tgriffin27

I just bought a 94 Dodge 3500 Dually CTD that has been sitting since 2009. I will be installing new batterys tomorrow and want to get it running so I can drive it home. I was wondering what do you guys recommend I do before trying to start it. This is my first diesel truck and I know on gas vehicles you have to clean the carb change the fuel filter drain out the old gas but I have no idea what I should do to a diesel truck that has been sitting uncranked for so long. I bought it from the original owner with 206,000 on the odometer. It has had every oil change done at the local Dodge Dealer and It has all the original parts except for the front and rear brakes that where installed in 2009. The previous owner parked it because he got a great deal on a new dodge dually.

Diesel Dave2

Was it parked with new motor oil?? If not,it would be a good idea to replace the oil filter and new oil..How much fuel was left in the tank??

Would be a good idea to drain it,but some guys have ran 10 year old diesel with no problem...But it's a pain to drain these tanks..

Hopefully there is not that much fuel left...I would fill the tank with new fuel and replace the fuel filter...I would also crank the motor by hand a couple of times...Just to make sure the motor is not locked..

Check the anti-freeze,make sure it's full...But once you get it home I would do a flush and install new anti-freeze..

Check that the oil level is up in the diffs and trans..


Post some pictures of your dually when you get it home...Sure would like to see them....

NE frmhnd

Change the fuel filter, prime it, check the fluids, check the air filter for a rat's nest. Crank it. Might not be a bad idea to spin on a fresh oil filter as well. Have a couple spare fuel filters.

Disable the grid heaters. If it doesn't want to prime you can run it on ether and it should prime right up.

Automatic? Put it in neutral when it fires and let it idle before trying to move, the fluid probably drained out of everywhere and needs to be pumped back in.

Have a look at the brakes, after sitting that long they may be rusted up, if they are the pads and/or shoes will be gone in a short time.

tgriffin27

The truck was parked with used oil in it so I will be changing the oil,filter and fuel filter today. The truck has under a half a tank in it(not sure exactly how much under a half a tank), if you fill it above half a tank it leaks fuel but that's not a problem the previous owner has a new fuel tank he never installed, that was in with the deal. Antifreeze is full and really green it was changed at 200,000. Would you change the antifreeze since it only has 6,000 miles or still change it because it is three years old? How do I disable the grid heaters? It's a manual transmisson with the original clutch still in it. Brakes front and rear have less then 10,000 miles on them so I hope the rotors and drums are not too rusty so I can run the brakes for several more years. I do need to find a back glass for it someone busted one of the glasses out of the sliding back glass trying to break into it while he had it parked at his house. It has brand new tires on the rear and needs tires on the front. Should I buy ten ply tires for the front?

NE frmhnd

Yes, load range E tires.

You should be able to unplug the relays or take the cables off the grid heater. It's in the intake, right where the intercooler tube comes to it. You can hold off on this til you have tried the primer pump, if you can't get good flow with it, then try the ether. You may need to bump the motor over to get the primer to work.

If the rotors are rusty, running them a bit should polish them up, then have them turned and slam them back on with some new pads.

Diesel Dave2

Nice truck....Looks like very good condition...Does seem to have any rust or dents...Just your typical dodge peeling paint.....

tgriffin27

The PO is a 84 year old man that always takes care of his vehicles and equipment. I have been doing plumbing jobs for him and his wife for several years and asked him about a year ago if he wanted to sell it and he said no he would keep it and then last week he shocked me when he said he had decided to sell it. He is still out working 6 days a week hauling wood, clearing snow from parking lots and building parking lots and driveways. The truck before it was parked hauled mostly wood in the bed. The truck has a Plastic Bedliner so I hope the underneath of the bed is still in good shape.

Diesel Dave2

Nice find.......You should really good fuel mileage also...I assume by looking it's a 2wd..with the 5-speed..Regular cab duallies are hard to find in my area...

tgriffin27

Yes its two wheel drive with a five speed. All Single Cab trucks from the Big Three Dealers are hard to find here. I have several friends with short bed single cab trucks that get letters from car dealers all the time wanting to buy there trucks back there so hard to find here. I couldn't find the primer pump (I looked on the injection pump and the lift pump) and the fuel filter was dry when I took it off to install the new one. I installed the new batterys and pumped up the tires. The fuel gauge shows empty and we spun it over a few times but couldn't get any fuel to the filter so I am going to put 5 gallons of diesel in it tomorrow and try again. I didn't have any ether with me today but will have some tomorrow just in case. Where are the relays for the grid heater located? I looked in the fuse box under the hood and didn't see them so I just took the two cables off the grid heater.

infidel

tgriffin27

THANKS ALOT That is awesome!!!

gorms

A little compressed air to the tank (if it holds air) works great to fill up the filter if the lines are dry. Try some searching for priming techniques and you'll see infidel mention that, along with other steps.

tgriffin27

That's what I am doing right now been finding alot of great information. Thanks for all the great help guys I LOVE THIS SITE!

casey sohc

looks like you have it in hand,nice truck,just make sure the fuel filter is full of diesel when you try to start it,i pre filled mine when i installed it they will fit in upright between the brake master cylinder and the engine(full of fuel).the best position to do this is to kneel on the bumper and slide your right hand under the master cylinder and grip the bottom of the filter and thread it on,its a lot like doing a valve job on an engine through the tailpipe...and try not to crank the living crap out of the starter they get really hot.after a filter change mine will not start without depressing the throttle.
good luck and keep us in the loop on our progress,that truck is a great find.

Diesel Dave2

Priming the fuel bulb is a real pain by hand...I use a broom handle...You could then prime it alot quicker without streching your arm,which wears a fellow out..