buying a cummins diesel

[srv8800]

i'm looking around for a dd/tow rig. im leaning towards a 4x4 dodge cummins turbo diesel but i don't know much about them. my budget is around $15k. what years should i look for and how many miles should i try to keep it under. i'm looking for an extended cab/short bed with a manual tranny. are all the motors the same? thanks alot

[Ben Holloway]

ex cab short bed will be a 98 and newer, if you want cheap keep it 12 valve, what you should be looking for is a 98 Qc with a shortbed and a 12 valve these were only made in limited numbers. Thats gonna be impossible so start looking for a 94-97 (12 valve years)4x4 with a club cab and a long bed(thats all they got), stay away from the auto unless its built and look for wear items such as front suspension, u-joints and so on, a poorly maintained truck will be garbage by 150k so look for mileage under that unless the truck has been very well taken care of. and start by searching some diesel boards some deals seem to pop up there from time to time

Ben

[The Jerk]

ben hit most of dead on. I just bought (last thursday) (99 CTD/Club Cab/shortBed/4x4/5sp/80HP injectors/xmonitor/afe intake/Edge BD Race Pro/4inch Stright Pipe/) i had been holding out for so long but couldnt pass it up. 96k on teh ticker and was never towed with. an older guy owned it and traded it in. I love this truck. blows my 92 CTD out of the water. Witht he right mods you will see anywhere from 17-22mpg prolly.. They are great trucks and easy to work on.

jiMMy

[srv8800]

i found an '01 CTD ext cab long bed at a dealership. it's got a 6spd manual and is very clean. they want $18k out the door for it. what do you think?
thanks alot

[getblown5.9]

if the miles are under 100k jump on it...thats a damn good price and the 6spd is awesome for towing. if its got over 100k on it...be careful and keep $1-$2K on the side in case that damned VP-44 injection pump goes out.

the truck can be very nice, and reliable and last forever...just get a better than stock lift pump replacement to make sure the injection pump always has GOOD fuel supply, and get a fuel pressure gauge ASAP...when it goes below 8 psi...be careful because thats when the VP-44 starts to die and its quite pricey to replace when not under warranty

[The Jerk]

if the miles are under 100k jump on it...thats a damn good price and the 6spd is awesome for towing. if its got over 100k on it...be careful and keep $1-$2K on the side in case that damned VP-44 injection pump goes out.

the truck can be very nice, and reliable and last forever...just get a better than stock lift pump replacement to make sure the injection pump always has GOOD fuel supply, and get a fuel pressure gauge ASAP...when it goes below 8 psi...be careful because thats when the VP-44 starts to die and its quite pricey to replace when not under warrantyagain all info above is correct. fuel pressure gauge is a must. depending on milage etc..... the price is right.
mine was 18 and is a 99 short box but had a bunch of race goodies already on it
and only had 96k

[DHONDAGOD]

do a search for dodge lift pump.. the guage goes between the inj pump and the lift pump. basically if the lift pump that supplies fuel from the fuel tank to the inj pump fails youll never know it untill the inj pump fails. ($1000.00+) by monitoring fuel pressure going INTO the inj pump you can see when the lift pump starts to die. the truck will usually run fine with a dead lift pump but the inj pump will be preparing for retirement at a most inconveniant time....


chris:cool2:

[DutchTJ]

naw, forget about the 24v CTD ... just get a 12v ext cab with auto for around 10k and bomb the tranny and smoke them 24valvers (for less than 15grand) :D

[srv8800]

sounds like a plan but how much is a good tranny build? not something i can do myself i take it. how many miles should i look for on a 12v. also, how many miles should i expect it to go? thanks alot

[Towner]

Skip the Auto they have allot smaller injector pumps and the money you'll spend to buy a quality tranny and controller you can bomb you 5spd truck

I would keep to 97 and 98 trucks, try to get one with less than 150k miles, keep some money for gauges(pyro and 60psi boost) AFE intake and 4"exhaust systems. When its time to mod get a #10 plate, 3000 rpm gov springs and get High tech turbo to put a hx40 compressor and 14 cm exhaust housing(keep EGT's down). The last Hurdle you'll have to deal with is upgrading your clutch.

[DutchTJ]

Skip the Auto they have allot smaller injector pumps and the money you'll spend to buy a quality tranny and controller you can bomb you 5spd truck
-snip-
The last Hurdle you'll have to deal with is upgrading your clutch.
either way it's gonna cost money ;)

The bombing stuff is the same for both, auto or stick doesn't matter.
An auto will need VB + TC to last and the stick will need a better clutch :)

[Tfab]

Skip the Auto they have allot smaller injector pumps and the money you'll spend to buy a quality tranny and controller you can bomb you 5spd truck

I would keep to 97 and 98 trucks, try to get one with less than 150k miles, keep some money for gauges(pyro and 60psi boost) AFE intake and 4"exhaust systems. When its time to mod get a #10 plate, 3000 rpm gov springs and get High tech turbo to put a hx40 compressor and 14 cm exhaust housing(keep EGT's down). The last Hurdle you'll have to deal with is upgrading your clutch.

