1993 Dodge Diesel

I have been looking at a pickup to pull my 28 foot trailer. I have borrowed my brother in laws 96 Dodge diesel and love the way it pulls and it has a 5 speed. I have the opportunity to buy a one owner local 1993 Dodge Diesel club cab 3/4 ton with 110,000 miles for 5,000.00 but it has automatic, Wondering from your guys experience, what are the pros and cons of this 93 vs my brother in laws 96. Any and all comments will be very much appreciated.

I know a guy that bought a 93 3/4 ton new...it has the manual 5-speed trans..still runs great..don"t think he ever had a problem with it..a little rust...don"t know about the auto trans..but that 6 cylinder cummins will run forever.

I've always had Dodges since the early 70's. Can't remember when they changed the transmissions over, but if it's still got the bands in it, just get them adjusted every 60,000 miles or so and no problems. Don't know if I got a bad one, but I lost second gear in my '96 1 ton dually No bands to adjust) that was at about 113000 miles.

I spent months searching for a 93 or older Dodge Cummins with a 5 speed. I would not want an automatic. Not too many 5 speeds out there. Never saw one sell for less than $4500. Finally bought a Ford gas for 1800.

I have a 98 dodge one ton dually with auto in it. its been apart, if you don't ride it to hard in the heat it will be fine. my trany man says the clutch and trany repair is about the same. Auto is nice I would rather stick but there arnt to many I pull 30 foot gooseneck trailer. don't do any hot roding . gets almost 10 mpg.love the cummins 150000 miles I just had valves adj runs good, starts out slow but up to speed want slow down.

Sammy Here in Texas Heat is our main concern on automatics Trannys! in the past GM trucks and Suburbans were and still notorious for eating trannys! any and All auto Do Not have enough cooling capacity. ADD An Auxiliary Tranny cooler! Biggest Baddest one you can find! On GMs it is best to cut Loose the radiator cooler from the system Plug the holes with a 3/8 pipe plug put the Aux. Cooler in front of the radiator and you should be good to go. I cant Imagine it being any different on a Dodge or Ford.
Have it serviced first add the cooler. Kansas get Dam hot in the summer too so that should help and promote Tranny longevity!
Hope this Helps!
Later,
John A.

I have a 1990 Dodge Diesel 5 sp I bought new. It has over 400K on it now. The manual transmission had one synchronizer put in at about 250K. I love how it pulls a load. I still drive it when I am by myself hauling anything heavy.

A good friend had a 1993 with an automatic transmission. It was a dog compared to mine. At one time we had identical trailers. We loaded them the same and I could walk all over him while loaded. Also at about every 100-120K he had to spend a few grand on the transmission.

The price on the truck your looking at is a fair price but go and drive the truck an see how you like it. I have always thought that the early Dodge Diesel with automatics where dogs when pulling.

the guys are right in telling you that a trans cooler is better than the factory..but the bigger prob is the torque converter..dodge has had problems with them in the diesels and the new ones are still like that...the other thing to watch for is I don't think the early '93 had the overdrive trans yet..it will be a 518 if it is an overdrive or if not a 727..both good but the non overdrive will burn fuel...the 96 also by nature of the diff injection pump will make more (non tuned) hp...the 93 might also have the bigger housing turbo..21cm like the 92 and wont spool as quickly (96 had 16 cm housing)..93 turn sharp to left ..not very sharp to the right..a bummer with an extended cab and trailer..93 has dana 70 rearend and 96 has dana 80..lots of diff in the two trucks..93 was last year for that style truck..model was changed in 94..hope this helps a little

Whoever told you there was no adjusting in the transmission was trying to sell you a rebuild. THe 46rh, 47rh/re, and 48re are all a 727 with an overdrive bolted to the back. And real easy to adjust the bands on. Clean the adjusters up, one is external above the shift linkage, the other is internal, takes a 5/16 inch 8-point socket, and a torque wrench that will read 6 ft-lb, or 72 in-lb. Once the torque is reached, back one off 2 turns, the other 2 1/2. and lock them down. Done.

All automatic-equipped Cummins trucks left the factory with an oil-to-water heat exchanger for the transmission fluid. Don't remove it, you won't be able to go anywhere without overheating the transmission.

i have a 2002 with a five speed if you want something a little newer

89-91, all Cummins with automatics came with the 727 and 3.07-geared Dana 71 rear/61 front (4wd) axles, no intercooler.
91.5-93, A727 dropped in favor of the A518 transmission, essentially a 727 with OD bolted in place of a tailhousing. 3.07 differential gears were dropped for 3.54's and 4.10's, but kept on as an option for 5-speed trucks.
Also included an intercooler behind the new-for-91 grill, and smaller fuel injectors. The KSB (timing advance/cold start aid) changed in how it functioned. Otherwise the pumps are the same VE44 Bosch. Very tuna-able for fuel mileage.

The transmission is capable of towing, adjust the bands, increase the line pressure, and put a Goerend or ATS converter in it. There's a guy out of Minnesota that tows a large 5th wheel camper and a boat behind that. Goerend built him a torque converter that's tight enough he can engine brake through it.

