HI there. Long story short (you can read most of it here), I got ripped off buying a badly abused 95 350 PSD (~200K). I paid two thousand less than blue book, and have since had to do this:

Replace water seperator element
Replace fuel heater
Replace tranny (thankfully under warranty)
Replace starter
Replace glow plugs, relays, harnesses
Replace tie rod ends, center line, drag chain (?)
Tightened worm gear all the way and align steering wheel (truck has obviously been in some kind of serious wreck, it dogtracks and the cab and bed don't line up)
Set up for hauling gooseneck horse trailer (brake box, trailer ball, electrics)

SO, the day I finally feel brave enough to put the new tires on it, it starts running like doo-doo. I mean, not 20 miles down the road. And I had noticed that the radiator resevoir was empty, filled it, noticed it was empty and filled it again the week before, but temp gauge was always A-OK. So the shop calls me...water pump and the fuel injectors on two of the cylinders are misfiring. Another big chunk of change, I am now over three thousand dollars total repairs and that doesn't include the tranny or the towing equipment. And I still need another tran cooler, I think. When should I draw the line? Or should I have already? I bought the truck to get me from AL to WA with my horses, and we're leaving in two weeks.

 

Have you checked Carfax or some similar service to find out exactly what happened to that truck? Might be a good idea to find out for sure if it was in a wreck, and what happened. You might also find out what shop did the repairs, since it sounds like they didn't do the job they were supposed to in the first place.

Other than that, it sounds like that truck has been seriously neglected. My father had an 89 diesel that he bought in 92 with 120K. The previous owner pulled a gooseneck, but took very good care of the truck. He sold a year ago it with nearly 300K, and honestly didn't keep up with maintenance like he could have. However the engine always ran strong and never really had problems. He even wrecked it once, but never had anything close to the problems like you describe.

I would take it to a quality mechanic, and really look over it closely to check for problems that you currently have and for others that haven't surfaced yet. Compare the cost of fixing those to the value of the truck to you and the work you need it for. If it's too much, get rid of it and find something else. Right now it seems like you've already lost some money in the deal, and I'm not sure how much more you are willing to lose. The choice is yours. Take your mechanic's advice.

 

Pocket has some good advice. A professional inspection might help you make the decision as to whether or not you have a lemon.

 

It isn't a lemon...just neglected. And my mechanics have been doing a great job, I just hate that I have to fix all the problems someone else has created. No, I didn't Carfax it, but I wish I had and I probably will at some point. Right now, I am scrounging just to pay day-to-day because the truck comes first (because the horses come first).

Does anyone have any suggestions for anything else that tends to go bad on this model? So I have a heads-up?

Thanks again