transmission question

[jeffnvegas]

i came across a pretty solid "04" 2500 4x4 CTD quad cab with 47k on it and i'm seriously considering making an offer on it for my kid who is going to be going away to college next year and i want something reliable for him. the only thing wrong with it is the transmission. it's a 6SPD manual and being that i have an automatic, i have never really paid much attention to the dodge manual postings. the guy says it's just the clutch (it goes into and out of gear), but you can't drive it down the road. if i purchase it i will have to have it towed wherever to get repaired, but my question is what else could i be looking at and how can i tell if it's nothing major before i make an offer??? if it was the worst case scenario, how much to completely rebuild a manual transmission???

 

[JimB1]

Current economic enviornment, you should be able to find "perfect condition" CTD's at bargin price.



Not saying a "good buy" can't be worked out on rig you're looking at BUT it's the classic formula for disaster aka "money pit".

 

[Motorhead]

I would have someone "in the know" check it out first for you. The NV 5600 is a good, strong trans but e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e to rebuild. I would find it hard to believe that someone blew the trans. I would almost expect the clutch is out.

Have you started it up, put it in gear and heard or felt what it does?
Could the transfer case be bad instead?
I am sure that there is a "stick shift" TDR member in Vegas area that could help look at it with you. I would help if I lived close.

The other problem is when you buy a non driving truck, you can't test the brakes, steering, ect.

If you buy it "problem unknown", then you better LOW BALL the guy HARD!

 

[jeffnvegas]

what do you mean by money pit? are the 6 spds just that bad and should be avoided? also seems odd to lose a clutch at just 47K. the rig doesn't look that it was used that hard, course if someone is completely inept at shifting or rides the clutch it could wear out i guess.

 

[JimB1]

Money Pit

No disrespect intended towards sellers equipment nor buyers judgement but I've kept patched together PU's going for a long time while saving $$$$ towards new rigs for last big tickets buys before retirement.



Working on broken used rigs isn't cheap, especially if there's some question mark about just what needs repair or what true previous owner history is.



$15K is about NADA trade-in value.



Since 47K mile of normal ops shouldn't trash anything on this rig, subtract full price of replacement transmission AND clutch plus labor from asking price.



Then there's still other wear & tear unknowns related to why it's in this condition.



Again no disrespect but having labored thru lots of years keeping used iron on the road, there's a high odds chance of this deal nickel & diming you until it's no longer fun to own the rig at which time you start advertising it for sale... ,



It's a buyers market out there, lots of perfect condition rigs with owners upside down on value.



Shop around some more, find a completely stock excellent condition rig and owner willing and needing to deal smartly.

 

[JBallou]

Could have had a programmer on the truck and that could have killed the clutch.



Otherwise there had to be a ham fisted retard behind the wheelto kill a clutch that fast. Short of it being something else other than just worn out.



Unless super cheap, move on to another truck. It sounds like you don't have the ability to deal with a fixer upper.

 

[jeffnvegas]

is 14K a good price? paint and body are perfect as far as i can see without washing and waxing it, and the bed looks like there hasn't been anything in it other than lawn chairs and ice chests. got a quote from diesel specialists of $1350. 00 to do the clutch.

 

[JimB1]

Don't Offer

Credible serious reliable sellers advertise with merchandise price.



I overlooked seller not stating price in your 1st post.



Walk away from "make me an offer" sellers.



Don't even look back until price is advertised and vehicle is driveable.

 

[MarkP]

maybe transfer case

I would at least start the truck and put in it gear and feel whats going on. It could be as simple as the trasfer case not in gear. I have over 400000 combined miles on a couple of dodge 6 speed sticks and have not had a single clutch issue. I really use my truck, I sometimes go over the scales over 35000 lbs. I just had my first issue with the drivetrain on my 01, it would jump out of gear and make an unbelievable grinding noise. Ended up being the front shift fork in my transfer case. 150 bucks and a day later and It was fixed, it was a pretty easy fix, I did it myself and I am not really an accomplished mechanic

 

[JDiepstra]

If you can get that truck for $14,000 I would do it. The manuals are good trannys.