looking to buy a 1994 2500 12V with 160K on motor and 20K on rebuild auto transmission for $4,500
never owned a diesel before but been reading some diesel magazine so i "kind of know" what to look for before purchase but would like to know
what areas should i pay more attention to when inspecting the truck?
like trouble areas and what is some of the first things i should do after i take the truck home?
thanks for the help

 

12v is about as solid as you can get. Ask if any injectors or the injector pump has ever been replaced. A "killer dowel pin" is an issue on some early Cummins, definately look into that and would be the first thing to "fix" after you get it home if it hasnt already been addressed. After that change out all the fluids from front to back and be sure to add some kind of lubrication additive when you fill up on diesel. Im sure someone else will chime in with more expertise on a 12v.

 

thanks for the tips, just picked it up today, will changed the trans and oil tomorrow to get it ready for my 4 hour trip back home

 

should be a p7100 injection pump so lack of lubrication in the fuel wont really hurt that pump at all... p7100 is a very stout injection pump, in fact a LOT of guys with the 2nd gen 24 valve engines are swapping out the vp44 pumps and converting to the P7100 pumps for either one of two reasons: 1: P7100 is far less prone to failure, or 2: p7100 can push a LOT more fuel than a vp44 can. (vp44 is limited to 550hp max for a HO pump, 650hp max for a SO pump, or 900hp out of a stage 2 monster pump) p7100 can hit 1000hp+ on fuel only.

 

they also say if you can find a 98 with a 12v, that it's the "holy grail" because it has the 12v reliability with the updated nicer interior of the 98+ 2nd gens

 

Did not realized how slow a stock 1995 ram 2500 are but the engine smoke very little under full throttle, looking forward to doing the fuel plate mod when I get back home next week

 

my 2000 was pretty slow and gutless the day I bought it, and 2 years later it'll out accelerate v10's and hemi's

throw some injectors and a fuel plate in there, and adjust the timing screw a bit.

also check out cumminsforum.com and do some reading. there is a wealth of information on there of everything you will ever need to know about your truck and engine. lotta helpful guys and sponsors on there as well. if it wasn't for that site, my truck wouldn't have all the power it has today...