Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) 53 block and 99 questions

[DavidC]

Hello Guys,



The question I have about the '99 - 53 block is: Are any of the failures due to the fact of hard towing and bombing. Has anyone had one fail that has had no excess strains? I talked to a guy in Glen Burnie, MD today at cummins and he said out of about 300,000 #53 blocks, there have only been about 5000 that have cracked.



Many thanks!



Big Ed

Mine cracked doing what the truck was bought for. Towing a 10k 5th wheel and cracked at 53k. If Cummins built 2 models, one for towing and one to get groceries I guess I picked up the wrong one .



Dave

 

[Holzarbeiter]

I don't know if i trust the numbers. Since i found the crack :{ I have searched some bus sites and they seem to have a fairly high failure rate there too.

I bought a 3500 series truck so i can tow not go joyriding. Cummins has confirmed that they have (had) a problem. During my conversation with them today, I received this statement:"we have made improvements to the block to prevent this from happening again". Well I'm glad to hear this, in the meantime all 53 owners are standing out in the cold. I don't race this truck, I do have a comp box that is never set higher than 3x3, I still run the original transmission with no mods. Yes, I'm out of warranty at 129000 miles and i don't expect them to pay for a wear item or a turbo but a block? If something I did would have caused a Rod to come flying out of the block i can see where i would be at fault.

If Cummins wants to keep a good image, they should make good on a manufacture defect. If they are not willing to help, the only other option is for the unfortunate ones to complain at a higher level until there is an investigation. Does Cummins want a forced recall? Or worse, a Class Action Lawsuit? What will that do to them in the longrun?



Sorry, had to vent, I only hope that none of the other 53 owners have to go through this.

 

[tractorface]

I do not believe the numbers at all

Sorry I don't believe the problem is rare. I have read about dozens of cracked 53's on the internet. How many guys have problems and do not post. I also am having a hard time believing it matters how hard you run the truck. Sounds like some 53's have a defect and will more than likely crack, it may be that other 53's do not have this defect.



I have heard two stories, one says the block is thinner, the other says the defective blocks have a "corner" in them causing a weak point.

Sure would like to hear more

140,000m 53

 

[DavidC]

I have heard two stories, one says the block is thinner, the other says the defective blocks have a "corner" in them causing a weak point.

Sure would like to hear more

140,000m 53

The corner part I heard directly from Cummins warranty. That is the only official source that had stated this. Never heard anything official about thickness. The person I spoke with said that two foundry's cast the 53 block. One did it correctly by casting in a certain radius where the other missed that part and squared it off. This statement tells me that not all 53 blocks will crack. He stated that they cut apart approx. 60 blocks until they finally found this foundry mistake and found out why they were cracking. This also tells me that it is a big enough problem to warrant an investigation. So why would it not warrant a free replacement if not all 53's will crack?



Dave

 

[tractorface]

Sounds right to me

Sounds to me like DavidC has some of the best information available. Certainly makes more sense to me than the thinner casting story.

 

[VicR]

So is the 'corner' something that is visible from the outside? I'll get out and compare the 97 to the 99, but I'm not sure where to look.



-Vic

 

[rmrc]

What it boils down to is that all of us 53 owners are playing "Russian Roulette".



I still submit that Cummins is now blatantly ignoring the, evidently "PROVEN", 53 defect. They now refuse to pay at least half of the replacement which shows a new trend in the company where thier reputation is in jeopardy and customer support ignored when faced with a defective product.



The only reason I bought a Dodge was because of the Cummins Diesel. Now I feel like I'm driving a time bomb not knowing if the fuse has been lit! Will it crack, or won't it. All we can do is just drive and hope for the best!



Thanks Cummins,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, for NOTHING!!!!!!!!

 

[DGFoster]

My 2000 had the 53 block,drove it for 110,000 before I knew it,and another 10,000 after I knew it,worried me to death so I traded it. The miles on that truck was trulely all heavy hauling miles,had no problems.

But the idea that Cummins is turning the other cheak is just wrong,they had a problem and knew it,they should be recalling all these trucks with the 53 block.

My wife drives school bus and guess what,they get Cummins blocks replaced left and right from cracks.

Cummins,this is WRONG TAKE CARE OF IT

 

[CORed]

DavidC... I'd be curious what your story is regarding your cracked block. Specifically what was covered, what was not, what kind of hassle, what did you end up with in the end, etc. Thanks.



Steve

 

[DavidC]

DavidC... I'd be curious what your story is regarding your cracked block. Specifically what was covered, what was not, what kind of hassle, what did you end up with in the end, etc. Thanks.



Steve

Here we go from previous posts

The 1999 53 block with 53300 miles now has a crack in the block right behind the trans. heat exchanger. Cummins 5 year warranty expired in August 2004. Called Tempe Dodge and they want to see the truck tomorrow 10/12/04. The diesel specialist said he wanted to pressurize the system to verify the crack. The block is stained from antifreeze from that area to the oil pan. The crack is not visible to the eye. When running I can see seepage and of course the stains. I wonder how Dodge and/or Cummins will apprach this so close to the warranty and only 53300 miles on the clock.

