Cam73

Hey guys-
After my long hard search to find a truck I was able to find a bone stock 1 owner, 113,xxx miles, 4x4, 5 speed, 3.50s, extended cab, long box, SLT Laramie at a dealership in N Idaho. They were able to finance me at a decent rate (hard for a 20 yr. old) so i had to jump on it.
I live in Seattle so I did have to take a 10 hour trian ride but it was well worth it. I'm not one for buying something w/o looking at it but I saw some pictures and placed a deposit on the truck. Aside from a beat up bed and bad paint on the hood I'm as happy as a pig in sh**.

I started the drive back to WA and pulled off after about 100 mies and started to hear a low speed noise. It's a whirrring/rattling sound at low speed in 2nd and 3rd gear or when I really lug it. It's mostly when there is no load on the tranny. It comes right through the floor board from the tranny or t-case. It shifts and goes into gear very well. Is this a common problem or normal for the truck? I also get a bit of a clunk when I rev way up then shift, is that just a big truck clutch/tranny thing?

The front end feels very tight from the age and miles on the truck. No death wobble.

Sometimes in 2nd gear when I stand on it the truck doesn't pull well at all. It almost feels like there is no boost. It just moves along, revs until about 3k when it falls off and never really puls me to the seat. I know the gear is rather short but it just doesn't pull at all. Could it be a waste gate problem? The rest of the gears pull hard from 1,800RPM and up.

Last but not least, does anyone have a source for a tailgate handle bucket? Mine is MIA.

I'll start with the BOMBs just as soon as I kill the dowel pin. Let me know what you guys think, thanks for all the help.
PS- I should have gone diesel years ago

Cam73

I also forgot to mention the sender for the fuel gauge is junk and the oil pressure gauge or sender is suspect. Sometimes when I start the truck it flicks back and forth a few times and then sits right around 40psi give or take 10 depending on temp and RPM.

mysterystench

I just got a 97 4x4 auto and it does that too, I need to find out what it is cause it's pretty dissapointing to see how sluggish it's being, especially when I've seen the power you can get out of these trucks. The first thing i thought of was the wastegate also, so im gonna check that.

My fuel gauge sender is dead also, but i'm not too concerned about that yet. I just want to get some giddy-up in my ride first....


Good luck with yours dude, If you solve the problems or need some help, let me know!

Racer9

I can help you guys out a little. The fuel sending unit problem is the sender in the tank, common problem. Dealer will want to sell you the entire fuel module, at $340, or a Reman for $120. Part# 05013467AA is the sender only, about $50. Pull the module, 2 screws, fix it yourself.
Low power could be a couple things, fuel filter, fuel lines, intercooler boots, AFC lines, cat could be plugged, or slipped timing. Gauges will tell you a lot.
These truck are awesome, when the little things are taken care of.
For the handle, scroll to the bottom of this page http://market.autopartsfair.com/dodg...type=tailgates

Scramblinman

Congrats. Just out of curiosity, what did you pay? Decent 12 valves seem hard to come by in western Washington, especially with a manual transmission.

I just bought my truck from a private party here in Snohomish last month. Found it on CraigsList. Local truck, 181,000 highway miles, pretty clean overall condition, $9875. When I went to transfer the title, the agent said the state's fair market value for the truck is $10,500. I think I got a pretty fair deal. The guy was buying a brand new truck from Dave Smith in Idaho and just wanted more than dealer trade in, but didn't want to hold out for as much as he could have probably gotten.

The fuel level sending unit and passenger side power window switch were inop on my truck when I bought it. About $100 for the 2 parts at the Dodge dealer in Monroe. The cruise control was not working but was fixed by repairing the vacuum hose to the cruise control servo under the driver's side battery. The heater/AC will not blow out of the dash vents and I still need to replace the vacuum pot that controls that function. Everything else seems to work just fine.

I was going to order the TST KDP kit, but decided to just stop by Cummins Northwest in Renton. You can buy the tab, crank seal, and a new timing cover gasket for about $65~ out the door. I also picked up some Fleetguard oil, fuel, and air filters while I was there.

My trucks pulls hard in second gear, it just runs out of breath really fast because of how short the gear is. I'm thinking about a #11 torque plate and 3G GSK, but I'm starting to wonder how beneficial the GSK actually is for the 215 pump.

Now you need to fill out your signature and profile information. And be sure to check out Northwest Bombers, it's great group of local diesel owners with a large pool of knowledge regarding these trucks.

Firstgenner

Luke,

Congrats on the new truck and I hope it works out well for you. You are one dedicated truck buyer if you're willing to take a ten hour train ride to buy a truck sight-unseen!

The gear noise you describe sounds like it could be gear rattle, which is usually caused by engine vibrations being transmitted into the gear train and creating resultant oscillations between the gear teeth(since there is always some distance between the teeth, aka "backlash") and hence, the rattle.

Is the clunk you mentioned isolated to the front or rear of the truck? Is it a metallic clunk? More info is needed to render a guess on that one...

TxDiesel007

Congrats on the find!

you have one of the good ones that are left... What can u expect tho, ur truck is stock, hang around here long enough, and well.. ummm it wont be anymore... Ur truck with a stock plate will start to defuel at about 2200 rpms or so, the way urs is seems normal, the clunk u have? well i cannot tell u as of yet, but if u yank out the clutch, its gonna clunk...

The tailgate handle bucket, is about 5 bucks at the dealership, the only cheap part ive bought there for my 96, Do also kill that KDP, u will sleep much better at nite knowin that bugger is dead... The whirring or rattling sound might just mean that the tranny needs some oil, BE aware tho, that these things use only syntorque, and its quite costly per quart

ALso just FYI, im a converted ford IDI guy, i wouldnt go back to a powerstroke unless it was given to me and it be a stable mate to my ram..

Best of luck and feel free to PM me for anything u need...

Rick

Cam73

Thanks for the help guys!
I paid $11,600 for the truck. I think it's reasonable considering the miles, the condition and how rare it is. It will need a paint job in the future since it has a lot of haze on the hood and roof. I gave up looking in WA becuase every truck I found had very high miles or was an auto.

I think/hope the clunk is pretty normal, just the drive train unloading when I brake torque.

The rattle however still worries me a little. Like I said, it's just when I lug it and I notcie it much more when it's hot. I'll start by checking the trans fluid.

Anyone run into an oil pressure gauge that flicks around at start up? The truck has great pressure at idle and while crusing.

I'll do the KDP ASAP along with some gauges I'm just alittle strapped righ now becuase I had to come with a bigger down payment then I had expected.

Are there any all in on kind of monitors opposed to gauges on the pillar that will work with a 12v?

My starting bombs will be-
#100 plate, 3 or 4k GSK (don't really want to do the valve springs), lazer cut DVs (181 or 191?), intake of some sort, 4" exhaust maybe 5" stacks (cant fit plywood in the bed w/ them though and a clutch.
Then in time maybe a waste gated 14cm housing, water/meth and a 3pc (I think) exhaust manifold.

2500

congrats.... just got a 97 too. lucked out with a 96k mile one.
doing all fluid changes with KDP coming up this week.

still digging up all the special tools needed to set timing. so I can take care of that when timing case is opened up.

wish I snagged a 5speed instead of auto. but hey these are so hard to find. can't really be too picky...