danram11

The police have recovered my stolen truck! It was found in Washington DC, in one of the worst places in the city. Cops said the only damage they could see was the door and steering column. I'm going down this morning to take a look and get some pictures. My biggest concern other than the astetics is mechanical. Who knows how this scumbag ran my truck. Any suggestions on what and where to look for abuse? I'm going to insist the insurance company have it taken to a dealer. Will hooking it up to the diagnostic computer reveal hidden damage? I could use some help here, I'm not mechanically inept, but not a mechanical whiz either.

kry226

Glad you got it back. Hope they didn't fill it with unleaded.

danram11

That's my biggest fear. If some moron did put unleaded in it and ran it until it quit, is my Cummins history? Will it ever be the same?

jnck

I would probably do oil chanes on the engine and tranny and get oil samples
sent in.

That should tell you if things are coming apart inside

P.S. Gald you got your truck back, too bad the scumbags weren't strapped underneath so you could drag them a ways

cincydiesel

Glad you got it back, hopefully the Cummins is ok, and the son of a @#$!% that stole gets run over or shot.. The only good theif is a dead one

CaughtinmyGrill

Congrats DanRam! Hopefully they didn't strip the interior. Look for paint damage directly under the drivers side door handle. That is where they insert the screwdriver and pry the handle away from the door to unlock the truck.

When my stolen truck was recovered, I had the smallest of chips out of the paint (about 1/8th inch diameter) under the handle. To me, it wasn't worth repainting the entire door for this. The other damage was the popped ignition. Cost me $100 to have a new ignition installed. Other than the after market stereo equipment that was stolen, that was all the damage I've had. I have about 8000 miles post theft with no problems yet. (Knocking on wood plate in head.)

chrismez

Congrats on getting your truck back....Interesting thing is that Dodge Rams are not very popular vehicles to steel....Honda & Toyotas top the list every year...You can get the grey key and kill switches but if the A!$hole wants your car bad enough they will take it. LoJack blows don't bother. Only good one is Onstar. They track the vehicle while its moving and give the PO PO updated locations.

Kyle Graham

These trucks get stolen to part out engines and components are worth alot on the resale market

01350banshee

Sorry to hear about your truck, but look at it this way.
I'd be more worried to know if the crooks committed a serious crime with your vehicle. Espically, if it was found in DC. My mom used to live there, had to force her to leave. As a former Navy MP, I've seen some seedy things done with stolen vehicles. I recall an issue back a few yrs ago where a service member stuffed his wifes hacked up body in a friends car he had stolen. To me, it would hard to live with myself knowing their had been a dead body in the bed, or they shot and killed someone while in it (drive by) or had robbed a business and used it as a getaway vehicle. Remember the real reason vehicles are stolen, you may not be the only victim.

danram11

I checked my truck out and the only cosmetic damage is under the door handle they pryed up with a screwdriver and the ignition. No dents or scratches, the 5er hitch, brake controller and my H2 wheels are all still there. No curb rash on the wheels and tires.

Now, mechanically I'm not sure. I've been told it's out of fuel, but I'm not sure. I want a Dodge dealer to check it out to make sure there isn't some unleaded in the tank or god knows what else. The insurance company seems to think the body shop can fix everything. I'm not buying that. I'm demanding a Dodge dealer check it out before any of the cosmetic damage is repaired. I don't want some untrained putz doing something stupid that could jeopardize my warranty.

bulabula

Glad to hear you got it back, and it sounds like its in one piece. I work in SE, and have seen lots of new "relics" left to die out there.

If you're concerned about gasoline, unscrew the fuel filter bowl, pull out the filter and sniff it - you're nose will know.

I've never had an issue with USAA; they're usually pretty straight forward. Once they tried to sneak in a re-manufactured rack&pinion on a Prelude that I once owned (and t-boned an old F250 with - that old truck wasn't bothered a bit by the hit) - I wasn't real happy about that, but after reading the small print, they had me..... Nonetheless, they did install a brand new rack on it for me anyways.

dodgezilla04

Gas in the tank on your truck will ruin the fuel pump and injectors, that pump of yours needs the lubricating properties of diesel for cooling and lube, if unleaded hits it, it could be goodbye. The chances of the thieves putting fuel in a stolen rig, are very slim considering the price of fuel, they probably just took another vehicle once yours ran out. So, I assume you are safe on that one. The concern I would have for the motor would be the turbo, without proper cool downs, it doesnt take long for the oil to coke in the bearings and shortly you will have a lost turbo.

Glad your baby was found though.

AirGrabber

I dont know weather to say congrats on the recovery or sorry to hear they recovered your truck You never know how hard they ran it. The dealer will be be able to see high rpms/ boost levels and such but not suspension travel or airborn levels . It should be leagal to leave tire marks up and down the people that do this but its not Sorry to sound like the reeper but at least you got you hitch back

realsquash

Other than bashing into telephone poles along the way or putting gasoline in it what could they *possibly* do? It's even got an automatic tranny so they couldn't grind gears, either. They could hold the smoke pedal all the way down for miles and miles and it wouldn't hurt anything...

Andy

bumpytruck

Hey realsquash, would you feel that way if it was your truck? I don't think soo!