m1a convert

I know a diesel can make 200,000 miles easily. But how long can you expect the engine/chassis combo to last?

It looks like in my price range I will probably have to buy one with about 200,000 on it. How much life will be left in it at this point?

Should I steer away from trucks with a fifth wheel hitch since this indicates heavy towing? Teamed up with the high milage meaning short remaining life?

wannadiesel

Mine's running and driving well with 219k on the truck. Engine miles are unknown, the engine is out of a '92. I doubt it's less than 150k. I wouldn't be nervous about the engine until you get past 300k, it's the rest of the truck that has problems. I tried to find one without a big hitch, and thought I had until I went to install my 4" exhaust. There's a big ol' hunk of C-channel welded between the rails with a hole for a GN ball, the patch job in the bed was so good I didn't notice it with the spray-in bedliner. If the truck seems well maintained, runs and drives nice, don't be too concerned about the mileage.

ARAcummins

Got 340k on mine, runs great yet, starting to get a few minor leaks and the tranny is getting a little weak. I wouldn't bat a eye at it.
Heath

Charles C. Stan

Mine has 156,600 runs great looks great and will probably out live me Any dodge diesel that has been taken care of and not abused will last a very long time. That goes for any vehicle. I have a 89 camry that is getting 30 miles to the gallon and it has 130,000.

cLAYH

Look for one that has not been bombed yet. Mine had 200,000kms on it when I bought it last year. I got it from a rancher who used it to haul a goose neck cattle trailer. While doing some work underneath I noticed that the angle iron under the bed for the GN was bent and had cracked, so he must have been hauling a serious load!

The engine was bone stock when I bought, still had the caps on all the screws. It was REALLY gutless don't know how he lived with it like that for that long. THere were no oil leaks at all and it ran like a top and looked great inside and out. These trucks were so seriously DETUNED from the factory that its really difficult to do any damage to them when it at the stock setting.

The only other one that I seriously considered that was in my price range was a '97 extended cab with 300,000kms. It leaked oil from everywhere, the body was beat, the interior was a mess and the steering was super loose. I liked it for the smooth ride and the fact that it had A/C. The one I bought doesn't but I'm still glad I bought it over the '97, much more reliable in the long run. Probably better resale down the road as well.

I wouldn't worry too much about the milage, check to see how well its been maintined(mine came with a book of reciepts) and what does it have for upgrades? Mine came with aftermarket seats and running boards and was clean in and out. This tells me that the owner owner liked the truck and so looked after it.

m1a convert

Sorry for the newbie question. but what does it mean when a truck is "bombed"?

cLAYH

Bombed means "tuned up" or "high performanced" such as turning up the injection pump, instaling bigger injectors, changing the turbo, etc.

My truck was completly stock when I got it. By simply adjusting the pump settings my truck went from an absolute dog to something I could live with. Changing the turbo and gov spring made it into a street racer. The 4" exhaust brought the exhaust temps back down enough that I could actually use the extra power.

jleonard

The word "BOMBed" means...

Better Off Modified Baby.
And it's true. Make that first adjustment and the truck is soooooo much better.
Then the "BOMB bug" bites....then your upgrading air filter, exhaust, adding gages, turbo housing, injectors, etc.
Have fun.

uncleroty

The engine will run forever as long as maintenance was goo and continues to be good. The transmission will likely need to be done with advanced miles, as well as the differential. I have seen one with 450,000km that had the original tranny and diff. That's around 300 and some k miles.

The guy that had it pulled a horse trailer around and went hunting etc with it. This guy was a maintenance freak though, but that goes to show you how that helps extend a vehicle's life.

My truck had 150000 miles when I bought it, and a new tranny was just put in 60 months before. Everything else is good though at present.

Farmboy12357

My buddy has one with 750,000 miles. Original engine.

ppiggppenn

I expect to turn 500k miles in the next year or so, ... the engine is original as far as I know, and I'm going on ten years running it. The IP was turned 3/16" by a PO but otherwise stock. Much of the PO mileage was hiway towing, a gooseneck hauling bails across the prairies. Much of my use was pulling 5th wh campers. Still starts amazingly quick and pulls like a bear, ...

d22019

My dad had a 91.5 a couple years back that had 950k. It was pretty beat but still looked and ran decent. It was used to pull race horses all over the country since day one. The maint records said all it had was reman transmission and diff at 650k and a head job at 780k. We sold it because it started to use oil it was just plain worn out. My current one has 165k and runs like a new truck.

cougar

Maintenance is everything, that includes your fuel system.

Farmboy12357

I remember when I was littler and my dads cummins was about to turn over 200,000. I was like thats so many miles, theres almost no trucks with that many miles on them. I came to realize a while afterwards that the engine was just getting broke in. I bought my truck with 297,XXX on it and now I have 305,XXX still runs amazing

dbrick

I wouldn't turn down a truck just because it was bombed. It depends on how its treated and maintained. I have a friend that recently sold a 97 that had 500000 + K. It was still very strong and bombed. Bottom line is do your home work before you buy. I have 260000 + and would drive mine anywhere