mark farkward
Newbie
Hi, hope to get some input on several problems i now face after buying a 1998 1500k. Bought said truck as a means to move from California to Washington. I could not afford to rent a truck, and thought a $700 investment might be the solution I needed. Told the truck was in fine shape and that it would get me to Washington no problem, it started right up and idled well for 20 minutes. The truck was equipped with the V6 engine which I knew was a fairly good power plant and at 168K should have some miles left. (Oil pressure sat at about 45 at idle) Took a short ride around the yard, (auto dismantler) and got the price from 1,000 down to $700. Behind the wheel the first thing I noticed was that the speedometer appeared to be quite a bit off. Checking my speed through Google directions I found that 82 mph on the speedometer was the equivalent to 65 actual miles per hour. My assumption was that the transmission had been swapped out, and the speedometer gear had not been matched for color. About then it started to rain, and I completed the 80 mile trip home without wipers. Fix the bad solder joint the wiper plug in. The hole in the gas tank that had been patched with something like a soft RTV I managed to repair with JB water weld. There's a rubber hose that seems to be a breather for the differential that I found dragging under the truck. Found a high pressure pipe fitting that looks to be a fuel line connected to nothing, that had been tucked under a rubber mud guard on the inside of the fender well in the engine compartment. (Maybe what remains of the transmission cooler plumbing IDK?)
If you're still with me at this point here's the problem I really need to be advised on. The truck apparently spent most of its life somewhere back east where the roads have been salted heavily. Other than a tiny bit of rot at the back edge of the cab there was nothing apparent on the exterior. But climbing underneath it and taking a good look I was amazed at how rusted out the frame was. I hope to post pictures along with this thread to show you what I'm talking about. One spot up front underneath the passenger side right before the frame makes a turn up to meet the front suspension where the C rail has rested completely through. Even more disturbing, is on the driver side the outer support for the leaf springs on the rear is totally rested away. I thought it's only being held on the inside where the bolt goes through the frame itself. After crawling under and looking from that side I found that that bolt and the material around it had rusted all the way around and was not attached to the frame anymore. I don't understand exactly why the rear of this driver side leaf spring has not broken free and collapsed against the underside of the bed. All I can figure is that the lateral rigidity of the leaf spring assembly itself is keeping it in place?
Forgot to mention the fuel pump has been replaced via an ugly job of cutting a hole in the bed to avoid having to drop the tank. I've seen this done before but this was a real butcher job. The cutout bit of metal being held in place with two small rivets.
I would appreciate any thoughts you might have, other than the obvious buyer beware. Thank you.
If you're still with me at this point here's the problem I really need to be advised on. The truck apparently spent most of its life somewhere back east where the roads have been salted heavily. Other than a tiny bit of rot at the back edge of the cab there was nothing apparent on the exterior. But climbing underneath it and taking a good look I was amazed at how rusted out the frame was. I hope to post pictures along with this thread to show you what I'm talking about. One spot up front underneath the passenger side right before the frame makes a turn up to meet the front suspension where the C rail has rested completely through. Even more disturbing, is on the driver side the outer support for the leaf springs on the rear is totally rested away. I thought it's only being held on the inside where the bolt goes through the frame itself. After crawling under and looking from that side I found that that bolt and the material around it had rusted all the way around and was not attached to the frame anymore. I don't understand exactly why the rear of this driver side leaf spring has not broken free and collapsed against the underside of the bed. All I can figure is that the lateral rigidity of the leaf spring assembly itself is keeping it in place?
Forgot to mention the fuel pump has been replaced via an ugly job of cutting a hole in the bed to avoid having to drop the tank. I've seen this done before but this was a real butcher job. The cutout bit of metal being held in place with two small rivets.
I would appreciate any thoughts you might have, other than the obvious buyer beware. Thank you.
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