im lookin at buyin a 95,96,97,98 ram 2500 or 3500 diesel and wonder what to look for in those. ive seen a few with over 250k on them. should i be worried bout the engines or just the trannys. one i found has 275k on it with 20 k on new tranny for 8200 would that be a decent deal or should i stay away from them with the higher miles?

 

Yea it only has 20K miles on the new tranny but it still has 275K on everything else. With that many miles things are defintaley starting to wear and it will probably nickel and dime you for a while before it completely dies.

 

I'd get one with the least amount of mileage possible in your price range. 275K is getting up there even for a Cummins, even though the engine may last another 100-200K miles before it needs a rebuild, thats a lot of miles on the rest of the truck.

 

ok thanks i guess ill have to raise my range a lil more to find a lower miles truck i found one with pretty good maintenance records too and it had 225000, thanks and if anyone has any suggestions of what to look for on these trucks with higher miles

 

make sure to test the lift pump pressure. 12-14 crusing no less than 6 psi WOT. These are usually less than $150 but if it is bad you may be in for an inj pump and 1500.
If the motor has been cared for I wouldn't worry about mileage. The rest of the truck will indicate what its worth.

 

look out for the throttle cable, it gets worn out after 250+. also keep an eye on the brake lines, and your normal hoses n such. Just spent a couple weeks workin with my buddy on a 92 with about 350k he bought. with a truck that old everything starts to "settle", like an old house. so you may need to replace hinges, pumps, n other things of that sort.

and PS - keep an eye on the air conditioner. we had to replace that too.