06 Dodge 1/2 ton 6cyl

Norgale · 10-09-2009, 02:12 PM

Hey! This is Pete from Bonita Springs,Fl. and I have this 06 Dodge half ton pickup that I really like but it gets really lousy mileage. Like 11 MPG.
I also have a R/V trailer that I live in but this engine is way too small to pull it. Would it be a big problem to change out the engine for a 5.7 Hemi? I still owe about what the trucks worth so a trade is not possible at this time. Pete

bradrhale · 10-09-2009, 03:24 PM

3500 for a used 5.7. i dont rightly know if this will bolt up to the current tranny. you would also need the ECM for the hemi also. that 6 should be getting better than that. either you are having minor engine problems or you have a leaded foot.

Norgale · 10-09-2009, 05:51 PM

I've tried driving that truck every way I can think of. The best MPG I ever got was 11.5. I do have a tool box in the back with normal tools in it that I worked with and that's it. I've had the truck serviced regularly according to the owners manual,have had it in for two recalls and have never taken it to anybody but the dealer where I bought it for service. I've complained about it to everybody who will listen and I get nothing.
As a matter of fact if you look up this truck on NADA after it gives you the price it subtracts $600 for that engine. Must be a real piece of ****.
I'm thinking that the power to weight ratio is really bad with that engine and thought maybe a bigger V=8 would do better and maybe I could pull my RV with it so i can move the h--- out of Florida.
5k for another engine is better than 25k for another truck. Pete

BernieB · 10-09-2009, 06:33 PM

I can't really comment on what might have changed in the nine years between, but my g/f's '97 Dakota, with the 3.9L V6 has never gotten less than 16 MPG, and that was when it was loaded with 2,000 lbs of gear and towing a 1,500 lb trailer over the Rockies in southern Colorado.

In your position I think I'd take a serious look at things like axle and tranny ratios, tire pressures, and start looking into chip sets and cold air intakes. There's no reason in the world, that I can think of, why a Dakota with a V6 can't get 18-20, or better, if it's tuned right and driven right.

bradrhale · 10-09-2009, 07:22 PM

not a dakota. 1/2 ton pickup. i agree that you have serious problems. my big gas drinking 360 in my 99 1/2 ton get 11.7 no matter what i do with it.
ill see what i can find for you concerning the 5.7 and replacement with. you never mentioned what tranny you have.

BernieB · 10-09-2009, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradrhale

not a dakota. 1/2 ton pickup. i agree that you have serious problems. my big gas drinking 360 in my 99 1/2 ton get 11.7 no matter what i do with it.
ill see what i can find for you concerning the 5.7 and replacement with. you never mentioned what tranny you have.

So it's a 1500 then?
I wasn't aware any of them came with a V6

bradrhale · 10-09-2009, 07:49 PM

this is what was available in the 06 ram 1500. sad that they made dakotas with bigger engines, aint it?? like putting a 460 into an omni and a 225 into a dump truck.

Engines: 5.7L V8, 4.7L V8, 8.3L V10, 3.7L V6

hotrodpc · 10-09-2009, 08:55 PM

Let me ask you a dumb question. Do you by chance have a K&N Filter on it? So many people upgrade to that so they think. My son in law did it to his Jeep 4cyl. Gas mileage was forever in the toilet. I told him over and over and over get rid of the K&N. Finally my daughter, his wife, made him listen to me. He was getting like 11-12 in a 4cyl 5speed from Abiliene to OKC. He had it to the Dodge stealerships and all. Nothing wrong with it. He complained about it again, the last time they drove it here. I told hm AGAIN, get it OUT. So my daughter made him to go his parents across town here in OKC, get the old original filter and put it back in. After they got back home, he called me estatic and said they got 19mpg which I thought was still bad. But eventually, I guess after the computer got used to the new original filter again, they are getting like 24mpg now.

hotrodpc · 10-09-2009, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradrhale

this is what was available in the 06 ram 1500. sad that they made dakotas with bigger engines, aint it?? like putting a 460 into an omni and a 225 into a dump truck.

Engines: 5.7L V8, 4.7L V8, 8.3L V10, 3.7L V6

Uhh yes sir Bradley !!! That is how Dodge does math.

bradrhale · 10-09-2009, 09:54 PM

maybe true, but the 225 in the dump truck would have outlasted anything anyone has here. a true million mile engine. a shame though that they have to come up with more cylinders just to compete with the power of a good chevy SB.

