Hey my cummins just turned 650,000 and still runs great, uses abt 3 qts between oil changes @ 15,000 miles. The worst part on this engine is the fuel lines. If the bracket breaks, lines will eventually break. if you have one of these make sure isolators are always in good shape. But carquest will take the ends of a old line and make a high pressure hose line out of it. I carry one just incase one of mine breaks, can put on in 30 min and continue down the road. They only charge me 25 to make. alot cheaper than a wrecker and waiting on the line to come in at a FREIGHTLINER . :7
5.9 cummins length of life ?
- Thread starter wgifford
- Start date
plumcrazy8
Expert Expediter
I have a cousin who is a mucky muck at Fleetguard (the filter people, owned by Cummins). when I bought my first of 4 different Dodges, ranging from 1992 to 2001, all with the Cummins he told me that the 5.9 was originally designed to be a million mile motor.
If you know a lot about diesels and look at the specs you will notice a few of the tell-tale signs of long-life diesel engine design such as the deep-skirt block, long stroke and excellent cooling design.
I've put a lot of hard miles on these motors and had literally no problems other than ancellary systems (have had numerous transmission failures due to the fact that it is an inline six with a turbo = high torque).
Have also owned the infamous cat 3126 (yuk), cummins 8.3 (no luck) the cummins ISM (excellent machine) and the cat C-10 (another excellent machine). Oh, and let us not forget the early ford and GM V-8 crap......nightmares still in my head. Keep good, clean oil in the thing, keep the rpms between 1400 and 2000 (higher for short spurts only) and it will treat you right for a good long while, right?
If you know a lot about diesels and look at the specs you will notice a few of the tell-tale signs of long-life diesel engine design such as the deep-skirt block, long stroke and excellent cooling design.
I've put a lot of hard miles on these motors and had literally no problems other than ancellary systems (have had numerous transmission failures due to the fact that it is an inline six with a turbo = high torque).
Have also owned the infamous cat 3126 (yuk), cummins 8.3 (no luck) the cummins ISM (excellent machine) and the cat C-10 (another excellent machine). Oh, and let us not forget the early ford and GM V-8 crap......nightmares still in my head. Keep good, clean oil in the thing, keep the rpms between 1400 and 2000 (higher for short spurts only) and it will treat you right for a good long while, right?
My brother owns a 2000 Dodge with the 5.9 CTD and it has over 320k on the clock and still runs like a new one.
He delivers campers all over the country and the Dodge has never let him down. He is very meticulous in regard to maintenance, which in that business, as well as expediting, is a must. Outside of 2 injector pumps and 2 lift pumps, the truck has been basically trouble free.
The truck impressed me so much that I purchased a used 2003 Dodge with the 5.9 CTD. It is still a baby with 29k miles. I sure hope I get the kind of service that my brother gets out of his!!
He delivers campers all over the country and the Dodge has never let him down. He is very meticulous in regard to maintenance, which in that business, as well as expediting, is a must. Outside of 2 injector pumps and 2 lift pumps, the truck has been basically trouble free.
The truck impressed me so much that I purchased a used 2003 Dodge with the 5.9 CTD. It is still a baby with 29k miles. I sure hope I get the kind of service that my brother gets out of his!!