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.

- Converse, TX, USA

Consumer notice while getting out of vehicle anti freez smell consumer look under vehicle and notice a crack in the engine block. Dealer and manufacture has been contacted. Nlm

- Ft. Gibson, OK, USA

While driving truck began to lose power. Engine light illuminated.

- Conquer, CA, USA

While applying brakes at any speed and without warning vehicle will pull to left until release of brake pedal. Consumer states vehicle will pull to the left when braking and will drift to the right on freeway and brakes are squeaky when braking on stop, dealer replaced calipers, turned rotors and changed brakes, dealer found steering wheel off center, dealer has replaced upper and lower control arms, dealer has adjusted the front end and replaced the rims and tires, vehicle experiences lack of power and engine light has illuminated, vehicle idles high and is experiencing poor fuel economy, when driving on freeway it gets max of 14.5 mpg, smoke also comes out of the exhaust, left side electric mirror glass had fogged, left seat bottom loose, one missing bolt found, left seat trim bezel keeps miming loose won?T stay in seat for seat belt on seat back. Dealer stated that the 2002 models do not have vibration problems due to the suspension being changed to independent.

- Rancho Cardova, CA, USA

Intermittently vehicle will accelerate suddenly and then stall out and die without warning. Dealer has not been able to duplicate or correct problem. Consumer stated the vehicle has been into dealer at least 5 times.

- Lacrosse, VA, USA

Was told by dealer several of the same year make and models have been brought in with the same problem. No safety defect listed.

- Spartanburg, SC, USA

While driving 65 mph and without prior notice engine started knocking.then, vehicle stalled. Towed dealer who found there was hardly any oil in engine, and it had seized. Dealer stated there were 103 consumers on list for an engine of this type. Oil light had not come on, not did consumer notice a prior leak. Please add additional information.

- Methuen, MA, USA

Consumer was driving at 40-45 mph when suddenly motor froze, and vehicle started to pull to left/ lost all steering capability/hit a concrete divider, and then vehicle rolled over. Consumer noticed that of one of screws that held power steering to frame fell off, and it got stuck between wheel and frame which contributed to crash, causing injuries.

- Miami, FL, USA

Spark knock which they tell me is normal and there is nothing I can do about it, but it is so loud I can hear it over the radio at moderate level, contact factory and they state this normal, now my truck is out of warranty

- Gaston, SC, USA

No summary

- Columbia, MO, USA

When accelerating engine pings-particulary on hills at higher speeds/second time they suggested it was fuel quality and on last complaint they attempted to decarbonize engine.and suggest using fuel additive at every 3 thousand miles- also stated that this sparkplug knock would not harm engine- garden city dode mi. Was very nice and admitted that this problem has accured on other vehicles. My concern is that this is not how a new engine should perform and will bring problems down the line -especially when warrenty is gone- is this how a new erngine should perform and it seams quite evident that it will shorten the quality and life of the engine- also the knock continues and ive exhausted all available options for fuel. Regardless of the brand and still using recomended octain as scince day one (87)

- Winthrop, MA, USA

1st oil change noticed extra oil on dip stick, took back to dealer for check, told truck was making oil! changed fuel pump "no help" next week changed fuel injectors "no help" keep changing oil every week, any sugestions"?????"

- Warsaw, NY, USA

Engine was making a loud knocking and tapping noise. It was affecting the mileage/ fuel economy. Vehicle was taken to the dealer 4 times, and dealer claimed that they didn't know how to fix it.

- New Caney, TX, USA

No summary listed for abov evehicle.

- New Bloomfield, PA, USA