i bought an 2003 stock crew cab long bed 6-speed laramie 4x4 (195k) yesterday to replace my old 97. i bought it cheap because it has a few problems. it does have a considerable amount of blow-by. are there any other issues that can cause blow-by or do i just need to have engine rebuilt? and if so what is a fair price for the rebuild? thanks

 

How are you measuring the blowby? Does it use oil between changes? Any smoke when idling or driving?
Will

 

considerable amount of smoke when you take oil cap off while running. no smoke from exhaust while driving.

 

If the underside of the truck is not oil coated then you do not have too much blow by (yet). The crank case breather dumps on the drivers side of the engine, do you see a smoke trail when you get on it?

As for the cause, piston rings is the primary one. How does it run? You should do a compression test to see how it is holding then we can say if it is the rings or recommend some other issue.