thinking about dropping the duramax for a cummins

sparepartsracing

sparepartsracing

spareparts offroad&fab
Mar 17, 2010
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well im considering swapping over to cummins i have 2 of them currently and a third on the way..and idk i just like the way they are honestly there all 24v's, i just dont know the truck im switching over to is a 3500hd its slow as balls compared to my duramax but that isnt fast either which is where my hesitation for the switch comes from...im having my dually repainted along with new dually fenders sence my workers love to break them apart....i know im on the wront site but if i could get the cummins to the power lvl of my duramax i think i would be okay with it....my trucks are

2004 duramax 2500hd srw-ppe hot+2-stock tranny, lift pump 402hp.almost 700tq(weak cp3)
2001 dodge 3500drw-bone stock extended cab
2001 dodge 2500srw-remote start
 
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bluessmax

bluessmax

Tabasco Injected!
Nov 4, 2010
1,143
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Lake Charles, la
Man I think if you get a reputable tuner to dial in the Dmax the way your wanted you would be well satisfied. The Dmax has a smoother ride and is built better. The cummins is a great motor but the Dmax, in my opinion, is just a all around better option. Again, I think if you had it dialed in to a "T" you would be extremely happy with it. Not just talking speed wise but all around.
 
sparepartsracing

sparepartsracing

spareparts offroad&fab
Mar 17, 2010
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it has nothing to do with motors or anything of the sort i dont want to deal with the hassel of converting the duramax to a dually and i dont want to have payments for a duramax dually to be honest and most of the chevy duallys selling here are alot of buck and not much bang..
 
sparepartsracing

sparepartsracing

spareparts offroad&fab
Mar 17, 2010
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ok you guys are assholes...IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY INFO TO POST...DONT

thanks bluessmax my biggest deal is the dually..
 
J

J Spruill

bringer of truth
Mar 30, 2008
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although i think the 24 valve cummins are great trucks and tow well,if your not getting a cr dodge you will be going so far backwards with towing abilitly it wont be feasable. if you are talking cr you can make the dmax power relativley easy and the tranny isnt to bad to fix to hold moderate hp for any dodge...
 
J

jlawles2

Well-known member
Jan 28, 2010
1,057
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48
Danbury, TX
Either way you go, there are upgrades out there.

With the Cummins, you can fire ring the heads and add head studs which will hold up to a lot of boost. There are several custom tuners out there that can write tunes for the Cummins.

I am guessing that you are wanting to upgrade to a dually for towing 5th wheel trailers and heavy tongue pulls. Tune for Tune, either is acceptable. The new Cummins sucks diesel just as bad or worse than the duramax's before the Urea system. The extra shot of diesel after combustion is killer on both fuel economy and on oil changes. IIRC the Dmax and Pstroke were both going about 7,500 miles before excessive fuel contamination into the oil. Since there are less cylinders, the fuel contamination on the newer dodges may not be an issue.

If you are looking at the 24v 5.9's then, go for it. If the 04 dmax is paid off, keep driving that one as well. Just remember, one that is paid off makes money every month. That is why I keep driving mine. I could afford a new one and would really like to have a new Denali, but why when what I have is paid off.

Look around the junk yards, You can probably find a wrecked dually Dmax (or a gasser) cheap and spend a couple of days swapping parts. The bed should be a drop on item, and the rear axle assembly I don't know about. Probably just a leaf swap and axle end assemblies with hats. If you find a dually on the yard somewhere, you can probably make a swap for some of your stuff, then have the axle rebuilt so that it will be a quick swap.

If everything is ready, meaning that the axle is ready to drop in, and the bed is ready to go on already painted, then I can see where 2 semi skilled mechanics could make the swap in 1 day or less. With the use of a lift, 1 person could probably make the swap in 6 hrs or less.

Hate to loose anyone to another brand, but if making the swap at least it is not to a Ford. You know what you need. Also, having a fleet of the same motors makes it easier to work on one when they do break down. Regular maintenance parts are easier to stock, and you do not need to be extremely specific when asking help to grab a filter or something for you off the shelf.

