Approaching 200K miles and still going strong !

[MrPhelps]

The now "old Dodge" speedometer says 192K miles and still going strong. Just got another set of H-load rated tires to haul the heavy camper. ( I actually think I have an additional 3% added to this total because of the 19.5" wheels on the truck) The truck has been relatively trouble free. Many of the miles are with the TC, but unlike many here, it is loaded and unloaded a lot and used as a daily driver.

When at the big Truck camper show in Ogallala, Nebraska a few years back we talked to a dealer who said he had a LOT more miles than this... so on we go, keep up the maintenance and "let er run"!



How many others here have high mileage vehicles ? Perhaps 200K miles is NOT really high mileage for a diesel truck TC carrier.

[valhalla360]

I think you need to be pushing 250k before you even consider talking about high milage, especially with a diesel.

We have a 5th wheel but our 1992 F250 7.3, is just about there. The engine just chuggs along but we are quickly losing bits of the body to Michigan rust and the drivers seat has a permanent recline.

We just upgraded to a 2003 with the gas V10. Luckily we hadn't sold the old one as the new one got crunched in a minor crash, so we just hooked up to the old one and kept going.

[Rbertalotto]

Thanks folks...I might look at them this winter.

[a4edriver]

Rbertalotto,

I just finished doing a valve adjustment on my 98.5 24v Dodge. I have 149K miles on it and the service manual says to adjust valves at 150K miles. It was fairly easy. They didn't need much adjustment. Three or four of them didn't need any and the others may have been about half a thou loose. I followed the instructions put out by this fellow:

http://articles.mopar1973man.com/2nd-generation-24v-dodge-cummins/26-engine-systems/121-valve-lash-adjustment

I also highly recommend the Turbo Diesel Register forum and magazine. They have really helped me get answers and advice for various problem issues and upgrades to the truck.

Buzz

[Simplygib]

Rbertalotto wrote:
Have any of you Cummins owners ever had the valves adjusted?

At how many miles?

How far out of adjustment were they?

I just adjusted mine a month ago at 171k miles. They weren't out by far. Several needed no adjustment, several were loose by a few thousandths, two were tight by a few thousandths. I've had the truck for the last 41k miles and have no idea if they were adjusted prior to that.

1993 Ram 250 12v. 172k miles now. I've owned it for 7 years. The camper is on it 98% of the time. Best truck I've ever owned. Just routine maintenance so far - oil, filters, brakes (once), battery (once), rotors turned once, tires. Same mpg as Trail Walker reported. Worst thing about it is the faded paint on the hood and roof, but that's getting taken care of right now (in the paint shop, should be done in a few days). I'm hoping this truck outlasts me.

[Phancy]

2004 1 ton chevy diesel dual wheels. 95000 miles all with 1161 Lance camper. Had to replace the transfer case at about 50000 miles, runs great plenty of power rides beautiful.
Phancy

[bwc]

Ours just turned 60,000 km (37,000 miles) this week end. Bought it used in 2006. I changed out the engine mounted fuel pump for an AirDog AD-100, put on Michelin tires and have done the usual changing of fluids once here at home. Removed the check ball in the transmission line (Thanks TDR) and called it a day. Excellent truck to drive with the camper. Average right at 17 CDN mpg (14 US mpg). Love the torque and being two wheel drive it has rack and pinion steering which is faultless.

[Trail_Walker]

1996 Dodge 12v, p-pump, 2 wd, Cummins. Approximately 243,000 miles. Ordered it brand new early 1996. Just completed a top end rebuild,
- re-man head from Cummins (boy is this thing heavy!)
- 60# over stock springs
- A1 studs
- More air and fuel
- Synthetic lube in sump, tranny, and rear end
Last year I installed a complete Moog front end. Truck easily gets over 23 mpg at highway speeds, 17 mpg with camper.
This truck should easily outlive me. I don't hesitate to drive it anywhere, with or without load. I really like this truck, fits me perfectly. It's also a great platform for crazy horsepower and torque!!

[jmckelvy]

Truck in sig just passed 146,000 miles. Almost all those miles have been working hard. It's pulling the 5er right now. It is a great truck, no squeeks or rattles and everything still tight. Many of those miles have been on bad roads including the Dalton in Alaska.

Other than routine maintenance I have replaced the following:
Right rear disk rotor
front and rear brake pads
front U-joints
leaky coolant hose behind the turbo
Shocks
batteries

[ISBRAM]

I special ordered my ’99 new and used it as my every day truck for several years. Now it’s parked in the garage most of the time with the camper on it with only 77k on the clock. My drive to work for the last several years is less than four miles and that’s not enough to warm up the Cummins.

[lap527]

Yall make us feel so ashamed, 55,xxx on our 2006. The last 2 weeks we have added about 2k. Good thing to know it will probably outlive us...we sure love our truck though. Go dodge!!!

[woodhog]

Dodge 3500 2004.5 CTD 4x4 100,000 miles.

New water pump, new fuel lift pump, new belt, new belt tensioner,

brake rotors twice, numerous pads, one wheel bearing, all driveshaft

universal joints and carrier bearing, pinion seal, front end universal

joints, front end ball joints, front end sway bar links and installed

front end steering stabilizer to eliminate wander due to power steering flexing the frame.

As far as the engine you sort of forget about it, change oil and filters (all easy to reach), in fact you can see the whole engine sitting in there not all covered with tin foil etc...

I once took it to our heavy truck center and asked them to adjust the valves, they just laughed at me...

[JumboJet]

I have a 2008 Dodge Ram CTD with 90,200. So far I have replaced the Turbo Speed Sensor.

[thundercloud]

MrPhelps,

I can't think of my 2006 Dodge Cummins as old,,,,,,,,yet I only have less than 59,000 miles on it. I hope it runs forever as I say this is the last one I will own. I bought it new in October of 2006 and drive it everyday to work (20 miles round trip) with a few long camping trips hear and there. So far it has been a great truck. I am glad to hear others such as yourself are getting good life out of the engine.

[JoeChiOhki]

It's a CTD, that's barely half way :p. My '92 is at at 196,133 on it's original TBI V8 gas motor ;).