I'm looking at getting my first Dodge diesel truck, I'm looking at an 02 or 03 3500 DRW, what was the difference between the 5.9's in those years?? Is the 03 Common Rail better?
Any Suggestions

Thanks  

Automatic or manual trans? I think the '03s had a little more power.  

Automatic,2WD  

If you can find an 04.5 that will fit your budget I would recommend that...Check the tag on the side of the engine, its should have a 600 for the torque rating...if you can find a 6spd. you would be better off. If you don't do alot of towing an auto trans would work. I am a firm believer that the 600 5.9 Cummins is the best one they have ever made to date for a truck.  

Get the CR 5.9 04.5 and up. But what are your plans for this truck? racing, towing, daily driving?  

I have to agree with these guys, the '04.5 or newer is going to be a better choice.  Most of the 2003's are the 250hp standard output and you'll feel the difference once you start towing.  I just traded my '03 in on a new '08, and bought an '06 for my wife.  The '06 has a noticable difference in power compared to the '03 ..... from taking off from the line all the way through needing to pass someone on the freeway.


Kris  

Just a truck for the weekends, not a daily driver.
Want a cool truck, put some Big Rig 22.5's on it, minor mods,nothing extreme.Just want a reliable truck,doesn't need high horsepower.  

If you're gonna throw on some bigger wheels/rubber then I would steer clear of the '03.  The TC in them were on the weak side (experienced it firthand) and you're going to need it to put all that torque to the ground to get those big wheels moving.  Plus you're going to need to swap the rears on it to something more than what Dodge offered (3.73's and 4.10's were the most common factory options) and turning 22's you're looking at rears with a gear ratio around 4.56 or more, otherwise you're putting alot of strain on the tranny.


Kris  

Thanks for the info,
Are the 22.5's a good way to go??They look great on these trucks, I've seen a few running around town.So you would recommend 4.10's to 4.56's to keep the truck accelerating a good pace.Are they worth it or they bog the truck down to much??  

yeah id go with 4.56s cause like said above they are alot more mass being pushed.  

If you don't swap out your gears to a better ratio your truck will struggle to get off the line and cause some serious issues with your tranny .... as in burn it up.

The 22.5's do look good and really give the Dodge the true "big rig" look, but do it the right way.  I'd hate to see you HAVE to buy a new transmission for your weekend toy.



Kris  

good point, better to spend up front ,rather than wait until you fry the trans.Do you think with the 36" tall tires and say 4.56's it will totally kill the MPG??  

ya you are gonna be lookin at horrible mileage with the 4.56 gears alone.. but if you dont plan on driving it on long road trips it shouldnt break ya that bad. for just a weekend warrior. usually with 4.10's youd be ranging around 13-16mpg so you can imagine what stepping up to 4.56's would do.  

do you think I could get by with 4.10's??or would it put to much strain on trans?Even with the increased diameter of the tires shouldn't my MPG on the highway be okay?  

you could get away with 4.10s for a short time, your better off going with 4.56s