Looking at buying a 3rd gen

J

joker9r

New member
Hello all.. I'm looking for input from some of you that own 3rd gen's. I'm a 7.3 powerstroke guy but am looking at picking up a 03 Dodge 2500 5.9. I know the engine is good but have heard conflicting stories about the trans and truck. I'm buying this truck for my pops but don't the deep pockets to blow a big wod of cash. He will be pulling a 5th wheel between MI and FL maybe once or twice a year and then normal everyday slow poking around town when not pulling the 5th wheel.

The truck I'm looking at has 210k miles and looks like its been very well cared for. From you guys that know more about these trucks than I do... whats you opinions. My thought is that with good care and maintenance and without performance upgrades I'd think another couple hundred thousand miles would be possible without any issues with the motor but I don't really know.

A few of my specific questions are... whats your experience with the transmission, about how many miles before injectors, water pump and fuel pump start acting up and reliable is the turbo. I',m just trying to get a good feel of what would be on the list of things to do and things to look at?

Thanks for any advice!
 
Common Rail fuel systems don't like America's dirty diesel fuel so a good fuel system(Airdog) with good filtration is a must. It will help the injectors and cp3 live. At 210k I would guess injectors have been changed once, but you can have them sent off and checked/balanced. The transmission could either be a 47RE or a 48RE. The 48's do ok in stock form but if it was me I would put a good valve body, Goerend or Firepunk(LAMiller) a single disc converter from Phil Taylor(Slowpoke) at Diesel Performance Converter's, and have it freshened up. It will tow a ton better with a good trans in it.
 
As far as the turbo goes it is not a bad charger in stock application. It will have 9 cm exhaust housing and they tend to get hot when towing. I would look at a small upgrade HE351 or similar. EGT's are the main cause to loosing a valve seat in these trucks. Hope this helps. Regular service goes a long way with the newer trucks.
 
I just turned 445,000 on my 03. Bone stock engine with a smarty and aftermarket lift pump. I think Trans has a single disc and valve body. I don't tow with mine so I couldn't attest to that question. Other than the basic stuff wearing out such as a ware pump, Altenater, batteries and fan clutch. I've never had any major trouble
 
Great info... thanks a bunch for your inputs. I thought the guy said it was a 03 but its actually an 05.. so I'm not sure how much a difference that would make. I'd guess the 48RE would be the newer transmission.

8 - 10k on the weight of the 5th wheel.
 
Not a whole lot of difference between an 03-05. 03-04.5 has 7 hole nozzles. 05-07 has 5 hole. 05 doesn't have an APPS like 03-04.5 does. Updated interior in 05 as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top