Truck / Trailer question?

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71dart

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Would a later 97 or newer 2 wheel drive v-6 dodge truck with auto or 5 speed tow an open trailer with a Dart on it?

Mike
 
Yep! going isn't the big concern it's stopping in an emergency. Any full size truck should do the trick. Just don't be in a hurry. I would be leary of a Dodge because their trannys are junk. Go GM! I know this is a Mopar club but nothing comes close to GM when it comes to trucks!
 
I disagree about that GM truck thing, My dodge has already drug a Chebby and a ford, The automatic trannys are not that great but I have the 5 speed and it with a granny gear first will drag just about anything.
 
BARRACUDA340S said:
Yep! going isn't the big concern it's stopping in an emergency. Any full size truck should do the trick. Just don't be in a hurry. I would be leary of a Dodge because their trannys are junk. Go GM! I know this is a Mopar club but nothing comes close to GM when it comes to trucks!
Click to expand...

WOW!! :shock: :shock:

If you are planning on doing a bit of towing I would not even consider the V-6. If you are looking for a truck as a driver and occasional hauler go with the 5.2, as long as you are looking at 2WD's. If you are doing a lot of towing or want a 4X4, better get the 5.9L.

Anybody that tells you Dodge transmissions are junk are kidding themselves. I am service manager at a Chrysler store that sells over 750 trucks a year. The main reason I see for failures are people not performing the maintenance. The tranmsmissions in these truck are no different than the they were back in the 60's and 70's except they have an overdrive unit on the end and electronic governor/ engine computer for shift control.

Make sure you find a truck with 3.90:1 gears if you are looking at 5.2L and look for the factory trailer tow that way you get all teh required components.

If you have a truck you are thinking about and don't know what the options were send me an e-mail with the last 9 digits of the VIN# and I can pull this information for you.

Hope this helps:)
 
the HD truck with the cummins did have probs with the Auto trannys thats why they only sold the HO cummins with a 6 speed, Hey six pack is chrysler still going to get that volvo tranny to go on the new cummins?? I read somewhere that they had cut a deal to have them made and replace the old ones. If that happens then there want be a truck on the market that can touch the ram.
 
The trans wasn't rated for the torque of the H.O. motor. That simple. There were a lot of owners doing upgrades to the engine for more power, so it's not rocket science why there were failures. :(


I haven't heard about a deal with Volvo. I would suspect an Allison before Volvo but you have to remember that DC owns; Freightliner,Sterling,Detroit Diesel,Mercedes. So if there were a heavier auto on the way it may come in the form of something they currently use in one of the large overland trucks.
 
If you are looking to buy I would say go with the V8, but if you have a V6 now and are only doing occasional towing it can handle it.

No offense Sixpack but I wouldn't trust any dealership (especially around here) to touch any of my vehicles. I've been trying to get my electric mirrors fixed for two years now on my 2002 Jeep, plus the tranny has been shifting and slipping for a year now, and they say they can't find a problem. The tranny even dumped about a pint of fluid on our driveway (only once) and they still say there isn't a problem. If this is the same tranny that's in the dodge trucks, I won't own one.
I have had similar situations from the Chevy, and the Volvo dealers here too.
Volvo is owned by Ford so I can't see Dodge putting a ford part in their trucks.
 
I towed with a 1995 Chevy 1500 4x4 V-6 manual for 5 years, I only went to 3 big races a year but the truck did fine.
The down falls for the V-6 are......
1. Up hill pulling
2. Short distance stopping
3. Sucks fuel like I do beer
Other then that it was fine, If you have the chance go with the V-8. But if price and todays fuel prices are a concern (for everyday driving) and you dont plan on towing your car every weekend, Go for the V-6.
 
Im glad to know other are crazy enough to tow with a V6. I have another year to go before I can sell the wifes car and buy a better truck. So for now our 4.3 liter blazer will have to do the tugging :shock:
 
as some of u might know im a big 4X4er and i beat the crap out of my ram!iv never had any probs with it or any that my dad has ownd as for GM they can suck on a log for all i care if u want good trucks GM is way far from good get a DODGE or a FORD ford has soem of the greatest trucks on the road u cant beat them, my ram pulled my moms 67' cornet like it was an ATV no probs whats so ever,its a sport 5.9 360 id go with a V8 dodge or ford NOT A GM they suck balls!
 
