Hey guys i dont know if this is the best place for this thread but ill go ahead and ask my question. I own a 2006 Duramax and im beggining to wonder if it was the right way to go. So im going to look into the dodges because i love the cummins. What are the best things about the cummins. What kind of mpgs do you guys get. What are the best upgrades that are efficient on a cummins. What kind of things need to replaced or upgraded because they fail. What part of the truck is lacking in your opinion. How much power can be help on a stock block as a daily driver. I guess i just wanna know about the cummins in general. Any opinions or advice you guys id love to hear. Oh ya and what is this best year to buy used as far as reliability, price, and power goes. Thanks.

James

 

there should be a lot of opinions on this.

 

Cummins is a damn good engine, but everything around them is junk.

 

Its hard to beat a ole' 12 valve ... definately hard to beat as far as reliability. Just remember, conversions are possible.. and a Dodge is just a shipping crate for a cummins.

 

Pro . Its a Cummins
Con . It dont fit well in your bedroom

 

There are no negatives to the cummins. 2 fewer cylinders means fewer parts. the only thing to glaringly stay away from or prepare for is the lift pump and VP on late 2nd gen trucks, and also watch the frontends especially if you plow snow. Other than that, go with a 5 or 6 speed and you will have an unbeatable combination. Everyone gripes and complains about the dodge part, but I find it MUCH easier to work on than a Ford, and even a chevy for that matter. There is a lot of room in these trucks.
I drive a Dmax and 6.0 PSD for work and my Cummins will walk all over them all day long. I realize mine is modified, but neither of my work trucks has the low end grunt like the CTD does in stock form, and they both have at least 4.10 rears, the ford I think has 4.88

 

you cant beat the 12v like said before but finding one is the problem that doesnt have 500,000 miles on em or "turned up", so i would go with 03-07 Common Rails, stay away from the new ones with all the emision crap on em. The early 24v with the vp44 arent bad trucks but the vp44 is junk and is so touchy and fragile if it runs out of fuel, you dont know when you buy one if the lift pump has gone bad and how long it has been bad so i would get a newer truck. IMO


Oh and no they will not fit in your bedroon

 

I didn't know you could use a saddle in that fashion!!!

 

There ya have it.

 

I would think about doing a conversion but i like the solid axle if i plan on doing a lift later. The IFS is nice on the chevys in stock form but when upgrading it becomes a huge hassle. I have really come to love the cummins and im gonna keep digging up info on them and really make sure i wanna switch because i dont wanna trade and be unhappy because im not satisfied. My duramax now is pretty nice and i was about to start upgrading it to make it go fast when i started researching the cummins. It seems the Duramax engine doesnt hold power over 550 very well at all. And ive heard the cummins is cheaper to mod because you dont have to do a complete rebuild on the engine just to put a turbo on with bigger injectors. I dont have the money to spend on a engine rebuild. Now im also curious about how bad the Didge part of the truck is. Is it unbearable or just rough around the edges and can be made so that it is almost nice with some help of some aftermarket mods. What do you guys think is the best year model for me and do you think its worth the trouble switching from my Duramax. My dad got me this truck so if im gonna do this its really gonna take some persuasion to let me do this and i have to be sure i wanna do this. All in all the Cummins is a Bada$$ motor and i wanna see if its a good idea to switch. Thanks for all the replies too.