My Old Truck

[Michigan Mike]

I've got one of them delimas going and would appreciate some advice. My old truck is starting to need repairs now and then and I'm wondering if I should fix it or sell it.

Here's a short version (I hope) of the story. It's a 1992 Dodge Dakota ... 104,000 miles ... I'm the second geezer to own it. It has always been serviced regularly. It has pretty much all new breaks ... good tires ... doesn't burn oil ... looks good and Blue Books for about $2,000. Starts and runs great ... usually. But now it needs an in-tank fuel pump to the tune of about $400 ... a new serpentine belt and tensioner for about $300 ... and I'm thinking of putting on a new starter just so I don't get stuck on the side of the road in the future.

I guess what I'm asking is does it seem like a good idea to put $1,000 into a truck that books for $2,000? I need the truck, it has a good history and it is dandy little vehicle but maybe it's time to move on. ??? All opinions and words of wisdom appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Sidecar]

Cheaper than paying for another one is the way I look at it.


Sidecar

 

[Mac]

I am not a fan of car payments...If you like the truck, seems like the history is good, Keep it. Look at it as 3 new truck payments, which pales in comparison to 60. All my cars have their maintenance issues, they go in cycles, a whole bunch of stuff will go wrong in a row, then I'm good for 2 years or so. I also tend to replace things before they go bad, I have 2 Subarus, when I do a timing belt @ 60,000mi, I change water pump and front oil seal too, hey, it's right there, might as well.
It's all personal preference.
Mac

 

[corgi1]

if its payed for and you devide the cost by months of no repair ,,is it cheaper than car payments?,,,,,,,,,The only thing that would scare me is if it had one of those sliding venturi carb's ...104.000 is middle mileage

 

[leftywoody]

When the truck is no longer safe to drive . That is when I seriously go looking for another vehicle . For example cabmounts rotting or frame fractures . If you got into a collision would the weak spots hold up . The repairs you are talking about I did to my 96 chevy truck and now have 165000 on it . And I just keep my eyes open for a replacement with no pressure to be in a hurry .

 

[Michigan Mike]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate your experience and good thinking here. I guess I'm still sort of "old school" when it comes to vehicles. 100,000 miles used be considered A LOT OF MILES on an engine ... doesn't seem to worry anyone today. I'm glad ... I really like my old truck and would like to keep her around a while longer.

Here's a "baby picture" from 2004. Still looks much the same today (from a distance!) but imagine faded paint and some rust in the usual places. Unfortunately the paint is that type of metalic grey that peels from being in the sun ... so there's some big time paint peeling on the hood and the roof.

Thanks again for the input everyone .....

 

[shearbf]

Sounds like it's a keeper but your prices quoted for the work seem outrages to me. Shop around! Never do anything at a dealership when your paying for it yourself.
Both Chrysler & GM were fooling around with aquious (water based) paints in the early
'90s and had quite a lot of that peeling & sluffing off, some while still on warenty. This was to avoid buying air pollution equiptment for their paint shops. Ford bought the equiptment & kept useing real paint. But lots of things can happen in anybodys paintshop to cause peeling down the road.
I'm an old Detroit area boy.

 

[Kevlarr]

I'd do all that if I were doing the work myself. The belt and tensioner is a easy fix but are you sure it needs a tensioner because either they're good or bad, no in between. The fuel pump is a little more trouble but still entirely doable.

I've done all this and more on my 93 GMC 1500 in the driveway with just hand tools.

BTW, a few years back I parted out a toyota pickup because the frame had rusted beyond further repair. It had 80,000 on it and I sold the engine for more then I'd paid for the truck three years earlier. According to everyone I'd talked to the engine hadn't even been broke in.

 

[Michigan Mike]

Sounds like it's a keeper but your prices quoted for the work seem outrages to me. Shop around! ...

Thanks Shear ... will be keeping that in mind.

 

[Michigan Mike]

I'd do all that if I were doing the work myself. The belt and tensioner is a easy fix but are you sure it needs a tensioner because either they're good or bad, no in between. The fuel pump is a little more trouble but still entirely doable.

I've done all this and more on my 93 GMC 1500 in the driveway with just hand tools.

BTW, a few years back I parted out a toyota pickup because the frame had rusted beyond further repair. It had 80,000 on it and I sold the engine for more then I'd paid for the truck three years earlier. According to everyone I'd talked to the engine hadn't even been broke in.

Kevlarr,

Glad to know these aren't really all that big of a job. There was a time I very may well have tackled this myself but now age, some health issues and a good dose of laziness have pretty much ended most of my shadetree mechanicing.

The local mechanic told me the tensioner was bad about 2 or 3 years ago. He pulled it back and it didn't want to spring back against the belt ... had to be pushed back in place ... but stayed there nicely and hasn't moved. Been driving it hoping it might "heal" all this time. I think he said the cost of the tensioner then was about $175.

The serpentine belt is smooth and shiny with visible hairline cracks but I didn't think it was all that bad. But then a buddy looked at it and said his was in similar condition just before it broke.? I think the belt runs about $75.

I priced the fuel pump at a local parts store and they want about $185 plus tax. I haven't got an exact quote from the machanic yet on the labor to install it but another buddy had one installed on his Dodge and the whole bill for parts and labor was in the $400 range ... so I'm guessing mine might be similar.

