2006 2500 Cummins Manual Fix it or Ditch it

[greydog27]

I love this truck and want to fix and mod it, but it's been sitting out in the elements for years and has quite a bit of rust. Needs a complete paint job, rocker panel replacements and some dent repair. Also, the undercarriage is pretty rusty. Eventually, I'd like to replace a lot of the components anyway, so that's not so bad. Chassis itself is rusty, but it looks like mostly just on the surface, no chunky flakes as far as I can tell. Also, there is a leak somewhere in the cab and the storage compartment under the rear seats gets water in it. I've had 3 or 4 different shops look at it over the years and they either told me they fixed it or there was no leak they could find. Long story short, there is now some minor rust on the seat frames in the cab as well. Superficial, but unsightly. Rear glass likely needs to be removed and re-bedded. Also, the engine block and pretty much everything inside the engine compartment are pretty rusty. Lastly, the engine was remanufactured in 2008 (not sure what for). So... the truck runs great, has only 88k miles, and is really fun to drive. I love it, but not sure it is worth dumping thousands (and then more thousands) of dollars into it. I would consider trading it in, but I haven't found anything similar with such low mileage and manual transmission (a must). So, anything about this model and/or this particular truck in its current condition that would make you say ditch it? Anything special about this model and configuration that would make you say it's a keeper?

 

[mtnrider]

I personally would not dump any money into that, you will Never recoup what it would cost you to clean all that up. Either dump it or drive it as is until it falls apart then part the engine out. There is nothing special about that truck (especially at this point), the low miles can't make up for it's condition.

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[Smokeybear01]

I'd only be giving it any consideration if it had dualies. And even then, I would have to think long and hard because you will never recoup your investment by the time you're done with it. But then, when you find a truck you really like common sense can be scarce haha. Go with your gut and your pocket book. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[aces-n-eights]

I don't know if there is anything "special" about the truck other than the manual trans - and I'd keep it just for that. If it were mine I would keep 'er going but on a shoestring. Get the cab watertight. Replace the suspension parts as necessary. Fluid Film or Krown the undercarriage to slow down the rust.

You live in the rust belt - rusty bodywork is normal, unfortunately. Either live with it or learn body repair or find someone that does it on the side.

Decent looking truck with a lot of life left! Let us know how it goes.