To buy------ or not to buy?

[edgeman]

Going to look at a truck tomorrow, and im nervous. I knew this day would come. I have only had 12 valvers in the past, and this one has 24. So could you all tell me what to watch for when i look at it. The truck is a 2003, auto, 4x4, 4dr, 5. 9HO, 3500SLT,single rear wheel, 84k miles, sprayed bed liner, soft cover over the bed, 6 1/2 ft bed, nurf bars, and in very good shape. BUT, it does have a problem that the dealer cant figure out. The insterment cluster goes dead every so often. No guages, no cluster lights. It does not affect the driveability at all. The dealer is quite motivated to get-er-gone. Im hopeing my fello TDR members can help me with this. Thanks, Larry

 

[Wingate]

could be the cluster itself, or the datalink between it and the ecu... just to mention a few "could be's"

 

[Prairie Dog]

Buy it! Probably the best truck ever built but I could be slightly prejudice.
It could easily have a ground issue someplace. I would clean them all up including all of the little ones that are on the edge of the qtr panels in the eng compartment. Bad instrument clusters were never an issue with 03's.

 

[icman95]

Sounds like a nice truck. I don't have an 03, but do have some experience with failed instrument clusters. Had 2 of them fail-1 on my wife's 99 Durango and the one on my 01 dually. Both trucks were only a few weeks old at the time of failure and the clusters were replaced on under warranty. Good thing, too, as the dealer said it would have been about $700 each one.



We believe that they were shocked with static electricity while someone was installing some aftermarket parts that were put in by an outside vendor at the dealership prior to us taking delivery. There will never be any way to tell for sure, but no one else could come up with any better theory. Especially since it was the same repair on two different vehicles 3 years apart. Hopefully your problem will be easy to track down like the grounding mentioned above. Perhaps you could convince the dealer to replace the cluster on his dime. After all, if you take it the way it is, you could complain about it in a week and ask for him to do it anyway under a used vehicle warranty.



I disagree that it doesn't affect driveability. Yes the engine, transmission, etc still work, but how do you know how fast you're going? What do you tell the cop when he pulls you over for speeding because you couldn't tell what your speed was? Worst case scenario, you run out of fuel because you can't read the gauge.



Good luck. I think you'll enjoy.

 

[edgeman]

Thanks for the replys. I guess by driveability i was thinking of being stranded somewhere. The dealer said it is a hit & miss thing that they cant figure out.

 

[p-Bar]

Thanks for the replys. I guess by driveability i was thinking of being stranded somewhere. The dealer said it is a hit & miss thing that they cant figure out.

Best truck buy it . Curious did they put in a new cluster as icman95 also suggested?

 

[bkaiser]

Edgeman,



Follow the post regarding my 'no bus' problem. My '03 (72K miles) got a ghost in the machine last week that sounds painfully familiar. Sag2 is really helping me out (thanks again!). This sounds like it could be one of those 'three weeks to find, three minutes to fix' problems.



If the deal is good and you don't need to have the truck in service right away, I'd go for it.

 

[Barry]

The '03 and early '04s with the 305 HP engine is the last of the clean engines. I snapped an Edge EZ on mine and it would run circles around my '04. 5 325 HP and get better mileage doing it.



Should have never sold it!

 

[rscurtis]

I wouldn't trade my signature truck even for a brand new one.

 

[Cosmo]

I had a Subaru that was doing the same thing - tach, fuel gauge, speedo, dash lights, they'd all shut off randomly.

It was the main relay. We swapped it with another and it's been almost a year without happening again.

 

[S.Morris]

It will probably need now or in near future, Ball joints, and axle ujoints. When rear brakes are changed the calipers will most likely be seized and pistons wont retract. Also ujoints in rest of driveline getting near time.



All this assuming you see some road salt where you are in Michigan.



Have bought 4 of the 3rd gen trucks in last two years for business and all of the above has been a given on each one.



I too will be keeping my sig truck till its done and I dont think I will have a diesel for a personal truck anymore, given the costs of operation on these new emission laden trucks, and the fact that diesel is . 50cents a gallon more than gas instead of less!

 

[edgeman]

Thanks again for the replies. Dear wife and i will be going to look, drive, & kick the tires this morning. I need to get past the looks part of it. The truck really looks good! No the dealer didnt change the cluster. It seems they would rather give someone a deal to get it off the lot. I sure wont be takeing it to this dealership for any service. Hope they cut the price to the point we can do this. We will have to trade the wifes cherokee. Ill let you all know what happens. Thanks

 

[icman95]

Good luck. Hope it works out. Just as an FYI if you do change ther cluster on your own some day, plan ahead. It took 10 days for us to get it done because the factory has to program your mileage into the new one before they send it to the shop to install it. The shop asked us our mileage, then told the factory who the programmed it and sent it to the shop. Come to think of it, that's the way they did it our second time. The first time they kept the vehicle at the shop for ten days while they waited. Fortunately thgey gave us a loaner.

Again, good luck. I'm sure you're excited.

 

[04blackcherry]

Check function of the heater box (broken doors). Didn't know about that till now. The extended warranty they offered (I didn't buy it) would have gone to good use on repairing that. Other things:Ball joints, front bearings, steering parts, fuel filter mounted lift pump, and there is no CAT. Bought mine with 67,000 on it. Don't think I'd trade it for another. For me It's all about the heated leather.

 

[JJPage]

Let us know if you purchased this truck. I love my 03, it's sounds like my truck is a match to the one your considering.



The only issues I have had were, 1. loose injector cross tubes, I went through quite a few procedures checking sensors, other fuel system components, with help from members on this site before finding my cross tubes out of correct torque. Since re-torquing to 37 ft lbs, almost two years ago, not one single problem. 2. My AC evaporator freezing up due to low refrigerant charge. 3. The front band adjustment stud on my trans was leaking fluid onto the round 7 pin trans electrical connector, causing shifting and lockup issues, but I cannot really blame this on the truck, as I did have the trans rebuilt by DTT shortly after purchasing new.



If you are the happy new owner... Congrats!

 

[edgeman]

Well, we didnt drive it home, but we dont have to pay for it either. Im rather bummed out right now. The dealer wasnt willing to work the figures to the point we needed to be able to buy. It drove great too! Oh well, mabe another day. Thank you to all the replies. Larry