contemplating buying a 1996 3500 cummins dually

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ollie

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Feb 18, 2014
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Location
san francisco
Ram Year
1996
Engine
cummins diesel
Hello all

I just joined the forum as I'm going to see a promising looking 1996 3500 cummins dually tomorrow afternoon.

Would be really grateful for anything to look out for that might be showstoppers. It's got about 116000 miles on it which is what I was attracted by, owned by a very old guy for last 8 years, clean body, he says he never towed with it (it has tow package).

I need it to tow my various old cars and trucks around on trailers - thinking 3500 should be overkill for that but it's hilly in northern California so thinking get more truck than i need.

My heaviest vehicles are a 57 IH Metro and a 52 Divco milk truck that will need towing

It's diesel cummins, what are the weak links I should look out for?

Thanks for any insights!!
 

ATCMURPH

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1997
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5.9 mag
check and see if it has the dowl pin fix. other than that the engines are obviously very solid. Is it manual? The NV4500 is an awesome trans.
 
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CKH

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Marietta, GA
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2005
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5.9 Cummins
Even if it doesn't have the dowel pin fix, that job isn't one that breaks the bank. With only 116k miles on it, that Cummins is hardly broken in yet. A big plus to the older Cummins is they get great fuel mileage for a truck. My father gets up to 21mpg towing a 27' fifth wheel in his 1997 2500.

One minor issue I can think of, look for rust in the inside of the fenders, the oem batteries vented a lot and would cause a lot of corrosion around and underneath the battery trays.
 
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ollie

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san francisco
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1996
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cummins diesel
did you get it?

i got it!

Thanks for the tips all....no kdp fix done on it so will have to do that but new tires, was painted 9 years ago and looks good, well maintained by the ex cummins truck driver I bought it from. Automatic, shifts fine

I'll be changing all the fluids and filters and giving it a good check over this weekend...
 

B-g-K

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Upstate NY
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2014
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Ecodiesel
Nice catch man, those 12v's are beastly.


Yea and 116k is practically break in on them. Can't tell you the number of people who call me wanting to throw a 12valve in their new pickup lol. Then I have to explain EPA restrictions and that the 5.9 is no longer produced new lol.
 
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ollie

Junior Member
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Feb 18, 2014
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san francisco
Ram Year
1996
Engine
cummins diesel
Can any of you point me to links/recommendations on upgrades/recommended best practice etc? Just trawling around online. This is my first diesel truck so got my learning cap on!

Cheers and good weekend!
 

Bigtman07

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Piqua, Ohio
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2000
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Cummins 5.9
Welcome Fellow Diesel convert! Not sure about the KDP fix since I have a 24v. But keep your fluid up to date. I run AMSOIL and enjoy it. its pricey but worth it IMHO. The ol' P pump is great. Trans is always a weak link. Save the money and build a descent one. There are all kinds of mods and what not you can do to the 12v. But keeping it somewhat stock will keep it around a long time.
 
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