Trusty Steed

Looked at two trucks today.
One a 96 club cab dually. It hauled around some bumper pull trailer with a small trencher a bit, and some other stuff not real heavy.

It is a SLT Larmine, with about every option but leather seats I think. Comes with a cap, and a good condition Western V Plow. Truck is a 96 with 126,000 miles and is a 4x4 with 3.55 rearend. He will take $15,000 for it. Truck has some rust developing on the bottom of the drivers door, and has some paint chips in other places, tailgate being the worst. Bed is exposed and is rusting as well. Drivers seat has a tear on the corner, pretty serious. It is a one owner truck, orginal trans, new tires and brakes. Looks like good truck that may be begining to rust down.

Noticeable oil wetness on top of the motor on the passanger side below the valve cover. Can not identify exact location. Underside has a good amount of oil, on the front of the truck all the way back to the Torque converter cover. Drop of trans fluid on the bottom of the TQ cover, and trans pan is very wet with trans fluid and even some spread further back on the underside of the truck. Truck shifts fine otherwise.

Truck seems like a dog! A chokeing dog. Now I am used to my 6.9 Diesel, and more so with my 95 PSD. My 95 will get up and really go. It will flat out jump like a gasser with a bit of turbo delay, but it wiould run from this truck. Is this normal for a cummins? Do the unmodified trucks take time to spool up, and time to get up to speed? I know they are known to be grunty, but is this some reason to be concerned. Any thoughts would be great.

Other truck is a 97. It has nearly all the same options with the exception of the overhead temp gauge, but otherwise is a Larmine 4x4 clubcab with 4.10 rearend. Truck is imaculate, paint is excellant. Looks to have hauled a goose neck on rare occasions, maybe a bumper pull, but not much. It is a Georgia truck up until a month or so ago. There was no oil on the underside of the truck. Perhaps some slight staining that may have been cleaned off at the auction house, but the guy who bought it from auction did nothing to it, not even wash it. It has an 8 cd changer, keyless entry, computer jacks for phone and printers. Just an awsome truck. It has 84,000 miles to boot. Oh, the price $15,000. Appears to have a bad fuel sender as it does not register on the fuel gauge and shows the gas light. It is also a bit out of align. Wheel straight tracks to the right, not bad but some. A bit of vibration at highway speeds, I imagine alignment is the cause. I just don't want it to be major front end repair work. They will repair sender and align for the price above.

This truck seems to accelerate better then the first, but still not near my Ford. I don't need a race truck, but it would be nice to be able to pass on the highway if needed. Is this the norm with a cummins of this vintage? The only bad thing is, it does not have a v plow. The good thing is, it does not have a v plow, if you know what I mean.

Please, any reactions to my madness would be wonderful. Any thoughts on the condition of the first truck, the acceleration concern I have, anything else to check.

Thanks so much
Jay

Eat Beef

Jay,
The '97 sounds like the one to buy. It can be "tuned" for GOBS of power. Lower miles on it too. You'll like it.
Andy

SmokinDodge12V

I would definatly go with the 97 just be sure to check for KDP damage.

Crimedog

I would go with the 97. Are you planning on plowing with it? 4.10 gears would be nice if you plan on towing and plowing. Plus, it doesn't have a plow on it. The other truck with the 3.55s was pushing a heavy plow, around 900 lbs or more, and it is possible that the tranny could have been overheated. I am not saying it is, but when I plow with mine, 94, 3.55s, If I really push it hard on residential drives, I can make the fluid pretty hot. Lower miles is a huge bonus. Just my .02

Oh yeah, and you don't want a V plow, get a Blizzard 810
Seriously, if you are going to plow, check out www.blizzardplows.com They have retractable wings that make it into an 8 or 10 foot straight blade, or a 9'3" GIANT BUCKET!

Trusty Steed

How can I check for KDP damage without taking off the timing cover? I did not see oil, or notice any cracks in that area, at least as far as I could see without removing parts. Any help on this?

