Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Information about the 53 engine

[barracudabad64]

What is the main problem about the 53 engine folks have said to beware of them so being I'm new to the Dodge Diesel engineand looking at buying a used Dodge diesel I want to know what to watch out for. All opinions and help would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking at getting something with 4x4 manual transmission and my first choice is a 12 valve engine but I would consider a early 1998/2002 24 valve inless there is a real problem with that series engine.



Thanks

George

 

[Road Dog]

Do the Google: Cummins 53 FAQ

 

[DClark]

What is the main problem about the 53 engine folks have said to beware of them so being I'm new to the Dodge Diesel engineand looking at buying a used Dodge diesel I want to know what to watch out for. All opinions and help would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking at getting something with 4x4 manual transmission and my first choice is a 12 valve engine but I would consider a early 1998/2002 24 valve inless there is a real problem with that series engine.

Thanks
George

Hey George,
I appreciate your concern. You should be concerned. It is a problem that Dodge/Cummins got away with for the most part.
I have a 98. 5 that I bought new. I put 175K on it with a mix of all kinds of driving. I gave it good care but did not baby it. One day on the way to work in the winter(Montana winters are not warm) a 2 mile drive, I noticed that the temp gage was up half way which it shouldn't be in 2 miles in the cold. I drove it home after work and my son followed me and said that it was putting out white smoke. I'm thinking head gasget. I parked it on the pad in front of my shop and the next day there was a gray/green thick goo on the cement under the front part of the engine. It was a mixture of coolant and oil. I hauled to truck to my mechanic and he tore it down. It was a "53" block. It did not have a water jacket crack as discribed in the Google thread. To make a long story short, could not find the internal failure of the "53" block. I bought a non-"53" block from a recycler and had it installed. By the way, there are a lot of "53" blocks sitting in recycler's inventory. I saw a lot of them before I found one that wasn't. It is a time bomb waiting to happen. I do not believe that it matters how you use or care for the truck. It may go for ever or not. If you have one be ware. Good luck finding a good truck. 12Vs are good solid engines. I have one of those also,(360K) just like a timex watch, takes a beating and keeps on ticking. Newer 2nd gens have a nicer cab in my opinion. Currently drive a '05. Like the power.
DClark

 

[barracudabad64]

DClark, Thanks for the reply, I have done some reading on the 53 block and have decided to stay the with 12 valve engine. Leaning towards a 96 or 97 quad
cab. The wife really wants a short bed and doesn't care if the rear doors open or not. So I've got a buddy that has a hot rod shop and he is willing to
take a long bed and make a short bed out of it. this will make it easier to find a 12 valve and get the 5 speed manual 4x4 that I want and the wife the
short bed quad cab. I have looked at a couple of the 98. 5 and they have all had the 53 engine so this driving me to the 96/97 trucks.
He has done a couple of long bed conversions to short bed and said it is a piece of cake to do just need to find a good short bed and the drive line and
brake lines and such.
barracudabad64.

 

[JR]

Although there were problems with them early on I personally would not shy away from buying one today. Odds are if you come across one that is still running and hasn't had any problems to date, it will be just fine. My former 00 is A 53 Block and is still on the road with over 400k miles. I also know of a guy who hauls boats all over the country with a 53 block and has over 1 million miles on the bottom end.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Don't hesitate to grab a 12-valve with a 53 block, for whatever reason the 12V ones don't crack like the 24V. With all the reading I do on diesel boards I've only heard of one cracking.



The 53 Block FAQ doesn't cover all the details, the issue was one of the Brazilian foundries made a mistake and did not cast the critical webbing in the water jacket shown in the Cummins blueprints. As I understand it there was more than one foundry casting 53 blocks but not sure about that. I have know guys beat the heck out of their 53 block 24-valve with well over 500hp and never have a problem.



My 53 block '98. 5 has spent much of its 172000 miles with a good sized 5th wheel behind it all over the US, Canada and to Alaska, although it was at stock power. Yes it's a fairly common issue but odds are you will never have a problem.



I've owned two 12-valves and four 24-valves, I may be in the minority but I definitely prefer the 24V. It's easier to make decent power without excessive EGTs and smoke, I haven't had good luck turning up 12-valves without drivability issues and too much smoke.

 

[Wayne M.]

