Jeeper

I'm buying the truck described in the signature. I'd like some advice from you experts on anything I should check out closely and problems to look for. Everything appears to be good on it at this point.

The truck has some miles, but has been well maintained per a stack of receipts. Major things include the trans, injectors and several other parts that were replaced at around 180K. I do not plan to increase the HP, as it seems pretty strong as is and I'd like to focus more on fuel mileage and longevity.

I've had two 1st gens, a 2nd gen and a Duramax in the past, but haven't had a diesel for several years, so I haven't spent much time here to keep up what's good and bad about the newer models. This will also be the first CTD truck I'll have with an automatic. What is recommended to make it last so I don't have to spend $4,500 plus to replace it like the po?

I didn't find much in the way of an FAQ or "sticky" with recommendations for 3rd gens. Am I missing it?

Thanks in advance for any input.

justen920

I was in your same boat a few years back. I bought the truck in my sig and had to replace ball joints (have them checked for height and wear) and you will feel the slop in the steering, one injector, drivers side hub and u-joint, batteries, brakes and the usual fluids all in the span of three years. Luckily I bought an extended warranty and it saved me some money. I would check all of those if possible, as well as the blend doors for the heater and ac. You can also check any codes with a reader. The biggest things that I found to check are are blow by and injector fail warnings, both I looked on YouTube for help. Also if it was a pulling vehicle check for slipping in the 48re. Hope this helps you out.

DragonSlayer

Check blow-by. Mine has excessive blow-by and am at 190xxx miles. I'm going to pull mine down to fix it soon. Still driving but really soots up the oil. Other than that, its been normal stuff like radiator and tensioner and a A/C compressor.

tantruck

The oil turning black is predominately caused by the 3rd injection event,(post injection emission related), and is common on the 2004.5 and later Cummins engines. Your blow by condition may be contributing to it but the sooty black oil syndrome happens even on perfect condition engines.

Just a thought.

Chrisreyn

When I moved from my First Gens to a 3rd Gen, I found the " Buyers Guide" on the TDR website quite helpful

DragonSlayer

True. But if you hold the throttle to around 2500 and open the oil fill cap, the blow by will almost push it out of your grasp!

Jeeper

Thanks for the tips.

A lot of those things have been recently addressed according to the receipts.

The oil looks typically dark, but not black and it doesn't smoke. Is there anything else to look for as evidence of blow-by?

DragonSlayer

They have tests you can have done. I just warm the truck up and then pull the oil fill cap while its running. If there is a lot of crankcase pressure, it will push lots of steam and smoke looking stuff out of the hole. Mine will almost blow the cap out of your hand when you open it while the engine is revved up above 2500.

Jeeper

Makes sense. I will check that out with the oil cap. Thanks!

Now if I can get my loan going - everything has been shut down with the weather.

DragonSlayer

Good luck with your loan. Remember, you will have some steamy smoke stuff come out of oil cap, mine just about sprays oil up on the hood. Once I get this fixed and a couple of other issues, it'll make a good truck for a long time.

Jeeper

The loan was no problem once the weather got better and the credit union opened. Picked up the truck Wednesday. I'm loving it.

Looking through all the receipts, I see that pretty much all the common issues have been addressed in the last 40K miles or so. The previous owner spent quite a bit having it all done at the dealer.

There are a few minor, mainly cosmetic things I need to address and that's about all I see so far. The first things are to replace the driver's seat foam and the lens for the 3rd brake light.

I will also be getting some sort of bed cover - leaning toward a roll-n-lock. I like that it is sturdy and secure but easily out of the way when you need it to be.

DragonSlayer

Glad you got the truck!
Try Geno's garage for seat foam.

Jeeper

Thanks. Ordered the seat foam from Amazon for $90. Bought a used roll-n-lock cover this weekend via Craigslist. I'll check with the dealer and junkyard about the 3rd brake light lens.

justen920

I bought one of those infomercial foam pads and pulled the cover off my seat then padded it with that. Has worked awesome and I am not a small dude. The broke down seat used to kill my hips and nerves. I think it's called forever comfy cushion.

Jeeper

Cool, is that memory foam?

I re-did my seat with the new pad and added a layer of carpet to protect the new foam from the steel frame and wire springs plus a layer or carpet padding. Threw the cover in the washer while I had it off too. What a difference.

After all those miles, my foam was shot and beyond repair. This is an easy job anyone can do themselves and it is so worth it.