buying advice...

it's a 2nd gen, but I will take everyone's opinion, please.

a local jeep club member has offered to trade me his 01 1500 4x4, 147k miles, 318 auto, 4 door club cab, manual windows, vinyl floor, 5" rough country lift, 205/75-16 bfg ats on micky classics. super clean
I have a 99 jeep wrangler 4" lift, 33x12.50, 4 cyl, 154k miles
I'm looking to get something bigger and of course get cargo and pulling power back. I'm not into the jeep thing and I want a truck again. they are both the same value on paper. maybe a tad worse gas mileage, but I was getting close to 12 mpg.
i'm concerned about some things.

1) 4wd light - 4wd still engages normally, sounds great. no known problems

2) needs an alignment. he put the lift on and hasn't gotten it aligned yet. I can tell the toe is wide, it wonders a bit and the steering wheel is tighter to the left then the right (needs to be corrected) - by this I mean it seams the wheel wasn't centered when installing the draglink and now it doesn't turn all the way to the right

3) the a/c is known to be leaking, it will last about 2 wks and needs recharging. I know this isn't a big deal to track down, but I also know it could become exspensive problem if its something major.

okay, thoughts on these concerns...

No worries. I moved it for you.

lol, sorry for the confusion.

Any tranny issues, has it been replaced? Also the 4wd light may just be a plug from the install of the lift or maybe corroded.

the trans has not had issue nor has it been replaced.

I found this somewhere in the wild web...
Since the use of 4WD requires vacuum, a leak, or destruction of the lines can render the 4WD inoperative. However, the lines are fairly well protected, and failures are rare. The vacuum switch is a known weak point. The switch is a little tower on the transfer case with four lines coming from it. The switch is activated by the transfer case when a lever inside the case presses a plunger at the base of the switch. Then, a spring in the switch extends the plunger when the lever is retracted. The problem is that the plunger is rounded to ease the lever's action. This rounded part can be easily jammed inside the switch by the standard gunk in the transfer case. When this happens, the interlock and the 4WD light will not disengage. It is an easy fix by just un screwing the switch and cleaning it, but when it happens, you can feel the extra drag of the front driveshaft and associated parts.

I would do it ..

And welcome to the forum Bob

my dad has owned an older year 2nd gen for a long time, he has had many problems. his is 2wd. his trans has needed work, but he also towed a camper quite a bit. and a new cat. oil pump failure.
both trucks have had the waterpump replaced, and leaking a/c. stop leak has seamed to fix his. If I trade, which I'd like to, I'm going to try to find the leak first.

ramhunter9 said:

I would do it ..

And welcome to the forum Bob

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thats a beast you got there. 12v?
I'd love to have a cummins.

rambob said:

thats a beast you got there. 12v?
I'd love to have a cummins.

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The one and only 24v CTD

ramhunter9 said:

The one and only 24v CTD

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right on, 2001 i see. awesome engine either way.

I was so close to buying a 97 2500 12v about 8-9 years ago (edit: must have been older than 97). it had 300k miles, which isn't much but the trans was slipping so bad that I had to pass. same day I saw a 1500 lifted and whatnot. offered up the cash I had in my pocket, but it wasn't enough. still been wanting one ever since.

i'm just hesistant b/c I spent a good amount of money making the jeep reliable over the past year. and if I have to put money we dont have to spare into the dodge, my wife will kill me for trading. but I trust the guy has been straight up with me.
$100 for alignment isn't gonna be bad.

should I get a steering stab since RC lift has to delete it?

I know I can fit 35s, but I'm not sure I want all that tire without a gear change.
any thoughts?

Is the steering just sloppy, there is a DIY in the 2nd gen section you might take a look at.

wermbang said:

Is the steering just sloppy, there is a DIY in the 2nd gen section you might take a look at.

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it doesn't seem to be. I'm pretty familar with solid axle and a 4 link setup (jeep), so i think it is just out of wack from the lift install. no death wobble. the control arms are new, the lift came with a trackbar braket and drop pitman arm to align the trackbar. everything is solid. if the tre's are bad, I know they aren't much to replace.

thanks for the advice. I'm sure to be in the tech section.

Do you know what gears are in it now? I've got a leveled '97 4wd with 35's and 3.92 gears and don't have a problem turning them over. Granted, I could tell a good bit of difference between them and the 275's that were replaced


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txbass06 said:

Do you know what gears are in it now? I've got a leveled '97 4wd with 35's and 3.92 gears and don't have a problem turning them over. Granted, I could tell a good bit of difference between them and the 275's that were replaced


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I don't. I kind of assumed I wouldn't get lucky and have 3.92. my dad has 3.07 or something. was there any rhyme or reason to figure out what the factory would have done? what models came with some kind of lsd?

Mine came with the LSD. It's more common with the 3.92's that with the 3.55's. IIRC, those were the only two gear sets available from the factory. Next time you look at the truck, pop the hood and see if there's an ID sticker on the bottom side of it. It'll have the gear ratio and LSD, or lack thereof, listed on it

It'll look like this


If it doesn't, you should be able to take the vin to the nearest dealership and have them look it up or print you a build sheet off for it


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thanks for the info.

I also thought of something else...
stacked lift blocks!

where is a good place to order add-a-leaf kit?

when I had my z71, I bought a set off ebay. it was a good quality kit.

I saw a skyjacker set for a good price. what would be better?
2" aal and 3-4" lift block, or 4" aal and small lift block??
will the 4" aal be alot stiffer ride unloaded?

i would check to see if the plenum gasket is blown. big problem on these.

bump for more advice.
I'm still undecided. mostly because I don't know if its an even trade.
I feel like my jeep is in better shape, but maybe not as high "street" value.
I looked around at rams for sale, and what I think I can sell me jeep for realistically, there are no nice rams in that price range. plus I feel the guy is being honest about the problems. I just don't want to deal with problems right now.
a few buddies saw go for it, my wife seems against it. but she knows I change my mind about vehicles alot. I get a different one about once a year. lol

hey! one and only 24v cummins