Stepped over to the Dark Side.. 6.4 Hemi to 6.7 Cummins

[imjustdave]

I drove my 06 450 miles home in one day, varied rpm and speed best I could. Next day hitched up 14k trailer, loaded a few 1000lbs of junk in the back seat too just under 26k lb on the scales Then drove 3300 miles cross country. Never been an issue, except the paint on the diff cover is long gone now. 130k miles now. Oh and hitch needed an upgrade for the weight. Enjoy it

[walaby]

My 2014 Ram 2500 CTD required (per owners manual) a break in prior to towing.


If you can do it, I'd follow the owners manual.


Mike

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by walaby

My 2014 Ram 2500 CTD required (per owners manual) a break in prior to towing.


If you can do it, I'd follow the owners manual.


Mike

Well per the owners manual, there is a conflict. 1 section says the 6.7 requires no break in, and that pulling a heavy load actually speeds up the process to increase performance and mileage.. Then another section says to not tow for 500 miles and then not go over 50 towing for 500 miles like my old ram said.. So those two statements conflict with one another. However the owners manual is for all Ram truck HD series and does not differentiate between the 6.4 and 6.7 in some areas..

[Iwannacamp]

Good looking truck. When I was looking I couldn't see a 6spd manual combo unless it was a cab and chassis or a gasser. Glad to see they are back.

I'll have an 05 3/4 6 spd and absolutely love the transmission. I have about 187k on the factory clutch....but I do drive like an old man. Enjoy

[ADVtraveller]

Nice truck! Diesel with manual is awesome! Congrats!

[camaro80]

Nice truck, Ron. I'm sure you're going to really enjoy it. I love my 06 Cummins but sure wish it had the 6-speed manual. With just 4 gears in the auto even in tow-haul mode it doesn't shift the way I like. My problem is that it doesn't shift down soon enough and soon the exhaust gas temps are getting too high.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by camaro80

Nice truck, Ron. I'm sure you're going to really enjoy it. I love my 06 Cummins but sure wish it had the 6-speed manual. With just 4 gears in the auto even in tow-haul mode it doesn't shift the way I like. My problem is that it doesn't shift down soon enough and soon the exhaust gas temps are getting too high.

Yea thats one thing I'm enjoying. I know my ram 2500 with the 6 speed auto would downshift sometimes a bit more than I think it needed to. I felt the engine had more lug ability in it than the tranny gave it credit for!

[ronheater70]

Well did the first tow with the camper, again, about 10K pounds and all I could say was wow.. I was actually giggling out loud pulling up the hills. Hills I was slightly losing speed on in 4th and would have needed 3rd to make any attempt really at accelerating ( with the 6.4)was handled in 5th at 2K rpms and accelerated at will. The Exhaust brake just worked flawlessly and really helped slow the rig down without touching the brakes much. If it stays reliable I will be extremely pleased.

[str8t six]

glad that you like it! did you try towing in 6th?

when i first got my truck i towed in 5th, but now i feel comfortable with it towing
in 6th. the cummins makes peak torque between 1500-1700 RPM.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by str8t six

glad that you like it! did you try towing in 6th?

when i first got my truck i towed in 5th, but now i feel comfortable with it towing
in 6th. the cummins makes peak torque between 1500-1700 RPM.

On the way home today I put it in 6th for about 20 seconds on a fairly small incline. It had no issues at all. I think in hilly terrain Ill still use 5th, but for near flat land towing like going to the beach etc.. I would feel comparable using 6th!
I think this manual tranny is geared a tad lower than the auto!

[str8t six]

Originally Posted by ronheater70

On the way home today I put it in 6th for about 20 seconds on a fairly small incline. It had no issues at all. I think in hilly terrain Ill still use 5th, but for near flat land towing like going to the beach etc.. I would feel comparable using 6th!
I think this manual tranny is geared a tad lower than the auto!

i do the same. ill lock out 6th if im going under 65.

the G56 turns about 300rpm more in 6th at 70 and 400rpm more in 5th at 60mph.

its basically like my truck if i had 4.10 gears.

[UT_Grandpa]

I have had a Dodge 2500 Cummins since 1999. It has 175,000 miles on it. Two suggestions: Subscribe to the Turbodiesel Register magazine and drive by your exhaust temperature at the turbo. If you heat it up too much it will fail. If the temps climb then downshift and back off the throttle. It will also tell you if hauling in 6th gear is OK.

