not sure if this partains to the 3rdgens, but here goes,
a friend of mine just had his truck in a shop near by, with some problems. not sure of what problems he has had or what it was doing but they found that the block was no good. his truck is a 2001,2500 , ext cab,short box ,auto.the guy at the shop told him that the motors were cast too thin.98-2003???? the blocks were 12mm before those years and are now 5mm thick. i find this hard to believe, but hey, when they try to save money, anything goes.
just wondering if any one has heard this before and confirm that this is true. if so is this every block cummings made or just a few, or a bad batch??
does this hold true for the 3rd gens, and if so what years, if not everything after the 12 valve?
he was also told not to use the amsoil cetane boost in his truck any more. i am curious as to why.
i use it in my truck and a guy from work has been using it in his early 98,12 valve motor for years with no problems. i wonder if this has caused a problem, or why he was told not to use it any more.he was told that he could use cetane boost, but not the amsoil product.
i am going to try to get ahold of the shop that did the work on his truck to find out more.

 

53 block, had a spot where casting was too thin, I am not shure if this is what you are talking about, and i don't know how thin it is in the weak spot, but i am shure some one in here can tell you.

 

Take a look in the 24V forums, and do a search on cracked blocks. You'll find some threads there.