What to look for??

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Lifted94XLT

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Aug 26, 2006
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hey ya'll. I"m thinkin about goin back to a cummins cause you CAN'T beat the mileage they make, and I'm goin today to look at an o1 4door (extended cab) 4x4 Dually, all I was told was that its a manual, so I assume 6sp (right?). anyway. he wants between $8-10K for it. my buddy has driven it and says its VERY nice wiht leather and all the fancy stuff. has guages, edge comp box (probably goin bye bye), new turbo, BHAF w/ K&N tube and heat shield, 5" exhaust (byebye, stacks would go on) and setup for a gooseneck. it also has a new tranny in it, new water pump, has a LUK pro gold clutch. not sure on mileage though, but I've been told its def. worth the proce he's asking..... anyway..... my last dodge was a 12v so a 24 is new to me.... so what should I look at and look for while I'm checkin this thing out today?? thanks.

--Ryan
 
Fuel pressure, Ask if it has the original Injector pump. If it is original and has high mileage it my be getting close to needing replacement. But if the lift pump has been replaced and it has had good fuel pressure its whole life you may be ok for a while. There are others, but this is an important question to ask.
 
8-10k seems low.. Is the title straight?
 
Ok, you have had a Dodge before so you should know what to look for in the front end department. On the motor, check for an aftermarket fuel pump and a pressure gauge. It can be a 5 spd or a 6spd, they made both that year. Clutch is good, turbo replacement sounds bad, if he has burnt up a stock unit that could point to too much fuel and not enough air, or it could point to an upgrade.

Be sure to check for blowby, if he thinks he has hurt the motor and wants to move it while it's running that's one place it will show up.
 
Also check for the 53 block.

It is a stamping on the driver side up near the vacuum pump.

Although RARE, these blocks tend to crack on the passanger side due to an incorrect casting.

Fuel pressure is VITAL. That cannot be stressed enough.

Double check the year. If it is a true 01, it will have drum rear brakes and a vacuum controlled cruise control. If it is a 01.5, it will have disk brakes in the rear and an ECM controlled cruise.
 
ok, I found out the the truck has 215K and has a 5sp. The turbo was replaced for an aftermarket unit but will be coming off with the sale and an HO turbo from an 02 is going on in its place. I would assume the tranny was replaced b/c the 5th gr nut backed off and caused some damage, but I will ask him to be sure. I'm not aware of what to look for on the front end, b/c my old dodge was 2wd, although, I'd assume the usuals, axle seals, 4wd engagement, and noise from the R&P. the title is straight. He said he averages 10-11 towing (at 85mph)... here, here's what he emailed me......

"towing, weighing between 17 and 21K pounds I get 11-12 no matter how hard you are on it. the new turbo helped, but its coming off. Heath's HO '02 turbo with 10K miles on it is going on. Heath is giving me $350 and his turbo that is new, so I can't say no.
around town, expect about 15ish, but I'm doing burnouts with it and drifting corners. I'm sure you could play nice and get better.
highway empty, still under 20, but you can pass anything on the road. $300 in injectors will get it 1.5 mpg pretty much gauranteed and adds 40 horse.
its a 5 speed, brand new under warranty.
it has 215K on it.
cd player doesn't work."

btw, Heath is a buddy of his. what y'all think?? I know the guy and trust his word, just lookin for some feedback also..... my first 12v ended up being a shady deal, so I'm really hesitant on buying another high mileage truck.

--Ryan
 
The way I see it is that the guy may be the most honest, upstanding, greatest person on the earth. He is probably telling you nothing but 100% truth.

But you are still buying a 7 year old vehicle with over 200,000 miles.

If you don't plan on putting some money into the thing the minute you get it, then your setting yourself up for disaster.
 
MD-LUCKY said:
If you don't plan on putting some money into the thing the minute you get it, then your setting yourself up for disaster.
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What you think i would have to put money in? with all the new stuff... figure front and rear diff flush, oil change, and possibly belts and hoses? just tryin to est. cost is all.
 
Burnouts and driving hard while you are towing heavy are just hard on trucks. Even as tough as they are, it does shorten the lives of parts...

I'd personally look for one that has been treated a little more gently, even though this one is a good price.
 
I'm betting u-joints, brakes, both upper and lower balljoints, trac-bar, shocks, tie rod ends, probably lift pump, and standard fluid changes are all due.

Mechanically, most of the truck should be fine. But I consider all of those things above consumables. I'm betting the vacuum pump is leaking oil and would probably need to be rebuilt.

I'm not saying that you should pass the truck up based on "possible" problems. Just realize that all of those things might need attention, and you should probably budget for them.

And then there is the injector pump. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the POS can (and in my case, DID) crap out at any moment without warning. Thats usually about a $1500 repair. If mine ever goes out again, I'm p-pumping it.
 
MD-LUCKY said:
I'm betting u-joints, brakes, both upper and lower balljoints, trac-bar, shocks, tie rod ends, probably lift pump, and standard fluid changes are all due.

Mechanically, most of the truck should be fine. But I consider all of those things above consumables. I'm betting the vacuum pump is leaking oil and would probably need to be rebuilt.

I'm not saying that you should pass the truck up based on "possible" problems. Just realize that all of those things might need attention, and you should probably budget for them.

And then there is the injector pump. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the POS can (and in my case, DID) crap out at any moment without warning. Thats usually about a $1500 repair. If mine ever goes out again, I'm p-pumping it.
Click to expand...

gotcha, and that's completely understandable. I didn't end up goin to look at it last night, b/c some stuff came up on his side. I will be lookin at it sometime Saturday now. I need to find out exactly how long ago the injector pump was replaced and all the stuff. my buddy that relayed me most of the info doesn't know diesels so I had to decipher the "the pump thingy, limft I think" to figure out what he's saying. haha..... I forget, what pump do the 24v's run?? vp44? been outta the cummins game too long.

--Ryan
 
Yes, it will have the Standard Output (or SO) pump on it, which is the most common VP-44 out there. Like MD said, you can expect to sink some money into it, one area to look at is the front end, take it by a shop and have them look it over real quick if you can, the repair bills can add up quick with a Dodge front axle :bang
 
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