ProjectM880

I was refered to yal from WWW.Ramchargercentral.COM . Im in the market to buy a new truck. My current truck is a 2000 chevy 1500 5.3. And im trying to cunvince my Dad that it time to sell the truck to buy a better tow truck. Even though i cought this truck off of him. it still in his name, So i have to get the go head.

So this is what i need help from yall. Any information on the cummins trucks. mileage, reliabilty, longevity,etc. The truck i will be abe to afford will most likley all ready broken 100k on mileage. So bascally i need information on why a Cummins is a good route to go. And "because its a dodge" won't work on him. I live in GM family so it will be hard to convince him. So factual information, websites, pros and cons, will work great. thanks for your help guys. The year range im looking at is 98-02 so the late 12 valve and the 24 valve


Eric

Thanks again guys i look foward to gett ing involved in the site if i get a Cummins

Kyle Graham

Fuel economy is your first gain 17-22 mpg is pretty common. Nothing tows like a Diesel. For longevity no Diesel pickup can even come close to a Cummins turbo diesel I have customers with 500,000 miles and still running strong your lucky to get 150k out of a small block gasser. Cummins 5.9L also seem to need the least amount of maintenance where duramax and powerstroke it seems like the maintenance never ends. If your looking for the most durable setup look for one with a manual transmission auto's aren't made for diesel torque you can build one for big money$$$

Loud&Obnoxious

I am a member of a Cummins club through Cummins NW and I was talking to several mechanics there and they say its very common to have trucks come in with 600,000 + miles on them they've even had some come in with 900,000 miles on them before they needed rebuilt. Some of the guys in another truck club that I belong to also put over 600,000 miles on them and then sold them. I also come from a Chevy family, I,m the only one with a Dodge but I'm also a mechanic and I know what the insides of the engines look like if you compare the internal components in the Cummins to either the Powerstroke or the Duramax you will see why. Also being an inline 6 cylinder it has 40% less moving interal parts that can wear out than the other two. It has a longer stroke so that it will create more torque. If its performance that you want from your diesel then the Cummins has alot more options than the others do.

96_12V

I'll play the contrarian this time; look at my sig and you will note I DO own one of these beasts.

If you have a 2000 model truck, perhaps even "paid for" why would you really want to change right now? You really don't state your use, if you're pulling a large trailer or driving many miles (like 50k a year), you'll notice a major differance in fuel mileage and longevity with a cummins. But if you step back a few years to a 12V, a truck with over 100k on it, you're likely to run into more repair costs (associated with the truck itself) and a fairly high price tag to begin with as these vechiles still hold thier value well. The 24V models (1998.5 and newer) seem to have more injection pump and fuel system problems, as they used the VP type injection pump ratehr than the more-durable P-7100. Electronics are also an issue with the newer models, the older ones didn't have many complicated electronics.

Perhaps it's wise to save up for a few years and pick up an '03 or '04 as they start to come onto the used market more. Just my $.02, but I don't like the idea of being bound to car payments--others are free to disagree, but that's why I drive a older truck. Good luck. Also do some searching on this forum, lots of good info here!

ProjectM880

Yes my truck is paid for. Sorry i should have said what i use my truck for. It will be my daily driver and my tow rig for my 1977 Dodge M880. I go offroading and i need a good tow rig to tow with. The truck is a single cab long bed truck, with a 440 big block, dana 60 rear, 44 front, on 36 " hummer tires. The Chevy doesn't really tow it well at all. it get around 6-9 mpg while towing and when towing up hills it will drop down to 35-45 mph. It is also hard to go the speed linit on high ways. unless im going down hill. Im also a ranch hand part time and i do tow trailers. nothing as heavy as my truck but i due tow.

Also my dad suggested that i look at Durmax diesels or another gas engine. I have heard horrible stories of the Duramax diesel and how often they break. I would rather not buy another gas engine unless i have too.

thanks for the info so far guys

Eric

96_12V

Given your towing use you could stand to benefit from a Cummins. Perhaps an older vehicle with high miles would make a good work unit, and keep the Chevy for commuting and "daily" use? Whatever be leery of automatic units--the transmission tends to fail when used "as it's designed."

Get a Carfax or other similar account as you look, type in or cut & paste the VIN # from web sites to recieve a vechile history report. The results may *really* suprise you. I actually found a '96 4wd 2500 in Texas on traderonline that was lemoned in 1998! Truth is, a dealer or private seller can tell you anything, unless they have documents to prove it--well the old saying is "without data--it's just another opinion." Trust a service like this as a starter, then do some research on your own. Keep us posted!

ProjectM880

Thanks 96_12v

I will defently do the car fax. Another question i had was i was lookin through the site and saw a post on the 5th gear nut. How common is this falling off and how big of a problem is it. Such as is it comes looses can you still drive around on it for a while? Also i have read alot about 250000 + miles and 500000 miles cummins. Is this really possible with regular 2500 dodges or is this in the big rigs. Do you nedd alot of upgrade to get the truck to go that long or just change the oil and other maintans. I really just wnat to know how much it cost to up keep this truck. I will have to do alot of work to my chevy soon mainly suspension, engine tune up,etc. Thanks agian

eric

bkrukow

250,000 on a stock dodge/cummins is normal. Most wil go way beond that. My new 3rd gen truck is suposed to go at least 300,000 be fore needing overhaul. That is a conservative number. My dealer has a customer with a 1st gen truck that is in the 700,000 mile range. The only repairs other than normal maintanence they claim its ever needed was 2 new 5 speed tranies. Ther is almost no maintinence on a deisel like a gasser. There is no ignition components that need replacing every so often. Just replace the fuel filter every 10-15,000 miles or as often as makes you happy.

96_12V

Eric,

Good questions, especially regarding the 5th gear nut. I don't have personal experance, mine (touch wood) is still holding up fine. Someone else wrote in an experance that sounded like the transmission went out when the nut came off. Suppose it depends upon the unit.

I will say that a new South Bend heavy-duty clutch was installed in my rig at 280,000 miles for $665 parts & labor. The dealer quoted nearly double that. I am at about 284,000 right now.

High miles, especially if they are not with a fifth-wheel trailer, are not a problem generally speaking--as long as maintinace has been kept up on them. I would consider this a bit more with a 4 wd unit as there are simply more parts to wear. I recently called about a '95 2wd 5-speed 2500 in Ohio for $5000; with 454,000 miles on it. Turned out it was a one-owner who used it for feed delivery within thier state to farms. The truck sold in 3 days for the full asking price. They changed oil every 10,000 miles or about every six weeks. These are good units for the long haul.

Randy