| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 002017338 | Incident Date: Dec, 01 2002 |
| Consumer's City: CONVERSE | Consumer's State: TX |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: MAN | Manufacturers Name: Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) |
| Model Name: RAM 3500 | Model Year: 1999 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: 1B7MC3362XJ | Date added to File: May, 23 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: May, 01 2005 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: Sep, 19 2002 |
| Was Original Owner: No | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 6 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: I have a 99 dodge 3500 diesel p/u. the block was cast with a defect in the thickness of the metal of the water jacket on the right side of the block. the blocks with the defect were supposed to be cast in brazil and first found in equipment used in turkey(this was called the turkey crack). the metal is reported to be 6mm thick on these blocks and on good blocks it is 12mm thick. i called dodge and cummins(the manufacturer) and both said no tsb's were out on the problem. i took my truck to southern plains cummins( a shop in san antonio) and asked them if they knew of the defective "53" block they reported no tsb's but when the mechanic went out to look at my engine without being told any more about it he looked right at the spot where the crack was located. i never said where the crack was and it is under the turbo so he appeared to have an idea of what was going on. he told me to complain to cummins alot and they may help out a little but in the end they did not. i understand the warranty was past by 20k at the time but they(dodge and cummins) say it should be at least 500k before the block is worn out. in my opnion the warranty was up on normal parts that wear and would be up if a part failure caused the block to be damaged beyond repair, but the bottom line is cummins was producing a block with half the thickness in places it should have had, and if they would have cast it right i would not be in the position i am in right now. i have been adding water to the overflow everytime i stopped for a long time and need a long term fix to the problem asap. i have the block in my truck and can no longer trust it to drive distances. |
