I'm a previous owner of 2 CTD trucks and long time member but have been absent on here for awhile. I've had an '03 4x4 CTD and the last one was an '06 2wd CTD. Both were lease vehicles and the '06 was turned back in Dec '08.

I'm wanting another one now, but an older one. My target range is 1997-2002 year model CTD 4x4. Is there any year model among that range that I need to use caution in while shopping ?

The '03 CTD I had about drove me to drinking. From being a member on here, I am convinced I had a bad injector(s) due to the hammering ping that was constant in the engine. Due to this, I hated the truck and the Dealership would never do anything with it, saying it had a clean bill of health everytime I took it in.

The '06 CTD was a great truck all the way around except mileage. When I turned it in, it had 29k on the clock and never got any better than about 14-15 on the hwy.

One of the things I like about the older models I am considering, is the louder clatter of the engine and the smell of burning diesel.... Anything I should consider while shopping for one would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks alot guys and good to be back on here..... Rick

 

i would stay away from anything above 98.5 with a vp44 injection pump. They are likely to go bad and are expensive when they do. A 98.5 and below will have p-pump and is a very tough and reliable injection pump.

 

Well that's certainly some great advice that I did not know about, thanks tremendously archer39 !!!!

 

1st GEN VE pump. 2nd GEN P pump up to 98 1/2. Then to VP44 and being a 24V. Lift pump goes out on the 44 you'll take the pump with it..03/04 Common rail with a HE341 turbo. 04.5 and after HE351 ECM controlled.

 

I'd look at a 1998 12 v (it'll say cummins turbo diesel on the badge usually rather than cummins 24 valve turbo diesel). They are the holy grail of reliable. oh and they are powerful, loud, and can be quite quick too! I'd look for a 5 speed 4x4. Acutally, get 2 and drop one off at my house!

 

Hey CODODGE2500MAN, you must have read my mind, I was about to post a question asking what to look for to identify and know the difference between a '98 and a '98.5 ...... So it will be the decal, anything else that I could quickly use to distinguish the two in case decals had been switched ? THANKS !!!

 

If you get one that is 1997 or older it'll have only 2 opening doors, not 4. If there's only 2 opening doors (ie. a club cab not a quad cab) it's for sure a 12valve.... Unless they transplanted the motor to an earlier truck or the cab to a later truck frame/body

Of course, there's a way to tell the difference between the motors but I'm not sure. Mine looks the same everytime I open the hood....

I don't think I'm helping anymore!......

 

I'm just a little biased but I would have to say the 97's are the better of the Gen 2 bunch.....they have the 12 valve engines that are about bullet proof and while they have the older dash design they aren't as prone to the cracking you see in the later models.

 

some 98 12 valves don't have 4 opening doors either.

if you look under the hood of a 12 valve p-pump truck the injector lines will come out of the top of the pump where a vp-44 they will come out of the back. plus they sound completely different when running. Search youtube and you can hear the clear difference between a 12 valve and 24 valve.

 

Even a few 99s could be had with a club, non quad cab.

 

yea i've seen 99 club cabs and 98 club cabs and 98 quad cabs, it was whatever they had laying around i guess :lol: But a 98 12v Quadcab is the ultimate truck, newer interior and 4 doors.

But yea the 98.5-02 will have a badge on the door that says "Cummins 24 valve turbo diesel"

 

It's easy to tell the difference. The 98.5 & up 24 valve trucks say "Cummins 24 valve turbo diesel"under the 2500 on the door. The 98 and under just say "Cummins turbo diesel" under the 2500.

 

Club Cabs were available up until '01, just not a popular option when people want 4 doors.

You can look at the tach to tell the difference. 12v redlines at 3000, 24v redlines at 3250.

94-97 had the chrome mirrors, 98-02 had the black plastic mirrors. So if they are chrome, it is a 12v. If they are black, it probably isn't.

 

Also, the smell isn't much there anymore with ULSD.........

I second the 97 as the best, they changed the interior and wiring in 98, so there are changes thru the 98 model year.

 

The 24-valve engiens are good ones, however the lift pump & vp-44 setup has seen well more than it's share of failures. Overall, it was a stopgap measure between the quite-relaible commone-rail '03 + models and the pretty much bulletproof 12 valves with the P-7100 pump.

I would STRONGLY suggest getting a manual, if it's an auto it need to be built to handle the stress. If not, it's only a matter of time before the auto transmission will fail.