Buying a truck, 1995, some questions

[chris88]

Well to start off with I'm 16 so ive been looking for trucks and this one just kind of fell on me. Im a ford guy but i cant pass up on this deal. A friend of mine just got a 1995 dodge diesel auto regular cab 8 foot bed for somewhere under 1000 bucks. Its got a blown turbo but other then that the truck isnt in too bad of shape. The bodys not too good as far dings and stuff but for a first truck its not too bad. Im buying it off of him for 800 bucks. What will a turbo cost me to buy? Im figuring somewhere around 1000 bucks for a stock replacement. How much more would a better turbo go for then the oem? Also im kind of leary of the automatic. How do these trans hold up stock? If the trans blows im swapping in an NV but how would the auto hold up to a little more then stock power? I dont want a hot rod but if im putting a turbo on it anyway i might as well buy a better one if its not that much more.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Pipeliner_86]

Buy the truck! At that price you can't go wrong. You can probably find a turbo on evil bay for $650 or less. Just make sure it the same as the one on your truck. I think it's an hx53? I don't think going with a bigger turbo will do you any good. Because you have an auto your limited to the amount of hp increase. Anything more than 40 or 50 hp will cost you a new trans. If the convertor hasn't already been replaced, it's probably junk. And for the cost of a new triple-lock convertor, you might as well put a NV4500 hand shaker in place of the automatic. Then you can turn up the power!
Good luck.

 

[holtzer1]

the lower end of the engine alone is worth the price your paying for the entire truck. just go with an oem turbo...unless you plan on a manual trans swap

 

[chris88]

I'd like to swap in an NV eventually. Whats required in this swap? Do the shafts have to changed or are the 2 trans close enough in lenth to keep the same shafts? Can i keep the same transfer case? What about cross members and such? Id search it but im in a bit of a rush. I'll check it out later if no one responds.

Thanks
Chris

 

[Pipeliner_86]

Sorry man, but you better start looking for driveshafts, if the trucks a 4x4. The tranny's are different lengths. A 2-wheel drive would be easy swap, 4-wheel has alot more involved.

 

[rubberfish]

You can get a turbo for a lot less
than a grand. And it's an hx35.
If 300hp is your goal a stock one is
fine. An nv swap, like mentioned, will
be a ton of work and money. If you already
had another donor truck, that'd help out a lot.
As for what will the auto put up with?
Not lots, and since you have no history on
the truck, your guess will be as good as mine
or anybody else's. They're supposed to handle
an additional 60hp without troubles.

 

[holtzer1]

you can use the same t-case, youll just need new shafts, pedals, flywheel,...you know the drill.

 

[ndurbin]

You'd have about as much in a manual swap as you would in beefing up the auto by the times it's all said and done. Course that kinda depends on how many miles and health of the tranny is in.

 

[holtzer1]

doing the work yourself is big money saved. its not that hard to do a manual swap. all the punchouts for everything are on the firewall already....its just time consuming.

 

[58_Dodge]

Hey Chris, If I were you I'd fix that truck up and then turn it around and sell it. If you clean the truck up nice you could probally triple what you put into it. You know what CTD Dodges are going for now, its rediculous. Maybe you can turn it around and pick up a newer truck.

Either way, thats a sweet deal dude, good find