Ok... well MAYBE I could afford a decal that says duramax... but howmuch weight do you think that would add??????
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All DMaxes from the LLY on were good. The LB7's had some teething issues, but they are fixable. The main gripe with the LMM and LML Dmaxes are the DPF and even heavier EGR, but delete those and the engine is otherwise excellent. The 05s had overheating issues, but that was an issue with the cooling system and the addition of cooled EGR, not the engine itself. 05 also had trans issues related to the heating issue and the HP increase with the LBZ. 6 speed Allys are better than the 5 speeds, mainly due to a revised input drum that more evenly applies pressure to the clutches.
The Cummins has always been good. 94-up 12 valves had a better injector pump (Bosch P7100, arguably the best mechanical injection pump there is), and were the best 12 valve engines made. 93-earlier Cummins used the VE pump, which while reliable aren't as tolerant of poor lubricity fuel and have more limited performance potential. They usually can do a tad better on mileage due to a variable advance mechanism that the P pump lacks. They're still solid, reliable engines. The only issue with the 12V engines was the dreaded Killer Dowel Pin. This was a pin used to align the timing cover to the case, and in rare instances it would vibrate out of it's hole and fall into the gear train, doing one of three things: If you were lucky, it bounced off the gears and fell harmlessly into the oil pan. If you were less lucky, it got shoved between the cam gear and the aluminum timing case, and you ended up with the Exxon Valdez parked in your driveway. If you were spectacularly unlucky, it got caught between the cam and injection pump gear, broke the gears, and because the cam gear breaks you end up with pistons and valves getting intimate with one another, turining your engine into 1100lbs of scrap metal. This was a rare failure, but it sucked to be you if it happened. In any case, the preventative fix is easy - take the cover off the timing case and retain the pin with a bolt-on tab or by staking it in place. When I went to do mine I found the pin had already been staked, eliminating the possibility of a KDP issue.
From mid-1998 on, Cummins went to a 24 valve head (4 valves per cylinder). Despite what many Cummins people think, this wasn't done for power, it was done for emissions. Going to 4 valves per cylinder allowed the injectors to be centered in the cylinder, the bowl to be centered in the piston, and intake airflow to be given a higher degree of swirl. While a 24V head does flow better than a 12V head, the difference isn't huge, especially considering the slow speed that a diesel operated at - multi valve engines mainly give superior breathing at high RPMs, where a diesel never operates. From mid-year 98 to 2002, the Cummins got the Bosch VP44 pump. It's an electronically contrilled rotary distributor pump, somewhat like a VE pump with electronic controls. The pump worked well, but was sensitive to being starved of fuel. Dodge used questionable lift pumps (a low pressure pump that moves fuel from the tank to the injection pump), which would fail and cause the VP44 to destroy itself. As long as a good lift pump is used, the VP44 usually lasts a reasonably long time. These engines made decent power, but ended up being overshadowed by the later common rail engines. Another issue with this generation was the "53" engines. Cummins engine blocks have numbers cast into them that vary depending on where and when they were made. The "53" blocks were cast in Brazil (as were most Cummins B and ISB blocks), and this particular run had a core shift issue that caused a thin spot in the outer water jacket bulkhead. A small percentage of these were thin enough that they would crack after many miles of use, causing a coolant leak that would progressively worsen. Only real fix was another engine (or another block). Only a few percent of the engines made in this time span were "53" blocks, and only a couple percent of the 53's would ever crack. Still, it was enough to spawn a class action lawsuit. For every story of a cracked 53 block you will find 10 guys running the snot out of them with high HP builds and no issues. Given a choice, I'd avoid buying a 53 engine... just in case. Unlike the KDP, there is no preventative fix for a defective block, and there is no way to know if a particular 53 engine is susceptible other than running it and waiting to see if you got unlucky
From 2003-up, Cummins went to a Bosch common rail injection system using the CP3 pump (same pump the DMax uses). In 07 or 08, the engine was bored and stroked to 6.7 liters, which is the current incarnation. Like the Dmax, issues with the later Cummins tend to revolve around the emissions equipment (DPF and EGR). The engines themselves are fine.
