Newbie with cursed truck (early 04 with 05 engine?)

[APortman]

I have a 2004 Dodge 2500 that was manufactured in 04-04. i purchased the truck in 2008 with approx 86,000 miles. To make a long story short, when i was in the dealership for the check engine light coming on in 2008, a service technician informed me that my truck had a 05 325hp Cummins in it. i did not know at the time this could be a potential problem. when my truck was in that time, they ended up replacing the computer (they band-aided some not stock junk computer together. its all black and looks home made. i later found out the truck was the 2nd computer (3rd is the home made piece of junk) as well as its on the 2nd injection pump.

I found out yesterday after persistent problems that would not go away that an early 04 Dodge will not work with a 05 engine under any circumstances.

Since then i have replaced the turbo, lift pump, entire transmission, injectors, any suggestions?

 

[mikmaze]

sound to me like your dealer doesn't know squat about Dodge or Cummins for that matter, big surprise, I know.... there was a mid year engine change from the factory, its called an 04.5, it has the 325 hp rated cummins. there are thousands of these on the road today, mine being one. why on earth did they bandaid up a computer for your truck and not get a direct replacement? cp3's can go bad, that is no big shock or indication of a computer problem, most likely the lift pump died and the cp3 was wiped out as a result. as for the trans, hey, its a trans, they can go too if not taken care of, power added without upgrades....... you mention injectors, lets hope the idiots installed the correct ones when they put them in or you are just looking for more trouble down the road. Sounds to me like you should get a hold of customer service at Dodge to talk about the experience, and find another dealer, one that has a mechanic that isn't going to look for spark plugs for your Cummins.

 

[APortman]

my truck is an early 04 though, came stock with a 305hp engine. This wont matter? i agree, the problem is the engine was replaced in Sarasota, FL and i live in St. Louis, MO. My dealer in StL messed up the computer; why he didn't install the correct one your guess is as good as mine. the injectors are not stock, i hope their the correct ones. Thanks for the help.

 

[LReiff]

4-04 build date is not early '04, it's '04.5 Any 2500 built in and later than 8-04 is a '05 model year althought the 3500's carried '04 model year through 8-04. I figured all this out because I own a '04 3500 built 8-04 and my brother owned a '05 2500 built 8-04.