That is my $0.02 on it. Whatever you do, don't stop visiting the board just because you no longer drive a Dmax.
 
sparepartsracing

sparepartsracing

spareparts offroad&fab
Mar 17, 2010
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yeah thanks guys i appreciate the info..im a little confused tho i have a 2000 3500 cummins 24v dually...im not buying another truck just prob taking the cummins and make the duramax just a work truck....im just wondering on getting some power out of it not a 12 second truck(im done with that crap) because right now i can get passed by a grandma in one of those electric wheel chairs off a light:rofl:
 
Big Block 88

Big Block 88

Multiple choice muscle
Nov 3, 2008
4,665
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Kansas when I am home
Well maybe you should upgrade your tuning? 402 on a stock tranny is not that great... My 07 put down the numbers in my signature, which aren't that impressive but I'm certainly not slow by any means. I love the Cummins but the peace of shit truck around the motor are a joke. Not to mentiopn the VP issues will drive a man to madness if you don't put a decent lift pump on it. Even with a lift pump it is a crap shoot on how long it will last
 
ripmf666

ripmf666

Active member
Sep 20, 2006
15,123
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Wentzville Mo
I have a 2002 3500HD dually that my buddy will sell all the parts off of it to make your truck a dually. Its located just outside wilmington De a few miles from the Delaware/NJ bridge off 295.
 
sparepartsracing

sparepartsracing

spareparts offroad&fab
Mar 17, 2010
773
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Big Block 88 said:
Well maybe you should upgrade your tuning? 402 on a stock tranny is not that great... My 07 put down the numbers in my signature, which aren't that impressive but I'm certainly not slow by any means. I love the Cummins but the peace of shit truck around the motor are a joke. Not to mentiopn the VP issues will drive a man to madness if you don't put a decent lift pump on it. Even with a lift pump it is a crap shoot on how long it will last
Click to expand...

i just replaced the pump....ouch$$ yeah my tunes suck idk...i might just sell the duramax and drive the dually stock and buy another toy..honestly i dont care much anymore about performance
 
custom8726

custom8726

Active member
Feb 25, 2008
2,784
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Upstate N.Y
ripmf666 said:
I have a 2002 3500HD dually that my buddy will sell all the parts off of it to make your truck a dually. Its located just outside wilmington De a few miles from the Delaware/NJ bridge off 295.
Click to expand...

I already offered that option last week, as I have all the parts sitting at my shop a short distant's from him;) I say if you like the Dodge's, by all means get rid of the D-max and get another one. I like my Duramax way better then my old cummins or any other Diesel I ever owned, but to each there own.
 
Akdiesel

Akdiesel

IFS Hater
Aug 23, 2009
2,213
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Fairbanks
If you already have a dually what's the point of another? Also Cummins are great work trucks and if that's all you are using it for why's it need a lot of power?
 
sparepartsracing

sparepartsracing

spareparts offroad&fab
Mar 17, 2010
773
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i wasnt buying another one sorry for the confusion...my question was could i get the cummins to make the power of the duramax without costing more than like 5g's
 
BombDocDiesel

BombDocDiesel

Army Bomb Squad
May 20, 2009
368
0
0
Belcamp, MD
Look at the sig. On the stock motor and turbo with just an Adrenaline it put down 400/900. I'm working out electrical gremlins to run it for it's worth right now. 500+/1100+ shouldn't be a problem. I'm being pretty conservative. All of the upgrades cost me around $3K but I did some shopping to do that. My turbo was half of the upgrade cost. Your transmission will the biggest problem.
 
sparepartsracing

sparepartsracing

spareparts offroad&fab
Mar 17, 2010
773
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yeah thanks for all the good info...sorry for even bringing this up guys i honestly don't know wth i want to do...im in the middle of building my offroading truck...winters here just panicing about getting everything ready for snow..i shouldnt even have brought it across my mind....i honestly just dont know what i want anymore...im 20 yrs old and have been able to buy anything i wanted pretty much..so i dont know anymore....i said i have been able to buy not my parents
 
Akdiesel

Akdiesel

IFS Hater
Aug 23, 2009
2,213
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Fairbanks
No need to be defensive...I've grown up around Cummins but only went Duramax cause I always had Chevy gassers and I'm still happy with my paid off LLY. It's my DD not a work truck. If I was looking for a work truck I'd go Cummins or 7.3
 
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