In the fleet was a Genset with a 53 block 12 valve. I know gensets have a fairly easy life just sitting in the cabinet running at one speed, but this one went quite a bit. I didn't know there was 12 valve versions- imagine my surprise when I was inspecting the fanbelt one time, the number on the block is almost eye level!

 

[jgillott]

Don't hesitate to grab a 12-valve with a 53 block, for whatever reason the 12V ones don't crack like the 24V. With all the reading I do on diesel boards I've only heard of one cracking.

Actually, make that 2. I helped a guy here pull a 12-valve with a cracked 53 block a few years ago. Granted, it was on a well used truck, but it did crack in that area. The 12-valve failure rate is obviously far less than the 53 24's, but it does happen.

 

[barracudabad64]

I've worked on several of the Cummins engines in different Air Force equipment and was not even aware of the 53 block issue until I found this sight. The AF equipment is serviced regularly and not run hard around the flight line. We had just a few 24 valve equipped vehicles come in to are shop before I retired.
Now I have all this information and keep bouncing back and forth trying to decide which generation to buy. Knowing my luck it looks like no matter if it is 1st or 2nd generation truck I'll end up getting one that the engine will end up cracking. So from what I under stand the 2001 year the last of the 53 blocks ?
What can I look at for ball park repair cost of replacing or repairing a cracked 53 block ? Also is there less chances of having a problem between a manual or automatic transmission with the 53 block ? This truck with any luck at all will be my last purchase. I'm 68 yrs old and have got 335,000 on my Chevy 6. 2 that this Dodge will be replacing. I will not be adding any power parts to the truck as I'm only going to be pulling a 22ft or smaller camp trailer and a 16ft car trailer with it, and just getting a 4x4 one because of the snow we get so most of the use will be on the highway.
Guess I'll just bite the bullet and get a 1st or 2nd generation 4x4 manual trans with as few of miles I can find and hope for the best.

I thanks you all for your help and advice with my truck decision.

George

 

[jgillott]

What year is your Chevy? I had an 85 with 330K on it before I bought my former '91 Dodge.

I'm guessing I was probably one of the first on this site to mention a 53 block to you. I only share my concern to you as a new TDR member since I owned one and have worked on a handful replacing the engine after the block cracked. To keep it simple, some 53's do crack. They seem not to care how they are used, with what transmission, etc. And unfortunately, we haven't at least to my knowledge, been able to find a sure fire way to determine which ones will just by sight. If you would have one that cracks, pulling the engine, replacing it or rebuilding it with another block will cost you a few to several thousand dollars depending on how much of the work you do yourself. Only you can make the judgement if that is a risk you are willing to take. My gut tells me that finding a super clean no-53 2nd gen may be somewhat difficult, but may be worth the wait for your piece of mind later on.

 

[barracudabad64]

jgillott, I appreciate you pointing out the short falls of the 53 block to me. My Chevy 6. 2 is a 1984 with the DX heads, I haven't had no problems with it at all. I replaced the injector pump once and the transfer pump other than that just the normal tires and filters, I use RPM Delo 15/40 oil changed every 2500 to 3000 miles. I also change anti freeze every fall.

I'm not overly concerned about the 53 block in the 1st generation but sounds like it mainly was the 2nd gen that the poor blocks were made. wish there was a way to tell which ones are weak and ones that are stronger but so goes life. I'll more than likely go with a good low mileage 1st or 2nd gen truck. I will stay with a manual trans and 4x4 with a quad cab. Then if I don't find a short bed I'll get a long bed and if the wife doesn't like the long bed I'll get my buddy to convert it to a short bed. I think once she get use to the little extra length she will be fine with it. Won't be her main driver as she has a 65 Ford Falcon that I completely rebuilt for her that she drives.

Thanks a lot for all the help and advice I really appreciate it. I'm one of those guys that spend months pondering which vehicle I want and then spend a year or so before I find the right one. I don't have deep pockets but will pay what ever it takes to get the right truck, just hate to pay for a good used truck and then have to put another 5 grand into a new engine but if that happens so be it.

George

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

It's unfortunate Dodge didn't make a short box diesel until the '98 model year, and by then 53 12-valve blocks were pretty common. The earliest to show up was the end of the '97 model year.

