how many miles is 'too many' on a diesel?

[Johnny Quest]

ive read that many diesels will go for hundreds of thousands of miles before you have to start worrying about them, but when looking at used trucks, how many miles is too many? for example, im looking for a true crew cab cummins with a five or six speed manual tranny, and as expected, most of the trucks in my price range have mileage of 150k+. but is this too high? am i setting myself up for costly repairs in the next 50k? i would love a 2nd gen ram, but the biggest cab those came with is just not big enough, as i need something that can fit an adult or two in the 2nd row.

 

[TJDukit]

I think the biggest thing to worry about with the dodges is ball joints like to go out. As far as the engines go 150k is nothing on a cummins, speaking from personal experience I would do my best to find a diesel that has never been chipped or had any power adders. You just never know how it was treated.

 

[Greg]

Much if it has to do with how well the truck has been taken care of... but most diesel's with 150k wouldn't scare me.

 

[ricsrx]

I picked my 04 coummins up with 188k , i am at 208k now, it was chiped, 4'' exahaust with no muffler and the fuel pump was upgraded. I have had it for 3 years and it
still runs good and strong, but its always a gamble.....

 

[TRD270]

I sold one cummins with 288K one with 333k both still ran great when I sold them. The problem with the dodges is the rest of the truck starts to fall apart. Rear end problem 4x4 front end problems tranny problems. The truck will die around the motor just check the other stuff. My old work ran a Cummins up to 800k and that was with a load on it everyday. It didn't run well but it ran.

 

[pELYgroso]

I bought a '95 PSD w/ 214K on it. I checked how it had been treated and everything looked good. I'm at 250k now and I haven't had one problem with it besides the normal stuff that wears out w/ high miles like batteries, alternator, vacuum pump, AC pump,....normal wear and tear parts. It still runs amazing! My dad has the same exact truck that's a '96 and he hasn't taken the greatest care of it and it only has about 180k on it and it doesn't run as strong as mine. Mine is a 5 speed w/ a Luk clutch, no power mods, all stock and it's a champ! I expect 400k out of it! I use schaeffers synthetic fluids every 6k miles and send in a sample to be tested every other change, and it keeps coming back clean! My mechanic who works on it has another client w/ the same engine at 350k doing the changes every 10k miles because his oil comes back clean from the testers every change and it runs strong! I think the most important thing is to find one that has been taken care of, and as long as you do the same, they'll last a loooong time!

 

[Kiel]

I think the worst thing in my opinion is your one major thing away from costing you half of what your truck is worth. Like an engine or trans going out to the tune of 3-5 grand.

 

[Houndoc]

Others shared my thoughts- my ram has been trouble free as far as engine goes but have had to replace ball-joint, tie rods etc twice already (about 140k). Is an 05 with auto- am considering selling- pm if interested.

 

[Herzog]

My current 2001 CTD has 225k+ and currently runs stronger than when I bought it. All I've had to do since I bought it in 2003 is add a new lift-pump at 190k and new injector pump at 210k (replaced OEM pump, some people have them go out much earlier but I've never chipped my truck and I don't abuse the pedal).

I think when it comes down to it, find one that was taken care of with regular maintenance and you should be pretty good to go.

 

[Toad]

I think the worst thing in my opinion is your one major thing away from costing you half of what your truck is worth. Like an engine or trans going out to the tune of 3-5 grand.

Yes but you cant buy anything for 3-5 grand now days either.

Just had a customer scrap a minivan because it needed 1500 bucks in head gaskets. Half the price of what the vehicle is worth. They had owned the vehicle for a long time, knew the history, and maintenance. So they bought a used 15,000 dollar vehicle. So buying a different vehicle that they new nothing about became a better decision then fixing what they had.

 

[TJDukit]

Yes but you cant buy anything for 3-5 grand now days either.

Just had a customer scrap a minivan because it needed 1500 bucks in head gaskets. Half the price of what the vehicle is worth. They had owned the vehicle for a long time, knew the history, and maintenance. So they bought a used 15,000 dollar vehicle. So buying a different vehicle that they new nothing about became a better decision then fixing what they had.

That does make sense for people who don't or won't do their own maintenance. I'm willing to buy cheaper if I know I can handle the maintenance that will go with a higher mileage vehicle as long as I have a good idea of what it will cost me unless of course there is the ever unforeseeable catastrophic failure that costs too much. Head gaskets would only ever cost me the price of a gasket set and a weekend.

 

[ricsrx]

That does make sense for people who don't or won't do their own maintenance. I'm willing to buy cheaper if I know I can handle the maintenance that will go with a higher mileage vehicle as long as I have a good idea of what it will cost me unless of course there is the ever unforeseeable catastrophic failure that costs too much. Head gaskets would only ever cost me the price of a gasket set and a weekend.