I haven't priced the exact starter my truck would use but I've heard starters are getting up there in price too (no surprise) ... some running about $125.

Sooooo ... I'm hoping to wangle some kind of discount if I get everything done at once ... should hear from the shop tomorrow. Hope I don't need smelling saltz after the phone call!

 

[Bikeguy Joe]

I always call three places for ANY parts. Autozone, Napa and the 'local guy" Charlies Auto Parts.

For instance Belt for 96 ford ranger- 59 bucks at A Z, but 19.99 at Napa.
Front brake rotors for a 97 Cavalier- 50 bucks at A Z, but 23 at Charlies.
Front caliper for a ford focus, 39 at A Z, but at Charlies and Napa, it was nearly double.

Call around, buy the parts yourself, then find a shop to do the work if you don't/can't tackle it yourself.

 

[corgi1]

The tentioner should be just a bolt on unit,and the spring is built into it so you don't have to mount the spring,and the surpentine belt would just slip on ,even if you had to buy one of those 10 dollar wrenches,,,,,Where are all the neighbor kids that used to come over and hand me the wrenches and ask a million questions ,like homeless orphans

 

[2door]

Ahhh, Mike, the age old question looms again. Sell it or keep it? I had a 92 Ford Ranger with 175K when the transfer case locked up and the estimate for repairs was $2500. That's when I bought my current ride, an 01 Ranger. It now has 142K and still going strong. It broke a valve spring about a year ago, $1000.00 to repair and I thought maybe it was time to start shopping but it hasn't given me a moments problem since. Being semi-retired and short of cash, payments look very unattractive. I've almost talked myself into just keeping this old Ford and driving it into the ground. It might outlast me, who knows.
Tom

 

[Michigan Mike]

...Being semi-retired and short of cash, payments look very unattractive. I've almost talked myself into just keeping this old Ford and driving it into the ground. It might outlast me, who knows.
Tom

Thanks Tom. Always good to hear from somebody in the same boat. I'm leaning in the same direction. I'm happy with my old truck and if the mechanic doesn't come up with an outlandish estimate tomorrow I'll probably give him the go-ahead. It's been a real comfort to hear from everyone how their vehicles are still going strong after many miles. Plus I think I'm allergic to monthly car payments.
Hope we both keep on truckin' for a long time!
Mike

 

[Kevlarr]

Thing is though most of our vehicles succumb to cancer not old age Mike.

Back in 85 my dad helped me build my first small block 350, it started life in a 71 jeep then moved to a 75 Nova then moved to a 78 Malibu wagon, it finally ended up in an 84 Cutlass that I finally sold in 00 and it was still running strong. In all that time it'd only had a top end rebuild after about 200k miles in 97.

 

[Michigan Mike]

Thing is though most of our vehicles succumb to cancer not old age Mike.

Back in 85 my dad helped me build my first small block 350, it started life in a 71 jeep then moved to a 75 Nova then moved to a 78 Malibu wagon, it finally ended up in an 84 Cutlass that I finally sold in 00 and it was still running strong. In all that time it'd only had a top end rebuild after about 200k miles in 97.

A 78 Malibu wagon ... now that sounds like a car with character! My last brand new car was a 77 Malibu with a 305. It cost $3,999.00 + tax and dealer prep. I drove it 80,000 miles without a problem and then had to put in a new cam shaft ... which I did in my garage with my Dad's help. After that it was goin strong again. Later on I sold it to a friend who drove it until the body got so bad it wasn't safe. He sold it to another guy who junked the body and put the motor in a stock car racer. Hard to beat a small eight cylinder engine ... but then I remember a great old straight six cylinder Chevy pickup we had too ... now I'm gettin misty.
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PS: Kevlar, if you can post a pic of that 78 Malibu wagon I'd love to see it.

 

[Kevlarr]

I found both the Nova and Malibu. The Malibu was the ultimate sleeper. I still remember the look on the guy's face when I blew the doors off his new IROC after my (pregnant with our 1st child) wife said "Take him".

 

[Michigan Mike]

Kevlar,
Them's two (too) cool cars ... wouldn't it be nice to have had one of each stored in moth balls until now?!

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About my old truck ... for anyone interested, here's an update ...
Just talked to the machanic and he said he can't get it to act up. It's been running good for him all day. He's gonna keep trying to find out what's wrong and call me back.

Previously it had failed to start for me 3 or 4 times. I'd take off the air filter, give it a good shot of either and it would start (sometimes 2 or 3 shots of either). I had the fuel filter replaced and added some dry gas. But last Saturday it quit while it was running and either wouldn't get it started. So I figured it was the fuel pump. The machanic says if he can get the truck to quit running he can check the fuel pressure ... but it keeps running good. He's also considering an electrical problem (coil maybe).

I don't know if this is good or bad news. I'm mulling it over.

 

[corgi1]

re plug the dist and computer connections w new connecter sealing grease or what ever its called

 

[Kevlarr]

Kevlar,
Them's two (too) cool cars ... wouldn't it be nice to have had one of each stored in moth balls until now?!

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Well the plan is (my plan that is) once my youngest is out of the house (6 more years hopefully) I'm going to start looking for a 75 Nova (believe it or not a 74 and 76 look the same but they're different) and fix it up exactly like the one in the picture. Scary thing is I think I had about 2k total invested in that car when I was 20 and I hate to think what it'll cost to duplicate it. lol

I 2nd the electrical being the gremlin.