Hey guys,
Im in the market to buy a truck and i really want a diesel. I dotn know to much about them though. I have seen alot of high millage dodge trucks for sale and those seem to be the only ones that fall in my price range. Is there any reliability issues with higher millage 5.9 cummings diesels? Is there anything i should be worried about?

Thanks
-Matt

 

Welcome Matt

The expected life for EPA classification purposes is 300,000 miles. Some go less, some go a lot more. I'd worry more about the rest of the high mileage truck than the engine. If the truck seems well kept and drives good, I wouldn't worry too much about what the odometer says. I bought mine with 211k on it.

 

Remember to forget the "g" in cummings

 

Treat your truck and engine to good maintenance and services do oil samples theres no reason you can't get 500,000 miles out these medium duty engines

These engines have a track record of long engine life if you do your part

 

Less than one mile from me sits an old Dodge diesel with 1.1 million miles on it, and it has never had the head off of it. It is sitting in a salvage yard because the box around the engine is done, but the engine still runs. It was used to deliver fiberglass camper shells and the like across the country. The owner states that many times he left it idling all night during winter months to make sure that there were no problems starting it in the morning. I have heard of many similar stories and have seen Dodge diesel trucks advertised on eBay with over 700K on them with the worn out phrase "not even broken in" used to describe them. I don't quite believe that they are not broken in by any means, but I don't doubt that it still ran well. I am unaware of any Ford or Chevy diesel with this type of consistant durability. I think reliability in general on the Dodge diesels shouldn't be any issue.

 

I just picked up a '96 with 351,217 on the clock. Rolled 352k the other day. So far so good! Planning on BOMBing it a little

Dargo I used to talk to a guy in Indiana who had 1,240,000 on his '91. Sold it for around $4000 to a guy in Kentucky who bought it to tow his horse trailer.

Vaughn

 

I bought mine with 150k on it and the engine runs great. The truck had and has other minor issues, but overall I'm very happy with it. It is waaaay better than the GMC I just sold that had "only" 100k and seemed rather tired.

 

I bought mine with 165000 miles on it and it now has 204000 miles and I had to put new injectors in. Since doing that it seems to smoke more when getting up to highway speeds

 

i have 220,000 miles on the clock and it runs great, never had a problem. i drive an average of 100 miles a day 6 days a week and on the 7th day about another 50 miles. it is starting to smoke a little more but not bad. chris

 

Mine had 111,000 on it when I bought it in June and " it isn't even broke in yet" !

 

Notice that these trouble free high miles are all on 12 valves. I've personally never seen a 24 valve break 300k without major repairs.

 

Bought my son a 94 in November with 223000 miles on it. Dynoed at 360 HP and runs like a top.
Just bought a 92 last week with 161000 on it and runs like a top.
If they are properly maintained and operated, they will outlast the truck.

 

6 MONTHS ILL BE AT 300,000 ON A 24, I HAVE NO DOBT IT WILL MAKE IT,I KNOW A GUY THAT HAS 400,000 ON HIS 2000 SO IT IS POSSIBLE

 

As far as my black smoke goes, mine will smoke like a sive sometimes (worst when just starting out in 2 gear) and sometimes it is just a light grey smoke when I am accelerating and I dont do a dang thing different. I am not even getting on it when it smokes. I have adjusted the star wheel back 20 clicks which did help but its not consistent so I dont really know what is causing it.
Maybe being a 5 speed and losing turbo pressure in between gears could be causing it and it is just normal for this setup. Never having owned a diesel before that could be it.
I hope anyway