Which Ram Diesel to Buy? 2015 1500 vs 2014 2500

[AFMoulton]

The EcoDiesel has only had the ZF 8 spd behind them



Isn't it the Hemi that has the "ticking" problem?
There is a lot more EcoDs that are already well into the 100K, pushing 200K(several over 300K) miles than the ones you hear about blowing up.

I’ve only heard of a few EcoD’s past the 100k mark without serious issues, and those guys didn’t follow the manufactures specs for oil, they went thicker.

Yeah some Hemi’s have the tick, how many are still on the road ticking off miles?

You only ever hear bad **** on forums. Truth of the matter is, FCA pulled the EcoD from its engine line up to fix the problems it had, where as the Hemi has been a fixture in the line since it came back out in ‘03.


2018 Ram 2500 6.4L 4x4
Amsoil SS 0W-40

 

[TheEnder]

The EcoDiesel has only had the ZF 8 spd behind them



Isn't it the Hemi that has the "ticking" problem?
There is a lot more EcoDs that are already well into the 100K, pushing 200K(several over 300K) miles than the ones you hear about blowing up.

I was mainly looking at the 2500, im aware the EcoD has the ZF but the ZF is no use if the engine in front of it has catastrophically failed. I want a EcoDiesel, but a Gen 3..


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[Timsdually]

2018 Eco is no problem. Wife has it in her Grand Cherokee.
If you plan on towing, I would go 2500.

 

[indept]

I'd rather have a 2500 then a 1500 for many reasons towing just one of them. Payload, solid axle, heavier the better, stout, no ********* mds, yada yada. If I new I was going to drive my ram to the grave which might be a fact, I would have got the 2500.

You might want to find better life insurance if you have to drive yourself to your grave...

 

[andymax]

I am an eco-diesel owner, with 214,000 miles on mine with no major engine issues and, yes there are lots of us in this range. I wouldn’t be afraid of it like some are suggesting. However, given your particular situation I have to agree with a few other guys… Go get a hemi truck. Use it for a while until the economic situation improves a little bit. It will hold it’s value pretty well so you can always resell it. And for what it’s worth, I would avoid that eco-diesel that was sitting… Frankly it sounds like the price is too high considering all that is wrong with it and it’s possibility for other gremlins that you don’t know about.

 

[mccreamy]

Alright, so I had a long weekend of shopping around. Per advice, I opened up the search parameters some, including gas, and I even checked out several other brands as far as options go.

The original Ram with a Cummins I was looking at got sold before I could get out to take a look. And most everything else in that category (Ram 2500) that I can see either crazy high mileage, is rebuilt, is from 2006, or out of price range. Additionally, I had the opportunity at 2 dealerships to see the stock right after they came in, no repairs or detailing; I will just say the level of care was not inspiring of good ownership.

All the used Ecodiesels I have found have 200k miles on them, and I do not know how they were taken care of. Additionally, they are also obviously not from 2020.

I did head into several dealerships to check out the 2020 Ecodiesel and HEMI as well. It looked like an option until I discovered 0% APR and rebates could no coexist, at least at the 4 Dealerships I visited.

I looked hard online for post-2014 Ram 1500 with a Hemi, and did not see anything for under $25k, without a hefty amount of mileage.

So in the end I think I will probably go with the 2015 Ecodiesel off of my friend. Kind of hard to beat 15-17k for 89,000 miles. Other than it sitting for so long, I know he has taken great care of it and uses higher-end oil. He is very familiar with engines and used to build drag cars and works on tractors. I know he has some oil and additives he wants to show me.

I realize this model has some problems, and at some point, I may need to replace the engine and chase some electronic gremlins, this is financially doable if that needs to happen at this price; although obviously I would prefer if it did not. I would presume I could have a 2019 2nd gen put in if need be. However, I would presume at 89k this one is not one of the lemon ones.

Thanks for the advice, I will update how it turns out.

 

[RAM08110719]

I would find other options. You want to tow. So you want miles that meet age. Both trucks have lots of miles for the age. I know it goes both ways. A running engine is a happy engine. A sitting engine gets lot rot. I'm not a pro. Just an opinion. Good luck in your hunt.

 

[mjpep]

So in the end I think I will probably go with the 2015 Ecodiesel off of my friend. Kind of hard to beat 15-17k for 89,000 miles. Other than it sitting for so long, I know he has taken great care of it and uses higher-end oil. He is very familiar with engines and used to build drag cars and works on tractors. I know he has some oil and additives he wants to show me.

Find out if your friend had the AEM recall done. I did the recall and took the $3k payout. Engine performance suffered and less than 5000 miles later the engine blew. Considering it has been sitting for so long there's a change the recall was not done which might be good. There's a newer recall for the egr cooler you'll need to check for too.

edit: the engine blew at 70k miles and was replaced under warranty. the service tech told me the replacement engine was a rebuild from FCA and would have all the same issues as the original, except no warranty. I drove it for a while then traded it before the gremlins came back.

 

[mtwofeathers]

I'd be looking for a 3rd option.

These rot as they sit, and that 2015 seems to have a lot of issues for the age/mileage. Seems expensive for hail damage vehicle, et alone a mechanics special.

There are lots of reasons vehicles end up at auction that are not bad, however there are tricks that can mask serious issues for a few hundred miles. It's past RAMs designed life expectancy (they target 150,000 miles), so I'd view it as a mechanics special, expecting a lot of parts to be warn or end of life and needing to be replaced.

Looks like on Autotrader there are other 1500, 2500, and 3500 in the state that might be better starting points, some from dealers.

200,000 is not a bad thing from a million mile engine, but the rest of the truck would need looking at I think . Take it to a mechanic for a look-see. Only thing i do not like is the def, way too many issues with that system. Most of my friends have deleted the def on their trucks.

 

[mccreamy]

Find out if your friend had the AEM recall done. I did the recall and took the $3k payout. Engine performance suffered and less than 5000 miles later the engine blew. Considering it has been sitting for so long there's a change the recall was not done which might be good. There's a newer recall for the egr cooler you'll need to check for too.

He did do the AEM recall. I grabbed the truck tonight. Turns out is has 83k not 89k, so that is something. Drove it to my place which is a little over an hour and it ran fine.

Will be taking it to a Dealer tomorrow morning to have them go through it, and assess any issues.

I am thinking of getting the GDE tune done after Ram looks things over, as the warranty is about done anyway. Hoping that will help the longevity of the engine.

 

[mjpep]

He did do the AEM recall. I grabbed the truck tonight. Turns out is has 83k not 89k, so that is something. Drove it to my place which is a little over an hour and it ran fine.

Will be taking it to a Dealer tomorrow morning to have them go through it, and assess any issues.

I am thinking of getting the GDE tune done after Ram looks things over, as the warranty is about done anyway. Hoping that will help the longevity of the engine.

Good luck with it...the GDE tune would be a good idea!

 

[Mando Mark]

I had a 2015 Eco Diesel; after the emissions 'flash' it turned it into a gutless wonder. Beyond that, the Throttle Control Module would randomly fail and the EGR cooler cracked. Some of that is addressed now with the 'extended warranty' bolted on with the emissions settlement, but I'd go for the Cummins. I don't know about the transmissions on the 2500, but I swapped out me EcoDiesel for a Hemi and love it. Buddy of mine has the 2500 with the Cummins and loves that as well. JMHO, YMMV.