# Thoughts On Dodge Ram 3.42:1 Rear Axle?



## Insomniak

I know, I'm crazy, but I'm frighteningly close to trading in my 14 month-old Ram 3500 for a new 2013 model with lots of improvements, bells & whistles. One area of concern though is that the new trucks are only available with a 3.42:1 rear axle unless you opt for a HEMI engine, or a dual rear wheel model. Well, I don't want either of those - I want the 6.7L Cummins diesel single rear wheel model. My current truck has a 3.73 rear axle. The new engine has 35 more horsepower for a total of 385, and torque is increased to 850 lb-ft. There is a new heavy-duty AISIN 6 speed transmission available that reportedly works much better with the engine and gives better fuel economy to boot. Do you guys think towing performance would suffer with the 3.42 rear end, or will the more powerful engine make up for the lower gearing?


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## W5CI

Be Aware that the 2013 Uses Hippy Juice. That alone is enough to turn me away.


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## Donzi-T

Insomniak said:


> I know, I'm crazy, but I'm frighteningly close to trading in my 14 month-old Ram 3500 for a new 2013 model with lots of improvements, bells & whistles. One area of concern though is that the new trucks are only available with a 3.42:1 rear axle unless you opt for a HEMI engine, or a dual rear wheel model. Well, I don't want either of those - I want the 6.7L Cummins diesel single rear wheel model. My current truck has a 3.73 rear axle. The new engine has 35 more horsepower for a total of 385, and torque is increased to 850 lb-ft. There is a new heavy-duty AISIN 6 speed transmission available that reportedly works much better with the engine and gives better fuel economy to boot. Do you guys think towing performance would suffer with the 3.42 rear end, or will the more powerful engine make up for the lower gearing?


Have you compared the gear ratio of the tranny in your existing truck with the tranny in the new model? If the newer tranny is geared lower, that would justify the change in axle ratio.


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## Insomniak

I don't know the gear ratios in the new transmission (or my current one for that matter). Test drove one today, and man, was it nice! The transmission is indeed smoother, and I couldn't get it to "clunk" when shifting from forward to reverse and vice-versa like I can on my current truck. The new dash and electronics are also really impressive. Yep, I'm aware that it uses DEF, but so do all the other offerings from Ford & GM. I actually haven't heard of people having problems with their DEF systems, so maybe it isn't such a big deal.


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## willingtonpaul

the truck is awesome, and i totally understand why you are wanting/considering to trade. i went and peeked inside and around one last week but have not driven one yet (kinda skeered, really....







). if you can afford it, do it. just make sure you are not getting beaten up too bad on your current truck. i should think the market for that truck is strong and a private sale could yield you better results, like on ebay even. and the DEF is no big deal. my truck burns so clean with no diesel smell or soot, it is wonderful.

i find it highly unlikely that you will care about the 3.42's. even a big 5'er behind you would not matter. i have the 3.55's on my ford and there is stupid power. that truck is shipping with 18" rims, right ? with 850ft lbs of rear wheel torque, you'll have no trouble at all.

the interior, electronics, power and payload made the ford head and shoulders over the RAM for 2012, IMHO. but now, the RAM is right there, and in a couple of ways much better (exhaust brake and tranny). ford will have to step up their game again if they don't want to lose share.

and if you do make the jump, i would highly advise going the edge insight route so you can monitor the truck's internals. this is especially helpful for knowing when you are regenerating and the overall status of the emissions system. it is nice to know what the truck is doing and when it starts and stops. i am not sure what the new RAM does in regards to all that, but ford pretty much keeps you in the dark, trying to make it seamless to the driver (and it is), but if you are curious as to how things work and what to know where you are you can make minor adjustments and make the system work more efficiently for potentially longer life and better mileage.


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## GlenninTexas

You can always go with a slightly smaller diameter tire, which would lower the effective ratio.

