Well I've finally found a Cummins that i might be able to afford. Its an 87 w250 that now has a 12v Cummins backed by an automatic transmission. From the pics I've seen its an extremely clean truck, however the owner says the injectors need bled and the vacuum pump needs rebuilt. He wants $2200 (but who ever pays the asking price) Is this something I should run away from or is it worth it or what? Any experienced opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

I would get him to prime it. It doesn't take long at all.

If he wont do a half hour of work to show it running?

 

I kinda had the same thoughts, im not really sure what the job requires but ive been told its really simple. And if hes not willing to play ball then im not sure if im willing to give him my money

 

The big question is why do they need to be bled? and if he knows what needs to be done to make it a running truck why is not done when it doesn't cost any money in parts? It's simple. When I look at a non running truck that I can't check to see if the tranny is shifting etc, I look at the price in parts just in case it doesn't run. Seems shady to me.

 

that's my guess..

if there's air in the system all you need to do is crack the injector lines and crank it till they start leaking out diesel then u tighten them and fire it up.

personally I'm betting it has other problems that the not running condition is masking over. if you want a project that might or not involve high ticket items to fix go for it.

from the way you stated is what you can finally afford, it might kill you and take some time to get it in usable condition..

 

He said it ran out of fuel and got air in the lines

 

ok.. heres an idea, since you seem to like the truck.

tell him the sale depends on a test drive. offer to put 5gal or so of diesel in it and prime it and see what he says

if it was completely run dry priming it might take a bit, on the drivers side of the engine is the fuel pump, towards the rear of the engine, after theres fuel in the tank find the fuel pump and there should be a lever on the side you can use to prime the system up to that point.. basically pump it forever (if it works, theres a good chance it won't) then you go to the pass side of the engine and find where the 6 fuel lines connect to the top of the injectors and loosen them, just enough to make them not seal, disconnect the fuel shut off on the injection pump or pull the fuse and crank the engine for maybe 10sec at a time.. then let the starter cool, then crank again, and repeat until you start to see the fuel leak out around the line connections, after you see fuel tighten them up and it should fire up and run really rough for a bit until all the air is out of the system.

it's a simple thing once you know where everything is, but it can be a bit time consuming.
protip: pull the fuel filter and fill it up

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edit: you can probably prime it by just cranking and cranking and cranking but I don't recomend that

 

Yea that's what I did when mine ran out of fuel, but it's extremely hard on the starter. It works, definately, but it's safer to crack the lines.
How long has it been sitting?

 

I like your thinking fella, I'll try it and see what his response is. If he isnt liking the idea then i'll just move along, but if i do drive it and nothing stupid jumps out I'll probably own it.
Oh and I greatly appreciate your help, I'll update you guys if i do end up buying it.