10-09-2009, 02:12 PM	#1
Norgale Full Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bonita Springs,Florida Posts: 22	06 Dodge 1/2 ton 6cyl Hey! This is Pete from Bonita Springs,Fl. and I have this 06 Dodge half ton pickup that I really like but it gets really lousy mileage. Like 11 MPG. I also have a R/V trailer that I live in but this engine is way too small to pull it. Would it be a big problem to change out the engine for a 5.7 Hemi? I still owe about what the trucks worth so a trade is not possible at this time. Pete

10-09-2009, 06:33 PM	#4
BernieB Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Posts: 1,901	I can't really comment on what might have changed in the nine years between, but my g/f's '97 Dakota, with the 3.9L V6 has never gotten less than 16 MPG, and that was when it was loaded with 2,000 lbs of gear and towing a 1,500 lb trailer over the Rockies in southern Colorado. In your position I think I'd take a serious look at things like axle and tranny ratios, tire pressures, and start looking into chip sets and cold air intakes. There's no reason in the world, that I can think of, why a Dakota with a V6 can't get 18-20, or better, if it's tuned right and driven right. __________________ If the guys who design 'em had to take one home, use it every day for 2 years, and do all the maint and repairs themselves, cars would have a button on the dash to change the oil, filters & plugs.

10-09-2009, 08:55 PM	#8
hotrodpc Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: OKC, OK Posts: 3,145	Let me ask you a dumb question. Do you by chance have a K&N Filter on it? So many people upgrade to that so they think. My son in law did it to his Jeep 4cyl. Gas mileage was forever in the toilet. I told him over and over and over get rid of the K&N. Finally my daughter, his wife, made him listen to me. He was getting like 11-12 in a 4cyl 5speed from Abiliene to OKC. He had it to the Dodge stealerships and all. Nothing wrong with it. He complained about it again, the last time they drove it here. I told hm AGAIN, get it OUT. So my daughter made him to go his parents across town here in OKC, get the old original filter and put it back in. After they got back home, he called me estatic and said they got 19mpg which I thought was still bad. But eventually, I guess after the computer got used to the new original filter again, they are getting like 24mpg now. __________________ *Winners NEVER Quit , Quitters NEVER Win !!!*

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10-09-2009, 03:24 PM	#2
bradrhale Senior Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,014	3500 for a used 5.7. i dont rightly know if this will bolt up to the current tranny. you would also need the ECM for the hemi also. that 6 should be getting better than that. either you are having minor engine problems or you have a leaded foot.

10-09-2009, 05:51 PM	#3
Norgale Full Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bonita Springs,Florida Posts: 22	I've tried driving that truck every way I can think of. The best MPG I ever got was 11.5. I do have a tool box in the back with normal tools in it that I worked with and that's it. I've had the truck serviced regularly according to the owners manual,have had it in for two recalls and have never taken it to anybody but the dealer where I bought it for service. I've complained about it to everybody who will listen and I get nothing. As a matter of fact if you look up this truck on NADA after it gives you the price it subtracts $600 for that engine. Must be a real piece of ****. I'm thinking that the power to weight ratio is really bad with that engine and thought maybe a bigger V=8 would do better and maybe I could pull my RV with it so i can move the h--- out of Florida. 5k for another engine is better than 25k for another truck. Pete

10-09-2009, 07:22 PM	#5
bradrhale Senior Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,014	not a dakota. 1/2 ton pickup. i agree that you have serious problems. my big gas drinking 360 in my 99 1/2 ton get 11.7 no matter what i do with it. ill see what i can find for you concerning the 5.7 and replacement with. you never mentioned what tranny you have.

10-09-2009, 07:49 PM	#7
bradrhale Senior Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,014	this is what was available in the 06 ram 1500. sad that they made dakotas with bigger engines, aint it?? like putting a 460 into an omni and a 225 into a dump truck. Engines: 5.7L V8, 4.7L V8, 8.3L V10, 3.7L V6

10-09-2009, 09:54 PM	#10
bradrhale Senior Moderator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 8,014	maybe true, but the 225 in the dump truck would have outlasted anything anyone has here. a true million mile engine. a shame though that they have to come up with more cylinders just to compete with the power of a good chevy SB.