Was buying a 24V a bad move?

[UN-S1L3NT-24V]

I have been browsing these forums for the last 2 months and I am now really worried. It seems that most the ppl on here are having alot of problems with their trucks, costing them tons of money. I now feel I didnt know what I was getting into buying my truck. I just really liked the way it felt and drove and liked the thought of being able to tow whatever comes my way in the future. So I bought my 98. 5 24V (98000) miles on it, transmission was rebuilt 5000 miles before I purchased it. naturally being someone who cant leave a vehilce alone I bought an Edge Comp and installed gauges, but I sure dont want to be replacing the fuel pump for 2000 dollars, buying a new transmission for 3000+, getting a new lift pump 200, Etc, Etc, Etc. Was getting this truck a mistake for me? :{

 

[DOUGMartin]

If you looked at any site about one type of vehicle i think you would find alot of people talkinf about problumes. That is one of the reasons for this site. Any vehicle you buy you could worry about. This site helps you know what to look out for. When I first joined the site i felt the same way as you ( holy cow what did I get into). But I feel much better now.

 

[BarryG]

As Doug mentioned these sites are for vehicle owners and many times they have questions about problems. Not much point in posting a thread that says my truck is great and doesn't have any problems, though some do when they hit a mileage milestone. I can't speak to a 98. 5 but my 96 had zero problems in 120k before I sold it for a 2001. 5. My 01 has not been entirely trouble free but it has been very good. I have had three problems in 99900 miles so far (should hit 100k tommorrow). The fuel tank sending unit (tank level sensor) which I found out about when I ran out of fuel, my lift pump went out, well didn't go out completely but showed low pressure and when the dealer was fixing the sending unit I asked them to check the lift pump at 57k. They did and replaced it. At about 62k my vp44 went out which they attributed to the previous low pressure of my lift pump and the fact that I ran out of fuel due to the sending unit. They were fixed under warranty and if it happened out of warranty I might have a different opinion. That being said many many owners have had no problems. Personally I don't think they are really any better or worse than any other model of diesel truck as far as issues go. However I do believe in the Cummins engine which is why I bought the dodge.

 

[RustyJC]

Originally posted by UN-S1L3NT-24V

IIt seems that most the ppl on here are having alot of problems with their trucks, costing them tons of money.

I specifically ordered my 2002 with the thought that I'd rather have the last year of an older model than the first year of a new model. In my almost 40 years of buying vehicles, I've been a manufacturer's "guinea pig" too many times. Even spending 90% of its mileage towing a 13,500 lb 5th wheel, my 2002 has never been back to the dealer for anything, much less a warranty repair.



Rusty

 

[csaba]

I am with Rusty ... .

I got the 2002 before the the design has changed. I lost an LP at around 90,000 miles (fixed under warranty) and a few light bulbs, but I am still running the original rear breaks and the truck has been nothing but great.

Watch how you drive, take care of the truck and it will be good to you for a long time; drive like a crazy person and do extreme upgrades (without understanding how to do it) and your truck's life will be short.

This site will let you learn how to drive, what to watch out for and how to upgrade without blowing up :{ Remember ... . some will teach you what to do and some will teach you what not to do



Good luck ... . these are great trucks!



Csaba

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

AS with ANY specific model vehicle, do your research, identify the areas of weaknesses, then monitor them carefully or take appropriate steps to correct them



In the case of the 24 valve engine, the fuel system is the main weak area, both with the lift pumps and the VP-44 injection pump. Sometimes their fate is linked, when the LP fails, then damages to VP-44 due to fuel starvation, since it is both cooled and lubed by diesel fuel flow.



The "fix" for the LP is to simply add a pusher pump, or one of the several kits mentioned on this site (do a search). If you maintain proper fuel flow and pressure to the VP-44, chances are it will last longer than you will own your truck, use of a good fuel additive for increased lubricity is also a good precaution - proper guages are an absolute MUST!



Cost for all this will be around $250 - about the cost of good tire or a bit more - but hardly enough to offset the rest of the appeal of a VERY fine truck = and there is at least *1* of these truck running around in daily commercial service with over a million miles on it, and it still has the original VP-44 in it!



Like a couple of other who posted above, I bought my '02 specifically because I wanted the LAST of one series of trucks rather the the first of the next - never regretted it - mine has been back to the dealer ONCE, to replace the passengers side mirror - that's it!

 

[UN-S1L3NT-24V]

WOW! csaba, rusty, Barry and gary, you guys have alot of mods, what have you done about your transmissions?



Ill do a search on the lift pump issue, ill spend the 250 bucks if itll help lengthen the life of my VP44. What additives can you add to the fuel to aid in lubricating? never heard that before...



Thanks for the Help!

 

[RJOL]

Originally posted by UN-S1L3NT-24V

... naturally being someone who cant leave a vehicle alone I bought an Edge Comp and installed gauges

Well I hope one of the gauges you installed was a fuel pressure gauge. That will tell you a lot about the fuel system. I'm not convinced that you need to install a pusher pump, but you do need to monitor your fuel pressure. Also, I don't know if you had any mods done to the transmission, but if your running an Edge Comp, and your not careful, you can overstress a stock auto transmission just like you can burn up a stock 5 or 6 speed clutch. Do all mods you want, but be aware of how it will effect your setup. Have fun...

