Hello everyone.<br>I am new to this board - found it on the net and thought it be a good place to post. I for some reason keep going back to the older dodges...Had a 89 gas and now drive a 88 gas. I have found a 1993 3/4 ton diesel with 120,000 miles on it. Truck looks real clean from what I can see from pictures.<br>This would be my first diesel so I wanted to know what you 1st gen. ram owners had for advice?<br><br>Is there anything I should be looking for? <br>How good are these engines? How long can I expect it to go (I am assuming I should easily get another 100,000 on it...)<br>The tranny is Auto 3spd.<br><br>Thanks for the advice and I look forward to talking to you all soon!<br><br>Michael

 

If you liked the others, you'll love this one, get it! That milage is pretty resonable, but see if they can come up with maintenance records. Ask if the valve adjustments have been kept up. Save a couple hundred for some easy mods and gauges. Good luck,<br>Don

 

Welcome aboard..<br><br>Well you have chosen a good vintage.. <br><br>If its a 2WD be sure to have the front end looked at for wear of the ball joints, easy fix, but a good point for negotiating.<br><br>As already stated, try to find out about the service of the unit. Look for valve clearance adjustments, timing adjustments and general diesel tune up records. This will tell you if it has been looked after and what to look for. A well serviced rig should get you well over 200,000 miles. <br><br>Good luck.<br><br>J-eh

 

ya pick it up there great trucks! im allmost to 300,000 miles and still going strong i dont think it will every quit!! i bought my 93 wrecked and redid it all and its still not the best but it has never let me down! great truck ull love it!

 

An auto trans in a 93 should have an overdrive, so it would be a four speed. If the truck has been kept up well the engine should have many miles left in it.<br><br>Paul

 

I agree with my friend above..... if it's a 93 it is an A518 auto trans with 3 gears and one OD. Basically a tweaked 727.<br>Look for the gear ratios on it,, they'll be on a tag on the underside of the hood just beside the hood latch.<br>3:54's were pretty common and hopefully it is LSD. Limited Slip.<br>If 4X4 look under the drivers fender, just above the tire. You'll see the steering coupling there. They get sloppy and ugly pretty quick.<br>See any leaks around the convertor inspection plate in front of the tranny pan?<br>E-brake work good?<br>Check the rad inlet/outlet stubs that the hoses connect to. Sometimes the joint were they meet the rad body can crack if the hoses are yanked on hard to remove them for flushing..been there thanks to the dealer.<br>Does the injection pump have all its little tamper covers on it?<br>Look here for some tips about the pump and the covers...<br>http://www.turbodieselregister.com/u...mp;albumid=453<br><br>If they're all still on you know the pump has not likely been fiddled with, and that's a good thing.<br>Run the VIN at a DC dealer and get the service history as well as the vehicle option list. It will show you all there is to know about that truck in terms of engine/color(s)/wheels/ etc etc etc.<br>Any leaks behind the rear wheels of hypoid?<br>Diff cover leaks?<br>Do you see signs of regular lube jobs? grease splattered up the underside of the truck.<br>Rocker cover gasket leaks?<br>Open the doors, use a flashlight to look into the crack between the door and front fender, just below were the window corner is and a bit forward of that. Can you see any sign of cracks. (There is a DC fix for that if there is signs.) It's called 'cowl cracking'. Do a search for that topic.<br>Any sign of wet carpets, particularly around the area beneath the E-Brake peddle and same place on the passenger side?<br>After 3 weeks even new oil looks dark and discolored, don't let that through you.<br>Power steering fluid right up? Brake fluid right up?<br><br>That will touch the main things that can have repair needs.<br>The engine, if well maintained will run a good 400K-500K.<br>At your mileage it's literally just broke in and then a bit.<br><br>Most stock engines when cold, will have a rougher idle, some smoke, usually white/bluish. That's normal and is the result of timing. <br>When started cold the &quot;wait to start&quot; light should come on. Its above the heater switches.<br>It will come on and stay on from 5 -25 seconds depending on the outside temp. When it does this you'll see the alternator needle doing nose dives down, then up, down then up.... that's normal. What is happening is the manifold heater grid is cycling to warm incoming air. Normal.<br>After it's running it may continue doing that for a bit till it warms up.<br>If its below 59*F and you don't get any of that, there may be a problem in the temp solenoid, heater relay, or heater grid.<br>The &quot;wait to start&quot; light will always come on for a few seconds as it &quot;self tests&quot;, then goes out. You will know the self test from the actuall need to wait while the heater cycle.<br><br>Well, hope that's not too much at one time.<br><br>Bob.

 

Well Bob - thanks for the information!<br>Sure appreciate it and all the info from everyone else.<br>Lil Dog-The truck is a 4x4.<br>I have contact the used car dealer that it is at trying to get all the information...I am in CT and the truck is in AZ. A long way away - but at least there is no road salt down there! which means no rust. <br><br>I am going to take all what you said into great consideration and ask the dealer for some of the maint. records. In a situation such as this - buying a truck this far from home - would it make sense to have a Dodge dealer look at it sort of like a pre-inspection check?<br><br>And if this one falls through I found another one. 250 4x4 x-cab with only 65K miles on it. Too bad they are all 2600 miles away...But hey, jump on a plane and drive it home right! <br><br>Michael

 

heck ya!!!! i would jump on a plane for a 250 ext cab 4x4 with 60,000 miles!!!!!!! might i ask where it is at? lol jk ;D

 

8)Great post Bob, I researched before I got mine and had learned many of the items to look for. It's good to review... So far I have a great truck! Buy the truck, you'll like it no matter what anybody says.<br>Patrick.

 

Where in az is it I live in Tucson and if the drive is not too far might take a look for you, Az is kind too steel I grew up on the coast of MAINE and know that salt is a issue in all of New England I miss the green/ocean but hate the cold it was a nice 85* today so I washed the truck and took some pic`s when the scanner gets here I`ll post them. <br><br><br>P.S. I love the 1st gen body over the 2nd the nem RAM looks outstanding

 

93w3504x4duelly -<br>I was out in Phoenix/Scottsdale last month on Business - loved it out there...70/75 all week, while the east coast was getting 2-3 feet of snow!<br><br>I am a fan of the gen 1 trucks too - mainly because you do not see many of them. I get a thumbs up alot when I drive mine - clean and you do not see many of them.<br><br>E-mail me at mpurdell@cooper-atkins.com for the details, etc.<br>Appreciate your help.<br><br>Michael

 

Welcome to the sight . As for me I will never bye another used vehicle without taking a sample of oil into my local Wheeler service center and have them test the oil for potential engine problems. This will just be a good piece of mind that there are no bad engine issues in the making. Good luck, in your quest.

 

Bob -<br>In your earlier post you mentioned Cowl Cracking...<br>What is the fix for this? Covered by dealer?<br><br>Thanks.

 

There is a TSB (technical service bulletin) out on this. The dealer can bring in the repair components for this, but it is not a safety recall that is covered by dealers.<br>I don't have the TSB number handy, but I think that the guys on here will have it handy or it will be posted in another thread.<br>Maybe try a search on here using cowl cracking (cracks) cowl repair, until one of the guys can jump in.<br>The fix involves removing each fender, and applying a preformed sheetmetal patch. The patch is fitted using rivets, adhesive (sealant?). I'm also pretty sure that most larger dealers will know what your asking for.<br><br>Bob.

 

I have written a FAQ on the Cowl Crack problem in the Tech Facts section. This might give you a little bit of info of what is involved.