Took me 5 years of bugging my buddy to selling me my dream 1st gen...

Then my wife took it over and I barley get to drive it...

 

there is some on craigslist in texas they are very clean with twin 10 inch stacks i will send the link in a few.

 

I'm still looking guys. Just got back from about a 5 hour round trip drive. Cost me about $70 to look at a pos 1st gen.

Talked to the guy on the phone numerous times, pictures looked good, interior looked really clean. Asking price sounded reasonable.

I was told the truck was slightly peeling paint on the hood and roof, had a slight oil leak but only at start up. Stock motor, tires about 40% tread, nothing wrong with the truck besides the AC doesn't work. Ok fine.

Get there and the truck is peeling paint and faded everywhere, the hood and roof especially bad, but all over the bed and doors as well. Does not look like the pictures at all. Grilles cracked, headlights cracked, tail lights cracked, rust around the tail lights and roof, tailgate is not original, broken interior pieces, the gauge cluster has been messed with and is missing pieces.

Ok, start it up. Sounds good. Drive it and it's slow as hell. The steering is so loose and sloppy, you let go off the wheel and it goes straight right. The brakes sucked. Tires 20% tread and all uneven. The rear creaked, which I believe was the leafs. Got back, parked it and it's still leaking oil. Guy said he thinks its the dowel pin. So it made a hole somewhere? Great. Asking 5k? I said no thanks and left.

I know this was a beat pos truck, but it really has put first gens in a bad light for me. This is the first time I've driven one. And it seemed nothing like what friends have told me and what I've read. I know this was a beat truck, but still. Seemed nothing like a soild powerful truck that I've heard and dreamed about, was a slow, sloppy pig.

 

What do you guys think about this?

Here is the ad with a picture and a email from the guy. Let me know what you guys think, please! I know it's a lot to read, just skim through it. The only thing that scares me is the 255k miles, I know the engine is good but what about the trans and other things.. It sounds well maintained, though. Should I go check it out?


1991.5 Dodge W250 Power Ram 4x4 Automatic trans. inter-cooled (year 91 1/2). Very clean and runs very, very strong and starts in what seems like a millisecond on turning the ignition. Single cab with 8' bed. 255K miles. Just changed oil in last 400 miles. Was repainted at some point in last 5-7 years by original owner who. Has blue and grey paint. the bed has a rubber liner mat - bed underneath is in great cond. This is an old school 1st generation Dodge Diesel 4x4.. a true 'billy goat' - 1 ton - Dana 60 in front and 70 in rear!' $6400 firm please. Newer brakes good tires and new Rancho shocks. LE including power windows and mirrors. Very well taken care of interior dash (zero cracks)/door panels.. no rips in bench seat.



Truck is very clean and runs strong like a locomotive. It always starts instantaneously with
the first crank. Trans shifts with no problems. It includes a shell
which is currently off. No accidents.. impressively straight body and
clean undercarriage. My Dodge buddies were amazed as to the
cleanliness of the truck when I first bought the truck from the
original owner who was an older fellow. He was a
resident park ranger in the mountains for years. He had it
repainted in the original factory color at some point as he mentioned
that he had bad paint peeling. Very clean paint job with the exception
of a couple small imperfections. Interior is blue grey. Bench seat is
in great cond. Dash like new. He had suspension work performed as
well as new Rancho shocks.

A/C will need a recharge..heater blows nice and hot. Headliner
will need some attention at some point, fabric is good but needs
re-affixing in some areas, as well as a piece of the plastic molding
near the drivers sun visor. Three of the four tires are in very good
cond, one will need replacing at some point in the near future.
Indeed, the rubber seal on the passengers door will need replacing as
a bit of water can be present in the rain on the passenger floor. The
console light above radio needs to be remounted. A rear taillight
assembly has a hole but is sealed with a transparent tape. All minor
issues. Also, have no idea if the "dowel pin repair kit" as you noted
has been installed. The truck has no leaks. I do know that it it has a Dana 60 in front and 70 in rear.
Very tough truck and the certainly don't build them like this
any longer.. will miss it.

