im lookin at a truck its goin cheap but it needs tie rod work and new bushings how much of a job is this thanks

 

Tie rods and bushings are easy. If those are shot, there's a possibility that more parts are worn out in the front end. I have replaced all bushings, the steering gear, trac bar (third one in 20,000 miles) and have to hit the ball joints soon. Look it over good. I'd bet it needs attention to some other things.

Good luck.

 

If it's going cheap, beware!!! The tie rods may be just a clue as to what else is wrong. Look closely at this one.

 

what else could be wrong

 

Perhaps some more information might help out here. Your turn--what year, model, mileage, drive (2 or 4 wheel), and "overall condition" is the vechile? Have you looked at it or driven it personally? If there is a reputable mechanic who knows these vechiles well in your area it's worth one or two hours of labor to have them check the whole vechile out--then you will have a fairly clear idea of what to expect to fail or need replacing in the near future.

Truth is, at the age of the 12V units now, lots can be wrong. Some of it is major and would need to be recified at once such as suspension, ball joints, springs & shocks, and brake components. Steering boxes can fail and it's about $1200 when that happens. Other things, such as windows that do not work or failed air conditioning system parts can wait to be repaired. Suspension wear is however a good overall indicator of wear on the vechile.

 

year-95
model-3/4 ton reg cab
mileage-130000
drive-4x4
overall condition-ok, its a work truck with a slide in dump and a plow on it
havnt driven it or seen it personally

the truck is bout an hour away from me

the guy says it needs front end work tie rods and bushings it need a windshield washer fluid motor and a radio and there is a pinhole size tranny line leak

work done to it is breaks calipers and rotors throttle cable linkage and assembly and new front tires

thats all the info i got on it

 

With a slide in dump and a plow, front end needing to be repaired and a leak in the tranny cooler lines. I'd say she was rode hard and put away wet more than once. Pull the tranny dip stick and check for burnt oil, if it;s burnt the trans is questionable. When you get into rebuilding a 4x4 front end it can get expensive. Check that out carefully. The dump on the rear only means it hauled heavy loads, check the suspension and frame. Drive her good and check the brakes for pulsations or growling. Run it to 60-70 and listen for howling drive axles. Put it in 4x4 and make sure it goes in and out ok.Look the eng over for leaks and check the rad. The rest should be straight foreward.

 

Plowing puts a lot of extra load on the front suspension components, wearing balljoints and tierods quicker than usual. Also, the extra weight of the plow can over stress the front springs. 130k miles hauling JUST the dump and plow would raise my eyebrows some, but if it had mixed duty without the constant extra load, it may not be so bad. Like the others have said, be sure to check that tranny good!! Plowing is generally a slow process, done in non-lockup conditions. Reverse in our trucks can heat the tranny very quickly. I have seen 220 deg really quick backing up our hunting camper or a car hauler I had! Don't know about really cold weather plowing, but without air flowing through the cooler, it may have regularly been overheated. With all of the low end torque we make, and a tranny not really suited to use it stock, we get lots of friction (heat) instead.

 

it hasnt been hauling in the dump sence new the dump was put in in 2002 and it hauled soil mulch and stuff like that once and a while thanks for the info keep it coming

 

When I looked for my truck I had a few parameters that I DID NOT want to see. The most important were: 1, No Fifth-wheel installed or ever installed on the vechile. 2, No plow installed or ever installed on the vechile (some do it with a 2wd, even.) 3, No frame damage whatsoever, I had found a few like that.

Slide-in dump bodies add quite a few extra pounds to the vechile, and will take a toll on the chassis. Unless you plan to use it only for hard work and don't care about a loose suspension, I would not consider a used truck with a plow for any personal use. You simply must assume that the owner has plowed curbs, parking blocks, ice-dams, and rocks in addition to the "fluffy" white stuff. Having worked with several 1/2 ton's and two one-tons with Meyers plows on them, I know there is a lot of additional weight on the suspension, which possibly explains the wear that has been indicated. You mentioned brake rotors, replaced or not? New ones ruin $129 each at CarQuest. Good to check this one out well, probably better trucks out there.