opinions on 1995-2001 dodge cummins

I am in the looking for a new (to me) truck. Looking to spend 5-10k and get a 2500 cummins. I would like a ext cab and ext bed and a truck as close to stock as possible. Seems like a good majority of those trucks are running big injectors, big turbo, fuel plates, injector pump etc. What are your opinions of them? Should I be afraid that all these trucks have between 150-250k miles on them?

It would be my daily driver and also pull hay wagons, and a gooseneck with my 1655 on it. The tractor weighs about 9,000 lbs. Opinions of what to look for? I currently have a 1997 dodge ram 2500 gasser with the 360 in it and it just does not have the power to haul it. Plus, it is tired. It has about 184,000 miles on it.

I have a 98 2500, with the early 14 valve diesel engine. Engine is great except the fuel millage sucks compared to the old 12 valve motor, but it does have more power (it"s stock). Eugine wise i wouldn"t be too worried about a chip or bigger injectors/turbo... they"re not quite bullet proof, but close, if the power is kept reasonable... more worried about who/how it was driven. We have 260k miles on ours now, and the bodywork is starting to give up, the box especially...

My worry over extra power is the transmission, 5th gear is known for being bad if it pulls lots and heavy loads... and if it"s an auto, i"d want a big cooler. We"ve gone through two transfer cases on ours so far... The absolute worst problem we have with the diesel is the front end parts... we go through the steering every couple of years... it"s not quite man enough for the heavy engine somehow... you will know when it needs done... steering will have no feel, half a turn or more before the wheels start to turn.

If your truck is in good shape, you might be better of to fix the motor then chip your truck to get more power... it would be cheaper than another truck... and you already know what you have.

that should read 24 valve, NOT 14 valve... dóh

mines also to get a little to rusty. overall the truck looks good, but its about done. My dad used it as his work truck since new and its had some abuse, although its always been inside until the last 3 years.

Id really rather have a diesel, but I need to make sure of the trucks condition before I buy anything.

I know the front end parts are always a problem. And its not the engine i am worried about with the extra power, it is the transmission, and front end, rear end etc. I know the capabilities of a 5.9 cummins.

Olliekid, I used to have a '96 Dodge 2500 Dielsel and would probably still be driving it if someone hadn't pulled out in front of me and totalled it. It had 313,000 miles on it and ran as good as the day I bought it and did not use oil. A truck with 200,000 miles would not bother me in the least as long as the rest of the truck was sound. That pickup had a 5-speed in it and had the same fifth gear problem that many of those transmissions had. All that happens is the one-piece spanner nut that holds fifth gear in place unscrews itself and lets fifth gear drop off it's shaft. It's on the rear of the transmission and is easy to get to. The factory fix was a split spanner nut with a locking cross bolt which seemed to fix the problem. I believe it had loctite put on it as well. That pickup was the most dependable vehicle I have ever owned. Put on some wear parts and drive it. I bought an '08 Diesel to replace it and history seems to be repeating itself. I have been extremely pleased with the Cummins Dodge trucks. Mike

I"ve had three of them, and have had decent luck with them. I"ve always looked for/bought trucks that were as close to stock as possible. Just because someone bought a lot of aftermarket stuff for his truck, doesn"t mean they took care of it. I know garage kept low mileage cummins" are pretty rare, but they"re out there.

Best one to look for is an early 98. You get the new interior with the 12v motor.

You might already know this, but if you end up with a 24v, a fuel pressure gauge is a must.

Yeah, mine was a '98 but just a club cab.

The 12 valve I had got 20-22 mpg.

The problem I had was the nv4500 5 speed I had in it. I had the 5th gear problem.


Other than that, strong truck and great motor.

I have a 95 Dodge w/ the 5.9 cummins and allison auto trans. With the long bed and club cab, thats one long truck.
Pulled my 8800 lbs. 5th wheel anywhere I wanted to go with ease.
Only one problem ever. North-East roads = RUST.

96 Ram here, 5.9 12 valve, 5 spd. Club cab, 8 ft box. Always in heated garage. Never off road . 139K. Injection timed at 125K was off 2 degrees. Bone stock, grill guard, diamond plate running boards. A few stone chips in paint Interior as new, never smoked in. 20 mpg empty, 15-18 towing depending on load.

