At 09:34 2/5/99 -0500, you wrote:
>The discussion of what makes a good tow vehicle is a little like why there are so
>many flavors of ice cream- variety in needs and perceived value. The Dodge 2500
>4x4 Cummins is a good vehicle, but having had my autotrans
>replaced/repaired/etc. too many times I must conclude that it is not adequate.
>Nothing like being stranded in Grand Prarie, SK for a week waiting for a new
>trans to make you wonder about "value engineering". Probably related to the
>question of adequate oil flow/cooling in overdrive- but the dealers certainly
>never said this was the problem.

When you check the specs on the Dodge you will notice that the horsepower and torque is less with the auto transmission. The logical conclusion is that Dodge did not feel it was up to the taskand detuned the engine. I have talked to at least one transport driver that had his engine "turned up" and
had so much transmission trouble that he had it retuned to original spec. One needs to keep in mind of course that these guys have many hundreds of thousands of miles on their vehicles and engineering improvements are constantly being made. I understand there is an aux. cooler for this transmission that mounts under the floor and has its own fan.

Lest you think I am knocking the auto, there has also been a problem with 5th gear in the NV 4500 manual. Basically a large nut would work loose allowing the fifth gear to slip down the main shaft. It was not disabling but did put the top gear out of commission. There is a service bulletin (21-10-98) relating to this problem and it may be cured now, but it has been a fairly common occurence. This transmission is used in a number of vehicles, including some by GM but has only showed up on the Dodge diesel.

In my case the fix is in the truck but I normally use the overdrive in the gear vendors unit to be on the safe side. Running empty double overdrive keeps the RPM at 1600 at 70 mph and it is hard to stay with the speed limit.

Interestingly I have not talked to anyone who has had significant engine problems with these trucks and i have the chance to question many high mileage users.

Anyone considering the Dodge Diesel should subscribe to the Turbo Diesel Register also as it is a good source of quality information regarding these vehicles They do have web site . Don't have the URL handy but I think there is a link from <www.cummins.com.>

For whatever it's worth, the Ford Power Stroke users also seem to be well satisfied and don't seem to be having as many transmission problems.

Ray ,
When you refer to Cummins dealerships are you actually taking the truck to a Cummins shop as apposed to the Chrysler dealer? I haven't required service yet but would be good to know.
Rick Davis 1602
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