THEWHITEZOMBIE said:
as some of u might know im a big 4X4er and i beat the crap out of my ram!iv never had any probs with it or any that my dad has ownd as for GM they can suck on a log for all i care if u want good trucks GM is way far from good get a DODGE or a FORD ford has soem of the greatest trucks on the road u cant beat them, my ram pulled my moms 67' cornet like it was an ATV no probs whats so ever,its a sport 5.9 360 id go with a V8 dodge or ford NOT A GM they suck balls!
Click to expand...

Come on White Zombie, tell me what you really think! Thanks for all the advice everyone!! I'll stay wityh dodge and get a v-8 for sure.

Mike
 
i like GMs they hav some good stuff but when it comes to there trucks they just dont cut it if your a buig GM guy u even know what im talking about there trucks are gay even the 3500's they hav stupid motors that cant pull for a damn my moms HEMI durango could pull mor then a frigin 2500 from chebby!me and my buddy the white GMC in the mud in my site had a little race with the trucks on the way to the the muffler shop!i was in my ram with my trailer and the dart and all the crap that i had at the time a tranny and a 8 3/4 rear end for my dad he was in that little GMC thingy he has i wiped his *** bad by like 5-6 car lenght with the trailer and all my ****!now tell me ud by a GM and my truck is hella slow even by itself!sock gears and 8" of lift!SO if u get the GM more power top ya buddy just dont comin cryin cuz im gonna say i told ya so! :lol: buy a dodge or a FORD !MIKE
 
I just looked at a 2002 v-6 with a 5spd on the dodge web site and it is rated to pull 3,150lbs if that helps. :)
 
I fugured I'd start somethng posting about GM trucks! LOL But I'll bet any of you I'd out pull anyhting you can bring! and do it with out breaking! Don't ask me how I know I just do this for a living. Sure everyone makes a good truck and everyone has a good story about pulling this or that, but the bottom line is there is no truck that holds it's value better than a GM truck PERIOD and there is a reason for that. They simply RULE. Now I'm Mopar true and true but I will not kid myself when it comes to reality. You CAN'T beat a GM truck!
 
I know this a mopar site and I'm a mopar guy (have been all my life, but my wifes Blazer was a much better vehicle than the Jeep Laredo she owns now. Also, the Blazer (I hate to say) was better built and engineered than the Jeep in my opinion. We've had I say at least a 100% increase in maintainence costs with the jeep over the blazer and she had 112,000 on the blazer and only 57,000 on her Jeep to date. Hell, everythying on her Jeep just about has had to be replaced and hardly any of it was under warranty. Though we love our Jeeps, we will not likley buy another and will likely go back to the GM line when we sell thems. Given the tax situation in KS as I've noted elsewhere, we'll likely have the Jeeps till the wheels roll off though.
 
I am not on any one side or another. But my Chevy 2001HD is a piece. I have the great 6.0 Votec piston slap- carbon problem. I will never buy another Chevy. But on the other had I had a friend that had a late 90 modle Dodge 2500 with the V10 and that thing costantly had something breaking on it.
 
Well I've had my 98 Chevy 1500 W/T V6 since Oct of 97. 1.5 miles on the odometer when I got it. About a week later my wife took it in because it was pinging a little, and she was told that there was nothing they could do about it because the check engine light wasn't flashing. I have 156,000 miles on it now and it still pings, I've had to replace the computer twice ($500 ea), the O2 sensors three times (3 of them at $70 ea), Valve job because the throttle body fell apart & the engine ate a chunk of aluminum ($300), Fuel Pump ($350), the Tranny's been rattling for 70,000 miles, The cat fell apart inside (it's gutted now), the A/C compressor is shot, and now my check engine light is on again. It still looks nearly new, but it's trade in value is only $3500. I'm gonna find a nice pre-80 truck so I can afford the parts when it breaks.
 
