99 2500 Cummins Opinions

olliekid · Aug 31, 2012

Hey I am looking at a clean 2500 Cummins Ram.

The Good: It has basically no rust at all, it looks great underneath, it has new tires, air dog fuel pump but everything else is stock. No dents or big scratches. You can tell whoever owned it babied it and took care of it. It is 4wd and an extended cab and extended bed. The tranny was rebuilt at 180,000 miles.

The Bad: The AC does not work and the truck has 240,000 miles. I feel like thats a hard sell to dad because we would need to go 50/50 on it.

Is 9k seem a little high for this truck? I was thinking of offering 7k. Opinions please. I am only looking at 1995-2002 2500 Cummins so please don't try and steer me elsewhere. I just want some opinions from people who have been around these trucks.

-Thanks

Turbo Farmall · Aug 31, 2012

I wouldn't be afraid of it I have 2 dodge cummins a 99 at 324K and a 97 at 320K on the eng. The a/c is repairable It may only need a charge to work. The auto trans may be the weak pont behind the cummins if you plan on towing alot. The air dog pump is a good fix for the lift pump. I have seen alot of that era cummins in the price you stated. Worst they could say is no. 9k isn't outrageous.

the tractor vet · Aug 31, 2012

Saw that , not a bad looking truck > now for the DOWN side the A/C will need a new evaporator just like mine , Not and easy job the parts aren't bad just the work to do it and i am getting lazy , it has a slush box to me that is a neg. myself i like gear drive . The fact that it is not jacked up with a stupid pipe up thru the bed is plus , it has not been turned up by some idiot that thinks he know what he is doing is a plus. I will not own a truck that is jacked up due to a past experience with being involved in a wreck and almost got charged for vehicular homicide because of the truck i was driving the Patrol said that i jacked up the truck and by there book it was 4 inches above stock due to the fact that there books were wrong and i had to prove that by the Ford factory body builders book that the truck was at the correct ride hight then they came after me again for the snow plow , here again the truck came from the dealer with the plow as a Snow Patrol Pkg . Now the kick here is the guy came across the road broad side and i was off the right side of the road tryen to get away from him . That is when i found out that even IF it isw not your fault and you did mod's they can try and HANG you.

olliekid · Aug 31, 2012

wow that is not a good experience. And the AC isn't a big deal to me. My 2500 gasser now which my dad bought new in 1997 has only had the AC turned on maybe 10x in its life. I prefer to just put the windows down and ride that way.

Another question for you guys: Do I need to worry about it starting in the winter? I live in NE Ohio so we do get some cold weather. I live on a college campus so I dont know if I would take the truck here or just leave it at home and put it in the barn.

olliekid · Aug 31, 2012

No it definitely is not outrageous by any means. And I will occasionally be pulling a gooseneck with my 1655 Oliver (about 9-10 thousand pounds.) It will also pull hay wagons but it will basically just be a daily driver.

I want to be able to do custom haying but all my offers have been too far away to just drive the tractor and equipment. My gasser is tired and shouldnt be hauling a 10,000 pound tractor and equipment.

the tractor vet · Aug 31, 2012

NOPE First year i had my 95 it dropped down to -20 and i had to take my girls to school and i thought well you dumb arres you should have plugged it in when you came in the night before. well while the hot coco was warming in the pot i went out to get the bad news , got in turned the key on set the throttle let the heat grid do it's thing and she turned over a little hard but fired . Let it idle till the oil pressure came up and set the throttle to 1500 turned on the heat and went back inside to get breakfast going . When the girls were ready the truck was starting to get warm, that is my only complaint is mine does not throw good heat and yes i have good flow thru the heater core and a new stat i just will not warm up with out a winter ft. It sure is not like all them Ford gasser with the high output heater.

oldtanker · Aug 31, 2012

That Cummins is a great engine....there is place that will install it in a decent truck...........

Rick

olliekid · Aug 31, 2012

Okay well it certainly won't get that cold in Ohio! Or at least I hope not. And yeah my gasser heater isn't great either.

olliekid · Aug 31, 2012

My truck's body is getting rough. It is getting pretty rusted from all
the salt that is put on the roads. It is just getting tired too.

MT RON · Sep 1, 2012

I have a 99 2500 Cummins,only 160000 on it.Had it 10 years and still love it.The only advice to if you buy it take it to a Dodge dealer only and have the tranny serviced.I have mine done every 12 to 14ooo miles,it's the key to longevity.Those trannys have adjustable bands and must be maintained.Do not take it to Joe Blows tranny shop as most will only change filter & refill with oil.

