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Finally bought one....not sure of my sanity though

4K views 23 replies 9 participants last post by  shouse 
#1 · (Edited)
Well, I've been looking everyday (maybe missed 3 days total) since early july. Autotrader, CL, and Ebay. Passed by a few b/c I'm a dumb@ss and started to get in a bind to get one bought so I felt a little pressured.

I finally purchased one today. If anyone is actively looking, you've probably seen in on Autotrader. It's a '97 4x4, auto, silver, with 148k miles on it. 3.5 gears, Laramine package with leather, wood trim, power everything. I paid $9300 for it.

The interior is plush minus the drivers seat. It's showing it's age. If that's my only worry, i'm off to a good start there. I did notice the dash was a different color (it's dark brown) from the rest of the interior (tan) though. ANy idea how to tell if it's one of those covers? To me, it looked stock and uniform to the dash. That would be crazy unbelievable imo though.

The exterior is...welll. The paint is going bad. Peeling on the sides. Roof i think is just about all primer. IT blended in so well w/ the pictures b/c the grey primer looks like the silver paint. Few dings but nothing major. The truck was purchased in TX, but was in Idaho most of it's life. So there is some underbody rust and a couple dings in the paint that have rusted. This is a high priority to get this resolved before it spreads.

Mechanically. I was told his mechanic told him no blow by before I showed up. He drove an hour to meet me, so I didn't get a chance to start it cold. We drove around, tested the 4x4. Tested how it tracked, lights, all that good stuff. Everything seemed fine. Wanted to check blowby myself. Pulled over and lifted the oil fill cap. A decent light steady stream of white smoke. Not enough to make the cap shake or anything. Just a steady light-medium white smoke. DIdn't investigate further (wish I knew more to do so). We ended up talking to his mechanic over the phone and he informed me that almost all 12v have some blowby and he thought this was perfectly acceptable. He also said that he had used Amsoil sysnthetic about every 10-12k miles (only owned it 18kmiles) and he only had to add a quarter of a quart of oil during that 10-12k change cycle. I finally agreed to purchase it b/c this was the 3rd one i've looked at w/ blowby (I think the other two were worse) and I need a truck.

Modifications
There is a AFE oiless intake system on it. A Mag-hytec transmission pan and an auxillary transmission filter. I don't understand the last two mods really. 3 gauge cluster (EGT, boost, <forgot last>).

I will post pictures and hopefully video of the blowby i'm talking about. So this leads me to, should i investigate the blowby further. Is it acceptable? I have searched, searched, and searched and honestly I feel I'm getting mixed feelings on what is 'acceptable' blowby. It might be acceptable if you already own it, but maybe a different story if you're searching for the right vehicle to buy. those two 'acceptable' terms might differ I believe. I ended up paying more than I initially intended in hopes the lower mileage will serve me longer. I own a VW TDI as well and know this is not always the case. Too low of miles imho can be scary as well on a diesel. Appreciate any info,comments, help on where I should start investigating.

Thanks,
Peter
 
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#2 ·
BTW, the current TX owner claimed the previous owner in ID was using it to pull a 5th wheel camper. The TX owner put on a gooseneck hitch and hauled a trailer w/ no more than 6 cattle he claimed. I know he only owned the truck 3 years and he sold his cattle at least 1.5 years ago, so I doubt he did the cattle hauling long at all. He was an older gentlemen and I felt he was pretty trustworthy, never caught him in a lie or contradicting his stories anyways.
 
#3 ·
Well, I've been looking everyday (maybe missed 3 days total) since early july. Autotrader, CL, and Ebay. Passed by a few b/c I'm a dumb@ss and started to get in a bind to get one bought so I felt a little pressured.

I finally purchased one today. If anyone is actively looking, you've probably seen in on Autotrader. It's a '97 4x4, auto, silver, with 148k miles on it. 3.5 gears, Laramine package with leather, wood trim, power everything. I paid $9300 for it.

The interior is plush minus the drivers seat. It's showing it's age. If that's my only worry, i'm off to a good start there. I did notice the dash was a different color (it's dark brown) from the rest of the interior (tan) though. ANy idea how to tell if it's one of those covers? To me, it looked stock and uniform to the dash. That would be crazy unbelievable imo though.

The exterior is...welll. The paint is going bad. Peeling on the sides. Roof i think is just about all primer. IT blended in so well w/ the pictures b/c the grey primer looks like the silver paint. Few dings but nothing major. The truck was purchased in TX, but was in Idaho most of it's life. So there is some underbody rust and a couple dings in the paint that have rusted. This is a high priority to get this resolved before it spreads.

Mechanically. I was told his mechanic told him no blow by before I showed up. He drove an hour to meet me, so I didn't get a chance to start it cold. We drove around, tested the 4x4. Tested how it tracked, lights, all that good stuff. Everything seemed fine. Wanted to check blowby myself. Pulled over and lifted the oil fill cap. A decent light steady stream of white smoke. Not enough to make the cap shake or anything. Just a steady light-medium white smoke. DIdn't investigate further (wish I knew more to do so). We ended up talking to his mechanic over the phone and he informed me that almost all 12v have some blowby and he thought this was perfectly acceptable. I finally agreed to purchase it b/c this was the 3rd one i've looked at w/ blowby (I think the other two were worse) and I need a truck.

Modifications
There is a AFE oiless intake system on it. A Mag-hytec transmission pan and an auxillary transmission filter. I don't understand the last two mods really. 3 gauge cluster (EGT, boost, <forgot last>).

