evaluating a 91 w350

[hillbilly]

Hi all, I was wondering if you could give a diesel beginer a few pointers on evaluating a used diesel truck. It's a 91 W350 w/ 5 speed manual.
How do you check compression on a diesel engine?,
What should I be looking for,
Is the 5 speed a good Xmission for heavy towing or is the automatic better?
Any tips you can give me would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

[Jerry o]

Evaluating 91 W350

I dont remember now where I read it but if the block has the number 53 cast on it you might do well to pass it up.That series block were prone to cracking amd leaking coolant.Do a google search. Cummins 5.9 53 block.
Jerry

[Ron in Indiana]

I had a 90 with the Getrag 5 speed in it. I bought it with 88K miles on it but the tranny wouldn't stay in second gear from the previous owners abuse. I replaced it with a factory remaned tranny and drove it to 190,000 before my son drove it for awhile. We sold it with over 210,000 on it and the next owner drove for I don't know how long but he said it ran fine. If it has any maintenance records available or if there was a particular shop it was serviced at that would be a good indicator of it's condition. If that's not possible see if it can be run through a Cummins shop or another reputable shop for a good inspection. You don't say how many miles are showing so as with any vehicle the usual areas to look are the clutch, brakes, tire wear, steering etc. As for the 53 reference I don't know anything about that. I can say I'm on my 3rd Cummins and my son is on his 2nd and we won't go with anything else.

[Jerry o]

I think the block problem was with the 98-2001 year models.
Jerry

[Gordon Maney]

I would like one of those trucks. I think the question of how to evaluate a diesel is a good one.

Much of what I know about evaluating a gas engine is hard to apply, largely due to the normal noise level of a diesel.

I hope we can have some more participants in this thread. Not only because of trucks, but also because I have had times when I considered buying a diesel tractor or crawler and was very unsure as to how to evaluate the engine.

Discuss....