Another Mopar joins the family. My latest purchase.

[keithb7]

My latest Mopar addition. A 1998 Ram 2500 24 valve Cummins turbo diesel. Not to far away from qualifying for vintage plates!

New body panels and a complete paint job coming soon. Low miles, and  tons of very good maintenance records. I am stoked to have a real truck that I can actually tow with.

@Worden18 this will get my '53 home if needed.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2018 by keithb7

[Worden18]

Very nice!  It’s hard to find that vintage that isn’t all beat up.  Congrats!  My brother in law bought a 98 new with a 360, kept it for 15+ years before trading it in.  I should’ve bought it from him.  Had less than 50k miles.  

[Dan Hiebert]

I've got an '01 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 with a 360 that we bought in '00.  Just turned 100K.  Only problem I've ever had with it was from sitting too long, and now that we're in Maine, whatever that nasty stuff they de-ice the roads with is eating it up.  Trailered the D24 and Terraplane across the country (sort of) three times with it.  Regular maintenance and service does the trick every time, as well as not driving it like I stole it.  Giving it to my daughter and son-in-law next month, so we'll be in the market for another.  I've had nothing but good luck with Dodge (well, Ram now), so we'll be looking at that marque again.  We'll be looking for a "newer" truck, good to hear you'uns are finding these good deals out there, gives me hope.

[Brent B3B]

Keithb7, congrats on the "new" truck,  what is the towing capacity on it?  I like your color and I am so jealous, my 96 is only 2wheel drive with the 360 and the paint is GONE.. BUT it only has 107k and it recently got me out of a pinch

(towed myself 2 miles back home.... )

[Dennis_MN]

1 hour ago, Brent B3B said:

Keithb7, congrats on the "new" truck,  what is the towing capacity on it?  I like your color and I am so jealous, my 96 is only 2wheel drive with the 360 and the paint is GONE.. BUT it only has 107k and it recently got me out of a pinch

(towed myself 2 miles back home.... )

You could say that you have an appealing truck.....

[keithb7]

7 hours ago, Brent B3B said:

Keithb7, congrats on the "new" truck,  what is the towing capacity on it?  

 

Max tongue weight 900 lbs. Max trailer weight loaded 10,000 lbs.

[keithb7]

Getting ready to replace body panels and paint:

 

 

 

This is the heaviest vehicle I have owned. I will say that these things are rugged. No 1/4" ratchet drives need apply.  I needed a 3/4" drive breaker bar to crack most of the hardware to remove parts here. Considerably heavier parts than I am used to on light duty cars and trucks.

Edited August 30, 2018 by keithb7

[ggdad1951]

PM me the ESN and I'll look up if there are any engine issues I can see in the database.

[Ranger]

Bought a 1999 2500 diesel  3 years ago with 117,000 miles.  Amazing truck. Bone stock in great condition. I use it mostly with a cabover camper. Just passed 130,000 with no problems. Great fuel mileage and plenty of power. Plan to keep it forever.

[keithb7]

Making some progress. With the box off I can see that the fuel module in the fuel tank is original. I will change it proactively. It would probably fail on the first road trip 500 miles from home, after the box was reinstalled. I will also take the opportunity to replace the rear shocks. Easy peasy at this point.

 

 

Brand new outer box sides:

 

 

 

[keithb7]

Its turning into a family affair as my brother and his daughter work on the bodywork repairs and paint. My brother is a professional autobody mechanic. My Niece is learning the prep & paint trade. My truck is in their capable hands. No short cuts, my Bro does an outstanding job.

 

 

Cab lower rear corner getting replaced.

 

Edited August 30, 2018 by keithb7

[Local2ED]

If you don't already know this, lift pump fuel pressure is critical to keeping the vp44 injection pump alive. You need a fuel pressure gauge ASAP.  I don't mean to scare you but look into "Cummins 53 block", something to watch out for.

 

Cummins Forum is a good place to go to keep your truck running.

[keithb7]

On 9/7/2018 at 6:28 AM, Local2ED said:

If you don't already know this, lift pump fuel pressure is critical to keeping the vp44 injection pump alive. You need a fuel pressure gauge ASAP.  I don't mean to scare you but look into "Cummins 53 block", something to watch out for.

 

Cummins Forum is a good place to go to keep your truck running.

Good to know thanks. I will get under the front end and have a look at my block casting. I appreciate the tip on the fuel pressure gauge and will put one in.

