Current EcoDiesel Reliability?

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mike905

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From what I've gathered the first few years of the ram eco diesels were a hit or miss (engine failures etc), I heard in 2016 they tweaked some things and are now more reliable. I'm posting here to verify if that is true? the only difference I know of is the flash but I thought that was only EPA related

Any feedback is helpful as I'm thinking of purchasing one
 

MajMike

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Just bought one myself, so far so good. Try Ram1500dieselforum.com, the guys here recommended it.
 

Ramnewbie

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The only thing I know about them is the earlier models had some engine failures and they were specd for 5/30 oil. There's a tsb that says to use 5/40 oil. As far as I know the new owners manuals say 5/40 oil but I know of 2 local ram dealers that are still using 5/30 oil in them. So if you have the dealer or anyone else change you're oil make sure they're using 5/40. Pennenzoil recommends rotella 5/40 I believe it's t6, Amsoil recommends 5/40..

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oe542bob

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Many in the beginning had emission issues too. Maybe software tweaks have straightened some of this as I don’t read much about that anymore.
Oil cooler leaked engine oil into the coolant system was also a problem.
Engine problems were most of the time catastrophic. Crank main bearings usually the culprit.
When folks had any issues in the first couple of years, parts and or diagnosis of what was wrong was also written about. Problem really was it wasn’t uncommon to have trucks sitting for 4-8 weeks waiting on parts.
I think the engine oil spec change was a move in the right direction for reliability.
So it seems at this point, reliability is better than it was 3-4 years ago.
For those general ideas above, I’ve kept away from the EcoD.
 

huntergreen

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Imho, it depends on the service department. If they have a good diesel tech, not all dealers do, I wouldn't hesitate.
 

Papi4baby

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I purchased one a few months back.

2018, i have around 7300+ miles. No issues so far.

Nock on wood


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GsRAM

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Verndiesel has a 2014 I believe that went something like 374,000 miles before it had a head gasket failure. I thik last I saw he's up over 440,000 now and still going and his truck still looks great. He hauls new RVs for manufacturers. I think like anything else if you maintain it well it will give you good service. I would buy one if I was in the market for a half ton diesel.
 

tidefan1967

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Get you a GDE tune like damn near immediately after buying one and use Redline 5W40 and I'm sure you'll have similar results to Vern. Its expensive but you can turn off the EGR and cut way back on the regens not to mention a whole bunch of other stuff.
 

GsRAM

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Get you a GDE tune like damn near immediately after buying one and use Redline 5W40 and I'm sure you'll have similar results to Vern. Its expensive but you can turn off the EGR and cut way back on the regens not to mention a whole bunch of other stuff.

Agree completely with you, but Would the gde void the powertrain warranty? That would be a concern and for me personally why I'm not making any major changes till my powertrain warranty runs out. Just my .02
 

tidefan1967

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Agree completely with you, but Would the gde void the powertrain warranty? That would be a concern and for me personally why I'm not making any major changes till my powertrain warranty runs out. Just my .02
I would say its certainly possible but the gains outweigh the risks IMHO. I'm sure how friendly you are with your local dealer would have some bearing on it too. I would expect some more members to chime in on this and of course the site search function will I'm sure provide you with more information too.
 

RamNight18

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There’s been I handful of ecodiesel spinning main bearings. I had a 2016 eco with 42k trouble free miles. 24-25mpg average. I kinda miss it
 

huntergreen

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I considered an ecodiesel, but 2 issues stopped me. In 2007, jeep used a VM diesel in the liberty. Wasn't the most reliable engine. The other issue, FCA will not offer a lifetime warranty on the ecodiesel.
 

RamNight18

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I see you have a 2018 with the Hemi now. Why did you get rid of your 2016 just out of curiosity?
I was seeing to many bearing failures and trucks siting at dealerships for months waiting on back ordered replacement engines from Italy. I also got a good deal on the 18
 

Shawn226

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I’ve got a 17 eco, it’s only got 4100 miles on it so far, but haven’t seen any issues. I’m waiting on the 36,000 mi bumper to bumper warranty to be up before I delete it because the emissions system isn’t covered in the Powertrain warranty I’ve found out. Can’t wait to do it either. Chompin at the bit to add some ponies to it
 

GsRAM

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What is your city and highway mpg so far? How is it in the winter on cold mornings?
 

RamNight18

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Even though they have some issues I never once had a problem with mine and many others are happy. I did have the gde hot tune
 
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