Anybody done a fair amount of heavy pulling do they hold up ok? I know if you are doing serious pulling regularly to get a diesel just asking. I have not seen many complaints as to the transmission or rear end on this site.
HEMI_ROM
07-24-2009, 09:55 AM
My 04 Hemi QC and my 09 RC have seen some fairly heavy duty use. I definitely do not "baby" it on the street and have towed 5000lbs+ all over the mountains in CO. Never a hic up, both tranny's worked flawlessly.
wyat72
07-24-2009, 04:11 PM
Any thing more then 6 or 7k just get a HD. It is dangerous to pull more then that with a halfer.
VernL
07-24-2009, 05:52 PM
Dangerous? Meaning brakes & tires? Dodge says the RC Hemi with 3.92s is good to 9,100 lbs. I don't plan on that just asking if the trans and rears have held up. Not sure how long they have been putting the 5 speed in trucks.
bob1340
07-24-2009, 06:35 PM
Dangerous? Meaning brakes & tires? Dodge says the RC Hemi with 3.92s is good to 9,100 lbs. I don't plan on that just asking if the trans and rears have held up. Not sure how long they have been putting the 5 speed in trucks.
In '02 they put the first version which was the 45RFE. In '03 they started to use the 545RFE trans. As far as I know it has a very good track record. Most 3/4 ton Dodge trucks you see also use this trans, but in the last couple years they have made available a more heavy duty auto trans. The 9.25 rear axle assemble has been around for decades with huge success. If you have a '02-'06 LSD 9.25 you can expect troubles. The keepers called "clips" are famous for popping out and causing the differential to fail. I personally don't know anyone who had an LSD '02/'03 that has not had the differential fail due to the keepers falling out. No recalls but tey did put out a TSB which dictated a change in oil type. They honored a lot of warranty work on this, but when repaired they just put the same crap back in. Once you get past '05 models you see less and less LSD axles.
HemiNator
07-25-2009, 02:45 AM
Please tell me it's stronger than the POS 46RH I have in my '01.
hounddogg
07-25-2009, 07:25 PM
I asked a few techs at different dealers when I was shopping.Ones I talked to said they hadn't seen the insides of to many of 545RFE.Now I also was reading a few posts in the 3rd gen forum on this site.The ones hot rodding them are seeing 2nd gear prime? tearing up.The posts I read it sounded like they were pretty rough on them(trans).On another forum(oil/lube) a guy just posted he picked up a 08 Quad SLT Hemi 2wd with 188k off a dealer.Said it runs and drives great and you'd never know it had that kind of miles on it..Said it needs nothing.
VernL
07-25-2009, 07:31 PM
How do you get 188,000 miles on a 2008 truck? It can't be 2 years old yet.
HemiNator
07-25-2009, 09:19 PM
That's about 300 miles/day give or take. The previous owner must have had a bitch of a commute.
wyat72
07-26-2009, 06:34 AM
With my post it was regarding the truck being able to handle (emergency situations, or high wind situations and such) with that kind of load behind it. The truck may be rated to pull 9100lbs, and may not break anything towing that much, but by no means does that mean you should pull that much. IMO the only time a person should tow near a vehicles limits is a short distance. With light to no traffic around you, and during good weather, anything else just makes the person look stupid in my eyes.
As for your question about the Tranny and axel. It will handle that weight with ease. Like others have said the 5-45 RFE has been in the trucks since 03 and is in many HD trucks. The axel may be a little weaker but 3.92 should be able to handle 9100 without a problem. I bet it can go to 10,500 without too many troubles.
hounddogg
07-26-2009, 07:08 AM
Edmund's tow test said.The Dodge was rated to tow the least of the trucks tested.Ford rated 11k plus,Gm 10500,Toyota 10500.BUT it toed the test trailer which was 6500lbs THE BEST.Not miles ahead of the others but they(Edmund's)said the Dodge handled and pulled that 6500 lbs BETTER then the others.They even commented about the coil springs handling the tongue weight as well as the leaf spring trucks.
VernL
07-26-2009, 02:57 PM
I googled edmunds truck comparisons and found the link. Great article I thought. They were very complimentary of the coil link suspension as well as the engine and interior. I agree I think we have the best 1500 series truck on the market. Although now that chevy has unleased the 403HP/417TQ 6.2 I would like to see Dodge send the Hemi out the door as a 6.4.
hounddogg
07-26-2009, 04:09 PM
I could not find a 6.2 at a GM store when I was shopping.In fact the sales folks did not know it existed and I had to show them in their own brochures.In the brochures it listed the 6.0 with a higher tow rating then the 6.2.Not sure the reason behind that.Buddy of mine is kinda shopping trucks and he said he could not find a 6.2 either.That was a few days ago.
VernL
07-26-2009, 10:21 PM
Yea pretty much the only way to get one is to order it and then it has to be on the expensive LTZ with 3.73s. You can get a hemi in anything even a base ST and with 3.21, 3.55, or 3.92s.
wyat72
07-27-2009, 05:57 AM
The 6.2 was only offered with 3.42s until this year. Now it has a 3.73 option and it has upped the towing to equal the 6 i believe.
buckmann686
08-03-2009, 01:26 PM
I got 72,000 miles on my old 05 with the 3.92 anti spin diff with no problems.
