Here's my thoughts, its basically between truck 2 and 3. You said you like truck 2 b/c of the lift, bigger tires, manual tranny, and better fuel mileage. Has truck 2 had the gears re-done??? What kinda mileage you think you are goin to get with bigger tires and 3.55's? Truck 3 is exactly like mine. The suspension is a 3/4 ton suspension, it comes stock with 4.10's and with a lift thats less that $400 you can fit 35's easy and you already have the gears for it. You also said you liked truck 2 b/c of the tranny. Truck 3 has the big HD tranny cooler on the front of it. Also, how long do you think the OEM clutch will last with those big tires and stock gears? Any way there's my thoughts on the deal.

 

i think 2 is a bad i dea i think hes getting rid of it for a reason. 3rd one is newer and dodge did purdy good on last couple years , and it has low milage, so it will last a while. test drive em and you will see the diffrence let us know how they go

 

I am liking #3.

The Chevrolets break down as much as our Dodges do, and the Fords are worse, and the Fords don't have the power that our Dodges or the Chevrolets do.

Like lastrights said, do a test drive. CARFAX their VINs just to make sure there are no official hidden issues too, if you haven't already.

Oh, and don't ever use Kelly Blue Book. It is inflated in favor of the dealers, the estimates it gives are always high, and they know it. Thats why they always quote you from it. Edmunds.com tends to be the most realistic, and if you have to use an "official" one, NADA is not bad at all. Thats what insurance companies use.

 

door 3

 

IMO, if you already know about the problems of truck #2, rest assured that there will be others he's not telling you about. The only plus it has over truck #3 is it doesn't have an automatic transmission to fail on you and cost $ down the road.
I know the lift really floats your boat, but don't let it sway you into buying a truck that mechanically may end up costing more than a seven year newer truck does!
Not to mention if it's not been re-geared, 3.55s are gonna suck turning big meats on a lifted truck, especially with the 5.2.
There is a lot of untapped power potential in that LA360 (5.9), hell a relatively inexpensive Superchips Tuner will give you in the neighborhood of 50 more HP alone.
No, I'd say it's a no brainer, for what may ultimately be just a grand or so more $, the '01 is way more truck and other than the tranny, has a lot less downside potential...

 

Im going to try and get a hold of the owners of trucks 2 & 3 today. Ive gotten a solid opionion for those two. If there are that many mechanical problems on truck 2 id image upon visual inspection it could only get worse. I have a weird thought on why truck 3 is soo cheap and below bluebook by over 1 grand. But if its mechanically good to go this may be the truck id stick with. But option 1 also has the 5.9L??

Anyone have any input on truck 1? It seems like a great deal.... but i dont want to end up rebuilding the auto tranny. Seems to me like it was owned by an older person who just drove it around and its probably never even seen any dirt. Its the original owner too.

 

Okay so i have picture sets of both trucks!

truck #2 picture set
http://picasaweb.google.com/itsdaveo...eRam1500Truck2#

Truck #3 picture set
http://picasaweb.google.com/itsdaveo...eRam1500Truck3#

So i have to say that driving the 5-speed felt alot better than the automatic on truck 3. The automatic took a few seconds to downshift and get going. it also shifts when its not needed.

Truck # 2 overview

aside from the stripped stub shaft, we found out that the issue is on the front passenger wheel. Not the rear. The check engine light actually turned off on us during the test drive? The windshield is cracked... the interior needs some TLC. The rear of the diff leaks a little and supposdly neads a new seal. No service records, the truck makes some stange sounds that my buddy said were eaisly fixable. What bothered me the most during the test drive is i found myself driving straight and the steering wheel was litterally 90 degrees to the right but the truck was driving straight. Tires have a little dry rot... Owner...hmm he seems kind of shady, he lowered the price on the phone but still wanted 5000$ in person. But this truck had some get up and go. i dont know what to think about this. My buddy was there and told me its a decent truck and hes a mechanic but it needs some fixing. He said it could be done but the truck is not worth 5g.... I somewhat agreed. Im debating even to get this truck checked out by a mechanic...My friend is a mechanic too but id like a second opionion on how much its going to cost to fix this truck up. I would also like to see if the truck has any more problems. Zero vibration was felt untill we tried 4x4 then we felt a minimal shaking in the truck. The tires were not wabbling or anything visably.

