Ram is dropping the EcoDiesel engine from the 1500, with the final truck to be made in January 2023. The option was first made in 2014, and upgraded for durability in the 2020 Ram 1500.
The VM diesel engine, a 3.0 liter V6, brought Ram 1500 the highest half-ton diesel torque rating and towing capability, and was the first to exceed a thousand miles of driving range.
The diesel will essentially be replaced by a battery-electric truck in 2024 along with other electric vehicles. Cummins diesels, which run up to 1,075 lb-ft of torque in heavy-duty Rams, are not affected by this move; the Cummins-equipped Ram 3500 has a towing capacity of up to 37,090 pounds with a payload of up to 7,680 pounds.
It’s being replaced with a GME 3.0 I6. Ford already quit their 3.0 diesel. GM just updated their 3.0 diesel. How popular is 3.0 diesels? How practical are they when COST and MAINTENANCE are considered? Direct injection and turbos put gasoline engines closer in line with diesel engines, narrowing the “gap”.
Things like this signal other things. Like if the EcoDiesel is being dropped in the Ram, it’s being dropped completely. So 2024 brings the 3.0 GME for Ram, but what about Jeep? Is the Gladiator/Wrangler getting the 3.0 GME or is the 2.0 GME “4XE” replacing the EcoDiesel? The Gladiator won’t have but one engine option in 2024 if the EcoDiesel dies, and 2024 is the refresh year for the Gladiator anyway. So the Gladiator is getting something new in 2024. I know the Wrangler is the same thing, but all I care about is the Gladiator refresh because I may get one.
Emissions regs are killing light duty diesels. That’s about the sum of it.
It is interesting that GM seems to still be putting money into the half ton diesels.
At the current state of EV batteries, it’s a bit of a stretch to claim “The diesel will essentially be replaced by a battery-electric truck in 2024…”. Especially for towing.
This news makes me a little sad, but I’m hoping it will increase the value of my 2020 Ecodiesel.
On paper, the specs of the 3.0 L are 260 hp & 480 lb-ft of torque. In comparison, the 2.0 L 4XE hybrid power train produces 375 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque, numbers that nearly equal the 5.7 L Hemi in horsepower and trounce the Hemi in torque and are only 10 lb-ft shy of the torque figures of the diesel. While it is yet to be seen what this kind of power train will do in a truck based vehicle, it’s numbers indicate that it should be able to tow on-par with the diesel with more overall power than a Hemi truck. We know the numbers for the 3.0L Hurricane family of engines (at least two of them) and being that they’re already in the STLA frame platform, we know what they’re specs will be when it comes to towing, power, etc, based off of the numbers of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. Last week’s Jeep presentation pretty much let us know that the brand is already developing a Hybrid variant of the Hurricane-6 power trains so we know that we are going to see the Ram 1500 receive substantial gains in efficiency, horsepower, torque and towing capacity. I would also expect to see the 3.0L Hurricane HO replace the 6.4L Hemi in the HD pickup trucks. I wouldn’t be surprised to see variations of hybrid technology from both Cummins and Allison coming into play very soon as both companies are making more and more hybrid pieces for various power trains.
Now that’s a comment.
How can I upgrade my 2015 ecodiesel to get those types of gains? Right now my truck is rated at 420 lbs of torque and 240 hp.
Both Dodge and GM are shutting the small diesel engines down. To me it’s a big mistake. There the most dependable engines you can put in a half-ton.