Is There A "Most Reliable" Stock Engine?
 

Is there any specific year Cummins considered the most reliable of the bunch?

Simply put the 1998 12V.
After that the 2002 24V.
After that the 2004.5 24V.
After that the 2007 6.7L 24V.

My opinions.

P-pumpers are the most reliable.
Followed by CP3's, VE's and VP-44's, in that order.

At any given horsepower level above, say 500 HP, CP3's are the most reliable and VE's the least.

Begle1, I would tend to disagree given the problems with the rails on the CP3 trucks.

P pumps are great on sled pullers but don't offer much for economy and I wouldn't use one personally for a daily driver.

For a playin truck it would have to be the 12V

For a daily driver I told the wife I didn't want a CR that I'd stick to my 24V. Way to many problems on these new trucks that even the dealers don't seem to be able to get figured out.

Thanks. Whats the estimated life of most Cummins before a rebuild is in order? (they use sleeves right? so no machining is necessary?)

If you buy a new one and leave it stock... Chances are you will never need to rebuild it... The rest of th etruck will fall apart around the engine.

P-Pump trucks are the most reliable trucks for DD. Sled pullers love them, but so do thousands of guys who use them everyday for work. If your going to build one to the hilt, and you need to be able to street it, then your probably not gonna want a 12v, but if you want to build a 400-500hp truck on a single charger a 12v can do it with extreme reliability. You can nearly eliminate electrical components running the engine, so if a computer chunks out on you on the road, you can still drive the truck home by tying up the shutoff solenoid. Try doing that with a VP, or CR truck. :run:

Now if you put a set of twins in one with a valet switch you can make as much power as you want and still keep it streetable. Economy is all in how you drive it. I get a consistent 17.5 out of my 97 around town commuting, and 20-22mpg on the highway depending on where I'm going and what the weather is like, my lighter 99 24v barely get there empty, without a toolbox or a ranchhand bumper.

Simply put, the 12v is the most reliable engine once the KDP has been tabbed, no question about it. After that things get murky. IMO, it would go in an order like this:

1. 12V P-Pump, Any year (But the 98 is the nicest)
2. 5.9L CR (Again, year doesn't matter much, but 04.5's seem to do well)
3. 6.7L CR (All years so far seem to be doing well)
4. VE 12V, Preferably an Intercooled model, but reliablility wise they're all similar
5. VP-44 24V, Between 53 blocks, lift pumps, and Injection Pumps, they're asking for trouble, but those can be fixed with enough cash.

no sleeves in a 5.9.....

a non intercooled VE truck is more reliable than a intercooled VE truck cause the intercooled truck has an ECM........

Non-intercooled's also have crackomatic heads, though... :humm: