cv67

This a decent buy or not looks pretty sound
Problem areas to look out for?

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/cto/5882501151.html

Hear the sticks are better but figure not too many around this condition
Indifferent really

aklim

What do you want it to do?

cv67

C4 towing service figure Ill clean up

Nah..flat towing LA to AZ, perhaps ID and back occasionally
pizzed about having to sell my 90 Dually few weeks back may have an opp to pick this up

Wrong section have to fire the coffee maker.
Mods move to OT pls

drcook

That is a rust free truck, with next to no mileage on it.

Here is a forum that has Dodge diesel's on it. You will be able to do some research, just like on this site

http://www.thedieselgarage.com/forums/index.php?

dc

cv67

Thanks for the link
Diving into uncharted territory here crash course

Any of your guys have opinions on how the autos hold up?

I understand some items are pretty costly to fix rattles the nerves a little

A gas TBI doesnt phase me in the least everything is cheap and easy to DIY. The mileage though is worse than horrible with gas.
Just taking my old one to work and back opened my eyes a little to that one.

Any opinions using them daily?
Have to make a decision this coming week..found a couple super nice gassers but get the feeling Id be riding a dinosaur instead of a plane.

Its like buying a C4 for the first time.

Kevova

Since its in AZ the biggest issue is covered -rust. Engine is fairly bullet proof but diesels aren't cheap to fix. Fuel quality is a constant concern requiring regular filter changes. Cummins do have a issue with a dowel pin coming loose in timing cover. I would want to add positive retainer as pm.

aklim

Diesel is a PITA to me. You are a second class citizen at the pump and it is always dirty. In cities around here, not every gas station sells diesel but they all sell gas. If I didn't need diesel, I'd love to have gas.

The_Dude

Price seems a tad high for something that old, but it is a super clean truck. The transmission is the weak link. If it's been used for heavy towing, plan on rebuilding it as some point.

drcook

I don't remember when Dodge switched over from a mechanical fuel pump. The mechanical ones can be tuned by a knowledgeable person. The guy up the street had one in that general time frame and it got 20'ish (IIRC) and would smoke the duallies.

A 1993 diesel was built for LSD (L ow S ulfphur D iesel). Today's fuel is ULSD U ltra, etc. Even though the fuel companies are supposed to put lubricants in the fuel, you would be better off adding something.

I do as I have a 1996 Ford diesel tractor and even in my 04.5 Duramax I run additives just to be safe.

It was the sulphur in the diesel that provided the lubrication.

cv67

Wow never heard of this stuff
Its for a friend whos looking who knows zip about them trying to help out
which honestly doesnt sound like i can just ignorant to them and no desire to learn.

Keep the tips coming hes going to buy one anyway least hes headed towards a stick.

aklim

Did a bit of calculation on that and using the chart that Bosch provided, at least on my 7.3 diesel, the gains weren't there. In fact, to save a little wear and tear, it would cost me more in additive. I'm all for spending $10 to save $100. Spending $100 to save $50, not so much. The additive, from the math I used, saved some wear. IOW it allowed me to get the full use out of the parts which was a few percentage points. However, in additive, it cost me more in the long run. Only benefit I saw was that it gave other people a warm and fuzzy feeling

No it wasn't the sulfur that provided lubrication. It was the process of REMOVING the sulfur that removed the aromatics and hence some of the lubricity.

aklim

In the winter he has to plug it in a few hours before using it and put some anti-gel. Also has to keep Diesel 911 or some De-icer handy just in case. If he is in warm places, (over 40), no worries. If not, well......

jh225

I'm a Ford PSD guy, so cant help on the Dodge (although the Cummins will give plenty of service life), but the thing that immediately became obvious when I clicked the pics was the owner is a smoker, big time. Look at all the burn marks in the seats. Good luck getting that smell out of all that cloth upholstery.

aklim

https://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/gasolin...22003bosch.pdf

Note: This was done in 2003 which is around the time we had the ULSD coming out so things might not be all that smooth. By today, I would expect that the lubricity issue is pretty consistent. 520

By the chart on Page 10, as long as you have a HFFR score of 425 or better, life is good. You won't gain anything having anything lower. Federal mandate is 520 which is about 3.75 on the chart so not really a game changer. Say you lose 5% of your fuel related lifespan. Figure out the rebuild cost and as a rough guide, take 5% of the cost of the rebuild for the PARTS ONLY. After all, 95% or 100%, you still have labor costs so the part only loses 5% of it's life.

