How do you like your 12 valve cummins truck??

[CGBear]

I've heard that these old 12 valvers are the best thing since sliced bread when hauling. I'm interested to get some input from all the owners on here.
I'd like to hear it all. From little things that bother you about them, to what you like the most. Do they ride well or are they rough as a cob? The most important to me is fuel mileage, and a close second would be comfort. If these are as good as the rumors I've heard I'll be buying soon. Thanks for any input

 

[FordGuy100]

The cummins are known to last a really long time if maintained, have good power with minor mods, and get real good fuel economy. That said....

You will find a lot of people will not buy one because it comes with a dodge chassis/cab. My grandfather has a 96 Dodge 2500 4x4 cummins, with I think 60,000 miles on it, and baby's this rig. Trim is falling off, front end had to be rebuilt, and interior pieces breaking all the time.

 

[argve]

From listening to people talk I guess I got one of the good ones in that wrapper wasn't a problem at all. My trim didn't rattle, didn't fall off, didn't break, all door locks worked flawlessly along with every other accessory on the truck. Sold the truck when it had a wee bit over 300k miles on her I got her when she had 170k on the clock. I will say the body was in better shape after 300k miles than the Enterprise was at the same mileage.

Fuel mileage was always 19 and above (19 when towing, 22 when running empty). I typically ran 70-75mph on a regular basis this was even when towing.

1st problem I had was with the tranny. The NV4500 has a nasty habit of tossing off the nut that holds 5th gear in place. Gear won't fall off per say and neither will the nut but it will allow the gear to slide back so that it can't be engaged. There are fixes for it ranging from a couple hundred dollars to a grand. I tried welding it - that worked but then the shaft broke (welded ruined the temper on the shaft). I ended up spending an afternoon and installing a newly updated shaft then said I'm not gonna do this again so I double nutted the updated shaft with no more issues.

2nd was that the head lifted off the block because the stock exhaust manifolds will expand and contract enough to lift the front corner of the head off the deck. Installed a 3 pc exhaust manifold and didn't look back. This happened right after I bought the truck - never had another problem 5 years later with that.

Oh I did have the classic fuel gauge faulty but for a couple of hours of work - jacked up bed and yanked sender out and installed a retaining washer (like 20 cents) to hold the float arm down tight fixed that.

I loved my dodge and my cummins. The only complaint I had was it wasn't a crew cab with 4 doors, oh and I also didn't like the peg leg kicker (open diff) but a couple of hours and a few hundred dollars later I had a lock right locker in it and was happy again.

Would I own another one - IN A HEART BEAT!

 

[argve]

Oh and as for towing - loved it - only complaint I had there was it wasn't a dually so I experienced more sway from the 31ft TT - but a 5th wheel fixed that...

 

[CGBear]

So, which truck did you like better.....the Dodge or the Enterprise??! I'm rolling in a 93 long bed supercab 7.3 IDI F250 but I think I'm gonna burn a lot of $$$ on fuel pullin' 5er's.

 

[argve]

Some will hate me for this but....

It was the Dodge hands down.... Every thing considered it was the Dodge...

 

[4x4TruckinGirl]

I've towed with fords (7.3 powerstrokes years 97, 99, 2000, 2001, 7.3 IDI's turboed, 6.9s) and dodges (my 12 valve) and (2002 5.9's and 2005 5.9's) So, the 12 valve does great, gets great fuel mileage and has adequate power at all stock settings. Your not going to race anyone off the line and win in a stock 5 speed 12 valve, On the interstate you can punch it and be gone, cruise with your trailer at 70+ comfortably. Uphill depends on your load, theres a steep grade I frequently have to go up and find that if i'm going along purty good in 5th getting into the hill about 1/2 way up I have to downshift to 4th and 4th will pull it the rest of the way. The 12 valve is easy to modify to get a little or a lot more horsepower if you wanted to, a cold air intake will do it wonders these motors seem to suffer from a lack of air and come alive when given more.... well I hope this was somewhat informative, if you have any other questions just PM me and Ill try and get back on here.....