Should have the truck home from the bodyshop soon.

 

[JerseyHarold]

Is that an anti-chip coating on the hood and fenders?

[keithb7]

@JerseyHarold it is a finer coat of box-liner type spray. It has been applied in several areas including along the front of the hood and fenders. All the way along the sides of the body of the cab and box too, the bottom 1/4 of the panels. It is also in the door jams where shoe scrapes and mud end up, as well as all along the bottom of the doors where prone to rust. On the top of the roof from the edge of the windshield back about 8" as well. This is where all the rock chips end up from our sanded (gravel) snowy winter roads. The spray coating has been painted over with the body paint. It is the same color but sill not be shiny of course.

 

Seen here:

 

 

 

 

[keithb7]

All done. 

 

[keithb7]

[keithb7]

On 9/7/2018 at 6:28 AM, Local2ED said:

If you don't already know this, lift pump fuel pressure is critical to keeping the vp44 injection pump alive. You need a fuel pressure gauge ASAP.  I don't mean to scare you but look into "Cummins 53 block", something to watch out for.

 

Cummins Forum is a good place to go to keep your truck running.

 

I ordered a test gauge to check lift pump pressure. It is within spec. Minimum pressure at full load up hill was 8 psi. Minimum spec is 5 psi.  I I ordered a new spare fuel lift pump. I will likely change it pro-actively soon. I do know the pump in my truck now was installed new in 2011.  I will install a permanent fuel pressure gauge eventually. Until then, I will test fuel lift pump pressure every 3-4 months or so and monitor my records. I'll keep the one I pull as a spare.  I have been doing lots of research. Thanks again for the tips.

[Local2ED]

18 hours ago, keithb7 said:

 

I ordered a test gauge to check lift pump pressure. It is within spec. Minimum pressure at full load up hill was 8 psi. Minimum spec is 5 psi.  I I ordered a new spare fuel lift pump. I will likely change it pro-actively soon. I do know the pump in my truck now was installed new in 2011.  I will install a permanent fuel pressure gauge eventually. Until then, I will test fuel lift pump pressure every 3-4 months or so and monitor my records. I'll keep the one I pull as a spare.  I have been doing lots of research. Thanks again for the tips.

Have you put in a new fuel filter since you bought the truck?

If not I would change it asap just so you have a baseline on your fuel pressure.

On my 1999, it runs 14-15 psi. at idle and pulling hard drops to 10 psi.

[keithb7]

My plan is to change the fuel filer and the lift pump together. Just waining for the new pump to arrive. Then I will take a new base-line test.

[greg g]

Have an acquaintance who has a 2000. First 125k were on dyno diesel. Now he makes his own catalyzed biodiesel I believe the truck is coming up on 325 k. He does a lot of dual axle trailer towing with it.  It's not as pretty as yours but still runs great and smells like French fries and egg rolls at idle.

[wayfarer]

...a little late to this party but wanted to offer my thoughts.

I bought my '02 new and now have 262k on the clock. I have never babied this truck, after all, it is a 2500 Cummins and I expect it to be used.  One of the first things I did (was I the first?)

was to spray Speedliner on the lower body and on the fender flares to keep the volcanic cinders from eating the paint . In this area we have plenty of such material and the county/state use it liberally in the Winter.

As to the lift pump, my oem died at 100k, just in time for the warranty to end. The VP44 replacement was not cheap. I am still a bit miffed at Mopar and Cummins for their failure to deal with the low sulfer fuel. The best replacement I found is one called DDRP. No issues after 162k.

Anther item you are likely to deal with is the plastic dash. The oem will crack, if it has not already. 

Last item is the track bar; when you need a replacement, buy the best one you can or you will do it again.

 

Enjoy.

[keithb7]

Thanks @wayfarer. I have been doing internet research, studying the service manual, and doing a fair bit of required maintenance in the past couple of months. I serviced & re-sealed the rear diff, tranny oil, engine oil & filter, front diff as well as pinion seal. I bought an ISSPRO fuel electronic fuel pressure gauge to install. That way I can watch fuel pressure off the lift pump slowly diminish. Then address the the lift pump before it takes out the VP44 hopefully. My RF outer axle seal is leaking, I will get to that soon. I love the power and durability of these 2500 Dodge trucks. Mine is quite comfortable too. My dash is not cracked. I will keep an eye on the track bar and take your advice when it comes time to replace it.