taildragger

Allright, I am looking for my first CTD and have had a few posts about the 12 valve and I have been reading this site as much as I can trying to absorb as much knowledge as possilble.

Now for the meat of this post. I need to figure out whether to get a 12 valve or a 24 valve. I need a good 4x4 that I can use for some medium duty towing. What I really want to know is who all can work on some of the newer 24 valves. Are the 24 valves as reliable and fuel efficient as the 12 valves? Who all can work on the early 24 valves (like can I take it to a cummins shop to have maintenance done?). Are there any quirks with the 24valve other than the lift pump and the 53 block? Are the lift pumps a fix that isn't too expensive or complicated? What about the front ends, are they the same for the different years?

I would really like the 12 valve (I generally like more mechanical engines because I can figure them out faster) but at the same time I'm leary of buying a truck with more than 120K miles on it (not the engine, just stuff crapping out on the truck itself) and I realize that finding a 12 valve like that is going to be hard (although I missed out on getting a 98 with 62k miles on it by 6 hours )

I plan on spending no more than 16k unless I find a killer deal thats a little more.

Any and all help appreciated

mr T

as far as reliablity goes...umm 12 valve will be the winner....the pump behind the 24 valve motors is a lemon IMHO (sorry guys)....

that being said....24 valvers are easier to find though
oh and a stock 12 valve works better with a 5 speed ...unless u get some governor springs and a plate with that auto...you'll have a slug

lots of other stuff too....some say the 24 valve is better equiped to control egts and breathe better....then again its easier to tune a 12 valve to the finest detail than a 24 valve....but u have to get ur timign set in a happy medium on a 12 valve wheras a 24 valve will have electronic/digital timing

list goes on and on...a 24 valve rattles alil nicer too i think ( that should make up for my pump comment)

TxDiesel007

You pretty much have it here..

12V is equal to simple tools to work on, 24V is electronic gizmos..... :d choose your poison. You cant go wrong with either or.......

Stock 12 V are very forgiving which is probabl;y why they are slow, i have not much experience with an auto tho, but my manual rocks... Nothing a lil plate change oradjustment, governer arm adjustment, and timing cannot fix....

maintainance? these trucks are literally maintainance free, just oil, gas and go for the most part. Add your additives and treat the truck right and you will have little to no engine issues.....

Enjoy! Again, its all a matter or preference....

Tx

taildragger

But can a regular diesel mechanic work on the earlier 24 valves, or do I have to find someone with the dodge software (I am just trying to figure in what might be an issue if the unlikely event of something going wrong while I am out on the road where I can't fix it).

BoostdCTD

The biggest advantage to the 24V is being able to control fuel settings with a push of a button, the biggest disadvantage is losing the lift pump which causes the injection pump to fail. This is an all to common of an issue and is quite expensive when it hits. The 12V lift pump nearly never fails and I've yet to hear of a failed injection pump on the 12V. But on the contrary there isn't a very easy way to turn mods down easily. While it is argued one way or the other that most high power CTDs are 12Vs they will have slightly higher EGTs. It is generally accepted that comparing a 12V and 24V that the 12V will get better fuel mileage. As for working on it yourself, I believe most of the error codes from a 24V can be read without any special tools.

I'm happy with my truck, ended up traveling 500 miles and watching for "the one" for several months before taking the plunge. In 1998 they had a few months with the newer interior, quad cab, and mirrors but with the older more reliable 12V motor. (VIN had a D rather than 6)