If you like to be able to make power with the flip of a switch but then tone it down or quiet down the smoke show when a cop is following you, buy a 24 valve.
The VP44 injection pump and the stock lift pump are the two weakest links on a 98.5-02 truck. That said, the average life is somewhere around 100,000 miles for a VP44 $1,100 and the lift pumps vary from 5-100K miles $160. Most put a $120 Holley Blue lift pump or $550 dollar Fass, Raptor, Glacier system.
The VP44 trucks do limit around 600 HP #2 only but get great mileage, fight less egt issues, come with stronger valve springs, and are way easier to tune.
Stock 12 valves are the million mile motors but who keeps the same truck for that long?
The 03+ Common Rail Motors are the wave of the future but still $$ compared to the older models. If you get a newer truck, the 04.5+ can make alot more power with stock components due to: bigger turbo, bigger injectors, better flowing head, extra oil spray cooling jets to tolerate higher egt's. Watch out for 05's some of them came with plastic-end-capped intercoolers that blow at 40-50 psi.
The 03-04 trucks supposedly get better fuel mileage due to two injection events vs three injection events on the 04.5+.
98.5-02' trucks with fresh VP44 can deliver 20 mpg all day on the highway
Pre 98.5 12 valves can achieve 20+ mpg with proper timing advancement and properly firing injectors-balanced pump. These trucks are ideal for veggie oil conversions, and will run on almost anything if you put a little H2O injection system to help clean up the carbon buildup.
