I am looking into getting a 1990-93 Cummins.. I have always driven a Cummins my first being a 02 and now I have 2012. I would like some input on what to look for while searching for right truck such as what is the hardest and most expensive to fix vs easy fixes.. right now im leaning towards a reg cag d350 dually.. all input is greatly appreciated..

thanks

 

Well if your handy and can do the work yourself, then most of the regular maintenance is pretty cheap. Not too many things on these old 1st Gen's that will kick the crap out of your wallet like the newer trucks will.

Look for low mileage, and a 5spd if you can. The stock auto in these trucks had a weak converter from the factory. You will more then likely need to have the tranny pulled and a new converter installed, and the tranny freshened up at the same time. But many have run them in stock form for many years, and many miles.

Look for typical cab corner, floor and box wheel well rust. Also if the cab is rusty look at the cab mounts too...they like to rust too.

You can always post up a link, or pics of a truck your interested in and we will give you our honest...and not always what you might want to hear...opinion.

 

Look for roof rust above the windshield gutter. They rust from the inside out, so a little bubbling is not good.

 

Thanks guys... Ill make sure to look for these things!! I'm leaning towards getting a 2wd 350 dually with 200k or less on it... Do y'all have any idea what that would be worth? Thank you again for your input!!

 

Depends on your location, 2WD and a dually will lower price, around here a decent one like that will bring 4000-5500, I wouldn't wait too long though, prices have ( at least around here ) been jumping to flat stupid.

 

My son just flew from Montana to California to buy a 93 W250 LE in real nice shape. Paid 8 grand, and he's tickled pink.

 

Everyone has their own preference but i like my late '92.5 and '93 model years with the Super LE Advantage package that adds the great luxuries of air conditioning, power windows and mirrors, tilt wheel, cruise control, bucket seats and the premium trim. Some folks like the empty cab with no electronics or upholstery but I enjoy the comfort it adds along with the challenge of keeping that stuff in clean working condition.


when you find a truck that interests you then spend a few hours on here searching the sticky for fixes that might apply to the truck(second thread down and lots of info on how fix just about anything).

as for major repairs, if the price is right then its worth going to take a look. from my experience I bought all my trucks at a reduced price needing repairs that the owners thought would take major expense to fix, its a bit of a gamble but so far most everything has been fairly simple to repair. Most often the major problem is the morons that own the truck have no clue how these systems operate or how to maintain a vehicle. such as when the injection pump has no bolts in it then chances are the reasons why the engine doesn't run properly and smokes real bad are not internal engine or pump issues but rather the fact that if the pump is bouncing around then so is the timing. or when overdrive no longer works but all of the wires on the trans are melted into one big glob, chances are the problem is not a burned up trans and some new wire will fix the problem for about two bucks. The only problem I have no interest in is rust, the price needs to be very low to consider it, anything else is worth taking a few minutes to look at.

 

Thanks guy ya'll have been very helpful!! I found a 91.5 w350 dually with 175000 miles on it, but it has a 3sd auto in it and the guy has no clue what rear end but i'm guessing it has 3.08... body doesn't have any rust but does have some dings in.. I really want to stay away from that tranny and axle, but what do ya'll feel that truck is worth.. im located in west Texas if that helps.. thank you again for your help!!

 

Sorry mate but not much to go base a price on. A 91.5 D350 dually with 175K miles and an auto, no rust and dings. Pics would help a lot...and a detailed description of options and condition of said options...are they working or not.

 

Your a lucky man, we have slim pickings up here in the northeast. I surf craigslist across the entire country from time to time and Texas always has a great selection, how long have you been looking and what is your budget and distance you want to travel? TX,NM and AZ always have beautiful trucks in great shape and at a decent cost.



There are search options that work on CL to see just what you want and limit other items from coming up, this is what I paste into the search tab "(dodge|ram)(cummins|diesel)(1993|1992|93|92)" If its inside the () then that word has to be in the add, the line "|" means or. This search finds any add with a combination of dodge or ram, with cummins or diesel and any of those years that are typed in. you can copy and paste this into every major city in the US and see almost every first gen for sale on CL in about 20 minutes or so. Just remember that if its inside the () then that word has to be in the add, so adding too much detail will not find the basic adds with no description like "blue truck for sale" This search will usually finds some crazy stuff too like this megacab: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/cto/3828074302.html

 

Holy "PIMP MY RIDE" Batman !

That truck is designed for fun ! An entire family of illegals would be able to live in that back seat alone !

 

Ah come on T "Illegals" really! If that term is not derogatory, I don't know what is. By the definition that our illustrious governor gives, that if you do something illegal, then you are illegal it would make anyone that speeds "illegal". Ever exceeded the speed limit? Sorry, but that term IS derogatory...Mark

 

$4k-8k?
I'd LOVE to see 2k-3k for a 1991 intercooled 2wd D-350.
Dunno' WHERE you guys get these higher prices, but keep posting them, maybe I'll quit parting them out and sell completes!

As far as the "illegals" comment, I think they need to do things the right way, not violate our boarders, then beg for a free ride.

Mark.

 

I have no problem with that opinion, but there is no need to degrade them with derogatory terms, we are all illegal be by that definition...Mark

 

Really ? How do you know I wasn't talking about little green men from venus ? I hear they're only a few feet tall and can fit a few dozen in that truck.

illegal immigrant n. an alien (non-citizen) who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedicti...egal+immigrant

Any group of "folks" that come from other countries and decide to stay without actually making any effort to become naturalized. Russian, chinese, mexican, Peruvian, or from outer space. Could care less about where they're from, as long as they start paying taxes just like I do, and not sucking the life out of public funding.

One of my best friends is from Ecuador. He came here, spent several years doing what was needed (was required to do) become a citizen. Finally, after becoming an "AMERICAN", he asked his American girlfriend to marry him. It's been 20 years, and they're still together. He's proud to be here, and busted his butt to legally say he's here to stay. I'm proud to be his friend, as he's more American than a lot of Americans who were born here.

If you want to discuss this Bologna topic, which inevitably cannot be corrected by any means, then do so in another thread. Let's not conduct this thought here any longer. Enough said...