I have a shot at a 1998 dodge 2500 regular cab long wheelbase with a 12 valve cummins (234,000 miles) for $7,500, when I went to look at it, it hadent been started in about 5 days and it started then died twice before finally staying running, and yes, I waited for the intake heater to warm up, one of the cables running to the intake heater looked a little burnt up at the connection to the heater, I also found a couple electrical connections that were unplugged and there were nowhere for them to plug into, one was on the motor, drivers side of the head and the other was on the inner fender next to the firewall. other then what I've described the truck is in great shape and runs awesome when started, what are some other things I should check on this truck before purchasing it? the hard start concerns me although after it had ran for 30 seconds it shut off and fired right back up.

any advice fellas?

 

12v start a little different than 24v. You have to give it just a little throttle when cold starting, especially if temps are very cold.

We don't know where you are so, we cannot say, but I feel price is a little steep for a 234k truck. It depends if it's a 4x4, auto, etc.

 

its an auto 4x4, I live in WV and it was about 35* when I started it, sorry I left that stuff out

 

Check and see if its a 53 block. Anything below 25 and my 98 will die but i think on of my grids is not working because my 97 would start the first time at 15. As for price i paid 13400.00 for the 98 but its a QC and had 102K

Chris

 

whats the best way to check for a 53 block? crawl under or look from the top?

 

http://www.stamey.info/Truck/Cummins...NewInformation

Chris

 

thanks for all the help guys!

 

No prob man. Let us know how it goes.

Chris

 

well, I've decided against that truck, I want a 12V 5spd 4x4 1 ton BUT I need something to drive soon considering my car blew the transmission and I'm currently driving my uncles truck, I actually need a truck cause I move quite a bit of stuff and am always helping friends with projects and whatnot. so I'm back to searching, just seems like its hard to find ANYTHING around here

 

was it a 53 block?

Chris

 

dont know, never went and looked at it again, I'm under pressure to find something and if I buy another piece of crap to DD I'm going to be another 6 months getting what I want, I'm not an impatient person I just REALY dont want another POS, I may go look at that truck again, I dont know, its hard to find 12V's in my area or any cummins really, if I wanted a ford on the other hand........... cant believe I just said "want" and "ford" in the same sentence, they're readily available


Parker

 

First welcome to DTR! I hope you find much good info here. Do a search as the buying of 12 valves has been thoroughly covered in the past. As to this unit:

It's probably not that bad, it seems the "hard start" is what's putting you off here. Since I've owned one for a little over 6 years, and I live in a mildy cold climate, I would first suggest that if you do go back and look it over (second time is usually more objective anyway) that you consult the visor instructions for cold starting. As a cliff-notes version, apply about 1/4 of pedal travel at the most while you crank the engine. It should light up farily quickly doing this, and then you need to hold it between 800 - 1000 rpm once oil pressure is up for 30 - 60 seconds. I generally hold 1000 - 1200 for 1.5 minuites, and gradually drop down to 1000, then 800, then idle over the next 30 seconds. If it works on mine with 340k on it, chances are it will work with the unit you're looking at.

Flexibilitiy in price is a consideration - will he budge? You may be able to get a good deal on this one, and it sounds like it would neet your needs. Just keep in mind, these are expensive truck to maintain, and the duallies (1-ton's) are even more to upkeep.

 

thanks for the welcome! yea, the hard start is putting me off more then anythingI can afford the upkeep fine, I use to drive an 88 suburban with a 6.2 diesel, talk about upkeep, it was also hard to start, turned out to be abad seal in the inj. pump causing an air leak, what a b**** that thing was to start when it sat for a couple hours I think I can get the guy down to $7K but we'll see. another put off for me is its an auto, I hate slush boxes

 

If you could get it for around 6200, it's even better. The auto's need some modification to make them last, it's likely okay for the time being, but if you buy it start saving for a replacement, or start searhing for a NV 4500 to swap in there. Several threads on this as well. Good luck!

 

well yesterday we hashed out a deal, I had a trade in that I had 800$ into and they offered me 1100$ for it and the price of the truck dropped to 7000$ making it 5900$+ an old piece of junk that I want out of my site, I was pretty excited but today when i drove the truck, the trans started slipping, actually felt like it went to nuetrul (SP?) and back to drive after the motor revs up with a loud thunk, they're going to look at it and see whats up, but after talking to the mechanic I doubt they'll figure it out

glad I didnt buy it