BmrHalr

Hi y'all and Happy Holidays!<br><br>I am new to this list, but not necessarily new to the Ram fan base. A friend in KC got me hooked on these trucks with a 94, then a 97 and finally a 2001 Ram with the Cummins that he used to pull his Land Rover across the country with. Well I've finally come to the path in my life where I might be able to purchase a 91 2wd D350 with the manual and Cummins. It was used on the sellers farm all of it's life, but was fanatically maintained. It has 139K on the clock and the only problem the seller says is the ABS light comes on some time, but he attests that the brakes are very good. He thinks it's just a sensor problem. I'm going to drive 1.5 hours to look at it tomorrow and wondered if anyone can provide a 'list' of things to look at when inspecting the truck? I've talked him down to $4500. I've done a search of the board, but cannot find a list that says what to and not-to buy. <br><br>I really appreciate it and hope to be a contributing member to the board in the future!<br><br>John A

richard

1st gen trucks have a few things to give close attention to <br>1. door hinges where they bolt to either the door or the pillar,sometimes they crack the sheet metal<br>2. rust on the wheelwells on the bed<br>3. ABS light- most times its a vacuum line that has rubbed a hole through and throws on the light<br>4. The dreaded KDP! this is a dowel pin behind the front cover that over time will walk out and deposit itself in the timing gears on the front of the engine, causing sometimes catastrophic damage to the engine. surf around the site for more info on this.<br>5. if you do buy the truck,congrats in advance. Let us know <br>how you make out. And welcome to the site!<br>

BmrHalr

Thanks! I will check into the KDP. It sounds from your post that there's not a whole lot to worry about, then. Excellent! I will let y'all know what happens then.<br><br>Getting more and more excited,<br>John

BmrHalr

I went and looked at the truck and had a pr-purchase inspection done on it. It drove great, rode nice, and was over-all a great truck. There was no rust (at least visible) but the paint was faded, but not really bad. The results of the inspection came back and they said it was the nicest 1st gen they've seen come through recently. No leaks and all of the fluids were in top order. The only problem is the dang transmission. Seems the Getrag's 3rd gear synchros are a couple of thousand miles on the other side of gone and will need a new transmission. So here's my dilemma: To buy or not to buy? I asked if they'd budge off of the price ($4500) and they said, &quot;Not a penny.&quot; Is it safe to say the transmission in it will not last a 2000 mile trip towing a open car trailer? How much money will it cost to change transmissions, say to the NV4500? What would YOU do?<br><br>Thanks all,<br>John

Monty

IMHO, I would buy the truck and go ahead and put the NV4500 behind it. You have a couple of options, though, if you buy the truck. Standard Transmission sells the Getrag rebuild kit with synchros for 240.00. Or, buy the NV4500 tranny and conversion kit from them for 2250.00. Either way you go, it sounds like you are getting a really good deal on a nice 1st gen.<br><br>Standard Transmission

BmrHalr

[undecided]<br>The guy selling it is a professional OTR trucker and swears the transmission is ok to tow with right now. I like the idea of the NV4500, but I need to tow to FL from KY in 3 weeks and would not be able to get under the truck and work on it before then. What are the chances if I'm easy on the shifting this transmission would make a 2500 mile round trip through some hills so I could get home and tear in to it?<br><br>Thanks for the input,<br>John

Monty

If you do decide to buy the truck. The first thing I would do is check the trans oil. I believe the book calls for 3 1/2 quarts of 5w30 synthetic. Most guys use the Mobil 1 Syn. with good results. For added protection, go ahead and overfill the tranny with 1 quart. This can be done by taking the top PTO cover bolt off. The Getrag's had a problem with proper oiling of the output bearing. The extra quart helps alleviate this problem.

furious70

if it's just a bad syncro you should be ok I would think. does it want to pop out of 5th gear after having a load on it and letting up?

Alec

Buy the truck. If you drove it and think that it shifts okay then what magic did the inspector use to determine that the synchros were shot? Unless the transmission is making noise, or full of iron shavings (black -- even yellow from brass would be okay, I don't think there are any thrust washers in the Getrag, tho someone correct me if I am wrong), the worst scenario I see is that you might need to learn how to double clutch.<br><br>On a different note: my '91 W250 cab above the windshield rotted out from the inside -- it was under a visor when I bought the truck and I missed the problem completely, but even after looking at it closely, I was surprised at how much material had been eaten away under the paint. So make sure that you look up there.

woodrat

what is a NV4500 transmission?<br>

Monty

New Venture 4500 series 5 speed found in the 2nd gen 12 valves.

woodrat

so I assume then that the NV tranny must a) be an improvement over the getrag and b) fit in where a getrag came out?<br><br>

furious70

better, yes and no. stock for stock I'm not sure. But if you do the 5th gear fix on the nv4500 then yes<br>From what I've heard, the shift rails fail on the getrag, making it pop out of 5th under load. That's certainly better than having the gear fall off the back of the shaft like the nv4500 does without the fix. The problem with the getrag is that there is no fix, just replacing the rails everytime they fail