Tow rig shopping

[Turtle Bite]

I am shopping for a new diesel tow rig and have a few questions. I have it narrowed down to 2 types of rigs, 94-97 powerstrokes and 94-98 12v Dodges. The Dodges seem to be $1500-2000 more for the same options, are they really worth the extra $?

Is there a way to tell if the track bar is loose without putting the truck up on the lift? The couple of low mileage ones I have driven have all felt pretty loose on the roadbut tight when i get underneath them.

Should I be worried about buying a rig that has been mildy bombed for 100K miles? (say a fuel plate and governer springs)

Will a powerstroke with bad glowplugs show symptoms like hard starting when its hot out, like 80-100 degrees?

When doing the single mass flywheel conversion on the powerstrokes, is it mandatory to change the master and slave cylinders or will they work fine if they are in good shape? Are the cheaper clutch kits (Beck Arnley, Zoom) good enough for very mild mods?

Any other creative places to look for one of these pigs, I am scouring craigslist, truck-trader, the nickel papers, and bestautorecovery? (looking to spend no more than $6000)

 

[WHITE TRASH1]

Have someone turn the wheel about 90* back and forth while you look at the track bar. It'll be loose at the frame end by the steering box long before the axle end goes loose.

If you want a 96 3/4 2x standard cab I know of one with a brand new auto needs brake work and pretty much all the front sheetmetal. last I heard he wanted 3k... (yes the brakes and sheetmetal damage are related...) :haha:

 

[Lucky Jeff]

Fullywrecked has a couple in your price range.. I would like to say the fords will cost ya a little more to slightly modify. But hell, both of them seem to be never ending in my eyes.

 

[Turtle Bite]

Have someone turn the wheel about 90* back and forth while you look at the track bar. It'll be loose at the frame end by the steering box long before the axle end goes loose.

If you want a 96 3/4 2x standard cab I know of one with a brand new auto needs brake work and pretty much all the front sheetmetal. last I heard he wanted 3k... (yes the brakes and sheetmetal damage are related...) :haha:

Thats probably more work than I want to do on my daily driver. I am thinking maybe a clutch, some brakework, or glowplugs, but I dont really want a huge project. Good idea on the track bar, I dont know why I didnt think of that.

 

[1 grumpy]

go with the dodge not the ford..those year ford's have no innercooler and are a bitch too change out injector's.
what about a 93 1st gen dodge and I'd also be looking at 4wd and a manual..

 

[Turtle Bite]

Fullywrecked has a couple in your price range.. I would like to say the fords will cost ya a little more to slightly modify. But hell, both of them seem to be never ending in my eyes.

Basically if I end up with a Ford I will put on turbo back exhaust, the big air filter, and do the "BB" mod (need to research that some more). If I end up with a Dodge ill do the governer springs, straight pipe, a fuel plate, and the turbo ring if it is still there. I will probably only have the rig for a year and a half so I wont go beyond that. So yeah the dodge would be less but I am expecting to pay quite a bit more for one in the first place.

 

[Turtle Bite]

go with the dodge not the ford..those year ford's have no innercooler and are a bitch too change out injector's.
what about a 93 1st gen dodge and I'd also be looking at 4wd and a manual..

I dont really like the 93' and older Dodges, seems like they cost just as much as the 94' and ups but arent as comfortable (ride, interior) or powerful. I am hoping that I dont have to change injectors in either one while I own it. I have been finding mostly regular cab 5 speed 4x4 Dodges for around 7k, and extended cab auto 4x4 Fords for 5500 or so.

 

[Turtle Bite]

Going to go look at 95' F350 today, with 270k miles for $3500. It is a 5 speed, regular cab, 4wd. Runs rough when cold and good when warm. Has new glow plugs, glow plug wiring harness, newer clutch/ tranny, rebuilt front end, and new brakes. I can probably get it for 2500, but the miles scare me a little. I am going to at least take a look for the price though.

