Hello all,
Was investigating into the Cummins 5.9L engine for survivibility and found the link below:
Cummins' Fatal Flaws - Diesel Power Magazine
1. 5.9L Cummins engines manufactured between 1988 and 1998 (in other words, 12-valve Cummins engines used in Dodge Rams).
The steel dowel pin that locates the front timing gear case can wobble out and then fall into the timing gear case.
2. 5.9L Cummins 53 Block Casting block problem. The flaw occurs in '99 to '02 5.9L Cummins 24-valve engines. After years of use, the 53 blocks tend to crack until coolant starts to pour out the side of the block.
The fix would be to buy a new, used, or rebuilt engine assembly. There are lots of these around