Hi - I am new to your forum (first post) and have little experience in truck diesels (I did drive several diesel cars in my youth - mostly (much) older MB's that were really underpowered but had great mileage and ran forever - was a real treat even if the top speed in my '62 140D was the same as the year ... I digress. My question is "how do I buy a good diesel in a truck? I am expecting to pull max about 10,000#s (wet) in a 27'-30' 5th wheel but would like to make this my daily driver as well. $ limits me to consider something around 2001 - 2002 and I assume that a 3/4ton will be enough to handle that load even in the mountains.

What do I look for in a good used diesel (or better, look to avoid in a bad one?) Any show stoppers?
How much does mileage matter?
Are there any 'best in class' motors in an 'older' truck range that I should be hunting for?
I have been told that 'blow by' is bad but is some normal anyway in a hot motor? (I was told that you took off the oil cap and looked for smoke - see any and its a bad thing.
I seem to be motor focused - I could shift or use an automatic - how much does it matter? Any recommendations there?

Thanks for any input you might have. I hope that this is the right forum. If this question has been asked I could not find it in a search - and I just read the entire 16 pages looking for ideas .... maybe this could be a good faq topic? or is the answer 'find a mechanic u trust"
thanks in advance
terrry

Hey Terrybull, I really can't help you as far as what to look for but I can tell you that I purchased my 03 2500HD in Feb. of this year for just over 20 grand. It had 90,000 miles on it. I've got 103,000 on it now. I've changed the oil and fuel filter once and getting ready to do it again. I pull a 10 to 12 thousand pound fifth wheel, depending on my liquid tank levels, with no problem. Good luck in your search. I love my truck.:grd:

Do the usual when used vehicle shopping, test drive, check w/ previuous owner... If you have a specific truck found request a VIN check from the dealer or there is a place on this forum to post the VIN and one of the nice people here will check it for you. In the mean time, there is lots of info hear to make you more knowledgeable about these trucks if you spend the time reading.

Welcome to the Place

Read, read, read! Ask as many questions as you want and we will try to help you all the way through your purchase(and after) Good luck and don't be shy about asking any question no matter how simple it may seem. Good luck, Jim.

I would stay away from trucks that came from constuction companies, snow plow operations, loggers etc etc. Look for a daily driver with lots of highway miles. I would not be too concerned with miles as long as its below 200k and looks to be in good shape. If it has a lot of after market crap on it, it probably was beat.

I have some friends that buy used diesels and after a couple of bad buys they now take a oil sample and have it tested. They say the tests are very complete and will tell you much more than you would ever want to know...

HI TERRYBULL & welcome to our site! Bought it on E-BAY! It shows the vin# & I went on this site & asked for a vin# check. The injectors had been replaced at 83K & i figured if the biggest problem with the "BABY" was fixed, it should be good to go. It had 103K when I bought it Now has 136K & no problem!! I would suggest you look at wwwgm.com under the GM certified used cars. This way you will probaly find a low mileage that someone turned in to get a new truck. There are trucks for sale on this site as well. Good luck!! Howard

Service records, vehicle kept clean, VIN search. As long as you don't buy a 6.0 Furd, you'll probably be ok...

Thanks so much to all of you for all of your advice. I think the VIN idea is a good one/a must and I would also consider the idea of an oil test though I am not sure I can decypher the results. In buying a gasser, I know that a compression test is a simple - in a diesel this would no doubt be even more informative, but it probably would be verfy expensive .... I will take you (all) up on the idea of input on a specific vehicle as I start this process -- anything else you can add to this thread is very welcome.

Current: 1994 Blazer LT TAHOE 4x4 100,000
Current: (but to be replaced)
1994 Suburban 350/350 with 485,000 (WOW - under 1 qt between changes)
1984 26' Citation Class C (460 Ford) 65,000
1992 Saturn sl/1 tow vehicle 125,000

If you can get maintenance records from the previous owner, it'll show whether or not he/she cared about their vehicle.

You won't regret going to a diesel...they've come a LONG WAY.

Good luck on your hunt.

thanks jed. I know that there's a lot of late model used diesels in your area for a fairly low (for Canada) price -- are the ones out of the oil patch easy to spot? (I assume that most of these will be 'rode hard and put away wet' so the box etc will be all banged up)