I am a MOPAR only person. I own an auto repair business, I like Gm trucks!! THEY KEEP ME IN BUSINESS!!!!! :D :) :shock:
 
ive had pretty good luck with jeeps, only the 4.0 6cyl. ones,my v8 grand cherokee i had ran great, but would intermitenly not shift corectly, the dealer replaced the valve body multiple times due to a few recalls,never really fixed it. all the chrysler overdrive torqueflites suck, never last,always failling (mostly due to valve body problems)but the cherokee sport (the small one) never used a torqueflite behind any of the 4.0 engines.they all used a ASIN WARNER trans (jap tranny) that tranny will go for 200,000 miles most of the time without a falure.i am very suprised chrysler never used these trannys behind all the 4.0 engines.heck! the wrangler finally got overdrive as an option in 2003, before that all wranglers with automatic used the 3 speed torqueflite (i believe the 999) as for dodge trucks, i had a 2001 4wd reg. cab short bed dakota with the 4.7 v8 with a 5 speed and 9.25 rear with 3.92 gears and sure grip, and full tow package, and by 12000 miles the clutch wouldnt hold up to any trailering or abuse,unloaded it was fine, put a load on it and the pressure plate couldnt hold.dealer wouldnt fix it under warantee because it was over 1 year old and 12000 miles,they said the clutch is not covered by the full bump. to bump. warantee because its a wearing part. i understand that but it wasnt a wear problem it was a defect in the pressure plate.got rid of it and bought a 2002 chevy 1500 silverado with the ls1 and 5 speed(it didnt have the piston slap knocking problem)other than a noisy 5 speed, it was a great truck..oh yead, gm rebuilt the tranny at 20000 miles without giving me a run around..... oh yea, i didnt tow with the chevy though it was a 2wd shortbed that i lowered 4in in the rear and 3 in the front and ran a set of boyd coddington 18 in billet wheels,and a roll pan, so i didnt use it to tow...nice looking but pretty much usless as a truck.... :lol:
 
I have had 3 dodge trucks and a jeep cherokee sport. The only one I had problems with was a 90 model dodge dakota with a V^ it leaked oit from the first week i got untill I got rid of it 2 years later, the dealer put new gasgets in it 3 time never bitched or complained about it once. I have never had a problem with Chrysler the company some dealers suck but if you cal Daimler Chrysler and they are % star rated dealer they will make it right because Chrysler will bring heat on the *** i know they did here because the local dealer in El Paso Sucks. My jeep,reg cab dodge truck , my old ladys intrepid all ran good and are still running today as far as i know and My new 2500 run like a champ I sometime wish i had got the diesel but what the hell.

My last run in Saudi we had fleet vehicle NTV they were all GM Surburbans we had about 35 or 40 and not just 1 but all of them were POS I wouldnt spend the price of a match to set them, on fire they were so bad. All less that 30 K on them and at times we didnt have an operational vehicle in the fleet what a POS, i wouldnt have a GM if you gave it to me. And the stats say Ford is the #1 selling truck in the US and If I was going to buy other than a Dodge it would be a ford. Matter fact I might buy me a Ford to beat up in the woods to save the paint on the dodge this year.
 
Ok I will try to fix this debate.... If you are going to buy a Chevy you will be F#CK#D if it starts pinging (which it will). No hope no hepl from GM. Buy anything but GM unless its a Vette.
 
BOSS VEGA V8 said:
all the chrysler overdrive torqueflites suck, never last,always failling (mostly due to valve body problems)but the cherokee sport (the small one) never used a torqueflite behind any of the 4.0 engines.they all used a ASIN WARNER trans (jap tranny) that tranny will go for 200,000 miles most of the time without a falure.i am very suprised chrysler never used these trannys behind all the 4.0 engines.
Click to expand...

Don't quite know what you are trung to say here but to set the record straight the 4.0L used the Aisin-Warner trans in early models and switched to the 42RE in later years.


Hope this helps :)
 
Maybe the allison will prove to end the GM trans reputation but IMO both GM and Chrysler have had too many trans failures. There is no reason an automatic cant hold up to these trucks. The soft as mush shift the engineers shoot for is partly to blame. I worked in GM dealerships from 1978-1995 and rebuilt hundreds of transmisions. Now I work for an independent and see a lot of failures from every brand.
I bought a hile mile 93 Dodge 250 2wd with 5.9 and although I havent bought a trailure yet it feels to have the type of torque needed to get the job done.
My boss's new Ford 550 Superduty towtruck really hauls and has a new 5 speed auto that keeps it in its power band perfectly.
 
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