I'm looking to move from my Ram 1/2 ton gasser to a 3/4 ton Cummins.

The other day I took a 2001 HO 6speed for a few hours. Man, I loved that truck; but my left knee (bad ACL) was starting to rear it's ugly head with having to deal w/ the clutch.

I'm going to go check out a similar truck, but w/ an automatic this afternoon.
The guy actually has 2. Both are 2001 QC LB Auto's.
1 has 175,000; the other 190,000.

I know the automatics are considered a weak link, any particular thing to check for on a rig w/ that many miles over just 4 years?

Testing fuel pressure: I'm going to run out and see if I can find a pressure guage to take w/ us.
Where's the best place to find a guage on short notice? Sears, auto parts, ???
Do you just screw a guage w/ a scrader connections to the VP44 and fire up the motor?
Any concern or proper steps to follow?
I'm 'assuming' you hook up the guage prior to starting the motor, yes / no?

 

Hook it up to the schrader valve, then start the motor. You should have around 12-15 psi at idle, if it goes below 7-8 at WOT, there is trouble! Cycle the ignition 3 times and leave it in the on position to see if any codes come over the odometer display. I would be extremely cautious buying one with that many miles, it is going to need a tranny for sure, not cheap!! Front hub bearings,(sealed if 4WD) ball joints, track bar, etc. pretty much the whole front end is probably worn out, drivelines included. These trucks are well known for the motor lasting forever, and everything else falling apart, but almost any of them with that mileage is going to need some serious work, and there is NOTHING on these trucks that is cheap!!!!

Tom

2001.5 2500 4X4 5-Spd LB QC Black. Catcher ECM, DD Stage-1's, AFE, Bully Dog 4" pipe, ATS Exhaust Manifold, Silencer Ring MIA, JAKE Brake w/shifter switch, Geno's Banjo's, 3 Autometer's on the A-Pillar, Gear Vendor's O/D, Firestone Air Bags, Redline Oil throughout.
Soon-to-have 14cm Turbo Housing and RASP Pump (Thanks Olee!!)

 

Man, this decision thing is killing me!

Just spoke to my dad and he's alomost in favor of going w/ the stick and looking into having the knee 'scoped'. And he's about as conservative as they get.
His thought is I'll problbaly need to scope the knee eventually and might as well do this while younger (is 39 young?).

Question RE the 6 speed:
For the majority of the day I would keep the clutch depressed while at a stop. That's what caused my knee to hurt the most. Do most drive this way or do you put it in neutral and let the clutch out while at a light. I've always heard different opinions on which way is lesser of evels.

Another thing on the rig w/ the 6 speed. The exhaust had been modified by removing the muffler and the cat. converter and had a K & N filter.
It didn't 'appear' to have been hot-rodded asides from that and drove very well.
How much of a concern or benefit of a straight exhaust w/ the Cummins?
We're in Texas, am I going to need either the muffler or cat for inspections?

 

I always pop mine in neutral at lights. I believe the throwout bearing gets worn if you hold clutch in all the time. (not 100% sure though)

 

putting it in nuetral is the norm nothing to worry about there, the "cat" you speak of is not a cat but a resonator, unless it is a cali truck, fp is a good thing to check, codes are a must, I looked at one that drove like a million bucks....it had 380,000 miles on it! there are deffinite drawbacks to buying a higher mileage rig, but if you but a high mileage rig that has been cared for you will do far better then a low mileage rig that has been beat. I look for things like did they care for the interior? ya, it is not the motor but anyone who is a neat feak stands a better chance of getting the rig serviced, do you see any mickey-mouse repairs? wirenuts, blacktape, junk hose clamps, half stripped bolts....you get my drift. I drive a 95' with 300,000 very hard miles on it and while it does have a couple issues, as a whole the truck has impressed the heck out of me, my driver is an 01' and I must be real close to 150,000 now and you can't tell it from one with 40,000 miles it is tight, clean, starts and shifts like new, gets 21mpg, and the steering is as good as any and better then quite a few, if it is a good clean truck you will be happy, be prepared to change all fluids and filters to get a good baseline on your schedule, a lift pump is $150 ish and quite a few trucks will need them soon, the $300 you spend on gauges will be the best money you ever spend, it will save you $$$$$$ in the long run and aid in your diagnostics if you should have any issues.

good luck,
GREG

 

Ask the owner for service receipts or parts receipts to see how well he maintained the unit. If he can't provide anything start walking. Also, you should know that the stock auto trans life expectancy is about 150K. If the trans has not been replaced, again start walking. All of the other items mentioned above are normal things to check on a unit with that mileage, but start with the transmission. If it is stock you don't need to worry about the rest of the truck because you should be walking by then!

 

Straight pipe is illegal in Texas right now i do believe. I still have the straight pipe on mine tho. My friend's dad's friend's that have cummins got pulled over for some reason and the officer asked if his truck was straight piped and he said yes and the officer gave him a warning for it and said if he dont put a muffler on his truck then the next time he gets pulled over then he gets a ticket.

 

I don't mind putting a muffler on.
how much performance loss is there on a turbo diesel by putting on a decent muffler?

Rookie question?
So, 2001 diesels don't use cats?

On other 2001's I noitced they had a muffler and a 'resonator' (I guess), what's the purpose of the resonator?

 

The resonator was added when they got rid of the Cat in the 24 valves.

Just removing the cat left a "resonation" in the exhaust system, putting a mini flow through muffler (the resonator) in the position vacated by the cat fixed the resonating.


phox

 

If I get this truck I'll add a muffler. I'd rather it be a bit quieter anyway.
Will I also want to put a resonator back on?

I realize this is a personal perspective.

 

What I would do is toss the whole exhaust, for about $400 you can get a 4" system complete with muffler, works great, fairly quiet, and if you ever want to turn up the wick, you got that done already. At a stop light you should be in neutral, it does wear out the throwout bearing and the fingers on the clutch pressure plate.

Tom

 

How much do they want for a truck with that many miles? Just to give you a baseline I bought my 01 2WD HO 6spd quad cab in september 04 with 160K miles on it for 14900.

 

You will find that a proper clutch is ez to push......S.B.?w.f.m.

 

This rig has 168,000 miles and I can get it for $13,287.

It has about a $300.00 'whiskey' dent on the left rear of the bed (I'd probobly leave it - it's a truck)
Front tires - 80% Rear tires - 50%
Rear diff = 3.55 LS
NOT a '53' block.
hide-a-way goose neck and a brake contoller (won't use the goose neck, but will need a brake controller in the future)

Here are some pics.
Too good of a deal to pass-up or not?

 

Looks faily clean, lot's o' miles though. I bought my '01 back last October with 30K miles, paid alot more ofcourse. (+ 4X4 & SLT) a cool $25,000. $500 a month @5%.
What does KBB.com or NADA have to say about it. I think I paid like $750-800 under KBB & NADA with a near perfect exterior and super clean interior, non smoker, no stains,rips, etc.
If you like it, buy it. They can last something silly if properly maintained.
From what I have read on here if I bought anouther one it would be a 6 speed, the Auto has a serious bad reputation in our trucks.