Half-ton pickup redux

[begreen]

All of the newer pickups have sad wimpy rear gear ratios. 3.23 is standard on Dodge’s most popular package (Big Horn) highway queens, and Chevy and Ford are very similar. I had to search long and hard to find one with 3.93 gears and the other options I was seeking.

My old trucks were all 3.93 - 4.11, and I just don’t like the way the lower ratio rears drive. I’m only doing 5k miles per year on that truck, so MPG isn’t even a consideration.

3.73 is common with the trailer tow pkg on Fords. I haven't felt underpowered even with a full load going up through a mountain pass.

 

[jwfirebird]

ford see to have that issue with everything, all there cars and trucks are over complicated so they can say they have the newest technology, they dont take the time to research the life of it though so nothing but recalls for fires and wires harnesses.

they had all the spark plug issues we had explorers and expeditions at work all kind if issues. the thing would take off some times and almost hit some one that was on top of the chance of fire in the dash if you want to use your cruise.

have to have special tools to do just about anything really on the trucks

 

[Ashful]

3.73 is common with the trailer tow pkg on Fords. I haven't felt underpowered even with a full load going up through a mountain pass.

3.73 is better than what I’ve been seeing on most 2015 and up trucks. Really, with the 8 speed tranny’s, it’s not an issue of power, but of driving personality. I want to feel those shifts, and the 3.23’s and the like almost drive like a CVT.

 

[jwfirebird]

ive read the are better if you get it tuned or get something you can change trans parameters with, people complain they don't hold the gear the wont either, sucks towing

 

[Ashful]

ive read the are better if you get it tuned or get something you can change trans parameters with, people complain they don't hold the gear the wont either, sucks towing

True, but any trans tuning voids your warranty, which might be 7+ years and 70,000 miles, on some new vehicles. Just not worth the risk/headache, esp. in light of some of the troubles others have had when installing these.

The current truck is the only auto I’ve owned in a truck in 20+ years, but the up-shift and down-shift points seem pretty good with the 3.92 gears. There is a “tow/haul” button, that when engaged, delays all of the up-shifts and is more aggressive on down-shifting when decelerating. In other words, in a way that anyone used to driving old big displacement vehicles would be fond of.

I have the same transmission in my car, but with programmable shift points and selectable shift personalities. In Track mode, it feels like someone kicking you in the pants, each time it shifts. I was looking for some of the same in my truck, which is why I had such distaste for the 3.23 gears.

 

[jwfirebird]

if you have the program yourself like hpt you can back anytime. just holding the gear would be worth it to me,, thing I hate the most about normal autos.another reason I got the year I did I don't like the multi gear crap and all the extra nonsense
what I did to my firebird, its auto in d but stays there in 2 or 1 if you are going to blow the engine or not. hate when cars decide for you

 

[Ashful]

if you have the program yourself like hpt you can back anytime. just holding the gear would be worth it to me,, thing I hate the most about normal autos.another reason I got the year I did I don't like the multi gear crap and all the extra nonsense
what I did to my firebird, its auto in d but stays there in 2 or 1 if you are going to blow the engine or not. hate when cars decide for you

I’ve had manual valve body cars and trucks, and my car can be set to manual, using stick or paddle shifters. Cool and fun for muscle cars, but a waste in a pickup. The only thing I dislike about the auto in the truck is bad weather driving.

 

[blades]

Even more fun with auto sensing 4wd- I can't lock it on or off, just does it's own thing ( 2016 Escape) Worked well enough on the ice covered roads last week. This whole 4k # vs 8k# pound vehicle change for daily driving is still some what new to me. ( ain't used to dragging my butt on the ground.)
Main thing though is the volume of go juice is 50%or better less/ week.

 

[begreen]

ive read the are better if you get it tuned or get something you can change trans parameters with, people complain they don't hold the gear the wont either, sucks towing

Don't most trucks with a camper package have a tow/haul switch that changes the upshift/downshift points? Our 2001 Dodge and 2013Ford have this. The Ford also has manual override on the transmission if you want to hold it in a gear.

 

[jwfirebird]

only familiar with the chevy ones but its annoying to me(holds it way too long in all the chevs I have driven) in tow haul whether I am hauling my 33 ft camper or anything else really, holds the gear way to long, ive got a loud muffler too makes it worse but I don't use it. my ave shifts quick in normal. I'm not sure if it has been programed, I have driven a few other aves, they had 3.54s but this feels quite different, and came with a bunch of other aftermarket stuff so I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[jwfirebird]

I’ve had manual valve body cars and trucks, and my car can be set to manual, using stick or paddle shifters. Cool and fun for muscle cars, but a waste in a pickup. The only thing I dislike about the auto in the truck is bad weather driving.

