Ok, I've noticed this kdp syndrom/repair comes up quite a bit. I'm wondering about the odds of this happening. Of say 100,000 vehicles that this could happen, what percentage have happened (actually fallen out)? We could only come up with what we know or have heard of and on this forum of course, and is there any particular year vehicle that seems to fall prey. Anyone care to share ?

 

my 95 kdp fell out before I got it. At the time I didnt know about the whole kdp thing. It cracked the timing gear case and they just packed about a tube of ultra black in the crack. Well it started leaking and I had to replace the case. I sure wish I would have known about the KDP before I bought it.

 

The numbers would be very hard to come by.
On a poll at TDR several years ago '97 was the most common for failure but that's no wonder because it was also the year with the most 12 valves sold.

In the poll well over 100 people reported dowel pin failures. But that could be skewed also because the whole reason they joined a site could be because they had a major oil leak.

Containing the dowel pin is like insurance, the odds of it coming out may be very low but the cost of the damage can be so high that it's well worth $50 and four hours to prevent it.

 

I agree, with 103,000 miles on my 98 it had just started to wiggle out. While rare it is possible for the pin to fall out and not cause any damage. Its worth the little bit up front to fix it before it falls out than replace stuff when it does fall out.

 

Both my 97 and 98 came out. The 97 at 170000 the 98 at 116000

 

Mine fell out of the old '95 at around 345,000.

 

my 90 was out and almost fell I caught it with an 1/8" to go a friend had the bolt right next to the kdp fall out and made the same mess I have worked on maybe 100+ trucks and mine was the only pin that I have seen move out ....BUT I have seen 60% of the truck, tractor engines with internal bolts loose!


if you go after the pin make darn sure you clean and lock tight as many of the inside bolts you can

 

This should be the 1st mod. for any cummins owner with a truck that the KDP applies to.
Brandon

 

Alot of internal bolts were loose on mine. Prolly 2/3 were. Locktite em all.

 

Yes I agree. It isnt much fun pulling the cam to get the housing off when its dun cracked. I read the manual and read "use dowel pins to hold tappets when removing cam" I go.......oh this should be fun.

 

Mine fell out on my 97 and caught a gear and split the whole side. i didn't pull the cam, i found a puller and pulled the cam gear off and heated it up to get it back on there. it is a fun project.

 

I think the statistic I read was only about 5% of owners do performance improvements or monitor websites. So if a high percentage of our membership has seen this issue, how many happened in shops all over North America? LOTS! What gets me is that Cummins denies it as a potential problem, I wish I still had that bulletin from Cummins Power Boosters where their "expert" said it was hogwash...

Mine was hangin out 3/16" when I tabbed it. Waited too long to do it too.

 

I talked to a mechanic several years ago at a dealership in Idaho that claims to be the leading seller of Dodge Cummins in the US.
He said that their shop had replaced well over a thousand cracked cases.
At one point they were ordering cases by the pallet...

And Cummins says it isn't a problem but offers a tab washer, part number 3958017????

 

Mine got me at around 200,000 and it was very expensive.
I got two quotes from cummins garages and the were both over $3,200.00 for the repair. I did it my self and had almost $900.00 in parts. I did a couple of upgrades while it was down that far (heavier exhaust valve springs, lost of new gaskets, #10 plate which I am not happy with.), so my parts price was about $200.00 over the "normal" cost for parts to repair.
I should have put in the intake valve springs while I was at it, but I said i was only going to put on an exhaust brake and not go with the 4000rpm gov spring kit. The new gear case has a stepped hole over the pin so it can't possibly come out. HHHMMMM makes me think D/C had some complaints about it.
I have some pictures to prove what a job it was if you are not convinced. I started with the front bumper and did not stop removing parts until I got the wipers off.
My advice is to fix it now, because if you are no mechanic you will pay through the nose for the repair.
Everyone I talked to while rounding up parts, asked me why bother with such an old truck and all the miles? They said it is not worth it.
I said "maybe not to you".
I have owned several trucks both large and small and this truck has been without a doubt the toughest and most reliable one I have owned so it is worth every penny to me.
If anyone wants pictures tell me and I will post them.

 

I tabbed mine at 180,000 km's, it was still way recessed and tight (1994). I talked to a long serving service manager at a Dodge dealer here, and he said as well as his mechanics, that they had never seen it happen, or even heard of it happening. They googled KDP and were pretty surprised at the search results.