tayloe

I am looking at a 06' Dodge 3500 Lonestar 4X4 Auto with 138K miles. It looks to be in great shape and the price is right! I will be hauling cattle in a 32' stock trailer several days a week and hay and tractors occasionally. I know the 5.9 is strong and dependable but how bout the auto trans? What are some other things I should ask and check for on this model? Thanks in advance.

Tayloe

.boB

The engine is rock solid. I don't think there's a better one on the market. Do routine maint according to the owner's manual and you'll be fine.

Steering linkage and front suspension is a bit problamatic. Check and see if the recall applies to that truck for the steering linkages. And ask when the ball joints were last replaced.

Unfortunatly, the auto trans is a well known weak point. Nothing kills an auto faster than heat. For frequent and heavy towing I would seriously consider an additional cooler.

Other than that, these trucks seem to last about forever.

1-2-3

What rear gear does it have? You'd probably want 4:10 for pulling cattle. 1-If you can, check fuel pressure, might be tricky to do with no gauge installed already. 2-Pull the dip stick and sniff it for traces of fuel contamination, which is a sign of a failing injector. 3-Turn the key on then off three times without starting it, leaving it on the last time. That will display any stored codes. Hopefully there won't be any. 4-Then turn it back off, and with the key off, press and hold the odometer reset while you turn the key to on again. It will display engine hours. Divide the mileage by that. A low outcome of that will tell you that the engine has done alot of idle time. The higher the answer the better. I think last time I did mine, I was maybe at 40. 5-Then start it up, hold the brake, put it in reverse and open the door. Hopefully the horn won't go to honking. It's part of a flash update that is annoying. If it does, there aint nothing you can do about it, other than add an inline horn kill switch, but if you back up trailers with the door open to look, it will get old. 6-Check the 4X4 and make sure it works. 7-Maybe after you buy it, get a wrench and make sure all of the injector line clamp bolts are tight. On the 06's, occasionally they come loose and let the lines fail from vibrations. I'm betting you found a decent truck. What is the asking price? Dealer or private seller?

PoorMansCat

I would check the front suspension, HVAC operation (@#$%&* stupid junk)
Need to look for signs of engine mods, programmers, etc..
The trans will live pulling hard IF treated with care.... its kinda aggrevating some times having to pamper the trans. SO much, but it will live.