I just purchased a 99' 3500 4x4 dually, everything seems great on it, it has 130k miles, it is kindof depressing reading all these posts of all these problems and i am starting to regret getting rid of my first gen ctd. Are these trucks overall good trucks if you take really good care of them by changing the fluids regularly and driving them easily, i drive one at work that runs really well it is an 2001 and my buddy has a 2001 and 2002 and they all run well. What is the cost on gettin a vp44 replased if i ever have to? And exactly how stout are the automatic transmissions and transfer cases if you change fluids at a 10,000 mile basis.

 

think of it this way out of all the trucks out there you only hear about the hand full that happen to have issues

 

So overall they are good trucks

 

I love mine, I am fixin to replace the 44, but it looks like a factory, still has the void decal on the plug! 190,000 keep on rattlin.

 

Mines been great I know I will be doing a tranny because of mods I plan to do.
I read all these forums for days and came up with 1st thing put a fuel pressure gauge in to check the lift pump pressure then go from there. I run 2 stroke in every tank to lube the vp.

 

These trucks, like any automobile on the road, require simple preventative maintenance. If you take regular care of it, I see no reason to be worried. Yes, these trucks have some problems, but If you take simple corrective measures, they will last a lifetime. VP44's, get a FASS and forget it for life. Front end parts - grease regularly and they shouldn't wear, or even better, get Luke's Links or DSS for cheap and call it a day. 47RE's? Regularly adjust the bands and perform ATF changes every 30k, and don't try to run 1000 ft-lbs on a non-built tranny and it will go forever.

Again, basic common sense and preventative maintenance is what makes all the difference. These trucks are no worse than any other car I've owned or worked on for friends.

Now go out and enjoy that CTD!

 

I've had mine for 2 years, has 111K on it, only things that have been replaced on it was one lift pump and the batteries. I don't have any complaints. Like stated above, all it takes is a bit of preventative maintenance.

 

How often do people stop and post about all the miles with out issues, almost never. People almost always post with issues and questions. Hence the reason for the complaints. Personally have had my truck fro about 8k with out issue.

 

I don't have a 24 valve, and honestly I'm starting to consider one that a co-worker kas, simply due to the fact that they still had a real extended cab, and I personally prefer the body style quite a bit more.

That said, I believe it's more important on these trucks to ensure that they have a know history prior to purchasing one. There are known problem areas, and if these have been addressed, I see no reason to not purchase one. It's not like the Ford 6.0L or something, where it could simply drop out on you and you're done, even if you're doing all the right maintance. I do reccommend a fuel pressure gauge and make certain to monitor it - it will give a guide on your fuel system's health.

 

Is there a write up on this site on how to put a fuel pressure guage in, and how much pressure do they run, you all are making me feel better about it, maintenence is no problem cause i OVER maintain my trucks i change my oil and filter every 3500 miles my tranny fluid every 10k differentials every 10k fuel filter every 3500 coolent every 30k, maintenence is not an issue for me cause i take as good of care of my truck as i would a baby

 

I have had mine for about 8 months now and haven't had any real problems other than the lift pump dieing on me once, but that gave me a good reason to upgrade. The VP44 requires 10psi at idle and 4 psi at WOT. One thing that a lot of people recommend is to use some sort of fuel additive in every tank, I've always used power service. The search feature is a good tool to find what your looking for.

 

if you are going to run a stock pump a 15psi guage will do if you plan on running a fass or similar pump you will like a 30 psi better so it isn't pegged all of the time.
Thes trucks are great. do they have their problems? sure
Everything mechanical will have problems anyone that says otherwise is kidding themselves.
If the truck is a 4x you will have the balljoint unit bearing problem at some time both are easily upgraded for less problems you will more than likely have the ip fail this too can be helped.
I have 160K on my 02 and 253K on my 98 and both have been worked to death and they keep coming back for more.

 

Only a very small percentage of owners of these trucks use online forums. Of those, only the ones that have trouble make the comments. I like to look at the comments on how bad they are, then look to see if the user has posted pics a year ago trying to pull the worlds largest dozer or maybe 7000 bales of hay all at once, or look back at other comments on what kind of fun they had doing some Dukes of Hazzard driving. It kinda fun sometimes.

 

No mater what make truck out there it will have its own problems. A lot depends on how you take care of it and how you drive it. Every issue is not always expierenced with every truck. Every problem had a cure.

Put guages on the truck. Fuel pressure, pyrometer, boost, tranny temp.

To many myths on fuel pressure quests. Save money and keep it simple.

 

I lost my first vp at 100,005 miles the second one has gone another 130,000 on it with no problems, the truck is basically stock with a intank fuel pump so just do basic maintenance and drive the thing