First time diesel buyer pointers
#1
02-15-2019, 03:10 AM
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Greene,Ia
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First time diesel buyer pointers
im looking into buying a 3rd gen dodge ram 2500 megacab diesel. this is/will be my first diesel purchase. this particular truck has 190k miles on it, but engine and trans both have 90k on them. owner showed me the receipts for both. he has 13k wrapped up in rebuilding the engine (original engine dropped a injector and tore up the piston and sleeve). he got the truck back, and about 1k miles later the trans went in for rebuild. he has a goerend brothers tranny in it, with a billet input shaft, and triple disc convertor.
like i mentioned this will be my first diesel purchase. i need the mega cab for my growing family, and the fact im 6'6 limits rear space as i sit so far back, leg room wise. im wanting the diesel for the fuel mileage, plus a group of us do alot of atv trips, so lots of quad hauling on trailers as well. i noticed the hemi mega cabs dont get the best fuel mileage.
can anyone help me with what to look for, what questions to ask and what not. i am pretty mechanically inclined, so i am able to fix stuff if it needs fixed, but just dont wanna jump both feet first so blindly into a purchase like this. any information, pointers, tips would be greatly appreciated
like i mentioned this will be my first diesel purchase. i need the mega cab for my growing family, and the fact im 6'6 limits rear space as i sit so far back, leg room wise. im wanting the diesel for the fuel mileage, plus a group of us do alot of atv trips, so lots of quad hauling on trailers as well. i noticed the hemi mega cabs dont get the best fuel mileage.
can anyone help me with what to look for, what questions to ask and what not. i am pretty mechanically inclined, so i am able to fix stuff if it needs fixed, but just dont wanna jump both feet first so blindly into a purchase like this. any information, pointers, tips would be greatly appreciated
#2
05-08-2019, 11:13 PM
Professional
All right so what year is this truck exactly? 2007.5+ had emission equipment which complicates things but i'm going to assume its prior to that to just give a generic overview.
List of items you want to check:
- Injectors
- Injector pump
- Fuel separator. If you see signs of alot of common water or even more than ordinary water in the bowl that could potentially indicate this truck was near water alot and it somehow got into the lines or the owner almost never drained the separator.
- Air heater, You're going to want it when its cold and it potentially can cause an emission code if it fails or etc.
- See how it idles and drives. If it shudders or sputters slightly this could mean theres air in the lines or injectors. If the truck was recently serviced for injectors or pump this is normal due to the lines having to be bled so you don't get injected with super high PSI diesel and die. However, if this is not the case then as i said be wary of air ingress.
Questions to ask:
- Has it been ran dry before? If so be wary as this means air got into the lines which if not bled properly can cause the pump and injectors to run totally dry for moments which is not good in the slightest. However, if it was taken care of properly or never done then this should not be a problem.
- Ask him about what oil he put in and if it leaks as well as any gaskets and so on and coolant. Diesels don't like low coolant and can be picky about the oil.
Misc:
How do you even manage being 6ft 6? Like good lord man.
Ask for the generic things like power steering, ac, trans, history, tires, etc of course but i'm assuming you already have.
Note: I know less about modern diesels and more about older diesels and I have no practical experience working on them. I just know quite alot about how they work as well as the mechanical workings (albeit only for older 70's era diesels) due to heavy indepth research for my game i'm currently developing but this knowledge should still hold up.
List of items you want to check:
- Injectors
- Injector pump
- Fuel separator. If you see signs of alot of common water or even more than ordinary water in the bowl that could potentially indicate this truck was near water alot and it somehow got into the lines or the owner almost never drained the separator.
- Air heater, You're going to want it when its cold and it potentially can cause an emission code if it fails or etc.
- See how it idles and drives. If it shudders or sputters slightly this could mean theres air in the lines or injectors. If the truck was recently serviced for injectors or pump this is normal due to the lines having to be bled so you don't get injected with super high PSI diesel and die. However, if this is not the case then as i said be wary of air ingress.
Questions to ask:
- Has it been ran dry before? If so be wary as this means air got into the lines which if not bled properly can cause the pump and injectors to run totally dry for moments which is not good in the slightest. However, if it was taken care of properly or never done then this should not be a problem.
- Ask him about what oil he put in and if it leaks as well as any gaskets and so on and coolant. Diesels don't like low coolant and can be picky about the oil.
Misc:
How do you even manage being 6ft 6? Like good lord man.
Ask for the generic things like power steering, ac, trans, history, tires, etc of course but i'm assuming you already have.
Note: I know less about modern diesels and more about older diesels and I have no practical experience working on them. I just know quite alot about how they work as well as the mechanical workings (albeit only for older 70's era diesels) due to heavy indepth research for my game i'm currently developing but this knowledge should still hold up.
