Newbie here!

Buck Nasty

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The truck is blue cab red bed, and he drives it, but said he wouldn't be comfortable driving where i am, almost hour drive, I'm just here working and know nobody to fix it, I work on job site where I cannot work on truck, if it leaked they would flip, but I like older rigs, and at current time do not have 3g to burn, seen truck thought it make great right of way truck or old beater and looked up parts,,,it's cheap, sure is slow but I'm no speed demon, long as motor keeps tickin I except small repairs, but 1500$ then 1000 on ball joints, sounds steep just to drive, he said reverse lights do not work either, maybe simple as ground or bulb iIsuspect or maybe worse, maybe i go look anyways
 

Hydro-idi

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Just adding my .02 here.
If your looking for a very cheap and reliable vehicle, idi’s are definately the way to go. Having said that, if your not somewhat mechanically inclined and want a shop to do all of the maintenance work, these trucks will nickel and dime you to the point that you wished you just bought a newer truck to begin with.
These are 30+ year old trucks now. They will need lots of TLC just to keep them on the road.
My best advice to you is this. Take the time to learn how to do things that need replacing, or you will quickly spend more on labor charges than what the truck is worth. We got a good group of guys on standby, ready to help you out with your rig.
 

genscripter

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if your not somewhat mechanically inclined and want a shop to do all of the maintenance work, these trucks will nickel and dime you


This is the best advice. If you are coming into this under the impression that you'll just do the oil changes and headlights, but the major stuff will be sent to a local shop, you'll be disappointed with the cost. Most dealerships won't even touch these old engines (their teenage techs will be confused looking for the OBD port), and the few independent shops that will, will usually mess things up. If you are lucky, you'll have an old guy at one of the diesel shops that remembers these IDI's and he'll still charge you $100/hr to do things.

Best course of action: Buy the IDI with the expectation you'll be wrenching a lot, at least until the vehicle is mostly reliable.
 

Thewespaul

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Nothing wrong with loving old trucks. I would buy the best condition old truck you can afford after you have a reliable, boring, daily. The old truck becomes a project and one day the daily will get sold and you will enjoy driving your restored old truck every day, and enjoy it even more because you put all the hard work into getting it to that point. Just because you’re not mechanically inclined doesn’t mean you can’t own one of these trucks, they are simple to work on, and with the help of this community it will teach you a lot.

Just my .02
 

saburai

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Yeah if you're not at least a decent mechanic I would run away from buying a 30 year old diesel that may need lots of work...
Perhaps it wasn't clear, what I meant was that if he needed it for his only daily driver it wouldn't be a good choice. I'm all for loving old trucks and cars and all sorts of things and learning as you go. but if you need something to depend on and you're not a mechanic it wouldn't be my first choice...
 

genscripter

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Perhaps it wasn't clear, what I meant was that if he needed it for his only daily driver it wouldn't be a good choice. I'm all for loving old trucks and cars and all sorts of things and learning as you go. but if you need something to depend on and you're not a mechanic it wouldn't be my first choice...


Exactly. You make the boss unhappy if your transportation is consistently unreliable.

LOL. "consistently unreliable."
 
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Buck Nasty

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I do not tell real life issue on the world of website, but to be honest I had former job of making unreal money each week, then i came back to what i use to do and it pays more than many, but i made rookie mistake and bought to much stuff now i just gotta get out of some and want into something easier
 

chillman88

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I do not tell real life issue on the world of website, but to be honest I had former job of making unreal money each week, then i came back to what i use to do and it pays more than many, but i made rookie mistake and bought to much stuff now i just gotta get out of some and want into something easier

Nobody can blame you for either! It's good to keep personal life personal, the internet can be a dangerous place if you let too much out there.

There's no shame in realizing you need to "downsize". The shame comes in not realizing it until it's way too late!
 

Buck Nasty

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Thank you brothers, I just seen the truck and know it is cheaper to fix than my others, and i like the days of old better than the new age diesel, yes rated for 30k pounds and pull like dream,,,but costs of a house!! Where I can buy old reliable easy maintenance, cheaper parts and best of all back when trucks was USA
 

Gr8ful

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If it truly is just a simple bearing job, I'd just order a set of rockauto bearings, bring some synthetic grease, and just do the bearing job on site. It's not that hard. And to save $1000, it would be worth it. It's been so long since I did the bearings on my E350, that I can't recall all the steps, but it sounds pretty much like what @chillman88 described. From what I can recall.





Exactly. Until you really get in there and repair, replace, and maintain this truck, it will be a while before it will be moderately "reliable." It will take some time and money to get this in a state that you'll be confident to make it a daily driver.

If I were you, I'd buy the Premium AAA membership immediately. It takes 90 days for your "premium" plan to kick in, but once it does, you can get one 200-mile tow and several 100-mile tows per year for free. It might be a life saver. The cost is just under $100/year, but consider the cost of one long tow and you are saving money with the first tow.

If you're an AARP member which my wife is or a AMAC member which I'm joining you get the plan discounted & It's a real deal if it were $200.
 
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