SSIMOES, I bought my truck (see signature) about 5 years ago. Before I bought it I called a diesel mechanic who works on all brands. He gave me good advice. He said that all of the big 3 (Chev / Ford / Dodge) have issues with their trucks. For Dodge of the years I was looking at he said the big things were the 53 series block and the injection pumps. I forget what the issues were for the other manufacturers. If you read through the threads for each of the generations of Dodge trucks on this forum, you will see that each year and generation have their issues. So what is my point?

My point is that every truck you can possibly buy will have issues. Some like the 53 series block can be avoided and some like the VP44 cannot. My recommendation is to buy the truck you can afford but make sure you check for the big stuff before you do. If you are looking at a second gen Dodge, I would look for the 53 series block and a tuner box. If I saw either of those I would walk away (but that is just my opinion).

The other thing to be aware of is that no matter which manufacturer or year you go with, the cost per mile for a diesel truck is higher than a gasser over the life of the truck. Yes, we get some good fuel mileage and can tow heavy, but diesel has gotten expensive in recent years. These trucks are built with heavy parts to do heavy work. That means that when those parts wear they are expensive to replace.

I hope that helps a little bit.

 

Duramaxes of the era you are looking at had injector cracking issues and the allison trans had some issues that have been resolved.

Ford's notorious 6.0 liter was a hot rod v8 diesel that choked on its own exhaust and coolant.

Both these were looking at 6-7 grand or more to repair, and in some states make illegal as to pollution controls.

A 2000 dollar vp seems cheap....

OH yeah, I forgot to mention the APPS, cracked dash, door switches, e-brake cables......

 

tallguy67 you actually did help i think ill go with the 2002 since its in my price range. i plan on only keeping it for a few years till i get something newer. if its not the vp44 on the truck itll be something else your right. and sixslug when you test the pump is there a way to see that its going bad or does it go bad in a very short time.

 

It's hard to tell, usually they lose the lift pump and then draw fuel themselves, which it isn't designed for. It gets overheated and the solder in the solder in the computer chip on top breaks down and you lose the electronic part.

You can also score the insides with bad fuel or poor filters...

The diaphragm can blow out....

I would review the great writeup on bluechipdiesel.com.

Mine has always rattled pretty hard on shut down when I let it idle a bit after a long haul. But it still runs good.

 

I did not know about the lift pump problem until mine chocked down for lack of fuel. I live in the hot, hot desert. Installed a after market lift pump and guage. That was 76,000 miles ago. No VP problem yet. Also folks will tell you the automatic trans is weak. Ran mine 172,000 miles before I decided to tear it down and rebuild it. It was worn some because of low apply pressure. I have towed a combined weight of 17,800 lb for 50,000 miles of the total 176,000. Have always had a trans temp guage and tried to keep temp under 240 f degrees. Total front end suspension rebuild cost $1900.00 in Alaska. Always have had a dash board cover. no problem there.

 

Now you make me sad I spent $28,000.00 on my VP44, 2001 HO with 4,000 mile on it when I bought it!
I guess a failure is inevitable!!!

 

So I ended up getting a 2002 2500 6 speed H.O extended cab with 180,000 on it

 

So I ended up getting a 2002, 2500 6 speed H.O extended cab with 180,000 on it

 

Sweet. Good luck with it!

 

180,000? Hmmph! Not even broke in yet. I've got the `99 3500 and have spent about 5 grand on it in 15 years. VP-44 injector pump at about 84k and another one in less than a year but under warranty. New front suspension and brakes. I'm not complaining. My trucks biggest enemy right now is me. I'm retired and these guys on here are telling me I have to drive it once in awhile to keep it running good. Go figure?

 

usually if the vp44 has been replaced, you can not worry about it for at least 100,000 more miles , but then i can't say about other peoples experience ,mine went out at an average mileage .the replacement is still working good.....i just wish there would be a better warning

 

Great, Enjoy it!