Yeah, the 97 looks like a way better truck. I would love to put a big v plow on, or maybe even better a 810 Blizzard plow, but I also know that a big diesel engine, and a big heavy plow can reak some havoc on front end parts too. Not sure what I am going to do. If I bought the 96, it was really because of the bonus Plow. The fluid it was leaking was cherry red, looked like new. I half wonder if he knew something may be up and put in some nice new fluid. The guy seemed like a good guy, was selling equipment he used in his construction business.

Any thoughts on the power issue. Is it likely running right, but since it is an auto, it loses some get up and go because of the torque converter. It sure does shift smoth compared to some of my other trucks. I would be willing to do some mods, but I really don't want to do things that may jepordize the transmission or other engine components. I will be the primary driver, but I don't want to worry that a worker may be driving it, and whether or not he will check the pyrometer to see if he is cooking anything either.

Jay

4doogie

97 sounds good, if you want to be able to pass anyone you might want to look at banks starting level, it called the get-kit. this should give you more of an edge.www.bankspower.com

turbo thom

As far as the leak, that is just a $40 set of valve cover gaskets. I have a 96 ext cab and my truck has never been a "dog". I increased the power for towing 15K lbs in the mountians. Runnin stock the truck was not responsive enough for me. There are a few thing you can check real quick as for response and one is the fuel filter. If it gets dirty the truck will run like a dog for sure. Try to find some one you know that knows the Cummins. That would help you a great deal.

..Preston..

SmokinDodge12V

40$ dollars for a set of vavle cover gaskets wow.

midwestdually

97 would be the best bet...maintenance is key...also...not sure why anyone would wanna run a plow on a dually...unless you do commercial properties and had long wide open runs...but to each his own

Trusty Steed

Yeah, I know what you mean Midwest dually. I been kind of cry'n in my beer the past day or so. Found out after I came home and wrote the post, the next morning a fella came in and wanted the truck, the 97!

I am contemnplating a new beast. Although that seemed like a perfect truck, there may be one that would suit me better. 97 3500 regular cab with a 10 foot dump. It is loaded, body blasted and painted, bed blasted and painted. It is 4x4 with 48,000 miles. The guy wants 18,500. I may be a fool, but I was thinking of offering 17,500. The miles sure do seem good, and to have a dump for my business would be awsome. I just really liked the other truck, this one would be better. It also is geared 3.55 instead of the 4.10 which would be good mileage wise though not the way I would expect a cab and chassis to be set up.

What is the GVW on this if anyone knows?

Thanks for all your help.

Jay

Trusty Steed

I just wanted to let everyone know how it turned out.

Last week after I found out that the truck I wanted was sold, I gave the guy my number in case the deal fell through. He said it is a rare thing for that to happen, but he would keep a look out.

Next day was when the fella was supposed to come get it, I decided on looking at another truck a few hours away. We were loading up the van with kids to go get a check, and buy that truck if we liked it. The truck was two hours away, so we were ready to buy this time.

Just as I was getting ready to put kids in the van, I thought I would pick up the phone, and call about the truck, to see if that guy came in and purchased it. I went for the phone and it rang! It was the guy, and he said the deal fell through, and the truck was mine if I wanted it! He said the guy was doing a trade, and he gave him the title and it was a rebuilt title! He would not give him the trade amount agreed upon because it would be harder to sell. Just unbelieveable.

My wife was broken hearted when I told her the truck was sold originally, and I became more dishearted because the truck was so clean, from Georgia, and good miles and seemed superior to all the other trucks I had been seeing for sale.

In any event, I think the Lord caused it to work it in such a great way. I normally have buyers remorse, and planned on it when I called to say I wanted the truck. Well after seeing it slip away, and wanting it all the more... Let's just say there is no buyers remorse now!!!! I love that truck. So much smoother then my 95 F250 PSD. I appreciate all your guys input, I feel it was a great decision, and look forward to putting many thousands of miles on it!

Thanks Again
Jay

SmokinDodge12V

Congradualtions its funny how things work out isnt it, welcome to the club youll never go back to any other diesel.

Trusty Steed

Thank you Smokindodge, I perceive you are correct. Now I just have to learn everything I can about the beast. Now I have to be careful not to spend too much money on mods and goodies! :-)

After driving it again, it seemed more responsive then I remembered which is a nice bonus. I will be asking you fellas lots of questions I am sure, so bare with this new guy.

Thanks
Jay