So am I getting the vibe to walk away or consider a low offer like 2ish? or is that still too questionable for this truck?

 

if i was you id see if he would let you take it to a shop to get looked at. see if a shop can pinpoint the problem, and tell you what its gonna cost to fix it, when i bought my v10 i drove over a half hour to the lot that had it, and i told him i wasnt gonna buy it unless my mechanic looked at it. so i left my blue truck there and drove the red v10 back to my shop and had em look at it.

Trust me a properly running v10 will tow as good if not better then a same year cummins, i have towed 10k behind my v10 and it just has endless power, feels like it never stops, you can drop the hammer with 10k behind it on a hill and it will just power up it with no problems.

 

Either get a cummins or build that smallblock. That little v8 in the dodge can be built up very well. Much better then any of those mitsubishi engines your familiar with and are probably much more reliable too. Consider that as an option as well. Cummins, or Built engine with a DTT, APS, Dr. Evil or other high quality tranny, 3/4 ton suspension and rearend and upgraded brakes.

 

The engine in my 1500 is solid...its not the engine its the fact the 1500 was never ment to do the work I would be asking of it if i needed to use it a bunch this season.

As far as my Mitsubishi turbo engines... these cars are my daily drivers/toy cars. 23+mpg and 400wheel hp out of my driver 99 eclipse and when i finish the block in my race eclipse I am aiming at 550+hp and a 10sec time slip... but they have no bearing on this situation with the truck. For me it would not be praticle to one of my trucks daily, for starters they all drink gas and with my daily commuting its not an option.

I did not go out searching for an additional truck. If I had it would probably be a 3/4 ton diesel, this truck was just local and offered power and a reasonable price for a secondary truck to pull and load up.

 

Im kinda new to the forum but i have owned more dodge rams then anyone i know....... either off or on the forum. my relatives worked for AMC and then went to Chrysler/Dodge. Ive always owned a Dodge and I have to say I know them pretty well.

Ive owned the 5.9 gas engine rams from 1997 to now. I did have a 5.2 in my 01 ram and it had ZERO power. But I had a 5.9 gas engine with a cam put in........and a b&g pcm added. Now its like WOW. yeah 35" tires are pretty easy to spin. Plus towing is not a problem anymore. So after a few upgrades Im very happy with the ram again.

But i have driven a Cummins for work...........and they will run circles around my truck. I mean the pulling power and mileage is something you wont believe over the gas engines. Yes the v10 has pulling power also BUT the mileage stinks.......... just like my ram 10mpg and thats NOT pulling anything.

I have also thought of getting a v10 but the Cummins is the best bang for the buck. Spend the extra cash for a truck that will hold value longer than a gas engine, itll pull a house with ease and youll get some serious mileage. Plus a few add ons on a diesel and you can smoke all 4 tires!

just my 2 cents worth............

jeff
USMC
2manydodges2list

 

thank you for the input but again if I were going to/willing to spend the money to get a cummins I would be in a completely different boat. I knew I could get this truck for around $3k which would mean unless there are major problems I would not have to pay much if anything when I sold off my current 1500. In the event I am going to get another diesel truck its going to be newer, probably a dump, and all that good stuff.
Without a doubt my powerstroke has woken up tremendously with some light bolt-ons, it's better on diesel (MPG) towing then the 1500 empty on the highway even at 8,000 lbs of just truck on 33's hell I can get all 4 of my rears going and I dont even have the new chip in it yet.

I am just looking at a trade off point of view. Sell the 1500, step up to a 2500 and have some additional power behind it. Its not the V10 that I was after its the fact I could trade off to a far more rigid frame and truck made to pull what id ask of it. The V10 just happened to be the engine this particular truck had.

More or less I was asking for input as to what could be wrong with this V10, whether to avoid it or for the right price take a chance knowing its got 75K. Honestly its sad to say but MPG's are not a concern as my 1500 drinks like 10MPG as it is so even if I were to get a V10 its not like I would see much of a difference with the exception of power/torque.

Thanks

 

also let me say this, my v10 gets better mileage then my 5.9 does. And what part of of this guys story dont you people understand???? HE DOESNT WANT TO SPEND THE BIG BUCKS ON A DIESEL!!!!!!!!!!!!! he is looking for a cheap SECOND truck. this v10 he is looking at is 3k, a decient cummins will be like 10-15k SO STOP TELLING HIM TO GET THE CUMMINS HES NOT LOOKING TO SPEND 10-15K!!!!!!

As i said before take it to a shop have them look it over.they will be able to tell you whats wrong with it in no time. for 3k i would prolly take the chance and pick it up. (pending a mechanic inspection first.)

 

Damn man thanks... i was beginning to think I was being unclear or no one actually undertsood me! I JUST paid off the F350 and im not looking to dump bucks into another truck. $3K for this truck and even selling the 1500 would be the route here im interested in here. I figured it would be a decent step up all around at little to no cost.

The 2500 V10 is like $3-3500... if I can negotiate it down to around $2k as is it may be worth me taking the risk...hoping its just cats and a tune up. If its worse then that I have the ability to do more major motor works but would much prefer to avoid that money pit.
He's been sitting on it for a while partially due to poor advertising and becuase he dropped the listings when the trans went out. Not sure how bad he needs it gone but if hes willing to compromise I may go for it.

The main point as some people may have overlooked with this post was to help me know what to look for and what to avoid with regard to problems in the V10. As far as mechanics, unfortunately ive been doing all of my own work since I turned 16 and my cars/trucks only go into a shop if I am in a really bad pinch and I dont have time. I would need to find a reliable shop and get the guys permission to take it out.

As far as the bed goes I could weld it up for now... but once I find a suitable replacement id rather just replace it.

 

as far as checking to see if the head is cracked, just check the oil. make sure its not milky or anything indicating a coolant leak. if the cats are bad you should hear a rattling comin from them. you are right about the fuel tank, it has to be dropped. the pump runs about 150 ish dollars.

 

thanks for the info,
~Oil was normal looking not super clean but typical of a few thousand miles NOT milky just not fresh/clean
~Exhaust did rattle or something under the truck but i think it was the exhaust by the sound of it. The cats looked origional but I cant say for sure. It did backfire so its running really rich or something to do with the exhaust
~Dropping the tank would not be an issue IF its not to full, clearly id be sure of that 1st if I needed to swap in a pump

~ABS light was on but I can't say that had anything to do with the lack of power, he said all the brake lines were replaced as they had gotten rusty but who knows all the details with that.