2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Maybe another Diesel Truck at our house

[FTotts]

Gents

My son has the diesel truck bug BAD. He has been researching and shopping like a man posessed. HE has found a potential truck at auction that may be up his/our alley. It is a 2002 with about130,000 miles, auto, 4x4. It has two issues that I would like your opinions on. The first is a toggle switch that is wired into the computer, a mechanic at the auction house told him it was most likely a dump switch. It does nothing obvious when the truck is running and at idle? Any ideas on this one? The other issue has to do with the transmission. IN the fuse/relay panel under the hood where there would ordinarly be a relaly plugged in for the transmission there is a piece of wire in its place. The trucks runs and shifts fine with the wire although it is stiff moving the shift lever into drive, reverse, 1. when the mechanic removed the wire and repaced it with a relay with one from another location he said he had to shift it manually. Either that relay was also bad or the wrong type or there is something wrong in the transmission. Any opinions on this ?

There is evidence of some aftermarket things being removed like a trailer brake controller and there is a pretty fresh looking plug in the exhaust manifold where there was perhaps a pyrometer. THere is a hole in the bed where there was a stack. Other than these things is is a mostly lo mileage truck and if purchased reasonable I think we wil be ok, the transmisson issue has me a litle concerned but again if purchased right and we put a transmission in it then we will know we have a new transmission. Lets here what you all have to say.

Thank you for helping us out

Fred

 

[telliott]

I gotta believe this had some modifications at one time because of the pyro and stack. If it was run hard on a stock transmission i have a feeling the transmission is on its way out. You should probably check the fuel pressure too as the Lift pumps are notorious for going bad on these things and then causing the injection pump to fail.

 

[DCreed]

the jumper and switch are a "mystery switch" used to manually lock the converter, a nice mod to have and has no adverse affect on the operation of the trans except possible excessive TC clutch wear IF it was used to lock the clutch to compensate for a weak convertor. Check the VP (this will be hard to see) for the wire tap. It would be a splice in one of the black wires coming out of the top of the pump right next to the manifold, OR look at the bolts on the top cover of the VP for any tampering indicating the use of a "stealth cover" to tap the wire. The only thing a wire tap shows is the truck WAS hot rodded and you need to protect the wire (if it was spliced) against corrosion.
As Telliott stated, check the lift pump. if it is still on the engine, you'll want to move it to the frame near the tank as possible. If it is already there, good.
EXPECT to build the trans soon. This is almost a given for a Cummins ram, unless someone has already done it.
Also remember that although it is not likely, be sure to check/tab the KDP and lock-tite the internal case bolts to prevent failure.
PS- if the bolts/sleeves on the exhaust manifold are blue/purple the truck was run hard and hot.
Glad to hear you have a new diesel head in the family! Good luck!

 

[FTotts]

DCreed

Please help me out with the Diesel short hand. What is TC,VP, KDP?

Thanks

Fred

 

[Road Dog]

TC = torque converter
VP = VP44 = injector pump
KDP = killer dowel pin (an alignment pin that can work it's way out and fall on the timing gears. Bad things then happen. )

 

[LVJUNIOR]

It sounds like that truck was probably driven pretty hard from the type of mods. If it where my money I would look for a 98 12v. They are easy to work on easy to get power out of

 

[Joe Mc]

Any idea what you plan on bidding? 02 is a solid 24V. The trans is definitely the weak link. Sounds like a mystery switch was installed to lock the TC as mentioned and there probably was no damage to the trans. Figure the trans is probably on its way out, my 99 started to slip around 139k w/no mods at all, that's going to be typical. See if you can take it for a drive and really floor it allowing the trans to shift and listen for any slippage. Then figure what its worth and deduct about $3500 if the trans is slipping bad, that's about what a good trans from one of the big outfits will run you.

Good luck.

 

[FTotts]

We are hoping to not bid any more than about five grand for it. I figure transmission, tires, VP wil add another five and he wil be in a pretty decent truck for around ten or less. We have a local transmission shop that does great work. they will r&r for 1800. They have done several for me over the years and I havenever had one have to go back.

 

[FTotts]

Well this was a pretty goo discussion but it was all for not because the truck opened for 7000 and sold for 8 or 8100. We didnt even bid. Thanks for all the thoughts though.

 

[DCreed]

Good luck in your search! I'm sure you'll find one.

 

[Joe Mc]

FTotts - Where are you located? I ask because last week on my way home from work I noticed a 2nd gen, 2WD, QC, LB, Dually, white, (Cummins) with a for sale sign on it. This truck just showed up last week on my ride home, it's on the street in a residential neighborhood in N/E Philadelphia, PA and has Florida plates. Stupid thing about the FOR SALE sign is, it only says "Cummins Diesel, 3500" - Stupid! No phone number, miles or asking price??? It has 5 spoke after-market wheels and looks pretty decent - at least from the front, driver side and rear that I can see on a drive by = no bangs/dents.



I hate to do this, because as obvious from the sign "I guess the seller wants a knock on the door to give info" (really don't get this selling tactic?), but if you would like me to I can take a few drive by snaps and send to you, then if you think you may be interested I can give a knock on the door and try to get a phone number / other info on the truck for you. If Phila, PA is too far for you then just let me know and I'll forget about it.