 

[jeepermc]

Going to go look at 95' F350 today, with 270k miles for $3500. It is a 5 speed, regular cab, 4wd. Runs rough when cold and good when warm. Has new glow plugs, glow plug wiring harness, newer clutch/ tranny, rebuilt front end, and new brakes. I can probably get it for 2500, but the miles scare me a little. I am going to at least take a look for the price though.

Runs rough when cold...fine when it warms up? Sounds like an injector problem. At 270k I wouldn't be surprised. From the new parts list I'd say somebody was chasing that problem..Injectors really aren't bad to do but figure at least $1000 to have someone go through them. That's a real good price if the truck is clean.

 

[Turtle Bite]

Just got back. It doesnt start to hard when its cold but it makes noise that I have never heard a cold diesel make. It runs good when warm, but I did notice quite a bit of blowby out of the dipstick at idle. It had a chip on it for a while but was taken off, has guages. Said that it had "4 gold and 4 regular" injectors. The body was pretty rough but about what I expected. Needs tires right off the bat, has 35s that rub. He was asking 3500, and knocked it down to 3000 right off the bat but I am guessing he would have taken 2700 or so. Not worth the time in the end.

 

[Turtle Bite]

Looked at another 12v this weekend, was a waste of time. 7K for a rig that needed tires, front main seal, and broken AC/ Cruise. At least it was a 5 speed 4wd. Going to look at a 95' extended cab 4wd with 191K, bummer is its an auto, for $6500. But if it has no major problems and the trans has been rebuilt, I think I am going to jump on it. I am just not seeing any pop up for sale, every week the same rigs as the last 3 weeks at the same prices.

 

[Lucky Jeff]

front main is a piece of cake. And getting stock sized replacement tires isn't all that difficult. But I would assume he guessed it was the front main. There are a few others up there in the same area that like to leak. Cruise seems pretty common too.

 

[Turtle Bite]

Bought one this weekend. Needs a little TLC but it does run good. 96 Powerstoke, 5 speed, 4x4 extended cab, shortbed, 222K miles. I paid $3600 which I think is a fair deal. I really wanted a Dodge but they were a lot more money and few and far between. First impression is that it has way less power than my friends 24V cummins. I am hoping a chip and exhaust will fix that.

 

[Binder]

Bought one this weekend. Needs a little TLC but it does run good. 96 Powerstoke, 5 speed, 4x4 extended cab, shortbed, 222K miles. I paid $3600 which I think is a fair deal. I really wanted a Dodge but they were a lot more money and few and far between. First impression is that it has way less power than my friends 24V cummins. I am hoping a chip and exhaust will fix that.

Yes just like any other stock deisel you will need to do mods to get power out of it. Plenty of aftermarket stuff out there.

 

[Glenn]

Can you post any pics?

 

[1 grumpy]

Bought one this weekend. Needs a little TLC but it does run good. 96 Powerstoke, 5 speed, 4x4 extended cab, shortbed, 222K miles. I paid $3600 which I think is a fair deal. I really wanted a Dodge but they were a lot more money and few and far between. First impression is that it has way less power than my friends 24V cummins. I am hoping a chip and exhaust will fix that.

get a innercooler on that sucker!

 

[Lucky Jeff]

stock diesels, atleast the older ones like ours, are fawkin DOGS. They need mods to get up to speed and get better mileage.

 

[Turtle Bite]

Can you post any pics?

I will post pics later tonight, I am at work so it has to wait for a while.

get a innercooler on that sucker!

I wasnt really planning on one, is there a shadetree way to put one on for $200? Not sure if its worth the hassle...

My plans are:
Get some used 245-265/16 tires, has worn 285 RVTs on it now (****)
Homebrew intake with 6607 Napa filter
4" Exhaust without converter or muffler
EGT and Boost Gauges
Multi-position chip (thinking about the cheap ebay ones)

Need to transfer a bunch of other stuff from my old truck over, like my sattelite radio, brake controller, toolbox, ect. Going to be a busy few weeks.

 

[Turtle Bite]

Heres the rig: