Well im thinking about sellin my truck and goin to a Dodge Diesel. What are some things to look for or is there anything i should know and whats this i hear about a 53 drop engine or something and how ****ty they are?? HELP ME

 

If you decide to get a dodge with the Cummins, check it over real good, most of them are wore out work trucks if they are selling them

 

Whats a decent mileage amount to stay under like dont buy anything over 150K

 

The motor is good for atleast 300,000 miles if it was properly maintained..........now the tranny is a different story, the automatics will eventually die, and the manual 5 speed trannys, the overdrive gear nut falls off letting the gear fall off

 

My grandfather has a early 90s Ram (forget the exact year, but right before the body change to our 2nd gens) with the Cummins and manual 5 speed, and it has over 300,000 miles. Original tranny, original engine. And he has a fifth wheel for towing his horse trailer full of sheep, and he used to tow his motor home (when they owned one) around all over the place when he traveled.

The reason it has lasted almost 350,000 miles and is still chugging: he has taken care of it.

 

Post in the cummins section and you will get many more replies from people who know what they are talking about (no offence guys)

The "53" block is a block that was casted in brazil and has a thinner water jacket and it tends to crack. As far as mileage goes, 150,000 aint nuthin on one of these, its just broken in.

 

Something else to consider is that '98.5 was the last year of the 12v cummins. They all went to 24v after that. Which is better is one of those topics that can be argued to no end. The 12v were more mechanical, and respond well to convntional power adders. The 24v are more electronic, but respond well to todays programmers and chips. I'm personally a fan of the 12v for it's capability and simplicity, but out of the box, the 24v's make more power.

 

98 was the last year, 98.5 went to the 24 valve.

 

Ya, that's basically what I meant. The first part of '98, you could still get a 12v. The second half of 98, they were 24v.

 

Diesel hit a record high today, but you get more mpg so it pays for itself. Up to a point. 300k is not impressive to me. A properly maintained gasser can get nearly that. Someone on this fourm has 225+!