Am looking at a 2004 ,2500 ,quad cab ,diesel. Any recommendation on what to look out for and common problems for that year?? Thanks, Bill

 

Is it 04, or 04.5? Pop the hood and look either on the side of the plastic valve cover or on the APPS under the intake horn-if thats where its mounted- (both on drivers' side) and look for the engine tag. Itll have the rated horsepower. 325hp is 04.5; 305, 245, or 235 is 04.

Auto or manual?

Theres not really any major issues for these trucks. Replacing the driveline on 4x4s is fairly common, not sure if it is on 2wd...

The earlier lift pumps arent as good as the later ones. Theres a TSB I believe to get the earlier pumps retrofitted with the later ones.

Check the AC/heat!! Move it to all positions (i.e. windshield, panel, feet, etc) and make sure it blows out where it should in the selected position. The door inside the heater box breaks, and then if you go to defrost your windshield, itll only blow out the floor, or vise-versa. Again, they have improved doors now, but thats a very common problem.

Theres some little things that pop up, but 99% of the time these are very reliable trucks.

 

It's an automatic; very low mileage. Have not looked at 4.0 or 4.5 aspect as vehicle out of town. IF heater box doors fail, how much effort to replace door; is box easily accessible?? From my experience working on German cars, the heater box is the first item installed on the assembly line and buried well into the dash!!
Thanks

 

Ok, the only possible issue w/ the auto would likely be the convertor. However, if its low mileage, and has been well taken care of, and hasnt had a programmer on it, I wouldnt worry to much about it...

Heres a link to whats involved in the heater box removal/repairs:

http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...-pictures.html

Like I said, the truck may or may not be inflicted with this problem, but its fairly common. Just be sure to check and make sure it DOES defrost the windshield, and does go to the correct position dependant on the position the **** is in. And make sure it blows hot and cold. I dont know how many times people Ive known bought a used vehicle in the summer and never checked the heater; come the first snow fall or temp starts dropping, they finally find out, NO HEATER!!!

Good luck with the potential purchase. Id bet itd be a truck youd be happy with. Ive never had any major problems with either my 03 or 07, minus the self-inflicted auto trans failure in the 07...

 

Thanks for all the info
Bill