountains) to get to the fingr lakes. My 01 gmc now does the job for me but at 115,000 miles going up these hills at 4000 rpm doing 25mph i'm afraid i'm going to kill this truck. That is why i was leaning towards the dodge. the hemi has alot more power and it is cheaper

man you need diesel for that, no question.
don't shy away, diesel is nothing at all like the old.
dodge/cummins or dmax both are great, mine is a 6 speed hand shaker.
stay away from ford here as i understand 50% of them end up in the shop for injectors.
they have to lift the cab to change injectors.
the cummins is so easy to work on it's not funny, tons of room under the hood.
nothing else is like that.
now the dmax will give you a better ride than the dodge for sure.
mine's 2 whl drive and rides like a sports car but handles much like one also.
would have never believed something that heavy would handle and brake that good.

 

[IVAZ]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

The company my wife works for is currently replacing their fleet of Dodge trucks. The reason is too many tranny problems. The last fleet was Ford. They are going to Chevy just because they haven?t tried it.
The trucks at my work are Chevy, Ford and Dodge. The pre 2004 F150's where solid trucks. 2004-2006 (newest Ford truck we have) are world class pieces of junk. The only trucks that have had engines replaced under 100k miles happen to be the newest ones we have, the Fords. The 4.6 is a good engine, the 5.4 is a POS.
The Dodge's here at my work all have had tranny work (six trucks). They are going to be replaced with GMC's.

Well , as long as everyone is throwing this around:
Dodge, as long as it is a Sprinter Van. IMHO

This is 100% a rebadged Merceds Benz, its a good van.


BTW, Dodge no longer builds a real Hemi. They just own the name and can call whatever they want a Hemi. The 5.7 is a semi Hemi at best.

 

[IVAZ]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

I live here in the 4 corners area where 90% of the vehicles here are trucks.

Thats weird, Texas has the most pick-up trucks per capita and we are not at 90%.

 

[Pierutrus]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

As we speak, my dakota is in the shop. Not for tranny issues but for a broken driver's side pwr window stopped raising/lowering said window.
Plus I got a check engine light about 2 weeks ago. Read the code and it turns out to be a major leak in the EVAP control system. I was going to fix the evap problem myself since it was most likely cracked hose but since it was going into the shop for the window I said screw it, fix that too.
The shop called this morning and said my extended warranty company said they would cover the window but not the evap problem. Which I figured they wouldn't. Oh well, it pull's the boat like it's not even behind it.
It's got the 5.9 in it which means, It will pass anything but a gas station.

 

[alumi numb]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

nothing out there will pull like a diesel, that's what it was made for.
biased?
yup!
just pulled the islander 500 miles at nominal highway speeds and got 20 mpg.
let's see you do that with any gas truck.
right now diesel is about 10 cents a gal cheaper than reg.
about 15% of the fuel i burn is bio.

 

[symonds86]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

nothing out there will pull like a diesel, that's what it was made for.
biased?
yup!
just pulled the islander 500 miles at nominal highway speeds and got 20 mpg.
let's see you do that with any gas truck.
right now diesel is about 10 cents a gal cheaper than reg.
about 15% of the fuel i burn is bio.

agreed %100
i got an old 87 ford 350 with a7.3 idi, i added a turbo cause that motor didnt have one till 94. i got 18mpg on my last 200 mile trip hauling 9000 lbs. i no not a big load but good for a ol truck and i don't think its figurd out my lil boat exists back ther yet lol

 

[triumphrick]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

Have you had enough yet???...

If that Dodge does not have the towing package that Hemi has a lousy torque curve that you will absolutely hate when towing at speed. Even with the o/d off, that motor and a high rear end gear will constantly downshift at the slightest incline or heavy headwind. Make sure you know what you have going in...

 

[Pontuned]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

I call bull****. You either have the pitman arm, idler arm setup OR the rack and pinion, but not both. Sorry, maybe you mean the steering box.


Once again, I call B.S. --People don't know what they are talking about. points;1- We never had trans problems in the trucks, it was the minivans that they were trying to use Neon transmissions in that kept breaking down. This trans worked fine in the Neons, but not in the heavier minivans.
point 2- The newer Dodge trans are computer controlled and wouldn't even run with an "old-school" trans, not to mention all the "old school" engines aren't used anymore and the newer engines have different bolt patterns.


Dude, it isn't even due for it first trans service yet....jeez..

