Cargun

Welcome to the club! I knew you were just delaying the inevitable with all those other vehicles

I see you scored a Laramie 'H' package with the manual shift transfer case. Well worth losing the heated seats for, I hate electronic t-cases.

I laugh at all the "I can't afford to own a diesel truck because of gas prices" excuses everytime I fill up. Last 2 tanks were 21.0 and 19.5 mpg, mostly city driving. Not bad when I consider my 4Runner gets 23mpg despite weighing 3000+ lbs less and having 1/5 the torque and 1/3 the horsepower.

And for those worried about it being an auto.... Cory and I had several therapy sessions where he went over the pros/cons of each to figure out which was best. Being on my 3rd Dodge truck and having driven a pair of d-maxes for extended periods of time, it was a debate I was very familiar with.

Cargun

Oh, and now that you got it... PM me with your address and list of parts you want.

colsoncj

Thanks Hans... will do. And yes, several "therapy" sessions later.... I'm still glad I got the auto. Now, how do you tell if its got a limited slip/locker or whatever dodge uses?

colsoncj

Also, Hans, when is broke in for the cummins in terms of mileage... and driving style while breaking in... nurse it, drive it like I stole it or some combination?

DeathCougar

iTrader: (23)

The info sticker under the hood will tell you the gear ratio and open or limited slip.

You can also call the dealer with the VIN and they can tell you.

Cargun

They use as gear driven limited slip, same operational theory as a Tru-Trac or Zexel Torsen gear drive diff. Drop the hammer on it in front of your neighbors house and see what happens Mine will start chattering if I give it a little throttle going around corners.

Cummins says not to use synthetic until it's broken in, which is 10k to 25k depending on use. Cummins says to drop the hammer on the engine from day 1. Dodge says to go easy on the rear end for 500 miles. Cummins warns if you don't 'work' the engine it will take 20k+ before it's broken in (free revving, good fuel economy, less blow by). One of the bad things about these engines is that you cannot drive them hard enough empty to do anything useful. Every day I drive my truck home from work I do a WOT run up a hill from 30mph in 4th gear until 70mph in 5th (this is a 3rd gear floored at 40mph hill for the 4Runner). And it STILL feels much better after a towing trip to get it all cleaned out.

I've seen steady mileage improvements on my 05 from new until totalled at 12.8k. My 06 is still improving with 18k on the clock, and both those trucks have at least 50% towing miles on them. Most people report fuel economy continues to improve until over 100k.

Cargun

Yeah, Dodge is easier than GM... no searching for hte G80 code or anything. Just look for 'Limited Slip' on the options code sticker. But that ain't as fun as lighting them up

Which brings me to another point. With very little weight on the rear end, 7000 lbs of truck, and 600 ft-lbs of torque, you can gently turn the rear tires in normal day to day driving. Several people have noticed it (especially with manual trannies) and I noticed I was wearing the rears off my 05 pretty fast. I'm driving the 06 more gently around town empty and the rear tires have less wear in 18k than my 05 tires did in 9.8k.

colsoncj

Sticker in the glove box doesnt say anything about a limited slip... I'm thinkin I may have an open rear.... hmmm

Cargun

That explains why that truck would spin the rear tire much more easily that others.