steelsoldiers

Hey guys,
First time poster here ;D. I have been looking to buy a mid-90's Dodge 2500 or 3500 4x4 with the 5-speed and the Cummins. I have looked at a lot of trucks and I was looking for some tips on what to watch out for. Here's a link to one truck I have been looking at:

LOOK HERE


It's a '96 3500 4x4 dually ext. cab. It has 145k miles on it and it has been modified pretty nicely as you can see from the photo. Is that a reasonable price? Is that too many miles? I started it up today in the 30 degree weather and it fired off after the first crank and never missed a beat. It has been repainted so I want to get a CarFax to see if it was wrecked or just prettied up. It used to be silver. The old owner put a lot of stereo goodies in it which I don't really care about and some dress up trim items on the dash and roof console which really need to go in the trash. It has some real beefy bumpers, bed rails, and a bed box which I figure should be worth some extra cash. I think it has a bearing going out in the alternator because it was squealing a little. No big deal... Did that gen of truck have the NV4500 tranny? Any problems there? I hear they are real tough. Any drivetrain things to be wary of? Thanks for any tips. I'll be glad to provide more info if it will help.
Sincerely,
Chris 8)

chuck3

Thats a good looking truck from what I could see. I'm no expert but that doesn't sound too bad on the price, maybe a tad high.

BOB

I 've been searching for a truck just like the the one your looking at, but here in the N.C. area and that seems to be a fair price 14,500 would be a good deal 15,500 is fair but you may want to check the edmunds web site

BAD HABIT

Fire it up. Put it in low lock. Drive it in and out of that ditch 3 times & spin her around. If your impressed. Buy it. ... Good lookin truck. Higher price must be for all the goodies. Miles are not bad for that model year.

steelsoldiers

Good idea bad habit! If it throws twenty foot rooster tails then it's a keeper ;D. When I put the tranny in neutral and let the clutch out you could hear it spinning, but it didn't really growl. Do they normally make a little noise in neutral? Thanks for the replies.<br>Sincerely,<br>Chris 8)

McGyver

Without being there it's hard to tell, but I believe that what you are hearing is the throw-out bearings. They may be going bad. Maybe someone else can jump in... Not a big deal to replace, but you're looking at a total clutch replacement while 'yer in there... IMHO.<br><br>Cheers,<br><br>Pete<br><br>P.S. That's a good price here in Oregon. I paid almost $9k more for my '99 with 55k on it and I'm happy...

steelsoldiers

I think I'll try $14,500 and see if they'll bite. Edmunds.com says around 14k if it's in clean shape. They don't account for extras like bumpers, bed boxes, hitches, etc... so I guess I'll go a little higher if needed. As for the squealing alternator, should I plan on replacing it in the AutoZone parking lot on the way home or will it make the trip? Any guesses ???? Has anyone done a clutch replacement on these trucks? Is it a pain for the shade-tree types to do? I think I'll use the alternator, throw-out, and a few other things as a bargaining chip. I'm going to order my CarFax now. We'll see what shows up. I'll let y'all know.<br>Sincerely,<br>Chris 8)

steelsoldiers

Hey y'all,<br>I just used autocheck.com and the truck looks clean. I used autocheck.com because they came up with 6 more records on the truck than carfax.com did ;D. It is a one-owner truck out of Laredo, TX that was just sold at auction, presumably to the current dealer, in October. I think I'm going to go for it. I'm going to drive down for one more test drive and some bargaining. Any last minute tips? Thanks.<br>Sincerely,<br>Chris 8)

Redleg

Was the squeel at shut down or while running? A squeel at shut down is normal. Try to wiggle the drive shafts to check for slop. Mine had slop at the out put shaft of the transfer case. Luckily the bearings were ok, but the last guy that opened it didn't shim it right. Check for signs of having over heated, could lead to serious problems, radiator repairs, etc. See if it had a goose neck or fifth wheel, means more wear and tear.

steelsoldiers

The squeal was while it was running . It seemed to be coming from the alternator. It does have a ball hitch in the bed. It looks like somebody's horse truck.<br>Sincerely,<br>Chris 8)

JFellman

If you buy it...get the KDP taken care of right away!

Redleg

That's a gooseneck hitch. Nice to have, but take a close look at the tranny, rear end, and u-joints, brakes.

steelsoldiers

OK newbie question, what's the KDP? ???

dodgeman01

If you don't buy that truck I WILL.<br>DM01

JFellman

KDP = Killer Dowel Pin
See the following web page for a description of the hard way to address the problem of the pin falling out and causing damage to the front gear case.

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...threadid=35685

The easy way to fix it is with the jig method that uses a specially made set of tools that are being passed around the country. You would be very wise to investigate this problem with your potential truck...i.e., look for oil leakage at the front of the engine. See this page put together by Pappyman on this site for a description. Also look in the 12 valve engine section for the thread started by csaverline...KDP got him.

http://www.phantomcycle.com/kdpfix.html