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

As the others have said you will of course read about problems on a model specific site. That's kind of the whole point. IMO you bought a very reliable truck. Yes, there are some issues you have to deal with as there always are. The lift pump is one - I replied to another one of your posts about that. The injection pumps while they do sometimes fail, if you look at the number of trucks running around here and the number of failures the failure rate is VERY low IMO.



With an Edge comp box you do have enough power to tear up a stock transmission over time. Was it a stock rebuild or a performance rebuild? If I were you with a fresh transmission assuming it was a stock rebuild I'd talk to the transmission companies out there and spend a little bit now to protect it before having to spend a bunch later.



With 98,000 miles on your truck you will have some maintenance expenses come up but I definately don't think you've made a mistake by any means. My truck with 145,000 miles on it has been by far the best truck I've ever owned and has cost me less in repairs at 145,000 miles than my S-10 had at 80,000. Welcome to the club!

 

[RustyJC]

Originally posted by UN-S1L3NT-24V

WOW! csaba, rusty, Barry and gary, you guys have alot of mods, what have you done about your transmissions?

Nothing - I have the 6-speed manual transmission. The most recent mod (DD2 injectors) did necessitate a clutch upgrade to the South Bend Con OFE, however, but I knew that was a distinct possibility when I installed the larger injectors.



Rusty

 

[tbrudder]

One more suggestion--read up on the KDP. I read all about the VP-44 and LP problems when I bought my '99, and after my LP failed (killing the -44) and both were replaced under warranty (two weeks before warranty expired!), I put the gauges on. But the KDP was always in the 12V fourms, and it sounded like it wasn't a problem for the 24V, so I didn't think about it.



But in recent months, I came across some posts that said this was not, in fact, the case. Some 98. 5s, 99s, and maybe even 2000s had the old timing case that would let the dowel pin work its way out. Worry got the better of me, so I pulled the timing case cover off to tab it, but I had the stepped case (you'll read about all this if you search for KDP, trust me), so I dimpled the bore, put threadlocker on it, changed the crank seal, and buttoned it back up, feeling much better about it.



Just thought I'd throw that out--a lot of the KDP posts (early ones, anyway) give the impression that it's not a problem in the 24V, and I'd hate to see you have to pay for an expensive repair when the fix is so easy.



--Ty

 

[BarryG]

Un:

I haven't done anything to my transmission yet. I figured I paid for the original and I will get as much out of it as I can before I rebuild it and then do the whole thing. I have 99950 miles on it so far and it is still working fine. However I am getting ready to purchase a trailer and am thinking it is time to go ahead and do it, I actually put it in the budget for the trailer. In fact I have already started making calls and am within an inch of a final decision. I really don't have that much hp (I am sure I am under 300hp) especially compared to many others here and I do drive it with the transmission in mind. If I wasn't going to get a trailer I would continue to wait until it started showing signs but I think with the rv and the miles it has I better do it on my terms instead of it taking a dump out in BFE.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

As to mods, and my transmission/differential. no problems or mods, tho' my clutch is slipping and will eventually need replacing... I don't abuse my truck at all, but it is used a lot for towing our 5th wheel, which certainly is a strain, especially in the hills.

 

[csaba]

WOW! csaba, rusty, Barry and gary, you guys have alot of mods, what have you done about your transmissions?

I have the 6sp manual trans; the clutch slipped the first time I wanted to "show off" to my buddy, so we put in a SBC Con O and a set of fastCoolers. Now I can't get my trans temp above 130 - 140 even if I try.



As I said before ... . I LOVE THIS TRUCK!



Csaba

 

[smcstay]

If you allow it to happen - reading these posts can make you very paranoid. I bought my first Dodge Cummins 2 months ago, a '99 with 110K miles. Within 2 weeks had to take it back for a complete auto trans overhaul. If that doesn't cool your enthusiasm for your new (used) truck ...

Nevertheless, I remain a firm believer in the product and look forward to many miles of reliability. Because I have read up on the wonders of the LP and the VP44; I am installing a fuel pressure gauge right now - just recieved it Monday. It is a known issue - I want to be able to monitor it. If you don't make good use of the info that is available here, why bother to read any of it. Don't let the bad news drag you down. I agree with what many others have said in reply to your question - you hear from the guys who are having problems - not from the guys who have none. I was lucky, the dealer repaired my transmission at no cost to me. I had a "NO WARRANTY / AS IS" used vehicle. You know . . the very thing that so-called experts tell you not agree to. Because the failure occured 2 weeks after purchase the dealer repaired it and was pretty gracious about it. Could have been much worse. This is a good product.

I think we made a good choice.

 

[DHayden]

There are 20,000 people on this board now, thats alot of trucks! It may seem like an epidemic but if you average the numbers it's not bad at all, especially since alot of times people are asking questions for "their buddy" who doesnt have membership.



Also alot is not necessarily things going bad but prevention or bombing... . you will get the bug... it's only a matter of time

 

[UN-S1L3NT-24V]

Oh I Already GOT THE BUG! I want to Bomb the he|| out of this thing but I thought a transmission upgrade was around $2000 not $4K to $5K - I think ill drop 5K in my car wayy before I drop it into this truck - another 5K into my car and ill easily hit 11's So it seems pointless to Bomb the truck now. Ill just build it up a bit better for off road, and do the longevity mods, fuel system upgrade and such. Maybe ill change my mind later who knows, but id be cool to have an 11 second fwd streetcar



Shoulda probably bought a stick but I knew id be driving this truck alot and traffic is insane around here so the auto was a must at this point in time.