 

[big jake]

I love my 12valve Cummins truck, its the one in my sig. I consistently get 19 mpg in town empty and have gotten as high as 25 on the highway. Towing a UHAUL car trailer dropped me to around 20 mpg and the power was there, only dropping out of 6th a few times to maintain RPM and keeping EGTs around 800.

I had some fun last week as I had to transport some fellow employees to a seminar just across town and they got pushed back in their seats when the boost gauge on my old Ford hit 35psi.

In all fairness, I dont know if I would feel this way if I had to drive the Cummins package wrapped in a Dodge body, we have several Dodge pickups at work with gassers in them and the trucks all seem to be falling apart.


YEAH, I love my 12 valve Cummins truck

 

[CGBear]

Big Jake...How bad of a job was it to put that cummins 12 valve in the ford. I've got a 93 Ford f250 Supercab Longbed 4X4 with a 7.3 IDI, and I think I just stumbled accross a 12 valve that could be mine

 

[big jake]

I bought the truck as you see it, there are several companies out there with conversion products

 

[rebel_horseman]

The 12v is one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) light truck engines ever put on the road. Fuel efficiency can not be beat by Ford or GM and that has been true since the first Cummins hit the road in '89 though the Dmax is giving it a run on fuel economy nowadays with the emissions garbage choking the trucks down. But I digress. The 1st Gen trucks were hands down tougher than the 2nd Gen trucks, however with that toughness came a less refined ride, a more spartan interior trim package, and old-school option list. But there are numerous cases of 1st Gen trucks still running strong after 15+ years of work and towing with little to no engine problems to speak of. The 2nd Gen P-pump engine was definitely better in the top-end power department but the 1st Gen was the rat motor of the bunch due to the fueling characteristics of the rotary Bosch VE pump; the VE's only downfall is it can not flow as much fuel as the P7100. Lastly, repair parts for my 1st Gen are readily available and infinitely cheaper than those for any electronically controlled engine and astronomically less expensive when talking about the new common rail engines that require a degree in computer engineering to diagnose.

Dodge's biggest mistake was to pull the crew cabs in '85 and not bringing back a true 4-door crew cab on the market until 2003. Ford's biggest mistake was going with International and not Cummins in the first place. My truck of choice is a '85 Crew Cab 4x4 with a modified '93 engine and a Ford ZF 6-speed followed closely by a '99-up Super Duty with a Cummins swapped in.

 

[Darrin Tosh]

Here is a quote for ya that my wife actually said:

"The Cummins Conversion saved our marriage!"

On our last trip out to New York to pick up the cow truck we were discussing how stress free our trips have been since installing the Cummins. With the Banks Turbo-ed IDI, I was constantly looking at gauges, watching the temp gauge hit 220, backing off the go pedal and letting it cool off again, listening for sounds, knowing that I was pushing the IDI to its limits.

With the setup that I have with the Cummins, it is like the truck doesn't have to work hard to to the same thing. It is working at 75% of its capacity instead of 95% of its capacity. Temp stays right at 180, trans temp stays under 190, the egt's are under 900, the boost is under 20, and it just cruises with the ac on at 70 MPH pulling our 5th wheel, or whatever I have to haul.

Yup,... were digging the Cummins

 

[Darrin Tosh]

I've towed with fords,.............Ill try and get back on here.....

Well Hi Sam...good to hear from you!

 

[058hammer]

I love my 97 dodge!

 

[wilsondoctor]

Love my 12 valve

Hello
This truck has over 260,000 miles; replaced two water pumps - two alternators. Fixed the fifth gear on the NV4500 - fixed the Dowl pin problem.
No problems other then my wife thinks it " may be to loud", I love the sound. Has pulled Red Mountain Pass with 7k; has crossed the country four times and have to problem with anything "falling off". Require's minimal maintenance, since I switched to the Lubrication Engineer oil products.
Looking to replace with a newer truck, but so far have not found a truck I think is as good as the old 12 V.
Thanks
JL