New Ram Cummins owner, tips and advice

[bbaley]

Hi all,
Just moved over here - from the Dodge/Dakota forum and world,
as I just traded my 2000 Dakota in today for a Ram 2500 with Cummins 6.7L.

I was hoping those of you with experience with this year/package/model/engine/etc. could highlight some of the do's and dont's - for overall health, performance, longevity, mpg, et al.

I'm a first time Diesel truck owner (5x gasoline truck owner, 25yrs), so other than "don't run it out of fuel and don't put gas in it" I'd greatly appreciate any advice and perspective you have on maintenance, performance, etc.

the new rig (to me) is a 2009 2500 SLT, quad cab, 4x4, 6 speed auto, short bed, 49k miles on it.

4" lift.
(kind of tall... wonder how expensive to drop it down a tad?)

Also, I tow a 19' Travel Trailer (<4000 lbs) when camping.

Cheers and thanks in advance for any guidance !

 

[Trupiano]

Welcome to the diesel community and welcome to Ramforum!

The cummins is a pretty proven engine, and a 2009 with only 49K miles is a great investment!

Keep up with the oil changes and interval maintenance like any normal vehicle and it should last a lifetime.

Lots of guys delete the emissions stuff and tune them for big power, plenty better mpg's, and it's actually better for engine longevity as it's cleaner and less restrictive. Only thing you have to be careful about is if you live in an inspection/smog state or county.

Any pics?

 

[bbaley]

deletes (emissions/BlueTec)

no smog here for me for diesel>8500lbs.... it's new so I guess deleting the emissions stuff voiding warranty isn't an issue for me... I'll look into it!

only one photo so far...

 

[Burla]

Register at Turbo Diesel Registry (TDR), this is a great website but those guys live and breath everything Cummins.

Look into some additives, when the gov't took the sulfur out of diesel your engine will benefit from extra lubricity.

One of the best things you can do for your truck is get a Amsoil bypass filter, you can go in the neighborhood of 30k miles w/o oil changes and you engine will be just fine.

If you get a tuner, you need gauges especially exhaust temps, guys usually run them on driver door frame.

It is a good thing to run your tank real low too, diesel is not like gas it is dirty and prone to get water in it. usually not a problem unless it builds up, there are additives to help with this too.

Drove a Cummins for 9 years professionally, and had a 2001 Ram Cummins, great engines, simply the best you can get. There is more effort and knowledge needed in maintaining them compared to gasers, but it is way worth it.

 

[Etroze86]

Man wonder if I wash my 1500 with miricle grow it'll turn into a 2500 like everyone else is getting on the forum lol. I can't speak for the newer ones but my fathers 5.9 is approching 300K and only things that have went bad are wheel bearings and ball joints. Like Burla said keep good oil in it and you won't have a problem with longevity.