All this being said.....I am a ceritfied Master Elite Chrylser Dodge Jeep tech. I drive a 2001 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 liter (that's 496 cubic inches) and tow a 28 foot Wellcraft Nova 3 several thousand miles each year. But that is not what you are asking, is it?

I worked on Dodges, but I love Chevy and GM. Even so, in this particular instance, for the same money, I would go with the Dodge just because it has the bigger engine. You will most likely be disappointed with the 5.3 Chevy.

Now..if it was the 6.0 you were looking at...well then it would be a no-brainer for the GM.


P.S. This was all meant light-hearted soo please don't anyone take offense. If I did offend...I apologize in advance.

When I read the original post I thought the same things you did about the steering assembly and the dodge transmissions.......but you stepped up and said something and I was content just snickering.

 

[Pontuned]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

When I read the original post I thought the same things you did about the steering assembly and the dodge transmissions.......but you stepped up and said something and I was content just snickering.

BTW- the 604 was originally designed for the LeBarons, Caravans and New Yorkers years before the Neon. The 670 actually holds up better in the caravans, but it has no OD. Nevertheless, they are not designed to hold up to the weight of a caravan plus the inevitable family of fatties that it will be transporting.

 

[alumi numb]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

agreed %100
i got an old 87 ford 350 with a7.3 idi, i added a turbo cause that motor didnt have one till 94. i got 18mpg on my last 200 mile trip hauling 9000 lbs. i no not a big load but good for a ol truck and i don't think its figurd out my lil boat exists back ther yet lol

i like your style and sounds like you have a nice truck.
so many people just are not aware about todays diesels and the fuel.
pretty much drive them like any other vehicle just make sure filters are changed when it's time.
with todays ultra low sulfer diesel there is little smell at all.
having said that give me the old stuff, better power and mileage.
the new dmax is an absolute rocket ship and will leave the hemi like it's standing still.
the dodge cummins is the best puller and will pull anything.
throw a smarty on it with good exhaust and intake and you have around 500hp and 700 pound feet of torque.
you could pull the titanic from the bottom of the ocean with that.
look what audi has done at Le Mans with diesel.
once you have owned a diesel that's it, your hooked.
the only thing that might change your mind is when the oil boys have a wet dream again.
they will, you can count on that.

 

[mrdancer]

Fixing Dodge tranny problems

Fixing Dodge tranny problems

I haven't kept up with what trannys they are putting in the newer Dodges, but I do know a little about the trannys they used back in the 90's. These were electronically-controlled versions of the old 727 and 904 transmissions. The 727 trannys, specifically, were direct descendants of the same tranny they used behind 426 Hemis and 440-six packs.

So, why did the trannys start failing in the newer electronically-controlled versions? Two reasons. 1) the trannys were not designed to handle the low-rpm torque of the Cummins diesel. The engine pulled heavy loads at low rpms and the tranny couldn't pump enough fluid fast enough to keep the tranny cool and well-lubricated at those low rpms, and 2) Chrysler decided to soften the shift points in the auto tranny because people were complaining that the tranny shifted too hard and drove like a truck when they wanted it to behave more like a car - so Chrysler softened the shift points and that weakened the tranny considerably.

One thing you can do the strengthen these trannys is to install an aftermarked shift kit. This will cause the transmission to shift into higher gears at higher speeds and will make it shift HARD! You would think this would be hard on the transmission, but it is actually much better for it. Not sure how these shift kits would behave with the new onboard computers that control everything in the powertrain, though...

There was also a fix for making the tranny fluid flow better and lubricate better, but I'd have to dig around a bit to find that.

Best bet is to get the manual tranny behind the Cummins, then you have no worries.

Personally, I wouldn't mind an older 90's 12-valve Cummins (better MPG and better low-speed towing capacity than the newer 24-valve Cummins, at the expense of HP) with a massaged auto tranny, or the newer 6-spd. manual behind it.

 

[Floatsum]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

For towing-
Chevies brakes suck!
Dodge will stop ya.

But I like Ford and HATE my Chevy.
Obama's rebate wouldn't apply to a tow truck for the boat.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: Fixing Dodge tranny problems

Re: Fixing Dodge tranny problems

I haven't kept up with what trannys they are putting in the newer Dodges, but I do know a little about the trannys they used back in the 90's. These were electronically-controlled versions of the old 727 and 904 transmissions. The 727 trannys, specifically, were direct descendants of the same tranny they used behind 426 Hemis and 440-six packs.

