Hoss, a new lift pump is about $150. The 53 should be stamped on the side of the block somewhere underneather the injection pump and fuel filter I think. As long as you don't abuse your tranny like I did mine, the auto will hold up. I wouldn't worry about a new torque converter unless you plan on really cranking up the power.

 

Thanks Blue.

 

Hoss, on a 99 you will have to fix the KDP which involves pulling off the whole timing cover....fyi. If this is not fixed, repairs CAN be in the thousands.

The 53 is about an inch high and is stamped on the block just above the oil pan (usually on drivers side)...yeah youll probably have to crawl under there....

 

I'm assuming that since there is a 53 block then there are also blocks that are not 53. Is the 53 block a real common thing?

Is there a way to know if the KDP has already been repaired or not?

 

There are blocks that are not 53. If you don't see a big 53 stamped on the side of it, then your ok.

The only way to tell if the KDP has been done is to either ask the owner if it's been done or to pull the timing cover off and see if it's been done.

 

Does anyone know if there is an easy way to find out who the owner was for a vehicle? I'd really like to call him up to see what he can tell me about the truck. Surely there's a way to get that information.

 

If you look around you can get a cummins lift pump pretty cheap I'm not aloud to post any kind of price so maybe somebody else could key in just don't even attempt to buy one from dealership big rip off. A good fix for the 47re is a billet torque convertor and valve body it will not only rid you off the shuddering and slipping but it will also help the transmission's life span pm me if I can help you out with anymore questions

 

There is no easy way these days. You might ask the dealer selling it to have the previous owner contact you?? You should also be able to take the VIN number to a Dodge dealer and have them pull up any warranty work that has been done to it. They could also tell you if it needed any recalls or service bullitens done to it.



As for the 53 block issue, I think its hit or miss. I know a guy that had a 53 crack at 50K miles and he did not tow real often, but my Dad has a 98.5 with a 53 block and he has 160K on his, most of it towing a 14K lb 5ver and has had no problems. Heck he is only on his second lift pump. We do need to kill his KDP one of these days, but after that many hard miles its hard to believe its going to come out.

Good luck and it sounds like a good truck, what are they asking for it?


One other word of caution, I would have Cummmis or Dodge plug into the truck with there fancy comptuers and tell you how many miles the truck has on it. The mileage in the ECM and the mileage on the odometer do not have to be the same. If someone replaces the dash the mileage will be what ever the dash says, not what the ecm says. I have seen at least one post on the other dodge site about this. Not everyone is honnest out there.

 

Well, finding the original TWO owners wasn't that hard. I e-mailed the VIN to a cop friend of mine and he ran it for me. After that it was a simple matter of looking them up on anywho.com.

I talked with both of them and both of them told me that they had never had any problems out of the truck and that the regular maintenance had been kept up through the Dodge service department in Sherman, Texas (which is consistent with what Carfax told me). The original owner actually worked at that same dealership in the parts department (and this is NOT the dealership I'm possibly buying from so he has no reason to lie).

The first owner never pulled anything with it. The second pulled a "small camper". Both said they got rid of it only because they wanted a NEW truck.

SO....I made an offer to the dealer. If he takes it then I'll go out there Saturday and test drive it and climb up under it with my flashlight and take a good look around.

 

Now, about this KDP thing. I'm assuming it hasn't been fixed on this truck and from what I gather the KDP is NOT a hit or miss thing....it's just a matter of time thing.

That being said, is fixing the KDP something that a fairly handy person could do on his own? What is involved?

 

From what I understand, you should be able to do it. I think you need to pull the pulley's off and then pull the timing cover off, tab the pin thingy, and then put it all back together.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JR2
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As for the 53 block issue, I think its hit or miss. I know a guy that had a 53 crack at 50K miles and he did not tow real often, but my Dad has a 98.5 with a 53 block and he has 160K on his, most of it towing a 14K lb 5ver and has had no problems. Heck he is only on his second lift pump. We do need to kill his KDP one of these days, but after that many hard miles its hard to believe its going to come out.



Mine had about 150,000 miles on it when the KDP fell out, I got lucky and it only took out the cover. Those by the way are about $500.00 at a dealer. I got a guy that works with me whose KDP came out at about the same miles about 2 months before mine. I figured what were the odds of his falling out and mine falling out. I took a chance and lost. Not trying to scare you, just suggesting you don't wait too long.

 

Sounds like the dealer isn't willing to give me what I want for my truck so I don't have to worry about all of these 2nd gen "kdp" and "53" problems.