I took Towners advise and did all of the above upgrades. My truck is faster and pulls harder than any 24 valve I have driven. I'm not triing to say there aren't faster 24v trucks out there but all my upgrades were cheap and so was the truck. The truck was $12,500, gauges, Turbo upgrades, 4" exaust, K&N intake, #10 plate, and Gov springs were less than $2000.00. I have not done the clutch yet, but I need to mine is slipping bad, there goes another $1000.00. The cool thing about the manual trans is you can nurse it around until you have time to deal with it, an auto just strands you on the side of the road.

[Towner]

The bombing stuff is the same for both, auto or stick doesn't matter.
An auto will need VB + TC to last and the stick will need a better clutch

Yes the parts to modify are the same on both but its apples and oranges, the HP potential of the Std engine will gain you 50 to 75 hp over the same parts put on an Auto.

[pcorssmit]

Skip the Auto they have allot smaller injector pumps and the money you'll spend to buy a quality tranny and controller you can bomb you 5spd truck

I would keep to 97 and 98 trucks, try to get one with less than 150k miles, keep some money for gauges(pyro and 60psi boost) AFE intake and 4"exhaust systems. When its time to mod get a #10 plate, 3000 rpm gov springs and get High tech turbo to put a hx40 compressor and 14 cm exhaust housing(keep EGT's down). The last Hurdle you'll have to deal with is upgrading your clutch.

'96-'98 motors are the same.

Pete

[Towner]

[QUOTE=pcorssmit]'96-'98 motors are the same.



They are the same as a 2bbl and a 4bbl 350 chevy you can bolt the same parts on but the results will be very different....Why do you think the Auto cummins has 180hp rating and the std has 215hp rating...the 215hp engine has a completely different injector pump internally

[ScottFJ40]

You 12 valve groupies crack me up. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

My 24 valve is awesome. I drive all of the CTD's, working at a dodge dealership. I would take a 12 or 24 valve, whichever one met my needs.
I have a tech at work, he was one of the top 25 chrysler techs in the country. He drives a 12 valve, but always tries to trade me for my 24 valve.

I have a comp box, afe stage 2, exhaust, bigger fuel banjos and a FASS 2 pump to solve potential lift pump problems.

I bought mine 2 years ago with 62K miles for $14K. It's a longbed, qc, 4x4, auto. My auto has 93K miles and is still good. I ran an edge EZ for the last 30K miles, on it's highest setting and towing quite a bit.
I'm sure I'll tear up the auto with my new comp box but a goerends is coming soon.

24 valves can adjust their power from inside the cab, and they have the better interior, plus the quadcabs, other than the elusive 98 12 valve qc.

Either educate youself, or take a legitimate diesel expert with you when looking.

[DutchTJ]

You 12 valve groupies crack me up. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
hence the fact that I included the :D in my post.
Choosing a Cummins is already way better than going Ford or Chevy ... regardless of engine or tranny ;)

[pcorssmit]

[QUOTE=pcorssmit]'96-'98 motors are the same.



They are the same as a 2bbl and a 4bbl 350 chevy you can bolt the same parts on but the results will be very different....Why do you think the Auto cummins has 180hp rating and the std has 215hp rating...the 215hp engine has a completely different injector pump internally

No shait. :rolleyes:

What I meant was, in response to your saying " would keep to 97 and 98 trucks", is that as far as the motors, there weren't any changes from '96-'98 ('96-'98 autos being 180 hp, and '96-'98 manuals being 215 hp).

Pete

[lilox]

Chris,
You nailed it pal, i was also looking at about that same price range until i heard about those dual fuel pumps, that is what really turned me off of the Dodge. I have heard that pump is more than $1000.00, when i priced one for a 94 that i was looking at, my mechanic told me it would be $1800 for that main pump by the motor plus $300 to put it in. That was a little more than i was willing to spend. the Cummins is by far the best motor on the market in my opinion, and i bought a Ford!!!, but besure the truck has been taken care of by someone who knows what they are doing! Hope this helps.
Jake

[ddp1]

Scott, there are always people that have their preference. Some are downright fanatical, all brands I'm sure have that. I've owned every model Dodge offered the Cummins in, and they all can be made to work great.

The p-pump motors are hard to beat, for the pump and it's longevity, and simplistic design to get more power. The lift pump issues of the 24V are expensive to resolve, FASS and other systems.
True, the 24V and CR motors can turn on and off the power, but for pure grunt, the 12V is the low end grunt winner.

Now for the question being raised in this thread, and the price range suggested, keeps him in the 96-99 year models. Just look long and hard for the right truck, it's out there, you just need to educate yourself on what is out there, and know what you are looking for.

**That doesn't mean you can't find a deal on a newer model, but if you do, look it over closely. There's a reason for it to be lower, if 01 and newer.

[motorman]

If you are considering running straignt veggie in the future 12v holds up better to that. Some veggie guys say to not even consider doing it on a 24v due to weaker fuel delivery.

Biodiesel doesn't seem to care on 24 vs 12.

[srv8800]

my dad is makes biodiesel so i'll probrably switch to that in the future. thanks for the info. i'm looking around for something specific so it's going to take a while to find but when i do find something, i'll post up. thanks alot