Hi,

I am finally able to purchase my first Diesel. Any information you can provide regarding the following would be GREATLY appreciated...

I need the following-3/4 ton, 4x4, diesel, extended cab, long bed
My wife wants 3500 with dual rear wheels (it appears the one ton 4x4 sits lower than the 3/4 does (she's vertically challenged) and it looks prettier...

My concerns are the following

12 vs 24 valve motor
any issues for specific years
how close the private party price follows KBB
any years better than others'
what to look for when buying (I will have a reliabe shop do a pre purchase)

Thanks again for your time,
Paul

 

12 valve motor is more reliable. The lift pumps last forever. They are also MUCH less dependant on electronics. They are however harder to mod if that's one thing you are interested in.

24 valve motors are almost completely dependant on electronics, but MUCH easier to modify for extra power. Their lift pumps however are HORRIBLE. They often fail on people in the worst of places. They also have issues with some of the blocks that were cast in Brazil. They were cast incorrectly and tend to crack & fail. It can be fixed if caught early enough, but a new block is required if you don't.

98.5 was when they switched to 24 valve. The incorrectly cast block was used from 98.5 to early 00 if I remember correctly. Generally, the newer the truck...the more power it makes, as they bumped it up a little almost every year.

Can't tell you anything on the price.

Like all 2nd generation Rams, the automatic transmissions are suspect. The unit that the V10/CTD uses is beefier than what the gassers got, but it can still fail on you. If it ever does, www.dieseltrans.com should be your ONLY stop for a replacement.

Also, be weary of higher mileage trucks. YES, the motors last forever. BUT, the truck is still the same one they stuffed the V10 in...and very similar to the one they stuffed the V8s in. It will wear just like any of those trucks. The front end tends to wear much faster than gas equipped trucks, because of the 900lb motor over the front axle.

I don't tend to recommend people to other forums...unless it's diesel related. www.dieseltruckresource.com as a WEALTH of info about anything and everything CTD related. It would be a good idea to check out what they've got. I've found so much useful info there, and I don't even have a diesel truck. The 3/4 ton and 1 ton truck info carries over to my V10

 

Like ROm said, lift pumps and 53 blocks= $$$

 

When buying a used diesel, along with any other vehicle. Think what the previous owner bought it for. If you pull up to the place where its for sale and see a bent to hell 30 foot gooseneck trailer in the yard, and the truck has a hitch, you got to wonder what was pulling the trailer.

Most people, well 99% by a diesel to work, and work them they do. Its very rare to find one that is driven to and from town to get groceries.

Up here when buying a diesel, you can almost guarentee the truck has seen the oil patch.

Look for wear on the drivers seat on the edge, worn steering wheel, buttons on the radio, etc. They are the true tellers of milage. Low miles on a truck now a days dont mean anything.

Good luck with your search

[&:]

 

The lift pumps go out very easily on the 2nd generation diesels. Once the lift pump goes the $1300 injector pump isn't far behind because the injector pump is lubricated by the fuel that is delivered by the lift pump. All together you'll spend about $2k fixing pumps in a short amount of time. If you install a fuel pressure gauge and monitor it closely, you can catch the lift pump going out on you before it ruins your $1300 injector pump. I got lucky and so far I've gone about 8k miles since the lift pump went out on me and the injector pump is still working. If you don't monitor the fuel pressure it is a crap shoot as to when it will go out. Usually when you are putting a big load on the truck, like towing a trailer.

Also the 2500, 3500 4x4 have a lot of problems in the front end because of the extra weight of the Cummins turbo diesel engine and the 4x4 tranny. I've got 149k on my truck now and I wil be putting my 3rd trac bar on in a few days. I had to replace all of the ball joints and trac bar at 40k. I've also had to replace the tie rods and steering gear box. Pretty much the whole front suspension has been replaced now. So have your mechanic go over this area really well before buying the truck. You can look at the front tires and if you see any type of abnormal tire wear, odds are it needs something in the front end replaced.

The good news is that you can't beat the power of a Cummins Turbo Diesel. I am currently towing a 9000 pound horse trailer with my 01 2500 4x4. Other than putting a few extra leaf springs on the back and a Hypertech perfomance chip in it, I've had to do nothing to get it to tow. I pulled that trailer to AZ from TN last year and was able to get up to 90MPH out in the flat dessert in New Mexico. Even in the hilly parts of TN I can keep it at the 70MPH when going up big hills. I'm getting around 14.5MPG when towing and over 20MPG when empty. I don't think that they make a better truck for towing than the 2500 and 3500 CTD's.

 

Just to clarify...only the 98.5-02s have the poor lift pumps.

 

I think Dodge went to the four door Quad Cab in '98, but not certain. So if that's what your looking for, and you want the 12V, it'll be pretty limited. I got a '98 3500 4x4 dually for my mostly daily driver, no problems but it is hard to get into some parking spots. Most of the time I need at LEAST 2 open spots to park unless I want to do the 12 point pull in. The 2500 is the same length, so it will be hard too, but not like the rear dually. You don't lose all that much as far as towing capacity going to the 2500 either, if you worried about that. I don't really think their is any difference in height between the two, except that the 2x4 rides quite a bit lower. I got a set of side steps for mine and my 82 yr old grandpa can get in without a problem. Good luck on the purchase.