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Anybody? i'd like to get someone's opinion, the only thing that worries me is the mileage..

 

thats a fairly clean truck is it at all local to you or do you have to travel?

 

About 90 miles away. I bought it. 2 owners, no leaks, good tire tread, cant feel it shift, good brakes, tracks straight, suspension feels good, everything electrical and mechanical works. has a couple small cosmetic problems but nothing major. and the paint is not pro, but not awful either. the undercarriage is rust free aside from the leafs. the body is also dent and rust free. engine feels strong, fires right up and a small puff of black smoke at startup but thats it. Thumps when you put it in gear. I've read that's the U-Joint, anything else that would cause that?

On the drive home, I noticed that the temp gauge and oil pressure gauge both got to just under the 3/4 mark, the third line. This had me a little worried, since I believe it's high for both? I had my eye on them but they never moved from that. This is my first diesel, what should I check first? There is enough coolant in the reservoir, although on the low side and it looks a little old.

I plan to fix those two issues first. Then I plan to do an oil change, fuel filter and the sensor on the fuel filter, tranny oil/filter, diff. oil, tcase oil. Anything else that's urgent? KDP pin, valves adjusted?

I'm also going to assume that my tranny is on borrowed time with the 255k miles. I'm going to baby this truck while going to college, and I won't be putting that many miles on it. What can I safely do with the stock tranny? I'm guessing that anymore power will lessen it's lifespan. I was thinking just exhaust and baf for now. Until I rebuild the tranny. Hopefully I can get most of the minor issues straightened out and save up the money to start making it look clean.

 

Congratulations, sounds like you got a nice one. You might ask the previous owner if the KDP has already been addressed.

As far as the tranny, one of the best upgrades is to install a much lower stall torque converter.

 

Thanks. Do you think I overpaid? $5,900. It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but I think it isn't a bad price for a rust free truck.

He didn't know. The original owner may have, I'm not sure.

I've heard the TC will help the tranny last longer, once you start with the performance mods. What about with a stock truck?

 

No, you didn't overpay. Consider that the price you paid is what it costs for a nice paint job. It's worth it to pay a little more for a rust free truck in good condition.

The TC will help get more power to the ground and gain some fuel economy. How you drive is what will determine the longevity of the transmission. Any equipment no matter how strong it is can be destroyed.

 

sounds good. thanks, edahall. yeah, that's true. like i said i'm going to be babying it.

so far besides little cosmetic issues or non-important/mechanical issues. i've noticed some things that i think need attention. before making it a dd.

1. the clunk noise or thump, is only when you put it in reverse, not neutral or drive. it seems to be more toward the front of the truck, but i could be wrong. i don't really here any weird noises while it shifts while driving. automatic tranny, btw. do i need to jack up the truck and have it in a certain gear to check the u joints?

2. i mentioned i thought it ran on the hot side, it gets up to just under the 3/4 line of the center group between L and H. I noticed from the radiator hoses it looks like there's what looks like old coolant, around the ends. looks like its corroded a bit. what should i do about this, or should i be concerned?

3. also the oil pressure gauge gets to the same as the temp gauge on the highway. around town, it stays about center. is this high? also is it normal for the oil pressure gauge to change slightly between accelerating and braking?

4. finally, the brake pedal sticks. when you apply the brakes it kind of grabs and when you let your foot off, it sticks a little and slowly goes back up. if you accelerate after braking, it seems like it lets go faster. what should i look for, the calipers out of adjustment? it looks like there may have been a leak around the master cylinder at one time. when you turn the key to the on position, the anti-lock brake light also stays on.

5. is it normal that the truck doesn't smoke, even under significant acceleration? the only time it smokes is a small black puff at start up.

i'd really appreciate the help, guys. this truck has been a dream of mine for years, and i'll need help making it as good as it once was.