90 percent of my use in a pickup is towing, I wish since I cant get a manual, it would just stay in the gear I said, really nice towing big stuff down the highway and what I miss most about the man trucks I had

 

[blades]

Tow haul ford- been in my trucks since 99 likely before, keeps it out of overdrive, never really noticed it staying in a gear longer, could be . the ones I have used for heavy towing had pretty tall gears close to 4 or like my old 99 f350 4.77. 2 f250's currently gasser at 3.73 (5.4) diesel at 3.5 (6.0). gasser maxs out at 14 mpg no load , 6.0 15mpg with a full load at highway speeds 65-70 mph ( this one is slightly modded epa wise)

 

[Ashful]

Even more fun with auto sensing 4wd- I can't lock it on or off, just does it's own thing ( 2016 Escape) Worked well enough on the ice covered roads last week. This whole 4k # vs 8k# pound vehicle change for daily driving is still some what new to me. ( ain't used to dragging my butt on the ground.)
Main thing though is the volume of go juice is 50%or better less/ week.

Mine only has old school 4wd lock, but most of the Dodge pickups now have an auto 4wd setting that I think I’d like for driving on half-plowed roads. I find myself constantly engaging and disengaging 4wd as I traverse from cleanly plowed to drifted over road surfaces. I didn’t mind it much when I had a transfer case shift lever to pull, but it’s a major PITA with this push button crap on the dash.

 

[bholler]

I have driven a few vehicles with auto settings on 4wd and i was not impressed. I found they took to long to engage. It is nowhere near as good as a true awd system. My wife now has an escape and unless it is really deep snow it will embarass my 4wds.

 

[WiscWoody]

I got my ‘78 F-150 back on the road today after resting it for the long winter up here. I’ve had the truck for 8 years now and I didn’t pay much for it, well....$1000. It has the 300/6 engine and the B/W T18 granny gear transmission and is a reliable old truck. I pull my lawn care (mower) trailer with it all summer.

 

[4fire]

really 2000 and later are the worst, I know a ton of pre 2000 ones that lasted forever, my dadsidea of an oil change is wait till its down a quart. still see it around though he bought a newer chevy because of the rust.
I know probably a dozen people that have bought a post 2000 1500 ram and had all sorts of issues, the fuse boxes are stupid design and they wont change it because its a grand in the dealers pocket every time. the wheels have fallen off all of the people I knows too, I had the pleasure of trying to fix one the hub plus axle, caliper, bracket everything gets destroyed and dodge parts are twice as much as chevy ones

3 guys at work bought Dodges with the 4.7 and they all crapped the bed.
A Durango that lost oil pressure going across a long bridge with nowhere to pull over and seized.
A Dakota that intermittently lost oil pressure on a hunting trip. It limped back to town and the dealer took it on trade even with the knocking sound. It was traded in on a 2500 diesel that needs regular front end rebuilds.
A 1500 that was taken back as a lemon. The dealer kept chasing rattles in the engine and took it back when they found nuts and bolts in the bottom of the oil pan.

A friend just traded in his 2500 last week because it kept eating front ends and steering boxes.

 

[Medic21]

3 guys at work bought Dodges with the 4.7 and they all crapped the bed.
A Durango that lost oil pressure going across a long bridge with nowhere to pull over and seized.
A Dakota that intermittently lost oil pressure on a hunting trip. It limped back to town and the dealer took it on trade even with the knocking sound. It was traded in on a 2500 diesel that needs regular front end rebuilds.
A 1500 that was taken back as a lemon. The dealer kept chasing rattles in the engine and took it back when they found nuts and bolts in the bottom of the oil pan.

A friend just traded in his 2500 last week because it kept eating front ends and steering boxes.

In 6 years and two RAMs i have driven 70,000 miles with zero repairs.

In the last month in my shop I've put a camshaft and lifters in a GM 5.3 @ 60k miles, VERY common problem. I've replaced a 4.2l in an envoy for a engine knock. I've replace a set of turbos on a 3.5 ecoboost, also a VERY common problem. I've also done a set of cam phasers on a 5.4L. I stock the cam phasers if that tells you anything about how common that is. I run the shop part time outside my full time Paramedic job.

My point is all manufacturers have common problems and issues. When I worked in the dealerships I did warranty work everyday on heavy engine and transmission work. They all break.

