Looking at buying a new truck and want some advise. I'm not new to the diesel world by any means as I have pumped up more duramax's than I can count. But I'm looking to get a Cummins because I think it will be better offroad, cheaper to mod, and one of the biggest thing is I can get a manual!! I'm going back an forth between a 2nd gen 24 Valve or the 5.9L common rail. Both will be a 4 door, long bed, 4x4 with a 6 speed and a 2500. Which ever I get will be getting a 6" lift with either 35s or 37's and the basic mods to get around 450hp ~1,000lb-ft.

So here are my questions. I'm a country boy so hauling a heavy *** load is the norm and seeing a good amount of offroad wheeling is normal too. Which of these trucks, 2nd or 3rd gen will suit my needs the best and hold together the best? What issues with the 3rd or 2nd gen have you noticed? Basically which truck do you think will work the best, $25k budget for EVERYTHING. Thanks guys!

 

450/1000 is a programmer/intake/exhaust/high flow lift pump away for a common rail, however adding the 6" lift and wheels/tires plus the go-fast mods might put you quite a bit over your budget.

The 24 valve may take a bit more to hit those power goals, but you can get in the door quite a bit cheaper. The 6-speed means you're looking for an 01/02 HO only for 2nd gens, so the pickings are slim.

Diesels aren't that great off-road because they're a lot heavier, but if that's what you want, go for it.

Personally I like the AAM axles better than the Danas. The 3rd gen will have more room in the cab and more traditional rear doors. They're also more expensive to buy and modify (injectors, for example).

 

Stay away from any dodge TD made after 2004. The reburning of crankcase gas as demanded by the EPA will cause you nothing but problems. Dodge will try to tell you no problem, however I have seen first hand what dammage is done to the entire engine.

 

wrong on the 6-spd. they started in 99.5. 99.5-00.5 had the Standard Output injection pump with the 1 1/4" input shaft NV5600 (6-spd)

01-02 had the High Output injection pump and the larger 1 3/8" input shaft on the NV5600 transmission.

all 6-spds have the DANA 80 rear and DANA 60 front with the 241HD xfer case.

The Standard Output VP44 (SOVP44) is actually capable of making over 100hp more power on fuel only than the High Output (HOVP44) is capable of making.

they didn't start EGR till 07...

 

for 24v problems:

steering sucks, injection pump can fail if fuel pressure is not monitored and kept in the proper range which is easy to do with a FP gauge and an aftermarket lift pump.

takes a bit more mods than a CR to get power, but power comes pretty cheap on them still. injectors are cheap for a 2nd gen 24v. if 450/1000 is your goal, you can reach it with a lift pump and gauges, clutch, fueling box, 7x.009 injectors, and a turbo which there are several options for...

CR weaknesses include junk steering (they improved the track bar, but that's about it... the rest is still junk.) weak injector tips that can crack if rail pressure gets out of whack or if you don't have a good fuel system that filters down to two microns. injector cost is very high...it costs more to replace injectors on a CR than it does to replace an injection pump on a 24v VP44.

CR can reach up to 500hp easier than a VP44, but after that its in the same boat a VP44 is in. takes injectors and turbos along with programming to get beyond that.

A SOVP44 can go to around 650hp on fuel only with bolt on mods, and up to around 750hp on fuel only with head work before changing the injection pump. if you change injection pump you have 2 options to go higher in power...monster stage 3 VP44 can fuel to just over 900hp fuel only, and converting to a p7100 injection pump can yield 2000+hp if your pockets are deep enough...

 

07.5 is the start of the 6.7l and the smog engines, can still get the 5.9, non smog in 07, and the cummins doesnt burn the crankcase gas.... but smog or not they are still good engines but i too would perfur the non smog myself

the 3rd gen would be your best bet for the power and options you want along with reliabilty and cost

 

Personally it really depends on what look you like better. For me I always loved the 2nd gens. I could of had a 05 for nearly the same price with a new lift and 35's 10,000 miles more. I couldnt do it.

Each gen has its own pros and cons(all mentioned above) Going with a 2nd gen 6 speed only major problem you have to worry about is the vp44. About 1,000 to replace and if there is a good lift pump supporting it then it will last the life of the truck. Also you do know there is duramaxes out there with manuals in them? I found one in my area 06(i think) 4 door duramax 4x4 6 speed manual and 120k for 18,900 obo. Was already looking at my truck but if it fell through I was gonna go look at it.

 

Really? I thought they didn't put the 6-speed behind the standard output until 3rd gen. Oh well.





I'm not sure about the 5.9 CR, but the 6.7 does burn crank gasses - it gets sucked through a big filter on the valve cover and then goes into the air intake before the turbo.

But that isn't going to cause a huge problem - maybe get a little oily residue on the compressor wheel and inside the intercooler.

 

lol have you looked at my sig?

mine was factory equipped with the standard output vp44 and the small input shaft 6-spd. they are rare as they did not produce many of the early 6-spds, but they did make them. 99.5 was the start of them. Dealers and people always mistake them for HO trucks, but they are not.

After I broke 5th and 6th gear off, I replaced it with a 6spd from a later year series with the large input shaft, and I sent my clutch discs off to south bend to have the hubs changed to fit the larger input shaft.

so I have the best of both now other than the 01's have disc brakes in the rears and I still have drums in the rears. Oh well. still got a p-trac D80. good enough

 

A vp44 is not going to last the life of the truck...

even with a good lift pump and 2-stroke diet, you will be lucky to get 200-300k out of it. it WILL fail at some point, best you can do is keep good input pressure and good lubrication to it so it is only an expense every 200k miles or so... the 2nd gen 24v will easily last to the 1 million mile mark. they are a very strong engine and actually have stronger bottom ends than the common rails do, but the injection pump will NOT make it to the 1 million mile mark. it will need to be changed 4 or 5 times throughout the life of the engine if you don't wreck the truck first or run the engine without engine oil...