Dell (WA) · Sep 1, 2012

I "had" a 1995 Dodge Cummins Diesel until someone ran into the driver front wheel and "popped" the front ball-joints out. Frame shop wanted $9000 to re-pop the 2-wheel drive front ball-joints. (frown) I hadda ARGUE with the insurance company that the MIGHTY Cummins Diesel engine was worth more than the $3000 the Insurance Company wanted to "TOTAL" the 285K mi 3/4T pick'em-up. I finally gott'em up to about $8000. friggin' Ins Co's. I found a 1994 3/4T with Cummins A/T and bought that. I would NOT buy a 4-wheel drive 'cuz you just gitt stuck deeper in the mud. The "only" problem I have is the A/C. The leaky "evaporator" is in the cab and you haffta remove the dashboard to gitt too-itt. $1000 job. I can have the entire system "re-charged? fer $50 and will take 2-wks to leak out. Wanna guess what I do??? It works on my banzai drives to N Mex and back. Seldom need A/C in pacific northwest ........cool Dell

36 Coupe · Sep 1, 2012

Around here they say Good engine in a poor truck.Not many Dodges here.Friend just bought a 2003 gas Dodge for 4000.It needs some minor body work but he ran a body shop for many year.Auto transmissions have a bad rep here.I notice that Ford and Dodge are putting the engine way back under the cowl,It will take a monkey to change spark plugs.My sons 06 Gmc lost the engine at 130,000 miles.My opinion, all new trucks are junk.Road salt destroys trucks here, very few old trucks on the road.I looked at used trucks last year but decided to fix up my 96.New spring hangers, shackles ,gas tanks, brake drums.Ill need new front tires this fall.Friends Dodge has 2 spark plugs per cylinder.Got a quote of 250 bucks for new plugs and wires.I put new plugs in a friends S10 Chevy Plugs cost 4.50 tax included.Garage wanted 50 bucks.Very easy access, blow out the plug wells with an air hose.Took 15 minutes to change the plugs.

ASEguy · Sep 1, 2012

They are nice trucks. We hardly ever saw any internal engine problems out of them. Tranny was the weak spot. DON'T tow anything really heavy in overdrive. Axles were bullet proof. Weak spots on them were the front u-joints on the front differential. Stupid idea anyway. They also had issues with the evaporator leaking, but with that many miles it should have been replaced. I'd buy one if I needed a diesel. Gerard

dcarp · Sep 1, 2012

Should be a good truck. Look on the Dodge Cummins forum for any info you need. Don't have the link in my I-phone but a search will lead you to it.
I think those engines had 1 minor easily fixed issue with a dowel pin. Can't exactly remember the details(senior memory).
The "average" Cummins engine will handle 400,000 miles with few problems if routine maintenance is performed.

olliekid · Sep 1, 2012

Yeah that sounds like quite a job...

olliekid · Sep 1, 2012

ok thanks for the good advice. I will have that done if I purchase the truck.

GordoSD · Sep 1, 2012

You should shop for the 12 valve Cummins. Last trucks built with it were assembled in Dec of 98. Then they shut the plant down and retooled for the 24 valve.
There are a few on ebay. Search for 1997 ram.
There was a creampuff 350 there a few days ago.

the tractor vet · Sep 1, 2012

Ah yea it does , where do you thing i live to have seen the same truck on Craigs list . I have seen it at 37 below a couple times That is how i know that my Farmall Super H will start at -30 but not -35 .

ejr-IA. · Sep 1, 2012

Make sure you don't get the block that gets a water leak .Their is a casting number or letter to watch for that gets the leak after some age and miles.

ss55 · Sep 1, 2012

A 3/4 ton 4WD diesel pickup is not a very practical school commuter car/grocery getter, especially if it's sitting far away in a barn. That may be your dad's concern rather than the particular model of truck. A $3000 4 door sedan with a good battery will meet your school needs much much better than a $9000 diesel truck ever will.

I'd re-think what your driving needs will really be for the next few years and then have another talk with your dad.

Good luck.

olliekid · Sep 1, 2012

You think its worth buying a truck 2-4 years older to get a 12 valve? It seems like finding a semi-stock or stock 12 valve is near impossible with an extended cab and bed.

olliekid · Sep 1, 2012

I don't commute to school. I stay at school so the truck would probably be parked during the winter, and used weekly during the school months.
Over summer we haul a lot of hay and so I need a 3/4 ton truck anyways. I also want to be able to haul for a couple local people and make some extra money. Not to mention I would like to be able to haul my 10,000ish pound tractor.

olliekid · Sep 1, 2012

vermont or up state new york? I search all the craigslist within an hour or two. I am always looking for deals on tractors and trucks.

olliekid · Sep 1, 2012

any idea what serial numbers to look for?

olliekid · Sep 1, 2012

thanks I checked the forum out. I spent more time drooling than anything else but it will def be a good resource.

willys53allis · Sep 1, 2012

checkout http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/98-5-02-powertrain/ You'll get all the info you can handle. I have a 99 dodge diesel and besides the loose steering i can't complain.

99 2500 Cummins Opinions

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