Never had a problem with the rear axle, but we had to fix the disconect on the front axle, welded 2 together, now front axle/drive shaft turns all the time. Had a rear brake issue with the load sensing valve, removed valve and had to replace brake cylinders as they were ceased. Our 5 speed has been ok, but transfer case gave use issues about 100k miles ago, not had an issue with it since the front axle mod.

Good luck finding one... thay are good trucks.

that picture is about exactly what I have in mind. Id like some towing mirrors though. Nice looking truck!

the hard part is finding a good one...

buddy of mine has a 24 valve with over 200k miles on it. I would like his truck because he got a new one but he won't part with the old one. regardless he is a diesel mechanic and I will have him come with me at any truck I go look at.

I have a couple friends and an uncle that have them (mines a first generation). No ones had many problems with them except the usual clutch replacement and front end parts. Uncled truck is an auto he took it down to florida and had the tranny beefed up. I think he took it to Dr Diesel (I could be wrong) . Ive flogged the he## out of mine went to a different turbo, installed the pod injectors had the pump built and changed pump timing. Its got 260000 on it and still goin. I believe the second generations probably just as good a truck if not better than mine but mines not fell apart yet so theres no need to upgrade.

thanks for the info. Thats exactly the kind of stuff I am looking for. Ive seen a few decent looking deals on craigslist but who knows with craigslist...

Late 98 up to 03 's had injector pump problems. I got 95,000 out of mine. They like to blame it on the lift pump not putting out enough pressure but mine has always read high enough. Also said that the electronics on the pump go bad. That's what went wrong with mine. $1100 exchange for a remanufactured one. Last road trip I got to within a mile of home and it went to high idle at a stop sign. Continued on but before I got home it went in limp mode-just idle speed. Throttle sensor went out. $149 for a new one. Otherwise I like my 02. Front end seems tight yet but I mostly use it on long road trips. No problem with tranny or clutch and I always have a trailer on behind. Put front brakes in at 90,000. My son had one with over 400,000 on it and another with 250,000 and still running. Running empty with the trailer I get 17-18 mpg. Loaded it drops to 12-14.

Got a 98 24V 3500 two wheel drive dually five speed manual long frame with 10' flatbed. Mileage is 13-15 just driving around locally and 16 and sometimes 17 on the road. I keep track of every mile and every drop of fuel. Pulling the guts out of it long distance it gets 7-10 MPG. I almost never pull in overdrive. Tried it once on flat land at 60 MPH and the mileage was worse. Seems like the engine likes the 2200 RPM range when it's pulling hard. That's in the area of 60 MPH. And yes, the injection pump costs $2500 after it's been run low on fuel. First hand experience!! Jim

I've had 2 of them, first one was a 2001, 24v 5 speed, 2500. I worked the snot out of it. Decent all around truck. I did quite a bit of work to it. Did ok til 150,000. At 150K put a front end in it. That was 3500 bucks. At 165K had to put a head on it, truck had never been hot on the gage but the head was blue and warped/cracked. Puking oil out of the radiator overflow bottle. Put injectors in it while the head was off and then had to put a pump on it. All of that and the the clutch started slipping. For what the head and injection work cost I could have bought a 460 long block, new, in a crate. I sold it with 289K on it for 10. It needed a transmission and a set of bearings in the front differential. Got about 17 mpg stock, 16 with +40 injectors.

Bought a 99 for the same money, 3500, 11 foot flat bed. So far its been a good truck. Nothing done to it but the front end so far. What Ive learned is that even stock, if you work them hard, put a pyro, boost, and fuel pressure gage rack on them. It surprising how hot the pyro will run in a long hard pull, even when the truck never lets on like its running hot up top.

Got a 96 with 268K on it.Only problems I have had have been for the most part self induced. Have overloaded the heck out of it.
About the only thing that I have had that bugs me is the fuel lever senser in the tank has been replaced 3 times...and it's bad again, The AC had to be fixed...that cost me, and it eats lower front shock bolts...they wear and start to rattle. Drives ya crazy till you figure it out.
I would go get another again without even thinking it over.