The B and ISB series of Cummins engines came/come in 6 cylinder and 4 cylinder variants. All ISB 6 cylinders used in Dodge Ram pickups are front gear train engines - that is, the gear train driving the oil pump, cam shaft, injector pump, and power steering pump is on the front of the engine. Most industrial 6 cylinder variants were rear gear train, where as its name implies the gear train is on the back of the engine. This is of particular importance to the 4 cylinder variants, as ALL of the common rail 4 cylinder ISB's are rear gear train. This is an important consideration for swappers of these engines, as it limits you to SAE bellhousings and can cause fitment issues in some cases.
The only Powerstrokes worth a crap were the old 7.3's. The 7.3, 6.0, and 6.4 Powerstrokes were built by International Truck and Engine. When used in Internationals, the 7.3 was called the T444E, and the 6.0 was called the DT365. I have heard anecdotes that the problems with the 6.0 were caused by mods that Ford insisted on, and that Internationals own DT365's didn't have the head gasket issues that plagued the Ford. No idea if this is true or not. Anyway, that was the legacy of the 6.0 - it was renowned for head gasket issues. The normal fix was ARP head studs, although how successful that fix is I don't know. I do know that keeping the engine stock helped heep the gaskets intact.
The 6.4 was only used for 2 years if I recall correctly, and didn't seem to have the HG issues of the 6.0, but it was plagued with the same DPF/EGR issues that the DMax and Cummins have to contend with (EGR was a real problem on the 6.4)
The new 6.7 may end up being as big a disaster for Ford as the 6.0. Google "Ford 6.7 dropped valve" and you will find plenty of reading where poor bastards have had their not-far-out-of-warranty 6.7 break the head off of a valve and junk the cylinder (and generally the entire engine as a result). Oops. Since DMaxs and Cummins don't have any mechanical issues, I see little reason to mess with the Ford. Or little reason to buy a new Ford truck for that matter :no:
All DMaxes from the LLY on were good. The LB7's had some teething issues, but they are fixable. The main gripe with the LMM and LML Dmaxes are the DPF and even heavier EGR, but delete those and the engine is otherwise excellent. The 05s had overheating issues, but that was an issue with the cooling system and the addition of cooled EGR, not the engine itself. 05 also had trans issues related to the heating issue and the HP increase with the LBZ. 6 speed Allys are better than the 5 speeds, mainly due to a revised input drum that more evenly applies pressure to the clutches.
The Cummins has always been good. 94-up 12 valves had a better injector pump (Bosch P7100, arguably the best mechanical injection pump there is), and were the best 12 valve engines made. 93-earlier Cummins used the VE pump, which while reliable aren't as tolerant of poor lubricity fuel and have more limited performance potential. They usually can do a tad better on mileage due to a variable advance mechanism that the P pump lacks. They're still solid, reliable engines. The only issue with the 12V engines was the dreaded Killer Dowel Pin. This was a pin used to align the timing cover to the case, and in rare instances it would vibrate out of it's hole and fall into the gear train, doing one of three things: If you were lucky, it bounced off the gears and fell harmlessly into the oil pan. If you were less lucky, it got shoved between the cam gear and the aluminum timing case, and you ended up with the Exxon Valdez parked in your driveway. If you were spectacularly unlucky, it got caught between the cam and injection pump gear, broke the gears, and because the cam gear breaks you end up with pistons and valves getting intimate with one another, turining your engine into 1100lbs of scrap metal. This was a rare failure, but it sucked to be you if it happened. In any case, the preventative fix is easy - take the cover off the timing case and retain the pin with a bolt-on tab or by staking it in place. When I went to do mine I found the pin had already been staked, eliminating the possibility of a KDP issue.
From mid-1998 on, Cummins went to a 24 valve head (4 valves per cylinder). Despite what many Cummins people think, this wasn't done for power, it was done for emissions. Going to 4 valves per cylinder allowed the injectors to be centered in the cylinder, the bowl to be centered in the piston, and intake airflow to be given a higher degree of swirl. While a 24V head does flow better than a 12V head, the difference isn't huge, especially considering the slow speed that a diesel operated at - multi valve engines mainly give superior breathing at high RPMs, where a diesel never operates. From mid-year 98 to 2002, the Cummins got the Bosch VP44 pump. It's an electronically contrilled rotary distributor pump, somewhat like a VE pump with electronic controls. The pump worked well, but was sensitive to being starved of fuel. Dodge used questionable lift pumps (a low pressure pump that moves fuel from the tank to the injection pump), which would fail and cause the VP44 to destroy itself. As long as a good lift pump is used, the VP44 usually lasts a reasonably long time. These engines made decent power, but ended up being overshadowed by the later common rail engines. Another issue with this generation was the "53" engines. Cummins engine blocks have numbers cast into them that vary depending on where and when they were made. The "53" blocks were cast in Brazil (as were most Cummins B and ISB blocks), and this particular run had a core shift issue that caused a thin spot in the outer water jacket bulkhead. A small percentage of these were thin enough that they would crack after many miles of use, causing a coolant leak that would progressively worsen. Only real fix was another engine (or another block). Only a few percent of the engines made in this time span were "53" blocks, and only a couple percent of the 53's would ever crack. Still, it was enough to spawn a class action lawsuit. For every story of a cracked 53 block you will find 10 guys running the snot out of them with high HP builds and no issues. Given a choice, I'd avoid buying a 53 engine... just in case. Unlike the KDP, there is no preventative fix for a defective block, and there is no way to know if a particular 53 engine is susceptible other than running it and waiting to see if you got unlucky
From 2003-up, Cummins went to a Bosch common rail injection system using the CP3 pump (same pump the DMax uses). In 07 or 08, the engine was bored and stroked to 6.7 liters, which is the current incarnation. Like the Dmax, issues with the later Cummins tend to revolve around the emissions equipment (DPF and EGR). The engines themselves are fine.
The B and ISB series of Cummins engines came/come in 6 cylinder and 4 cylinder variants. All ISB 6 cylinders used in Dodge Ram pickups are front gear train engines - that is, the gear train driving the oil pump, cam shaft, injector pump, and power steering pump is on the front of the engine. Most industrial 6 cylinder variants were rear gear train, where as its name implies the gear train is on the back of the engine. This is of particular importance to the 4 cylinder variants, as ALL of the common rail 4 cylinder ISB's are rear gear train. This is an important consideration for swappers of these engines, as it limits you to SAE bellhousings and can cause fitment issues in some cases.
The only Powerstrokes worth a crap were the old 7.3's. The 7.3, 6.0, and 6.4 Powerstrokes were built by International Truck and Engine. When used in Internationals, the 7.3 was called the T444E, and the 6.0 was called the DT365. I have heard anecdotes that the problems with the 6.0 were caused by mods that Ford insisted on, and that Internationals own DT365's didn't have the head gasket issues that plagued the Ford. No idea if this is true or not. Anyway, that was the legacy of the 6.0 - it was renowned for head gasket issues. The normal fix was ARP head studs, although how successful that fix is I don't know. I do know that keeping the engine stock helped heep the gaskets intact.
The 6.4 was only used for 2 years if I recall correctly, and didn't seem to have the HG issues of the 6.0, but it was plagued with the same DPF/EGR issues that the DMax and Cummins have to contend with (EGR was a real problem on the 6.4)
The new 6.7 may end up being as big a disaster for Ford as the 6.0. Google "Ford 6.7 dropped valve" and you will find plenty of reading where poor bastards have had their not-far-out-of-warranty 6.7 break the head off of a valve and junk the cylinder (and generally the entire engine as a result). Oops. Since DMaxs and Cummins don't have any mechanical issues, I see little reason to mess with the Ford. Or little reason to buy a new Ford truck for that matter :no:
But overall I do prefer the Dmax, but still like all the brands.