Regards, Glenn


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## outbackmac

iam looking at 1 ton dually with 4.10 gear, maybe i misunderstood ur post


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## Insomniak

outbackmac said:


> iam looking at 1 ton dually with 4.10 gear, maybe i misunderstood ur post


You can get a 3.73 or 4.1 rear end in a single rear wheel model only if it has the HEMI gas engine, but then the AISIN heavy duty transmission isn't an option, just the 66RFE trans. Dual rear wheel models only have the Cummins diesel engine. In the dual rear wheel model with AISIN or 68RFE transmission, you can get 3.42, 3.73 or 4.1 rear end. With dual rear wheels and manual transmission, you have the option of 3.42 or 3.72 rear end.


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## Insomniak

willingtonpaul said:


> the truck is awesome, and i totally understand why you are wanting/considering to trade. i went and peeked inside and around one last week but have not driven one yet (kinda skeered, really....
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ). if you can afford it, do it. just make sure you are not getting beaten up too bad on your current truck. i should think the market for that truck is strong and a private sale could yield you better results, like on ebay even. and the DEF is no big deal. my truck burns so clean with no diesel smell or soot, it is wonderful.
> 
> i find it highly unlikely that you will care about the 3.42's. even a big 5'er behind you would not matter. i have the 3.55's on my ford and there is stupid power. that truck is shipping with 18" rims, right ? with 850ft lbs of rear wheel torque, you'll have no trouble at all.
> 
> the interior, electronics, power and payload made the ford head and shoulders over the RAM for 2012, IMHO. but now, the RAM is right there, and in a couple of ways much better (exhaust brake and tranny). ford will have to step up their game again if they don't want to lose share.
> 
> and if you do make the jump, i would highly advise going the edge insight route so you can monitor the truck's internals. this is especially helpful for knowing when you are regenerating and the overall status of the emissions system. it is nice to know what the truck is doing and when it starts and stops. i am not sure what the new RAM does in regards to all that, but ford pretty much keeps you in the dark, trying to make it seamless to the driver (and it is), but if you are curious as to how things work and what to know where you are you can make minor adjustments and make the system work more efficiently for potentially longer life and better mileage.


I thought the lack of DEF would make my truck a little more desirable as well, but it seems not really. There are still some new 2012 models on dealer lots out there, and I'm being quoted trade in values with a depreciation of 23-25% in the 14 months that I've had the truck. Ouch! The dealer I'm talking turkey with doesn't have any new or used 2012's on his lot, so he's offering about $2,000 more than others. I got 60% of what I paid for my Tundra after 5 years and 40,000 miles so this resale value is quite a shocker. I tried to sell the Tundra on Autotrader and EBay, and just about all I got were spammers and scammers, very few real buyers. Never again!

The new trucks do come with 18" rims and 275/70R18 tires, so they don't look as dorkishly small like they do on my truck. The diameter of the new wheel/tire combo is 1.55" bigger than my 265/70R17's, so they've obviously done some playing around with ratios in the transmissions as well as the rear end. If there's enough power and torque, that's good enough for me.

There's all kinds of new information in the dash, and it's quite customizable - turbo boost level, temps, trailer miles towed, oil life, and more stuff I probably didn't even notice. My 2012 model will show regenerations as does the 2013, but I've actually never had my truck perform one. I drive enough freeway miles that I guess it doesn't need to.

If I'm gonna do this, it should probably be sooner rather than later, before the truck has lost 30 or 40% of it's resale value!


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## outbackmac

Thats what i said


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## willingtonpaul

well, the depreciation curve is steep at first and then really levels out, especially with a diesel. the worst is over, and now the $ relationship with time becomes much more linear. where you were at 5 yrs with the tundra is totally different than where you are now. if you keep this truck 5 yrs, you prolly (depending on the economy of course and the price of diesel) be better off.


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## CamperAndy

outbackmac said:


> iam looking at 1 ton dually with 4.10 gear, maybe i misunderstood ur post


His first post said he did not want a dualie.


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