simonswb6

i have the opportunity to buy a 1995 24v 3500. i have to go and look at the truck and was wondering what are some key things to focus on... <br><br>i have noticed several posting on fuel pressure problems w/ the lift pump. <br><br>what are some other signs that this may be a good/bad buy?<br><br>

DPG

simons:
You either have the year wrong, the number of valves wrong, or somebody put a newer engine in the truck. The 24v engines weren't used until the 98.5 model year. With the 24v engine, the lift pump has been a weak point in that engine. If there is a fuel pressure gauge, the pressure should be at least between 10 and 12 pounds at idle, and should never go below 8 pounds under any circumstances, such as WOT. Any less pressure than 8 pounds, and you are risking damage to the injector pump, which is big bucks. The life pump is relatively inexpensive to replace, much cheaper than the injector pump.

Hope this helps some.

DeWain

simonswb6

my mistake, it was 12v<br><br>what else should i be looking for, the truck has 58k miles...<br>

cr1998

That is pretty low mileage for a truck that old. Let's see, almost 8 years old, oops, may have to take my shoes off to do the sipherin' on this. 8 gosinto 58. Uh huh. Uh huh. Bout 7,000 miles per year. Am I right? ??? :-[

CR

P.S. - Just messin' with ya simonswb6. Welcome to the site. Lots of good info here. But it does sound like pretty low mileage on that truck. Also, the 12v guys can correct me if I'm wrong, but from what little I know, they haven't had the problems that us 24v guys have had with lift pumps. Good luck in finding a good one.

Dodgezilla

My 92 12 valve got 22 mpg My dually 24 valve hasn't gotten better than 16 mpg I guess that's one advantage to a 12 valve....

me4osu

I'm not an expert in 12v engines, but I have heard of them always working on the KDP (killer dowel pin). Do a search on it in the 12v forum to see what you need to look for or ask about.

Catoiler

Dang dodgezilla,I thought I was the only one getting less than 17 mpg same with my 12v and is also true with the 24v except the best so far is 14.7 mpg.

simonswb6

i did a lot of research on the killer dowel pin. <br><br><br>the 2 fixes for the dowel pin coming out can be found here: <br><br>dowel pin bolt<br>http://dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/Dowel_Pin/bolt.htm<br><br>Dowel Pin Blocking Tab <br>http://dodgeram.org/tech/dsl/Dowel_Pin/tab.htm<br><br>the cost of not doing anything can be found here:<br>http://www.flex.net/~triplem/new/dowelpin.htm<br><br>unfortunately, it seems from the article that you must remove the idler pulley to see if the damage has occurred or not. i go and look at the truck this weekend so i will be looking for this type of damage.. if i cannot see the crack in the housing, i might be able to see oil seepage. etc...<br>