I have 139+ on mine, and yes, the tranny is starting to give me problems. That's the only thing. I've been babying it (not towing, turning off the OD at 45 or below, etc.) hoping for enough money to re-build it but with the unemployment and now new job, I'll have to wait a few more months. This is the very best truck I've ever owned. Go ahead and buy one. I't will be the best investment you'll ever make. Personally, the only reason you'd have problems with the oil passages is if you use a Fram (or other cheap filter), or don't ensure you've removed ALL the foil from the oil bottle top when you open it, and problems with the lift pump could be pointed to performance modifications. Other than removing the silencer ring and poking additional holes in my stock air box, mine is as stock as you can find and I've had no problems with the lift pump or anything else. This was my first (and only) diesel powered vehicle. I can't imagine going back to a gasser.


DW

 

Man if you are going to shy away because of trouble you read about on this board you realy better not go to the cheby or ferd boards. Anyway if you are a good wrench you should know if man made it its going to fail. If God done it now thats perfection.

 

now wait just a darn minute I have a 1990 LE and it has never been back to the dealer ever and I have never ever owned a more realiable vehicle this truck just keeps going the few repair I have done I cant complain about for a 15 year old truck. I drive this truck every day and only do normal mantainace (oil lube brakes,belts) I have new chevy thats seen the dealer a dozen times and only has 70k on it . every truck... FORD CHEVY DODGE TOYOTA NISSAN have a week link somewhere but you will not find a more trouble free engine than a cummins. I have owned all of them some good some bad but the dodges seem to really hold up for me no matter how hard i push them.

 

i love my ctd i went to look under the hood of my wifes montero sport to check the plugs and what not, to get to the plugs u have to take the complete intake off of the **** engine just to get to the plugs???? i said shhhhhhhit, called around to get a price, 350 to change plugs out. and have u seen the room under the hood of a duracrap, u can bearly see the engine with all the crap going all over it.

 

on fuel mileage. my 90 gets better mileage towing 10k than my sons company ps dually does empty. really frustrates him.

 

...what are these horror stories u speak of?.....the tranny discussions folks have on here deal with holding capabilities during serious upgrades to the motor....i dont know of a stock tranny that likes to be beat up by 800 lbs at 1600rpms after a minor power upgrade...so that becomes everyone's concern naturally....melted pistons RARELY happens ...this is why everyone advocates gauges though and the topic keeps coming up

i think u have nothing AT ALL to worry about the the cummins and the drivetrain unless ur planning on increasing the power blindly...majority of guys on here are perfomance oriented and so they're always concerned about doing the right thing and not hurting their baby and so am I

hope that helps

 

That is one funny post! I know what you mean!

 

You hit it! Mainly the transmissions. And of course the one I am getting that had the clogged nozzle. Oh yea... read that last line again! I just booked my flight to go out and pick one up. I hope it works out for me Look for my other post in this section on those details.


I got my nickname from working on Buick Grand Nationals and Turbo-T cars for the last ohhhhh 14 years. I know a decent amount about turbos, intercoolers, injectors, pumps, EGT gauges, Wide-Bands, etc... I think I will be okay with it. The main thing is it will be babied and not driven much

 

Just for the intrest's sake, I put all the fuel fill-ups into excel last night and found out that since December, I've not had a tank below 19.5 mpg. The highest was 23.5 mpg, I drive a "lightweight" Cummins as my signature suggests.

 

That's awesome! Is that average or HWY? What speeds and what gears?

 

CTD all the way. I drive a 01 powerstroke at work and have put about 100k on it. It's a good truck but we have had alot of trouble with them. Transmission, injector and other problems with the engines. These trucks are utility trouble trucks and are overloaded, driven hard and put away wet but they all spend alot of time in the shop. My truck eats automatics with the first four not making 10 k apiece. Ford came up with a new high zoot modified version and mine now has 18 k but is starting to shift like an old powerglide! Also plagued with brake problems, broken track bar, bad injectors, broken spring, etc etc. Warranty by ford has been terrible with an average of 2 - 3 trips to dealer for each repair. My dodge pu has not given me any trouble except the vp44 and lift pump. Warranty was no problem. The problems with the fords at work are what convinced me to go ctd and I'll never look back.

 

I traded my 97 360 gasser for my CTD without knowing anything about it. I just knew I wanted more truck and a manual transmission. I made the trade and have been happy ever since. I later found this forum to learn what I had gotten into. God certainly takes care of children and fools cause I think I did OK.

No way would I ever trade back. Good luck with your deciscion.

 

I wanted a CTD ever since they came out in 1989, but I was in high school then and broke. I never new much about diesels and even my dad a mechanic of 30 years told me not to buy one because they are noisy, smelly and slow. When my wife and I had our first child and I was replacing the spurk plugs in our Pathfinder I was fased with a choice: 1. cut off 3 fingers to get at the back 2 plugs: or, 2. Get rid of the piece of #&%@. The only thing my wife said was that she wants a short box and it has to be white (Did I mention that the Pathfinder got 16 mpg (and it was only a gut less V6). These are possibly the best trucks in the world. Very reliable. I have driven mine accross Canada 3 times with a 9,000lbs trailer averaging 17.5 mpg. You will not ergret buying a Cummins.

Oh, my dad is looking for one too.