Hi, I'm new to the website. Just wanted to get some of your opinions. I'm looking for a used diesel truck...have a couple prospects to go see. Just wanted to know what I should be looking for to make sure I'm not getting into trouble. I am by no stretch of the imagination a mechanic and have no idea what I should be looking for. (In case you ask why a girl needs a diesel....I have horses and need the pulling power and.......well..... I just like the sound they make.....)
I have a chevy avalance 2500 right now. Don't really like it and I'm only getting 10 mpg around town so now I really don't like it.
I had a 04 Ford f250 diesel....don't even want to talk about all the problems I had with it....lets just say Ford wrote me a settlement check and I promptly traded it in on this Chevy. BUT I miss my pickup truck!!!!! I WANT MY PICKUP TRUCK BACK!!!
What kind of things should I be looking for on diesel trucks (2000-2001) mileage on these are ranging from 60,000 to 85,000. I know Dodge transmissions are notorious for a rebuild around 70,000. Can you guys give me a couple tips on what to look for?

 

if you can swing it, the 48RE in the 03's is a VAST improvement over the old trannys and will hold up to well over 100K. the 01 has the 47RE tranny and it is a good unit, but tends to crap out only if the power is turned up much over stock.

dodge trannies got their reputation from the 737 and the 47RH that were very questionable on their reliability, but when you have an engine that puts out the power like the cummins does things WILL rattle loose and break.

the first thing I would look out for would be the dredded '53' block. if you do a search of the forums you will find a thread about it. these engine blocks have a tendency to fracture due to a casting SNAFU. however there are 3x as many 53 blocks still on the road than those that cracked. these ran from about 98-'00 I dont remember if 01's got them or not, but I think the problem was found and fixed by then.

if your still looking at the 2nd gen they used Dana axels. VERY reliable. the 3rd gens are useing AAM axels and the only complaint so far is the ball joints on the front axel are a bit soft. some people have had to have them replaced after 8-10K. Ive got 26K on my truck and have all of 0.0000 movement on my ball joints. Yes I have a 10K scale dial indicator at work

any year truck you get will run like a top and give very few problems. the only major issue these trucks have is with the lift pump dieing. if that guy goes on an engine equiped with the VP44 injector pump, it also dies and it aint cheap to fix.

if I can think of anything else I'll let you know. I'm sure others will also have info for you as well.

 

Thank you Drew. I really appreciate the feedback!!!