It seems 1999 models were the worst for 53 blocks cracking, 2001 odds are quite a bit better of not getting one.

The best blocks, the Mexican ones, for whatever reason seem to be found more commonly in 2wd trucks.

 

[jgillott]

jgillott, I appreciate you pointing out the short falls of the 53 block to me. My Chevy 6. 2 is a 1984 with the DX heads, I haven't had no problems with it at all. I replaced the injector pump once and the transfer pump other than that just the normal tires and filters, I use RPM Delo 15/40 oil changed every 2500 to 3000 miles. I also change anti freeze every fall.

I'm not overly concerned about the 53 block in the 1st generation but sounds like it mainly was the 2nd gen that the poor blocks were made. wish there was a way to tell which ones are weak and ones that are stronger but so goes life. I'll more than likely go with a good low mileage 1st or 2nd gen truck. I will stay with a manual trans and 4x4 with a quad cab. Then if I don't find a short bed I'll get a long bed and if the wife doesn't like the long bed I'll get my buddy to convert it to a short bed. I think once she get use to the little extra length she will be fine with it. Won't be her main driver as she has a 65 Ford Falcon that I completely rebuilt for her that she drives.

Thanks a lot for all the help and advice I really appreciate it. I'm one of those guys that spend months pondering which vehicle I want and then spend a year or so before I find the right one. I don't have deep pockets but will pay what ever it takes to get the right truck, just hate to pay for a good used truck and then have to put another 5 grand into a new engine but if that happens so be it.

George

I'm convinced that I would have kept that old Chevy around if it hadn't rusted to the point of no return. By the time I sold it, there wasn't much to even weld to anymore. The guy I sold it to, continued to use it as a plow truck for a few winters, but it certainly wasn't road worthy.

Good luck in your Dodge search. Please feel free to ask any question you may have along the way. We will be more than willing to help.

 

[barracudabad64]

Thanks to you all for the information and help. I will be posting any question I have on any trucks I find. I'm in no hurry for the truck as my Chevy will get me through the winter and until I find the right truck. This may take a while as I really want a manual transmission and 12 valve engine. The wife is really thinking about giving a long box at try so that would make it easier to find the right one. I'm going to keep my option open when it come to a 2nd generation truck as you all seem to be pretty comfortable with the 24 valve with the 2001 model year. I really appreciate all the advice and information and I'm really enjoying be a member here. I hope some day to be able to help some one out like you all have me.

Thanks George

 

[barracudabad64]

Hey Guys I've located a 1998 12 valve manual transmission real low miles. My question is where any of the 12 valve engines in the early 1998 trucks 53 blocks? The truck is a quad cab long bed which the wife is agreeable to. The truck is about 6 hrs from me so I haven't seen the truck in person just several pictures so before I make a 12 hour round trip I would like to know if it is or isn't a 53 block. That way I can take notes from here so I know what to look for or not look for. Oh this is a 4X4 also. only has 102,000 miles on it.

Thanks for the help.

George

 

[Bill Lins]

My question is where any of the 12 valve engines in the early 1998 trucks 53 blocks?

Yes- I've got one of them. (Knock on wood) So far,(195K miles) I haven't had a problem with it.

 

[barracudabad64]

Bill, Thanks for the reply, this truck is a 1 owner with just 102,000 mile on her so when I get to see her I'll looker over real good and see if is or isn't a 53 block but as clean as this truck is I think I'll take a chance on her. All the reading I've done sounds like it is a crap shoot at the best if it will or won't crack.

Take Care Have a Great week-end

George

 

[JR]

I would go for it. There is no solid guarantee you won't someday have a problem, but most of the blocks that had problems grenaded long ago. It sounds like you may have found a real gem. Can I ask how much the truck is selling for?

 

[jgillott]

Sounds like one to take a look at George. It's hard to find 12-valves with that low of miles.

 

[barracudabad64]

Diesel4life, jgillott ! Thanks for your support, He is asking $18,000. 00 for her. Really a nice looking truck from the pictures. Just hope to get there before it sells.
It is a one owner so should get all the straight scoop on her. I know like in life there is no guarantees so if it ends up being a 53 block and no sign of starting to leaking coolant in that area and no stitch marks I'm going to get her. Just got to get there before anyone else. LOL

George