Some members of the TDR who are commercial users have run their Dodges to 400-500 K miles with no major repairs. That's far beyond what the "Built Ford Tough" Ford or Chevy can do on one engine.

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'83 300D, 126K miles.

Seen some 7.3 and 6.0 Powerstrokes and Duramaxes also make to that mileage on their original engines....


A few of the gents on the Duramax forum I am on have made it to that mileage with a set of injectors and a water pump!


There is a guy with 965k on his Duramax, and all he did was a built transmission at 500k, a new set of injectors at 600k, and a water pump just after the injectors!

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

I'm willing to bet that most of them live outside of the rust belt. Don't get me wrong...I love Dodge trucks, but they attract Kmart rash as bad as the Chevy's of the 80's

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Found out today that the IFS on my Duramax is going to need a complete rebuild sometime in the next year or two.

Priced things out and all the needed parts are going to costs ~600-700.

Decided to finally pull the trigger and do the SAS conversion.

I've sourced an 05 Dodge 2500 front axle locally for pretty cheap, and am going to call/order up more parts tomorrow. I've calculated the cost to come out somewhere around $1500 for the conversion, so it's not too terrible!

Hoping to get the ball rolling on the conversion this next weekend - most of the parts are coming from a local shop (Ruff-Stuff) which specializes in carrying parts needed to build anything you can imagine.

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

JP, what's Kmart rash?

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I used to be a firm believer in straight axles. However, even the military is going to IFS on most things. You do lose a bit of simplicity and some articulation on the really rough stuff, but IFS is much better on road and comparable off road until you get into some pretty hardcore trails. It kind of depends on the use you have intended.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

How bad can ifs be? G wagen uses it.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I borrowed a friend's 2005 Duramax 3/4 ton truck. It was the first time I have driven a Chevy newer than our 1992 3500 truck. Pulling a trailer, the Chevy drives way, way better than my other friend's 3/4 ton Dodge (both are 4WD). The Chevy also pulls a trailer almost as well as my wife's 2WD F350.

If you intend to go off-roading where articulation is needed, I'd suggest that your truck is not the best choice. For just about all other purposes, I say keep the IFS. It's one of the best features of that truck.

IMHO.

What you really need it a G can with a 606 in it. Or a SBC, depending on your preferences

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

Meh! Women are expensive too! In the long run, you are probably ahead financially doing what you are currently doing!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car