So, why did the trannys start failing in the newer electronically-controlled versions? Two reasons. 1) the trannys were not designed to handle the low-rpm torque of the Cummins diesel. The engine pulled heavy loads at low rpms and the tranny couldn't pump enough fluid fast enough to keep the tranny cool and well-lubricated at those low rpms, and 2) Chrysler decided to soften the shift points in the auto tranny because people were complaining that the tranny shifted too hard and drove like a truck when they wanted it to behave more like a car - so Chrysler softened the shift points and that weakened the tranny considerably.

One thing you can do the strengthen these trannys is to install an aftermarked shift kit. This will cause the transmission to shift into higher gears at higher speeds and will make it shift HARD! You would think this would be hard on the transmission, but it is actually much better for it. Not sure how these shift kits would behave with the new onboard computers that control everything in the powertrain, though...

There was also a fix for making the tranny fluid flow better and lubricate better, but I'd have to dig around a bit to find that.

Best bet is to get the manual tranny behind the Cummins, then you have no worries.

Personally, I wouldn't mind an older 90's 12-valve Cummins (better MPG and better low-speed towing capacity than the newer 24-valve Cummins, at the expense of HP) with a massaged auto tranny, or the newer 6-spd. manual behind it.

Listen, I have absolutely no interest in gettin in an arguement with you, but I don't mind having a nice discussion. I read your post and some of the stuff you said was close enough, but some of it is old ways of thinking and some of it just doesn't make any sense to me at all.
The 727 and 904 were the transmissions they used since the 60's and was mechanically controlled. When they added electronic controls to them in the 90's they changed the names, but basically they were the same internally, same a Chevy did with some of their transmissions. Any failures we had early on were simply due to the learning curve of the new technology and the inherent difficulty of controlling line pressure for varying loads without screwing up shift points and feel. But in the almost 20 years since, we've scrapped most of the "hybrid" transmissions and gone fully electronic control including line pressure with pulse width modulated solenoids that are capable of much more accurately balancing shift feel with load capacity, also the reason for the introduction of the "tow/haul" button which is used to change the shift strategy to favor extra pressure to the clutches to increase load capacity versus shift comfort.

Also, there is NO comparison between the old "dirty" mechanically injected 12 valve cummins which is weak as hell and the common rail 24 valve turbo cummins, in my mind. The common rail wins every time. Driven properly the common rail has hit mid-20 mpg, but it needs to be loaded down to get in it's most efficient operating range. Driving it around empty is a waste and strictly for POSERS.

 

[shonie777]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

Thats weird, Texas has the most pick-up trucks per capita and we are not at 90%.

The 4 Corners Area = The Navajo Nation in particular.

 

[Searay 150merc]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

Get the Ford dude I can get you an X-Plan

 

[buckw13]

Re: chevy vs. dodge

Well i like what i started here. if I had the money i would deffinately get a 3/4 gmc with the duramax. But since money is the issue the dodge seems to be the way to go. i Will have to check and make sure the truck has the towing package on it. Thanks for all the info and keep it coming. Haven't seen a nice ford yet

 

[alumi numb]

Re: Fixing Dodge tranny problems

Re: Fixing Dodge tranny problems

Listen, I have absolutely no interest in gettin in an arguement with you, but I don't mind having a nice discussion. I read your post and some of the stuff you said was close enough, but some of it is old ways of thinking and some of it just doesn't make any sense to me at all.
The 727 and 904 were the transmissions they used since the 60's and was mechanically controlled. When they added electronic controls to them in the 90's they changed the names, but basically they were the same internally, same a Chevy did with some of their transmissions. Any failures we had early on were simply due to the learning curve of the new technology and the inherent difficulty of controlling line pressure for varying loads without screwing up shift points and feel. But in the almost 20 years since, we've scrapped most of the "hybrid" transmissions and gone fully electronic control including line pressure with pulse width modulated solenoids that are capable of much more accurately balancing shift feel with load capacity, also the reason for the introduction of the "tow/haul" button which is used to change the shift strategy to favor extra pressure to the clutches to increase load capacity versus shift comfort.

Also, there is NO comparison between the old "dirty" mechanically injected 12 valve cummins which is weak as hell and the common rail 24 valve turbo cummins, in my mind. The common rail wins every time. Driven properly the common rail has hit mid-20 mpg, but it needs to be loaded down to get in it's most efficient operating range. Driving it around empty is a waste and strictly for POSERS.

oop, no poser here.
listening to that cummins is much like listening to a harley, it's just so da*n sweet.
don't care about public opinion. no poser.

don't walk in front of me, i don't follow.
don't walk behind me, i don't want to lead.
don't walk beside me, just leave me the h**l alone.