Some of you guys have been helping me with my new truck search.

I called a local used car lot about a '99 that they had for sale. Decided after talking to him that I wasn't interested. The guy then tells me that the only other diesel that he has is a '97 extended cab 4x4 with an auto. REALLY?!?

So I ask him how many miles it has. He says 83,000. I immediately drove an hour away to look at it. The body is in good shape. Shifts good. No hitch in the bed. Nothing done to the pump. Asking price is $15K. Said that the price was firm. I am normally very good at getting people to come down on the price of anything. I told him that I was a little interested, but I was still going to look at some others. Cash may bring it down a little, but not much.

The truck has a 4" lift kit, but it didn't drive too bad. I didn't really mind the auto, but I know nothing about it. I haven't even researched them on here because I was set on a 5spd.

What does everyone think? I tow 12K. Will the automatic cause me problems in the near future? I will do more research on here, but any help is appreciated.

Jeremy

 

The price is probably about right, the low miles are a definite plus, the extended cab is really nice (wish mine had one), the 12 valve is a real plus in my book. When you start towing, keep your eye on the tranny oil for discoloring and burning. Make sure you have an aux cooler for the trans.

 

One of the things that I don't like about the truck is that it has rubber flooring, and tan leather.

I thought the price was probably about right.

 

you can put carpet in....and get a wrecked truck with a grey interior and swap it at a later date.

Sounds a whole lot better than driving 13 hours like you did before.

That is very low miles and 97 and 98 are the two BEST years for these trucks.

Auto beefing is anywhere between $1-7K

 

Yep the trans is a tough call. Spend $ on the 5 speed nut issue and beefy clutch, or spend $ on a converter. ***** in your court. The decision is made easier if you find a nice truck to begin with. If it has either trans you deal with it.

 

If the tranny checks out OK, and the fluid looks good, don't worry to much about the auto. I would be concerned about really good looking fluid (brand new-are they trying to hide something?), or really nasty fluid.

Otherwise, the tranny is really not bad. It's when you turn up the pump, and really put on torque, that the tranny likes to die. I have 120k, and tranny is OK with yearly fluid changes and civilized driving. A trans temp gauge will be a must for towing.

The fact that the pump is virgin is a good thing. I would say if you can get him down a little, I would go for it. Remember your time and effort put into looking. Time is $$. The lift is a no biggie, but really check out the driveline.

FYI, my 97 was purchased in early 2003, with 92,000 miles, at 13,000, needed new rear wheel bearing seals, shocks and tires, it had a virgin pump as well.

Good luck, Kevin

 

What do you tow? A 4" lift might put the bed rails too high to clear a fifth wheel RV. Also, some posters have talked about problems with front ends, death wobble, etc, with a suspension lift. I think the price should be closer to $12K.

 

Thanks for all the input. Dr. Evil has been a big help since I started looking. I thought the same thing about the interior. The automatic is actually kind of nice. I have always had a stick.

I pull a 28' race car trailer. It is a tag trailer.

I am going to talk to them a little more about the price.

If I turn the pump up, is the tranny going to take a poop pretty quickly?

 

Just my oppinion, but if you are a manual tranny guy as am I, you will not like that auto if you are going to tow.

I've run my buddies truck with the auto towing and I really, really disliked it. But to each his own I guess. I'd wait it out and find a 5 spd if it were me.

 

Jeremy,

My advice would be to make sure you get what you want. YOu will find your truck.....took me a long time to find mine.

 

I agree. I will keep looking. If anyone is interested in it, I can give you the phone number.

Thanks

 

Dont give up on the Auto. If you find a great truck the trans is secondary. I personally have not driven a modified "corrected" auto trans but I know they should be great if built correctly. Check out this post by Got Smoke?

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...281#post598281