As far as the drivetrain is concerned I liked the truck, a lot. The engine and transmission felt fine, the clutch didn't grab until it was almost completely out so it's probably on it's last leg, and there was minimal driveline shaking when shifting a gear hard (you know where you pull the clutch out a little to fast when changing gears and there's a shimmy that starts at the motor and ends at the rear end) even though this truck probably towed a trailer most of it's life. I have driven a couple of 24V trucks, all 2wd, and liked all of them, but when considering the price of a new I/P I have been leaning toward 12V's. This is the first 12 valve I have run across in my area. It was an old farm truck, 97 model 2wd 3500 with the 5spd w/ 190k on the clock. Everything worked as far as A/C windows, locks all of the stuff I was expecting it to have problems with, but the problems lied elsewhere. The paint was awful, hood and roof were chipping away, paint was gone below where the tank is filled and huge crack across the front of the window. When I got there they had just gotten the truck in and they were in the process of finding/fixing a problem that lied (they said) somewhere between the fuel tank and the injectors. The owner said about once every 3 months it just decides not to start. Today was one of those days . They tried for about 5-10 minutes to crank it and had no luck, said they were gonna put a new fuel filter on it and to come back later, which I did and all was well. After I test drove the truck and was speaking to the owner he said he still believed the pump in the tank needs to be replaced and was in the process of making sure that was the problem. All in all he was asking $11,500 for a 190k 97 model with an awful paint job. I would rate this truck in fair condition, and most definately not worth the price he quoted me.

I don't graduate from college until this time next year, where in the mean time I should have enough time to test drive all the trucks I want to .

Do y'all think that price was reasonable, I would say $8,000 or so for that truck, but I still wouldn't buy that particular truck. It would be a great truck for a daily beater/worktruck, but the next truck I buy I want to be able to be cleaned up with a nice shine. So, I shall press on with the window shopping till close to the end of the year.

Oh the owner also said that he heard not to lug the trucks around at low rpm in 5th gear because a nut backs out of the trans or something like that. He said not to shift into 5th until around 50-55? I said I'd keep that in mind, but wasn't sure if what he was saying was true.

 

Not that truck not that price, or your 8000.00 either.

Lugging the CTD way down below its power band is hard on it even though it will do it.
Whether he meant that or was covering up something else that lugging would reveal who knows.


The world is FULL of trucks... good luck!

Big Jimmy

 

I paid $10000 can for a 95 with 325000 on it....it was still a bargain....go for it....but i do know where to get very cheap (free) parts though for mine.

 

I've got enough to buy a truck, I just don't want to clean out my bank account on one purchase right now. I'm gonna co-op this summer to add a little more money to the bank, sell the R6, and then I should have enough money to put a decent down payment on a truck, and finance the rest until I get a job starting in Summer 07 when I have my Mech. Eng. degree. Then I can pay it off and add a couple of ponies to it .

 

I paid 10,500$ for my 94 with 109k on the clock and a 5spd tranny. That was with a 4" lift, TST #5 plate. Paint in good condition. You should be able to find a better truck then that for the same price 8-10k.

 

I would say to pass on that one... But FWIW, the 5th gear nut backing off is a fairly common problem. And I believe he is right in saying that it is caused by lugging it in 5th. Not sure why that would cause it, but I am pretty sure that is what I hae always heard.

 

and on that model...there is no pump in the tank.

 

Thanks, I thought there was a pump in the tank, guess I've got somemore reading to do on here...

I had a 78 Ramcharger 400c.i. that had nowhere near 400hp, but was only $900 and I bought it my last year in highschool to tear up that summer. Pics can be seen here. That's how that truck stayed for the rest of the summer, doorless and topless, man that was fun POS.

 

$11.5?! that dude's smokin' some good stuff!

I got my 98 12v quad/short 2wd SLT auto w/ 178k on it... great paint, everything works, etc. for $8.6k (yes, I stole it! )

but yeah, $8k sounds about right for that truck

 

'98 12v 2wd dually, quadcab 5spd, $6k with spare good trans and dana 80 4.10 limited slip rearend, spare set of rear drums, and spare set of rear brake shoes. Low end fair cosmetic condition, great mechanical condition. Had 226,000 on it when I got it. Deals are out there, keep looking.

 

So look at the classifeds ads here. cheap at 1/2 the price

 

Id get away from that truck

too many cons to outweigh the pros...

Rick