Next

Update. Tempe Dodge tech verified crack. A call to Chrysler with a resounding NO. Customer loyalty my a**. Told the rep that I have owned Chrysler vehicles exclusively since 1972 and the Ram and Dakota could possibly be the last. Anyway I called Cummins and gave them the speel. Customer rep said he would send it over to the Dodge liason and they will call me back. So why is it that Chrysler wants the public to be loyal sheep and when the sheep ask for help they say no.

Needless to say this leaves a real bad taste in my mouth for Chrysler right now. We will see with Cummins.

Next

Latest is that Cummins Ohio will pay 50% replacement. Called Phoenix Cummins and the service manager said it usually runs 7 to 8k for replacement. That leaves me with a 4k bill. If I remember right the diesel option when new was about 4600. I may be able to sell the whole thing for scrap and make enough to pay off the truck. I really hate to say it but a maxi-pad might be in my future if this repair really happens. I may just be pi**ed enough to do it. I will go take a bottle of sedatives now.

Next

It is in the hands of Chrysler customer service. She wants the case reviewed with the area manager. Her statement that this is just not right being 2 months out of warranty and 53k miles. I could have rented a limo and had champagne and breakfast on the way to work considering a 32k truck that only lasted 53k miles. Figure that cost per mile compared to a taxi. I dug up the window sticker when the truck was purchased Diesel option = 4625. 00. Needless to say some of us do not have 4k to dump into a vehicle that you already paid for once, and not that long ago.

Next

Thank you jim for the help with the 53 block. Cummins is going to replace. Chrysler turned the other cheek because the warranty had expired 2 months before the block cracked and they considered a 99 with 53k on the odometer was not worth the trouble. The dealer wanted part of the action though. They wanted to repair the block for 1k less than Cummins initial estimate. The area manager for Chrysler was worthless and supposedly was the final decision maker for Chryslers role in this. Needless to say that dealer will not see my business again. It is people like you that make belonging to the TDR worth every penny.

For the full posts you refer to these

http://turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113612

http://turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114298



As it stands right now I am out $2700. 00. Not by Cummins Ohio but by Phoenix Cummins as they assembled the shortblock then reinstalled the engine and assembled the truck to find out the crank did not have a tone ring for the CPS. So they tore everything apart again to fix the mistake. The Labor charge from them came to $5272. 00 . I keep being told by Ohio and Phoenix that they will review the case. This has been going on for about a month now with no results. Essentially I am paying for a supposedly qualified diesel mechanic that missed the tone ring. It was their mistake not mine. Now if I was in the market at 350K miles or I blew the block I would gladly pick up the $2700. 00 as it would be a screaming deal. I do not feel that I need to pay for someone elses mistake and the whole thing should not have happened in the first place.



Sorry it is so long and I do not wish this 53 dilemma on anyone. I was 50 when this started and feel like 70 now.



Dave

 

[ProMac1K]

Does anyone know the build location of this plant that had the bad blocks? Was it Mexico, or Brazil, or does it matter which plant?



53 block on my '97 with close to 400 HP currently, and ran hard constantly. Plan on setting twins on it soon. A number isn't going to stop me!

 

[BTarbert]

My raised "53" is on the passenger side near front of engine. Most of the posts indicate that the dreaded "53" is on the drivers side. Keeping my fingers crossed at 112,000 miles.

 

[smitty3500]

99 QC Daully with #53 block and 140k. Is still in stock form.

 

[AKDrifter]

tick.....tock

Hey, let's band together on this issue and try to do something about this as a group. Mine hasn't cracked yet but I feel the pain of those who had there's do it.



The question is, how do we band together and get something done about this. At 100,001K I'm going to start worrying. There must be a way as a group we can be heard more and get a recall.



Look what the gree*ies have done in groups. How????? Is it possible???



We know we are SOL when the dreaded happends, how do we do it?? Really.



Any business lawyers out there?



Paul

 

[wicked6]

... all it takes is a lawyer to smell blood & they'll do everything else... for only 30% of the take... ...







On another note - I got a big harness of some sort that is in the way of determining if my 98. 5 has a "53" or not. . Anyone know what this harness is for. . ?

 

[wicked6]

... all it takes is a lawyer to smell blood & they'll do everything else... for only 30% of the take... ...







On another note - I got a big harness of some sort that is in the way of determining if my 98. 5 has a "53" or not. . Anyone know what this harness is for. . ?

UPDATE:



Removed the hold down clamp on said harness & jostled it out of the way for a *clear* view - no raised "53" to be found, just some 1/4 inch, non descript lettering of some sort. . I couldn't read them clearly - anyone know how to decode these. . ???????

 

[JJ Jackson]

What really sucks is, that people who bought their truck new are being turned away from the 50% deal that Cummins once offered. I could understand someone buying a truck off a used car lot with over 100k on it not being granted the 50% deal, but not the guy who bought it new of the showroom floor and has loyally kept it for all these years. There are now three kinds of "53 block" owners, 1) Lucky not to have a failure at all. 2) Lucky to have had Cummins to pay half when it did fail. 3) Lucky that there are stupid enough dealers out there that will gladly take their truck in on trade for an 05, provided you spray paint the block and dont drive it very far the day you trade it in.

 

[Ram666]

check this out

 

[Ram666]

oops trying to load pictures ,guess it did not work!!!!

 

[cArNiVaLwOrKeR]

I was a VICTIM 13 months ago. and g0t help from DC, still ended up costing a GRIp of money outta pocKet