hey guys/gals..
i will be in the used market in a few weeks.. im not set on one make or another.. gonna wait till i test drive them.. but..
im looking for a 1 ton.. diesel... preferably a 4x4... crew cab.. im digging up some info on diesels.. but would like to know... what to look for in something 2-5 years old.. under 100k in milage? any certain things per certain make? anything to check to see condition?
any little help is appreciated..
thanks..

Since the Duramax is new, I assume you are not looking there. Stay away from the previous Chevy diesel. Ford (Powerstroke) or Dodge (Cummins) are both good. I like the engines equally, but IMHO, I think Ford makes a better truck. But as long as you get what you want at a fair price, go for it.

From my Dodge friends, they say to stay away from the Dodge automatic tranny in a diesel. The Ford auto works fine as long as you keep it cool and change the fluid and filter regularly.

I would also try and find one that hasn't seen a lot of heavy duty use. These trucks are certainly up to it, but the more heavy use they get, the more all of the maintenance becomes. My buddy just bought a 95 F-250 w/a Powerstroke and all of the Banks performance stuff. He :smokin: the tranny on the first trip, flat towing a Samurai! When I got to looking at it, the previous owner had taken the tranny cooler off to put on the intercooler. It had been used for towing a big 5er for 150,000 miles with no tranny cooler at all :eek: . The tranny was probably already smokin, he just got the last drag....

Originally posted by Tusker

From my Dodge friends, they say to stay away from the Dodge automatic tranny in a diesel. The Ford auto works fine as long as you keep it cool and change the fluid and filter regularly.



Yeah like every 15,000 miles is what I heard. Makes me wonder though... Dodge Autos might be just as good if you change the fluid/filter often. I never asked anyone who crapped an auto how often they changed fluid.

Originally posted by Devil Dog
hey guys/gals..
i will be in the used market in a few weeks.. im not set on one make or another.. gonna wait till i test drive them.. but..
im looking for a 1 ton.. diesel... preferably a 4x4... crew cab.. im digging up some info on diesels.. but would like to know... what to look for in something 2-5 years old.. under 100k in milage? any certain things per certain make? anything to check to see condition?
any little help is appreciated..
thanks..


Looks like you're gonna get a Ford...Dodge didn't make a crewcab and the older (and newer :flipoff2:) chevy diesels are a joke.

:) ... ya.. i dont even like the way the chevy's look... was looking at the fords.. and dodges... i could go with the xtra cab.. just need something for the g/f and mutt... and all my crap... it seems there are alot of chevy's in my area.. and those i havent heard anything about... was just wondering if there was something i should keep in mind.. i live in a military town.. and they like to take us jarheads to the cleaners... so i dont trust any salesman..

Don't pass up a 3/4 ton dodge if it's setup as you want. They use the same engine, trans, axles as the 1 tons. And there's more of them out there.

what you want to find is the truck owned by an extremely old guy that had his licence revoked due to a severe heart condition ( like the dude could have died at any moment:eek: )

that's how I got my '92 cummins...... $10,500 with 89000 kilometers on the ticker.......... some old dudes have nothing better to do than maintain thier trucks ...... the thing is like new.

For a PSD take a coolant test strip that will show the nitrite level in the coolant. Should be above 1200ppm. If not then the owner didn't maintain the necessary coolant additive level and you will NOT want that truck. It would suck to have a pinhole in the cylinder a couple thousand miles down the road...new PSD engine = BIG BUCKS!

thanks tankota... thats what i was looking for.....

One more thing that applies to any rig with an auto...check the color and smell of the fluid to see if it is burned or way over due for a change.
Good luck!