A friend called me today and said he knows of a 2003 Ram for sale pretty reasonable...he wanted to know what the issues are with this year truck. I said I have no idea but I know a bunch of guys that will...so anyone wanna shoot me some opinions and issues they have so I can try to help him out? It's Cummins too btw. He's a Chev man so it'd be a hoot to see him driving that thing..I'd never let him live it down

I feel the 03 and 04 Ram/Cummins is the best two years for them and here is why.

[*]No emissions so the best fuel mileage.

[*]48-RE trans.

[*]No pump failure due to low fuel pressure like the 02 and older.

For the known issues:

[*]Fuel pump issues, will want to upgrade.

[*]Main wiring harness mounted after the tilt section can cause electrical gremlins.

Don

I feel the 03 and 04 Ram/Cummins is the best two years for them and here is why.

[*]No emissions so the best fuel mileage.

[*]48-RE trans.

[*]No pump failure due to low fuel pressure like the 02 and older.

For the known issues:

[*]Fuel pump issues, will want to upgrade.

[*]Main wiring harness mounted after the tilt section can cause electrical gremlins.

Don

Expanding known issues...

3. Injectors don't tolerate dirt and debris very well. Need a upgraded filter setup (2 micron is best).

When a injector(s) start to fail most people don't relize what is going wrong till it to late. Like most up here complain about hard starting and having to use ether to start on a warm summer day. Then find out the injectors are leaking so bad the rings and bearings are washed out. Typical blow by is so extreme that it will blow the oil cap out of your hand as you unscrew it.

As Perrysburg Dodgeboy mentions the plus of not having the VP44 failures which really is cheap compared to 6 injectors for a CR engine or even worse a full rebuild from washed out rings and bearings...

Every Cummins version has a weak spot... So what is the worse of the two evils?

03's had 3 different motor options, SO (250/460), HO (305/555), and Cali (235/460). There were some 47RE's on 03's so that's something to look at, but I think they were only on SO/Cali motors. The engine mounted lift pump is a weak design, but may already have the retro fit to the tank. The valve seats on 03-04 don't like high EGT's, just something to think about if mods are done.

And that is why you should always have an oil analysis done at least every other oil change.

Thanks for the replies fellas, but he called today to make arrangements to go look at it tomorrow, it was sold. To top it all off, the transmission went out of his Chevy this morning when going to a job with his excavator, so now he's got his truck in the garage with the tranny out, and his pocket is about to get lighter :spend:He's not a happy camper to say the least