Need quick 1st Gen answers

[Paladin1911]

1st Gen folks! I have a buddy of mine looking to buy a used '89 3/4 ton CTD. It has a five-speed manual trans and 4x4. It has approx 145K on it. He wants me to go look at with him this afternoon. He already looked at it and the body and interior are great, BUT... the first time he wanted to look at it, the truck wouldn't start. The sellers fix was to run a jumpwire direct to the lift pump? Why would he have to do that? What will the fix for that require? Also, my friend said there was a rattling sound coming from the trans while in neutral. The fuel gauge also does not work. I assume the sender is in the tank?



Any advice for buying a used 1st gen would be MUCH appreciated! I don't want to see him get ripped off and have to put alot of money into the truck.

My guess is the truck is going to be fine with a few repairs but all of my CTD experience is with 3rd gens... Thanks in advance!

 

[CSchafer]

The shut down solenoid is on the injection pump. Maybe that is what he ran the wire to. I know if the wire is not on it the truck wont start. Probobly not that big of deal just have to figure out why the trucks wire is not working. The rattle from the bellhousing, well mine had that with the stock clutch and still drove fine. I guess a test drive will give more info on that problem, If the noise gets worse while driving or it doesnt shift smooth there could be somthing wrong in there. I do believe the sender is in the tank for the guage.

Listen for the transmission to howl at all and just look everything over real well. Thery are great trucks with a little work, some would say they are the best ever made. Good luck.



Cade

 

[dpuckett]

Check fusible links on left fenderwell, close to relays for the grid intake heaters. I had one go out on my 93; ran a jumper wire for a month before I got it fixed.



Daniel

 

[KSears]

Cade, how is the truck holding up?, got any new pics?, hope all is well.

 

[RedRamAndy]

Hello Steve,

Went through the rattle thing with my '89 with 175K on it with the Getrag. I bought it from the seller thinking it would need a transmission overhaul. It turned out to be the clutch disc itself. The cage that holds the set of shock springs around the center hub of the disc was broken allowing a LOT of twist-slop in the clutch. This causes a huge rattle at idle, or a slack feeling when blipping the throttle while driving. Shut the engine off with the transmission in neutral and you just cringe at all the clanking! My fix was simply a clutch disc and new pilot bushing. If you do go through all this fix, do the rear engine oil seal while you're there. My trans was tight when it came out. I dumped the original ATF that was in it and refilled with Redline MTL (overfill by 1 quart). It still has low RPM growls once in awhile when I'm idling around in gear, but my engine idles a little slow. Raising the RPM to where it should be cures this.

I'll bet with this truck your bud's looking at the noise shuts up as soon as the clutch pedal is ALL the way down, or raising the engine RPM just a bit with the clutch all the way out. A throwout bearing will usually shut up as soon as you put pressure on the clutch pedal.

Oh, get a transmission jack for the R+R. Go for it!

 

[dpuckett]

DOnt forget to remove the flywheel adaptor and check the cam plug. I had one puke on me after redoing the throw out bearing. Like to the tune of a gallon every 1K mi.



Daniel