 

[blades]

Got a call last night about 6pm, my 6.0 went south. Lost power on freeway and no restart no smoke of any kind that the driver noticed and no check eng lite- so thinking fuel system - common problem here is the fuel control module. ( xxxx computer controls) or could be low pressure tank pump. course there is always the simple plugged fuel filter, If i remember correctly there is more than one. Not sure on the 6.0 but the 7.3 would do this with a bad crank sensor. Not much I can do,it is out at a shop in the hinter land right now. it would have been mega dollars to tow back to my own shop . As it was I put about 200 miles on last night chasing around in my Escape. So that puts both trucks out of commission the other is waiting on trany lines that rotted out. Salt in the wound- the V10 I sold last fall is running fine, normal for me. ( must be some kind of virus) almost forgot came back to my shop to get friends 150- yep dead battery and I had changed jackets forgot the shop keys cables and charger in shop, of course. ( we need the gif of head banging on wall here)

 

[Ashful]

3 guys at work bought Dodges with the 4.7 and they all crapped the bed.
A Durango that lost oil pressure going across a long bridge with nowhere to pull over and seized.
A Dakota that intermittently lost oil pressure on a hunting trip. It limped back to town and the dealer took it on trade even with the knocking sound. It was traded in on a 2500 diesel that needs regular front end rebuilds.
A 1500 that was taken back as a lemon. The dealer kept chasing rattles in the engine and took it back when they found nuts and bolts in the bottom of the oil pan.

A friend just traded in his 2500 last week because it kept eating front ends and steering boxes.

Wow. I had a 4.7L Dodge for 12 years, and not a single repair in that time. Only sold it because it was starting to get some rust in the rear fenders after 12 years of bad weather driving, sitting outdoors, and never washing it. Your friends do know that you need to change the oil in theses things?

 

[Medic21]

Got a call last night about 6pm, my 6.0 went south. Lost power on freeway and no restart no smoke of any kind that the driver noticed and no check eng lite- so thinking fuel system - common problem here is the fuel control module. ( xxxx computer controls) or could be low pressure tank pump. course there is always the simple plugged fuel filter, If i remember correctly there is more than one. Not sure on the 6.0 but the 7.3 would do this with a bad crank sensor. Not much I can do,it is out at a shop in the hinter land right now. it would have been mega dollars to tow back to my own shop . As it was I put about 200 miles on last night chasing around in my Escape. So that puts both trucks out of commission the other is waiting on trany lines that rotted out. Salt in the wound- the V10 I sold last fall is running fine, normal for me. ( must be some kind of virus)

Most likely FICM. If you look hard enough on the internet you can find out how to replace the rectifiers in it for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

 

[Ashful]

I have driven a few vehicles with auto settings on 4wd and i was not impressed. I found they took to long to engage. It is nowhere near as good as a true awd system.

Good info, now I don’t feel as bad about skipping that option. It wasn’t available on the package that had the heavy duty rear springs and 3.92 rear, for whatever reason.

I My wife now has an escape and unless it is really deep snow it will embarass my 4wds.

We’ve had an Audi Quattro, a Jaguar X-Type, two Mercedes 4-Matic, and one Volvo AWD. They will all embarrass every 4wd truck on this forum, for on-road driving in the snow, unless there’s more than a foot unplowed on the road (which basically never happens here). I hear the Subaru AWDs are the same, actually probably better than the Jag or Volvo. There is just no beating a good AWD system, on the road... but they can’t tow my trailer.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

My point is all manufacturers have common problems and issues. When I worked in the dealerships I did warranty work everyday on heavy engine and transmission work. They all break.

So true. The thing i like about my GM trucks is when they do break (not very often) parts are cheap and readily available. Mostly GM products for my extended family,very few problems or complaints. Also have a dodge truck for 15 years. Very few repairs. In the market for a new or almost new Silverado this summer. It does help to keep them maintained well.

 

[blades]

i will look into the ficm rectifier suggestion. Couple hours back looked up the problem- after 3 pages i booked marked it for later reference. long and short of it,pick your poison to start with and good luck. I've danced to that tune before. 200k + miles any of the suggestions are valid. It is possible there might be code/s in the ecm. No tools with me last night. Had to get it off the freeway by that time it was 0darkthirty.

 

[bholler]

So true. The thing i like about my GM trucks is when they do break (not very often) parts are cheap and readily available. Mostly GM products for my extended family,very few problems or complaints. Also have a dodge truck for 15 years. Very few repairs. In the market for a new or almost new Silverado this summer. It does help to keep them maintained well.

I have had bad vehicles from all 3 american companies. Bad transmissions and differentials from dodge. Bad electrical and rust issues from gm. Never had major problems with and ford trucks but filed a lemon law suit for a mercury sable. The eorst vehicle i have owned is between a 3/4 ton dodge van that sable or my current trailblazer. Our current chevy 2500 has been great mechanically but has rust issues and has had electrical problems as well

 

[bholler]

So true. The thing i like about my GM trucks is when they do break (not very often) parts are cheap and readily available. Mostly GM products for my extended family,very few problems or complaints. Also have a dodge truck for 15 years. Very few repairs. In the market for a new or almost new Silverado this summer. It does help to keep them maintained well.

I also dont find gm parts any cheaper than ford or dodge at all honestly.