I will post pictures and hopefully video of the blowby i'm talking about. So this leads me to, should i investigate the blowby further. Is it acceptable? I have searched, searched, and searched and honestly I feel I'm getting mixed feelings on what is 'acceptable' blowby. It might be acceptable if you already own it, but maybe a different story if you're searching for the right vehicle to buy. those two 'acceptable' terms might differ I believe. I ended up paying more than I initially intended in hopes the lower mileage will serve me longer. I own a VW TDI as well and know this is not always the case. Too low of miles imho can be scary as well on a diesel. Appreciate any info,comments, help on where I should start investigating.

Thanks,
Peter
150k miles is pretty low. I would be less worried about blow-by and more of a possibility of a head gasket leaking.
 
#4 ·
What would lead you to that concern?
 
#5 · (Edited)
Been trying to search a lot. Finally found the sticky tech articles. I'm posting this anyways, but i doubt it will prove much at all. IT's a crappy video and poor lighting.

I also am posting a couple pics of the AFC housing. I'm trying to confirm that the tamper screw/bolt is still in. That would be one plus at least, but I believe you could still mess w/ the star bolt w/o taking that off.






I also am having a hard time finding my blowby tube. I understand it's on the drivers side, just past the starter??
Also, is this something that has been modified? (red clamp)
 
#7 ·
That's your turbo oil drain in the last picture.
 
#6 ·
Does your blowby look like this?

1997 Dodge Ram CTD Blowby Test - YouTube

It's perfectly normal.

If it's puffing in tune with the engine, like a rhythm, you may want to investigate further.

But every warm 12 valve I've seen does this. Just some vapors from the crankcase.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thanks guys. Its really hard to tell because cameras don't always capture everything, but for the most part it's like the video. I do believe I have a little more smoke though. Its definitely not a rhythm and has no blue in it. Also not moving the cap. I'm going to get one more video tomorrow and out of the vent tube.

If I'm this concerned I probably should just go ahead and build real tester.
 
#10 ·
Don't worry about the blow by all these trucks have some. It is the nature of the beast. The screw on the afc does look like it has been played with. If someone put gauges in a stock truck they must have had some kind of intentions to play with it.
 
#11 ·
It doesn't all add up. The truck doesn't smoke at all. I can't say it seems to have a lot of power either. The third picture I believe shows a round head bolt. This looks a lot like the tamper bolt to me. I can't say the ss flathead bolt looks stock though either. Also, this is a Auto transmission. If the previous owners had upped the power, would not the transmission probably be junk by now??
 
#12 · (Edited)
Here's 2 pictures of the 'tamper' bolt in question. Even if it's still there, I don't think it proves if the pump as been turned up or not. That bolt looks so easy to remove w/ vice grips or anything related....

 
#17 ·
That is not a tamper proof bolt. The original bolt is more like a Torx head. Those bolts you have pictured on the AFC housing are crappy substitutes for the stock ones. I put some nice 8mm bolts in all 4 spots.
I am sure you are going to find the plate moved, missing, or replaced with something else. It's time to get in there and start checking out what you have.:thumbsup:
 
#13 ·
Pictures

Usually this is the first thing to post on a 'new truck' thread. Sorry for the lateness if anyone is interested. I know pictures at least makes a thread more interesting.

This is as clean as she's going to get right now.
There's some rust to deal with. The paint is separating from the primer. The chrome striping is completely gone. The driver's side seat is cracked up. The wheels have rust on them. The engine is missing it's cover.







 
#14 ·
Is this probably a dash replacement???




 
#19 ·
I would say yes on the dash replacement. The tan interiors I've seen typically have a tan dash. It's in good shape and fits nice so I wouldn't be upset about it. Also I think if your plate was missing it would smoke a little. There is the possibility that a "mechanic" at some point suspected something in the pump and checked it out but didnt fool with it. I'm saying this since you say it doesn't have a lot power either. Unless your comparing it to a common rail, then it probably won't seem like it has a lot of power without serious modifications.

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#20 ·
Thanks guys, that's the input i was looking for. Yea, I suspected the bolts looked too crap to be stock.. I agree, its time to get in there and see what's going on. Anyone have a good tutorial link on getting the AFC off handy? I've seen some YouTube videos already, but want to make sure I'm doing it the right way.

I'm wondering if maybe it was turned down before being sold. I've only driven one of these before and it had major engine problems so it's hard to compare. Definitely more power than that one though. And from everything I've read, how is the stock ( i think anyways) auto transmission still running if the pump was tuned.....??
 
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#21 · (Edited)
Thanks guys, that's the input i was looking for. Yea, I suspected the bolts looked too crap to be stock.. I agree, its time to get in there and see what's going on. Anyone have a good tutorial link on getting the AFC off handy? I've seen some YouTube videos already, but want to make sure I'm doing it the right way.

I'm wondering if maybe it was turned down before being sold. I've only driven one of these before and it had major engine problems so it's hard to compare. Definitely more power than that one though. And from everything I've read, how is the stock ( i think anyways) auto transmission still running if the pump was tuned.....??
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/9.../312241-afc-tuning-explained.html#post3293034
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/94-98-performance/2569-p7100-custom-plate-tuning.html

As far as the trans working, they will run with some upgrade. Yet, it may start to slip when under pressure. You just need to start finding out what you have before you start guessing....:thumbsup:
 
#22 ·
What would be the ideal 8mm bolts to buy? I'd like to get them replaced.
 
#24 ·
One more question. I've searched a bit but seem to be getting overall 'who knows' consensus. Is the ride height most likely stock? I know it is lifted slightly more in the back, which would leave me to believe it is stock.
 
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