New Buyer

[CumminsCrazy]

Hello out there,
I have currently a 2004.5 cummins 2500 6 speed with a bunch of goodies. I am in the process of selling it to get a 1st gen. What a lot of my friends have said is a "down grade" I see as a new old upgrade! I love the look and feel of driving a 1st gen. I went and looked at a 92 w350 single wheel 5 speed with 255,000. The guy is asking 8,000, I feel this is a little over priced. I know these trucks are very rare and in high demand but it is all original...clutch, injectors, valves, brakes ext... the body and interior is in amazing shape for the age but I feel its going to need a whole heck load of work to bring it up to a dependable daily driver. So my question is what should I be looking for as a problem area (big money) on this truck with 255,000 miles?? It drove pretty well, straight and all there but I am nervous to buy it because it has had no recent work done. Any advice would be great.

Thanks guys

[dunes450r]

its not worth 8k. having all those original things is not that great IMO with that many miles because that just means there is a much greater risk of having to replace everything. first gens aren't extremely rare, not terribly common for a good one, but you can find one if you keep your eyes out

possible problem areas on a pickup like that:
clutch
brakes (wheel cylinders, abs stuff)
bearings (wheels, axles, transmission depending on how well they were maintained)
kingpins
ebrake cables

[ellis93]

Howdy back,got any pics of it so we could make an informed opinion. If there's no cab rot and the paint and interior are in good shape,and from the crazy a$$ prices we see for pure garbage,that may be a good price. The fact that it is in stock form is not that bad of a deal,it only means that some jackass hasn't screwed it up with some half a'ed work

[CumminsPower59]

Howdy back,got any pics of it so we could make an informed opinion. If there's no cab rot and the paint and interior are in good shape,and from the crazy a$$ prices we see for pure garbage,that may be a good price. The fact that it is in stock form is not that bad of a deal,it only means that some jackass hasn't screwed it up with some half a'ed work

This ^^^^

In reality, SRW W350's are kind of rare, as I have seen only a handful of them, and I own one If it's in great shape and all, I would go for it

[CumminsCrazy]

so there are a few upgrades on the truck. wondering if you guys could familiarize me with a few of them....3200rpm gov spring, edvance timing, danny t stage 2 fuel screw. All those were done within the last 30,000 miles from the 2nd (current) owner. I forgot to mention the gas peddle felt a little "loose" it only had about 3-4 inches of travel from idle to floor. is that normal for these trucks, it felt nothing like my 3rd gen. it was still easy to control how much gas I was giving it but it just didnt feel all there if that makes sense?

[ellis93]

so there are a few upgrades on the truck. wondering if you guys could familiarize me with a few of them....3200rpm gov spring, edvance timing, danny t stage 2 fuel screw. All those were done within the last 30,000 miles from the 2nd (current) owner. I forgot to mention the gas peddle felt a little "loose" it only had about 3-4 inches of travel from idle to floor. is that normal for these trucks, it felt nothing like my 3rd gen. it was still easy to control how much gas I was giving it but it just didnt feel all there if that makes sense?

Sure it makes sense,your third gen was fly-by-wire (electric) and these truck have a throttle cable that goes to usually wore out pump linkage setup,lots of stuff to have slack

[CumminsCrazy]

looking for something like "don't do that without doing this.....kinda thing?" And that you guys for all the info I love this site!

[Diesel Dawg]

Check the frame and steering bracket at the steering box. I think half that price would be about right. If clean.

[xohcef]

Check the frame and steering bracket at the steering box. I think half that price would be about right. If clean.

^ This. This was one of the things I wish I would've known purchasing mine. The frame wasn't rusty but wish I would've had a little heads up on the steering box/extra supports I'd be adding in later. Unfortunately for me I kind of pre dedicated myself to buying it when I rented a car to drive from CO to Chicago. On top of all of that I do not regret it at all, fixed now and all is awesome. I agree with the above as well in terms of price. The only 1st generation trucks that net a ton of money are the ones with 65,000 or less on em.

[CumminsPower59]

I would pay good money for a rust free south west truck all day long, even if it had 300k or more on it. As long as the thing has had regular maintenance it's whole life, then I wouldn't hesitate. I have seen rot boxes go for decent money, so a little more for a clean one, you bet.