My short list of mods if I was buying one to tow:
366 (3200 RPM) governor spring
M&H timing spacer (more advance at top end without advancing timing at low RPM)
fuel pressure gauge (doesn't need to be seen from inside, can stay underhood)
trans temp gauge
torque converter (AVOID DTT!!!!!!! LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!)
headlights on relays
trailer marker lights on a relay (all power to lights goes through the headlight switch in stock form and has caused fires over the years)

Many engine parts can be sourced through Case.
Go through MOPAR for the fan clutch and Cummins for oil pressure sending unit, temp sending unit, water pump, gaskets, etc.
Go to the

I still use a 1992 4WD, 5.9 intercooled, extended cab with 3.50 axles and 5 speed Getrag trans. I once borrowed a 93 with 2WD, standard cab, 5.9 and auto trans. The latter truck was lower and lighter then mine but a dog compared to mine. My 1994 Ford with a 7.3 turbo is also a dog compared to my 92 Dodge - but at least the Ford is the same size and weight. The Ford is 4WD, extended cab, 7.3 IDI turbo, 4.10 axles and E40D auto trans. You'd think with the 4.10s it would be a better pulley then my Dodge with the 3.5 axles - but nope.

I've got 260,000 miles on my 1992 with no break-downs. Just routine maintenance. A pin broke in the shifter once. Timing advance got a little weak in the injection pump. The only slight draw-back is the "missing" gear. There is a big gap between two of the gears and it's really noticed when pulling a load up hills. Between 3rd and 4th as I recall. But my memory might be off.

I have a Dodge 93 W 350,Cummins,5 spd.,ext cab,8 ft. bed dually,4wd.Bought new.Only Chrysler product I've ever owned,but I love it.No problems,except for some rust,wouldn't trade it heads-up for a new one.

A 93 with only 110000? Wouldn't drag my feet too long or it'll be gone, especially if it's a 4x4. The transmission/torque converter is definitely the weak spot. The bright side is if it takes a crap, and it hasn't been done already, there's plenty of places out there that beef them up and make them close to indestructible. I had a 91 and sold it to my brother with around 250000 on it. That was a manual 4x4. Still pulled like a mule and ran great. Didn't have an easy life either. Most of those miles were spent dragging a trailer around. My biggest gripe about that truck was the seat. Made my back hurt on a long trip. That might just be because it was getting wore out. Kind of miss it actually. I had a 97 also. Don't really have an exact reason, both were good trucks, but I liked the older one better.

Grab it!!!!

I have one and am not impressed yes 5 speed and 1 ton. It runs ok but has the power of a sewing machine and travles at the same speed!!!! About the equivlent to me as a truck made in the 1950"S!!!! They are durable but full of the chrysler quirks!!!!! Will do what you want it to do. For the record i would not want another!!!!! I do think the later ones are better.

The auto of that vintage will have 20-30 less HP and if it's a 4WD with the solid Dana axle.... it will ride like a lumber wagon and that's putting it politely. If it's a 2WD it won't be too bad.
Lot of money for a truck that old in my opinion. The 96 is a lot better truck.

Rod

T. "In Auto Trannys...Heat Is Not Your Friend!" An aux Cooler IN ADDITION to whatever is OEM when the truck left the Build Line IS NOT A BAD THING!
You totally misread what I said, I didn't say to not ave any cooler just get a better one than the OEM factory one in the radiator.
When an Auto tranny is called on Hard!.... A big heavy loaded trailer in hills,fighting a 35MPH head wind, multiple shifts, WILL generate a Lot of Heat! One needs to get rid of as much heat as possible, as Fast as possible the little cooler in the radiator just won't always cut the Mustard!
Later,
John A.
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* PS My example about GM trannys on P-ups & Suburbans the Heat band /range between operating temp and Cooking the oil in the tranny was Waaay too narrow, Wife and I had and older Suburban w/ R700 tranny started having indication of tranny just not right. I bought the largest, biggest cooler I could get, cut loose the Radiator cooler from the system, used the Aux cooler only ran the tranny to 240 K mileage before it finely let go. Thousands of GMs here in Texas got rebuilt in the 60 to 120 K range if Heavy town driving or towing occurred!
jas

Several guys in my area are running Dodges of that vintage in farming operations. Generally the manuals hold up better (with the exception of the 5th gear lock nut loosening, easy fix) than the autos in comparable use. Suggest going to dieseltruckresource.com (Dodge diesel site) for lots more input.

I sold my 96 4x4, ex cab, long bed 5speed last fall for 9000. 125k on the clock and not a scratch or chip in the paint. Garaged most all days and nights since new.

Don't know about the 03-up, but all Cummins trucks up til 02 had a oil-to-water heat exchanger, and that was it. There was an additional cooler with an electric fan available 89-93, that bolted up under the bed, but there was no cooler in the radiator on them.

The exchanger bolts to the side of the block below the turbo.

The 5th gear nut is in the NV4500, from 94-02.