Hey guys, I'm looking at buying a 2nd gen. I had a 05 that I loved but lost the vehicle in an accident. I have found a 2002 2500 Cummins HO, 6 speed with 55,000 miles on it. The truck pretty much looks and drives like new. The owner said he had to replace the lift pump and injection pump at 51,000 mile due to the lift pump failing. From what I hear this is a pretty common problem on these models that is fixed by adding an aftermarket lift pump. Is there anything else I need to look out for? The truck will be a daily driver and I sometimes pull a small snowmobile trailer. I dont plan on any crazy mods. Just maybe an exhaust, intake, a light programmer, and an aftermarket lift pump. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

these have steering issues. trac bar issues. not the same style of trac-bar as a 3rd gen even with low miles they go bad. the trac bar conversion and steering stabilizer is good for these. with HO's good set of sticks and a smarty really wake it up. check and relocate the blow by bottle that is on the front cover driver side. this puts alot of oil vapor and will slowly coat the fan block and radiator. you can extend the hose down the frame rail and catch the oil and vapors there.

 

make sure you read up on "53 blocks" it was suposidly only on earlier 24v trucks but just make sure

 

If you purchase the truck, pull the front cover on the engine and check for the KDP. Not all 24v truck have it but some do. When i pulled my 02 apart I found that I didn't have the update case but the pin hadn't moved too much yet.

 

You'll also need to do something with the front end. At least install a brace if the tie rods, ball joints, track bar, steering box are currently good. By 100k you'll need to do all of the above. Ask what brand VP he put in. PO replaced the one on my 01. I learned it was from the Chec Republic (extra failure prone) when it failed. Definitely you'll need gauges and fuel system.

Compare these problems to the 05 problems talked about in the forums then decide which is the better truck. How much is the 02?

 

Ya I noticed when I drove it the steering is way worse then my 05. Really had to fight it to keep between the lines sometimes. Kinda pathetic actually that my 96 F-150 with 140,000 miles and a lift with all original front end parts drove way better. But I really like the truck and it is in really good shape for being an 02. He is asking 18,000 for it. I think high book price is 18,500.

 

I think he's smoking crack. If the steering isn't new, if he doesn't have the upgrades you are looking at $2000 in parts. He's probably trying to dump the truck since he has had expensive problems so early. Look up Thuren 3rd gen track bar, adaptor bracket, ball joints, Redheadsteering steering box, gauges, cracked dash, FASS & AirDog, MWFI VP44, front end alignment, death wobble.

 

The only thing he has replaced is the lift and injection pump. I checked the whole front end over and the only place i see any play is a little bit where the pitman arm mounts to the shaft. It does have slightly larger tires and a thunderstruck front bumper so im sure thats not helping matters.

 

Again, what brand injection pump? Regardless, you need gauges. $300 + $75 each to install.

What fuel system does he have? FASS & AirDog are ~$5-600 + install.

Wobbling sector shaft + sloppy steering = shot steering box. RedHead ~ $250 + $150 install. Even Cardone (crap) = $150 + install.

Steering brace ~ $250 + install else you'll ruin your new box.

Aftermarket Track bar & adapter ~ $350. Then, he is high as hell on price.
Ask a bank what loan value is & go slightly more for the shiny paint IF you are willing to fix the weaknesses.

Even then, it may not be reliable.

 

So what is a fair price? It also has a B and W hitch and an edge chip. It also has brand new Toyo m55 tires.

 

certainly not $18K which is way to high for a 24v. there's NO way I'd pay $18k for a 24v... when the same $$$ could be spent getting a common rail or mint 12v.

value of 24v 98.5 to 2002 have taken a beating due to massive number of VP44 failures.

Ford 6.0 also has similar or worst resale values due to all the engine problems. it's not unusual for folks to go thru 2-3 VP44 within 150k miles at $2k-$3 per failure.

on the flip side there's folks still running original VP44 at 250k miles.
perception is stronger than fact come resale time... the perception is 24v trucks are prone to VP44 failures ... so resale value suffers. matters not that a FASS + fuel pressure gauge essentially takes care of VP44 issues.

do a national search on craigslist for pricing gauge.
from google.... 2002 Dodge diesel site:craigslist.org
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=...6ec6be010d257f

 

Me thinks you are overstating a little. VPs can be bought from MWFI at RETAIL for ~$1,000. Add 4 hours labor & you are no where near $3,000.

Hot rod VPs that sell for more have been documented to be more failure prone than stock. More reliable power can be had for for less than hot rod pumps.

Fuel supply helps but in no way guarantees longevity of VPs. I've had an AirDog for at least the last 30,000 mi. PO had installed VP before I bought it. That is approx 50,000 mi/pump.

As for price, ask a bank what loan value is. Banks don't take risk so you'll be safe to pay loan value or less. Crazedlist.org is an easy way to search Craigslist. I'd buy the truck if the price was right but would plan on the $2k of fixes.

 

call the dealer and find out what they charge to replace a VP44... and by the way lots of non-mechanical minded folks still use the dealer for major repairs.

$2k - $3k for a VP44 replacement is not that uncommon ... me I drive a 12v

 

Dealers charge ridiculous amounts even for things like simple tire changeovers. I wouldn't use that as a benchmark for reasonable cost for anything.

That's because they just don't know any better.

 

What is your point? Just because someone doesn't want to become educated or find a competent indy mechanic is no reason to consider $3,000 the going price for an installed VP. I don't even suggest not counting your own labor when turning wrenches. Still, when someone says that they paid $3000 for a VP, I think they over paid by at least $1500.

I know people that drive a new lexus or MBZ every 2 years and think that a $20,000 depreciation per year is perfectly reasonable. That doesn't mean that it is "best" or that everyone else should budget that much. Everyone spends his dollar as he chooses.