My first post and my first diesel test drive. I have the bug to get me a diesel. I have narrowed it down to a 3rd gen Dodge.
I drove a 2006 2500 4x4, 6 speed today. The quad cab has 77k miles with a Banks Six Gun Big Hoss bundle. The truck is clean underneath with no signs of leaks.
The truck doesn’t seem to have any issues that blatantly stand out to me. The South Bend clutch has about 7k miles on it. What I am not sure about is the tranny. I have not driven an hd truck with a manual before and it seems to take some effort to shift gears. As in, to my nubee mind, it takes time for the gears to synchronize before it will go into each and every gear, whether from a stop or on the highway. Other than that I did not notice anything strange.
I pulled the dipstick while running and didn’t notice any puffing smoke that I have been told is indicative of ring blow by. The Amsoil, oil was black and has been changed every 12k or so per the owner. The EGT were about 400 at idle and hit 1100 at wide open throttle then settled to 400-500 at highway speeds.
The truck has been used to pull a heavy (as in 18k) trailer between 10k and 15k miles.
What can I do to make sure I am not buying a worn out truck? Would anyone suggest taking it to a dealer for inspection or would that be a waste of money?

 

Pull the fill plugs on both diffs, any more than a light coating of fine metal is a sign of a expensive problem. The drain plug on the G56 has a magnet but the fill plug does not, most see some metal on the drain plug during service but as always big chunks are a sign of problems. The motor is almost without problems, you can check the shaft play on the turbo, ask when the last time the valves were adjusted. It would not hurt to put a scanner on the thing and see the last time the codes were cleared, anything with in the last several days tells me they either fixed a problem or they are trying to get it sold before the check engine light comes back on.

 

The only major problems that come to mind are the front end, some trucks have a problem with death wobble. This is where the frame can actually get a harmonic vibration induced by going over a bump and shake the truck violently. Most trucks never have a problem. The front hub bearings are a item that will need to be replaced if you keep the truck long enough. The real fix for that is a free spin hub kit that replaces the unit bearings with tapered roller bearings like a normal axle. The front u-joints are a problem and will need to be replaced in the future, the factory ones are non-greaseable. The front ball joints cause some issues also but if you want to you can fix all these problems at one time.

 

I am familiar with death wobble and have dealt with in on my K5 and CJ7, it is not fun. I didn't notice any of that on my short test drive.

I am going back to look at it again tonight. Can I check the turbo without tools? What about the diff drain plugs, are they rubber?

The valves have not been adjust per the owner.

 

The diff plugs will be 3/8 square drive that you can put a ratchet in. The turbo will need a screw driver. I think the trans will need a 14mm Allen wrench.

 

The only thing I can think of on the motor is common rails do not tolerate dirty fuel. Most guys add on a 2 micron fuel filter. The filter, the base and the fittings needed will pay for themselves hundreds of times over if you can save the injection pump and the injectors.