I have allways thought that way untill i got my Dodge, after looking at the size of the motor and trans... i dont know if i could take on a replacment of somthing that size...

 

[minisrus]

ive read that many diesels will go for hundreds of thousands of miles before you have to start worrying about them, but when looking at used trucks, how many miles is too many? for example, im looking for a true crew cab cummins with a five or six speed manual tranny, and as expected, most of the trucks in my price range have mileage of 150k+. but is this too high? am i setting myself up for costly repairs in the next 50k? i would love a 2nd gen ram, but the biggest cab those came with is just not big enough, as i need something that can fit an adult or two in the 2nd row.

89-93 Cummins you could get over 800K on the engine.... I had one verified 880K that was still running when I sold it.

94-98 Are good for a million miles if you leave them stock and maintain them.... my last 98 was over 500HP and had 499K on the original motor and turbo when I sold it.

99-2002 are great motors as well if you stay away from the "53" block in 99's and do not loose fuel pressure taking out the VP 44 pumps.... Have run these motors well over 350K miles

2003-2007 Common rail 5.9 are problematic... they drop valve retainers dropping valves into the pistons and crack injectors that slobber into the cylinder taking out the block and piston.... We have run US mail using these trucks and have never gotten over 250K before losing the motor due to cracked injectors. The problem is pressure up to 26,000 lbs of injection pressure that has a side affect of washing the cylinders out with diesel. Long block from Cummings $14K Used motor with labor will set you back at least $7K .... although I am currently driving an 06 with over 200K that runs and pulls like new.

2007-2012 6.7 Cummins.... awesome motor if you get rid of the emissions.... have seen these motors still running over 350K miles

So in short a 2003-2006 with 150K can get you another 100K miles depending on how it was cared for and if it was ever chipped.

 

[spencevans]

When it comes to diesels, it is not the motor that I would be worried about. Most diesels will go for 300K miles before needing a rebuild. Yes there are those stories where people go a million miles but those are few and far between. My little Mitsubishi diesel is a very reliable truck but the motor has been rebuilt twice and it has 290K miles on it but the body has held up great. My little Mitsubishi has a shorter lifespan than these newer diesels because it is not intercooler, roller rocker head, it did not have a watercooled turbo etc. Since Mitsubishi has taken steps to cool the engine it has become much more reliable and the life span has improved greatly. These little motors went from lasting 100K miles to last 300-400K miles.

With the exception of the Powerstoke 6.0 (I have just heard to many horror stories, but with the proper upgrades they can be very reliable) all diesel over the last 20 years are great motors. Even the GM 6.5 was a decent engine. Was it as reliable as Cummins? No, but it was still a good engine. The biggest concern I would have would be the rest of the vehicle. How well has the body and interior held up. Most of the older Dodges I have looked at, the doors do not shut properly, the interiors are falling apart and rust is taking over. This is also the case with GM and Ford.

Most diesels are a working mans truck and they get worked. I would look for one that has lived an easy life. Look for one with out a fifth wheel hitch, with out power mods, a big lift, and a beat up bed. These are the trucks that will last the longest.

 

[skippy]

89-93 Cummins you could get over 800K on the engine.... I had one verified 880K that was still running when I sold it.

94-98 Are good for a million miles if you leave them stock and maintain them.... my last 98 was over 500HP and had 499K on the original motor and turbo when I sold it.

99-2002 are great motors as well if you stay away from the "53" block in 99's and do not loose fuel pressure taking out the VP 44 pumps.... Have run these motors well over 350K miles

2003-2007 Common rail 5.9 are problematic... they drop valve retainers dropping valves into the pistons and crack injectors that slobber into the cylinder taking out the block and piston.... We have run US mail using these trucks and have never gotten over 250K before losing the motor due to cracked injectors. The problem is pressure up to 26,000 lbs of injection pressure that has a side affect of washing the cylinders out with diesel. Long block from Cummings $14K Used motor with labor will set you back at least $7K .... although I am currently driving an 06 with over 200K that runs and pulls like new.

2007-2012 6.7 Cummins.... awesome motor if you get rid of the emissions.... have seen these motors still running over 350K miles

So in short a 2003-2006 with 150K can get you another 100K miles depending on how it was cared for and if it was ever chipped.

There is so much mis information in this post.......

 

[ricsrx]

We have run US mail using these trucks and have never gotten over 250K before losing the motor due to cracked injectors.

Who do you work for?

 

[spencevans]

There is so much mis information in this post.......

yuuuuuuup!

 

[Maverick]

There is so much mis information in this post.......

Please be specific.