[Wid LT1000]

Well, I finally got a truck!

1994 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4. 8.0 liter V10. 5 speed manual, 8' bed.

It has 136K miles on it. Clutch replaced appx 30k ago. New ball joints, front brake lines, all new universal joints and front steering knuckles.

Some kind of crazy lift kit and front "Skyjacker" suspension mods. I have no clue what I'm looking at when it comes to this stuff.

Lots of door and body rust, peeling paint, etc. And noticed a pretty decent valve cover leak as well.

Very basic truck - vinyl interior, manual windows, etc - JUST how I wanted it.

Drove it home 50 miles last night and loved it.

 

[oldtimer]

It looks like the kind of truck that'll be a workhorse. Good find.

 

[zionview]

:ditto: We use the F-150 more as a tractor-it rarely goes anywhere without a trailer hooked to it.

 

[Wid LT1000]

Yeah, I plan to clean it up a bit, and maybe do some damage control on the body cancer.

But after that, I'll likely only focus on the mechanical aspects to make sure she lasts for years to come.

 

[zionview]

You were probably wise to get the manual tranny. We got the 4-speed auto. It has a button to keep it out of overdrive when pulling a trailer, but we still let the engine run for 5 minutes or so after a hard pull to let the tranny cool off.

 

[Wid LT1000]

PROGRESS UPDATE:

-Replaced the valve covers. (had to take intake manifold off to access!)
-Removed/cleaned/reinstalled intake mainifold & throttle body.
-Noticed a clean K&N filter already installed.
-New spark plugs (all 10 of them!)
-Rear main seal leaking - and it's 1-piece. not in the mood (or talented enough) to drop the trans, so sealed it up as best as I could with Permatex black RTV.
-Tranny has provisions for a PTO connection?! For what?
-Horn was busted, so installed a new air horn.
-added fire extinguisher, and a plethora of tie-downs and ratchet straps in the cab.

Need to play with the vaccuum system - I still have an open line and I cant find the connection. And I was so excited to get 'er running that I accidently didn't connect the vaccuum line to the power brake booster when
I reinstalled everything... that was interesting!

Overall I'm really happy with it. About 300 miles so far. A pain to work on, since I have to go up a ladder and crawl into the engine compartment, but it makes for some funny looks from the neighbors!

 

[D-Dogg]

Sounds like you're going to town on her. Nice find!

 

[lt230s]

Good truck you got there. I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

The PTo on the tranny might be for running hydraulic pump for dump body, etc.
My dad had one on his old Chevy and that's what he did. Add a pump, piston & frame to make the bed a dump body.

 

[merlin5577]

Nice looking truck, should serve you well. Is it me, or do those tires look really small on that truck for some reason?

 

[tinkertoys]

Nice looking truck, should serve you well. Is it me, or do those tires look really small on that truck for some reason?

He stated in the first post that it had a lift kit, so I would guess someone has rermoved some BIG tires and wheels.

 

[Wid LT1000]

He stated in the first post that it had a lift kit, so I would guess someone has rermoved some BIG tires and wheels.

Yep, that's what I figure. By the looks of the lift kit and embedded undercarriage mud, this truck saw it's share of off-road use.

The tires look to be brand new, so I'm not sweating the appearance.

 

[mbkerk]

-Tranny has provisions for a PTO connection?! For what?

That's probably a NV 4500 transmission. The transmission has been around for years, and it is a work horse. It has one weak spot, and that is the 5th gear nut issue. I think it is more prevalent in the diesel equipped trucks.

The transmission is used in some medium duty applications where a PTO may be more desirable for running (in most cases) a hydraulic pump for some application like a arial lift bucket, dump box, wrecker bodies, etc. There are also PTO powered winches.

I know of 3 pickups that friends of mine have, that have pumps installed on the PTO's for running hydraulics on trailers to move the tilt bed, and in one case runs a winch on the trailer. One guy is a farmer and has pioneer ends in the back of his box connected to the pump, and he moves farm equipment around between farms with his pickup.

 

[Wid LT1000]

Mark,

Thanks for the info, that's interesting. The tranny is indeed a NV 4500HD unit. From what I'm reading everywhere, the drivetrain for the V10 is the same as what they used in the diesel. The drive shaft is huge!

Hmmm... I've been thinking of welding up some sort of square tubing to mount a simple winch at the top of the bed (to get tractors etc up there!) - doing something off the PTO would be interesting, but probably cost more than the truck itself!