I hopefully will be looking at a 24 valve in the next week or so. Other then the 53 block and blow by what should I look at before making my purchase? Also if it is 53 block should I avoid it completely or if it has 110000 or so miles and hasn't cracked yet am I fine? I am a little nervous about getting it and having it turn into a problem child. It is going to be used to haul a camper and boat and snowplowing my driveway.

 

What year is the truck ? And 53 block would be a no go for me .make sure your axles are good and look for signs of abuse and make sure turbo has got no shaft play look for head gasket issues oil In Coolant .fuel in oil . Try and find out if it has a aftermarket fuel setup and when/if the VP was replaced other then that it would be a good truck oh and take a good look at the steering make sure the frame is not cracked by the steering gear

 

It is a 99. The seller is going to look into if it is a 53 block. I sent him some info on the subject he said that he has never had any issues with it, but I am just not a fan of a 53 block. If it was a 12valver it would already be sitting in the driveway with the other ones.

 

Standard or automatic? 5th gear has some issues in the 5spd stick shifts.

 

It is an auto

 

if it's a 53 block, give it to me I'm not scared

246k miles and 576hp 1285tq @ the rears @ 75PSI boost on my lil ol 53 block

 

Jigabop, are you are saying that with 110,000 on it if it has not cracked by now it should be fine?

 

they can crack after that if they came out of the bad casting.

there were a LOT of 53 castings. one of said castings shifted a bit causing a thin spot in the right side of the block on about 1 or 2% of the 53 blocks that were made.

those with the thin spots tended to crack because they were less than half the block thickness on the passenger side that they were supposed to be.

usually the crack is caused by hot rodding the truck on a cold engine, towing heavy through the mountains on a cold engine, or sled pulling and putting excessive stress on the engine.

I have also seen more than one 55 block crack, and I have also seen a storm block crack. 53 blocks were just more common to have it happen because of the thin spot on a very small number of blocks. there were hundreds of thousands of 53 blocks made. chances of you buying one that is going to crack are very slim.

so yeah, I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it is already cracked. I would worry more about getting the truck you want that has all the options and features you want without being trashed or a lemon.

the cummins engine is the strongest most reliable thing on my truck...wish I could say the same about the POS dodge around the engine .

my truck is a bit of a lemon. damn near replaced almost every single part of the steering. and steering box is leaking AGAIN!. PS pump is shot. steering column bushing is shot. replaced both front hub assemblies already. replaced heater core and did the evap core while I was in there.

replaced the AC compressor because it seized on me. (this was years before heater and evap core replacements) rear door linkage that connects to the latch has broken on both sides twice in the last 5 years. vacuum leaks I have fixed, blower fan and blower resistor replaced.. I can keep going??

engine: head gasket (my fault) water pump and tstat (not my fault)

other than those, engine has been running like a champ.

replaced the first NV5600 as well, that one was my fault too . (my fault = performance related)

 

I am not really to particular on the the truck as long as it is a Cummins. It is going to be a camper hauler/ plow truck to eventually replace my rusty first gen, and periodically pull my little backhoe. The selling point to me on this one is that it has a camper that comes with it. My daily driver is a 12 valve 2nd gen that I do not want to hang a plow on.