Truck #3 overview

This truck looked great from the outside. But it was odd when the temporary tags were still on the truck...yet he is selling it. Odd. He claimes to have it for a little less than 2 months, but he has a company car now, which was in plain sight. He just put on new tires the other day and raised the price to around 7200 is what he said he'd like. He is not the original owner, some oil change records but not many. The bumper and parts of the front end has been replaced. Take a close look at the last 2 pictures where it was detached. This truck looks as it was repaired properly...But it also has been in the water mudding or off roading. There were water lines in the head lights. The tranny has not been rebuilt. Its still original. It seemed like a normal truck but i expected better pickup on the 5.9. Interior was more or less mint. The driver seat was starting to fall apart a little but it still good. Has remote start and few other extras... Seems to be rust free. Also i want to add that there was a 4-6 inch crack in the dash, it was a hairline crack that seemed to be under controll for the moment, but can only get worse! Also has a cracked windsheild right down the middle.

More mechanical or general input greatly apreciated. Let me know if you see any problems in the pictures too! Truck #1 will be tomorrow.

Im going to post the video of our test drive as well. It was the of the 318 standard trans.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...70958698&hl=en

It really doesent show much...but who knows, it souds healthy haha. And yeah we pretty much ran the tank dry. Sorry dude! Does anyone here have a year long subscription to carfax? It'd be pretty darn cool if you could run the VIN of truck 2... I forgot to get the vin on truck 3! uggh i know!! but its only minutes away.

 

While I like my Superchips, I doubt it will give you the 50 horses it claims. It helps a lot, but I won't believe 50hp until I see it dynoed.

Oh, and one minor correction... you do realize these are not LA 360 engines, right? The LA were the generation before the Magnums, if I remember correctly.

Yes, they are related, but you don't call a bobcat a cougar, and vice versa.

 

well, number 2 sounded pretty good, and if it really is just some minor repairs, might not be too bad, but I am sitting here with a 2000 that the tranny blew up on the same day.. ran great on my test drive too.. And I used to work at a Lincoln Mercury Dealership, did body work, and some mechanical repair. Till I became painter, then I left because I got tired of eating chemicals.. Anyway, It's easy to get fooled on those, so have it checked out right.. The 2001 looks super clean, man, The shifting could be just you not used to driving it too, If your not used to chrysler, they shift diffferent than other makes.. it takes some getting used to.. But, keep in mind, I am not about to tell you which one to get. I made my bed, now all I can do is cry in it, cause I can't drive it.. sigh...

 

Well ill list out only the problems for each truck. Im trying to help myself decide. Let me know if anyone spots other problems in the pictures.

2001

-been in very deep water at one point (could couse lots of problems & possibly driven hard)
-has been in a frontal collision (could couse lots of problems)
-and has a cracking dash (1000$)
-cracked windsheild (400$?)
-questionable history?? selling the car used and he still has temp. licence tag on it
-Questionable auto tranny? i dont want to rebuild tranny after buying a pricy truck!
-high price now due to new tires! 7200$

PICS http://picasaweb.google.com/itsdaveo...eRam1500Truck3#

1995

-heavilycracked windsheild (400$?)
-needs new stub shaft, i assume (300-400$)
-may need new tires in another 5,000-10,00 mi (some dryrot and cracking)
-steering is off by 90 degrees? the wheel is completely sideways to drive straight
-check engine light on (and off sometimes? 02 sensor maybe??)
-needs new windsheild wiper fluid pump (50$??)
-needs new emergency brake linkage (50$??)
-needs new seal in differential, leaks a little in the rear (50$)
-Interior is a little beat up, the roof fabric is peeling off a little by the windshield.
-asking 5,000 grand!? above kbb by over 800$ for "good condition" if classified as "poor condtion" its over bluebook by 1200$

PICS http://picasaweb.google.com/itsdaveo...eRam1500Truck2

By all means i want to avoid a blown tranny or one that needs rebuilding. Getting me to and from is half the battle of a truck!