My next truck is going to have an automatic for two reasons: The wife can drive it and it sucks to be stuck in stop and go freeway traffic with a manual transmission.

The automatic transmissions work great. All of those UPS semi trucks you pass on the highway are automatics.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by UT_Grandpa

I have had a Dodge 2500 Cummins since 1999. It has 175,000 miles on it. Two suggestions: Subscribe to the Turbodiesel Register magazine and drive by your exhaust temperature at the turbo. If you heat it up too much it will fail. If the temps climb then downshift and back off the throttle. It will also tell you if hauling in 6th gear is OK.

My next truck is going to have an automatic for two reasons: The wife can drive it and it sucks to be stuck in stop and go freeway traffic with a manual transmission.

The automatic transmissions work great. All of those UPS semi trucks you pass on the highway are automatics.

I fail to understand how something that is supposedly as important to monitor as EGTs on a diesel, doesn't come in a truck with a factory way to monitor them. At any rate, over at the cummins forum, most folks are saying that it IS monitored, just not visibly and it has a fail safe. But I would like to get a gauge. They say a good rule of thumb is if you cannot accelerate fairly smoothly in a gear and lugging it , then thats bad, down shift.

My wife is actually the one who wanted the manual first, we love manuals, just hardly ever see them anymore.

[Eidolon]

I have a manual in my 25YO sports car. Not even a consideration in my recent purchase of a 3500 diesel Ram. In tow/haul, it manages just fine with a 10K 5th wheel in the mountains here in CO. And yes, the exhaust brake works just fine, even on 6 and 7% grades coming back to Denver on I 70.


I think you'l really enjoy your new ride.

[mrfikser]

Originally Posted by ronheater70

Well did the first tow with the camper, again, about 10K pounds and all I could say was wow.. I was actually giggling out loud pulling up the hills. Hills I was slightly losing speed on in 4th and would have needed 3rd to make any attempt really at accelerating ( with the 6.4)was handled in 5th at 2K rpms and accelerated at will. The Exhaust brake just worked flawlessly and really helped slow the rig down without touching the brakes much. If it stays reliable I will be extremely pleased.

I don't know anything about this, so bare with me..I understand engine brakes from the old days, and without trailers...so here is my question.. do the new trucks use the trailer brakes work with engine braking...or is it just the engine slowing stuff down?

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by mrfikser

I don't know anything about this, so bare with me..I understand engine brakes from the old days, and without trailers...so here is my question.. do the new trucks use the trailer brakes work with engine braking...or is it just the engine slowing stuff down?

I'm not sure I understand your question, maybe someone with better knowledge can pipe in, But basically it has 2 settings. On and Automatic.. When its in the on position it activates any time you release the throttle for a few seconds. In Auto Mode, you must depress the brake lever to get it to activate. The trailer brakes would work with the Exhaust brake as long as you applied the brakes in a normal matter. The exhaust brake itself will not activate the trailer brakes, so without touching the brakes, yea it's just the engine slowing you down. But it works wonderfully!

[mrfikser]

Originally Posted by ronheater70

I'm not sure I understand your question, maybe someone with better knowledge can pipe in, But basically it has 2 settings. On and Automatic.. When its in the on position it activates any time you release the throttle for a few seconds. In Auto Mode, you must depress the brake lever to get it to activate. The trailer brakes would work with the Exhaust brake as long as you applied the brakes in a normal matter. The exhaust brake itself will not activate the trailer brakes, so without touching the brakes, yea it's just the engine slowing you down. But it works wonderfully!

I ask because if the engine brake does not activate the trailer brakes than if you are going down a hill the trailer is effectively pushing the truck and if the road is wet or you are going around a corner etc. you could fairly easily wind up jackknifed … I would imagine in this day and age that the new trucks apply the trailer brakes with the engine braking.. But I really don't know...which is why I ask[ed].

[ronheater70]

Well I think in general your not using the exhaust brake to stop, just slow down. There would be no issues on wet roads etc I cant imagine. I cant imagine the exhaust brake activating the trailer brakes, but not the truck brakes. Its not a replacement obviously for using brakes in tricky situations, but it really will cut down on brake wear on long descents. Also Benefits the Turbo.

[Big1]

Congrats!

[Eidolon]

On the Ram, the exhaust brake is the only thing providing the braking, unless you are also applying the brakes via the pedal as well. As for the concern about being jack-knifed, that would be very, very unlikely since you are just slowing, not stopping. Below a certain speed/RPM, the exhaust brake will cut out in any case.