Say an injector rebuild costs $1000. That is $50. Say it lasts 200K. How much additive are you putting in the tank to save that $50? More than $50. So are you saving or spending?

drcook

Your 7.3 was and is a great engine, but it is a little different than the newer ones, as is that Dodge, but like the 7.3, was designed to run on LSD fuel.

My sis-in-law has a 7.3 2 wheel drive 3/4 ton that gets high 20's, close to 30 highway driving, tank after tank. It had some 1 yr only changes before Ford changed engines. My SIL and BIL do not run any additives and they have over 200,000 on it, but the last time I heard it run, it was sounding kind of sick.

Additionally, you have to think about the state. here in Ohio, there are not a lot of standards regarding diesel fuel. Ohio is the dumping ground for junk diesel. driving across I-80 from Ohio to Nebraska, you can tell the quality of diesel by the sound of the engine and mileage. Up to a couple MPG's state to state, company to company.

Since I buy Stanadyne Lubricity Formula, it doesn't cost me much, nor does a splash of Diesel Clean cost much. Since a LLY Duramax injector costs $400/$450'ish plus the time to fix them, a buck or 2 per tankful is good preventive maintenance. If you go back to the LB7 injectors, it takes 4 to 5 shop hours to get the 1st injector out as they were buried in the heads, due to their failures, it was costing folks 5000.00 or more every couple years, but that was not a lubrication issue (the initial failures).

Regarding the sulfur, it all depends on who you are quoting as to whether or not the sulphur is a lubricating agent.

these folks also talk about adding bio-diesel for lubrication.

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/news/newsrel...ts-lubrication

Adding bio-diesel (starting to get easier) negates having to add additives, plus it cleans your engine out. I usually run a tank or 2 through each year just to help clean the fuel system (but the additives I run do that also)

This quote is from the next link:

http://www.trucktrend.com/features/0...additive-test/

it's true about gelling and winter time, keeping the truck plugged in at night. I run 2 filters, both having pre-heaters in them, so I have never had a gelling issue, plus the Stanadyne Performance Formula I run also has anti-gelling properties.

the older ones are a bit more forgiving as to fuel quality, their injectors aren't running as high as the new ones, mine run at 23,000 psi so fuel quality, lubrication, cleanliness, no water etc is crucial.

my tractor suffers from the same dilemma that we are encountering with our cars and that truck would also, ie: parts are no longer made for it, and if you do find one, it is expensive, diesel engines have a diesel tax, just like Corvette parts carry a Corvette tax on them

aklim

I'm not getting close to that mpg but I have different programming, turbo, injectors, etc. 180 on the clock, IIRC. Not sure what the deal was but I believe the #8 injector was the AE (Long Lead) to lower the cackle. It does sound instantly smoother, literally, once I installed a fuel system to eliminate the "dead head" fuel rail issue. Then again, with all that different stuff, who can say.

IDK about Ohio but when I was in Madison, on my 99 E300 Turbodiesel, I could run a tank dry and get about 650. Switched to this grocery store/fuel stop place and it instantly dropped to 550 tops. Switched back and mileage went up. Did this a couple times and it constantly dropped with the grocery store stuff. Even in WI, the fuel seems to drop or raise depending on which store you buy it at. My guess is they tank up at different times from different terminal stations which have different additive packages for cetane.

True. The "investment", if you will is small which is why it is easier to swallow than a $5000 bill. However, as I mentioned, according to Bosch, you are delaying the inevitable. As such, I don't see how you can count more than a percentage of the parts. All ASSUMING that the lubricity standard is within spec for the most part. As to the energy content and cetane, that comes under a different issue. I have tried cetane boosters on my 99 E300 when I used it for daily long hauls of 200 miles for several years (470+ on the clock). Same station and some tanks with and some without. Variance was very slight either way.

Not sure what you are cleaning out but on the E300, I clean and test every 100K. Will do the next one on the 7.3 soon and the glow plugs removed too.

IIRC, it was an $8000 option when you ordered the truck.