Any thoughts on a 2002 2500hd, 8.1, Allison?

[udy2554]

I'm looking at a 2002 2500HD with the 8.1l and Allison tranny. It has 52,000mi. on it. There is a 3" Cognito lift and steering saver in the front and a 2" block in the back. It has 285/75's on it, but 2 need replacing soon.

The only problems are a cracked exhaust manifold, and a squealing belt issue. The belt issue goes away with a new belt, but starts squealing after a couple hundred miles again. The guess was tensioner, but someone (mechanic) said it is fine. The bearings on the alt., water pump, etc. "feel" fine. Cracked manifold will be replace with shorty headers at some point. Untill then, I was hoping JB Weld might take care of it through the winter instead of replacing it.

I can buy it with or without a 7'6" quick mount Western plow.

I'm told 10-12mpg, being gentle, and about 8mpg while towing his camper.

Asking price is $12,000 without the plow, $13,500 with it.

Any thoughts on the repairs? Anyone know of any common probs to look out for? How about drivability?

Thanks for any insight and knowledge!!

 

[sweetk30]

plow trucks are heavy rust monstors on the under side. if i ever had to pick a truck from 2 i would go non plow truck.

but its up to you on what you need.

and jbweld will not fix that stuff . you sure cracked manifold and not the more comon broken manifold to head bolts.

 

[udy2554]

The truck is my little brother's. The first question I asked was the broken bolt issue. My '89 Ford with the 460 did that. Brian is sure it's cracked. I diddn't know there was such a thing as cast SS exhaust manifolds. He is also anal about vehicle upkeep. Minimal to no rust even on the undercarriage. He doesn't drive it much, and is upgrading to a 3/4 ton Avalanch for the back seat for his kid.

BTW, thanks for chiming in, I was hoping to hear from you on this. What does the replacement manifold cost. Is it something I can do, or should it be hired out. Anything you can do on a Sat. maybe? Or...should I start pricing shorty headers now?

 

[sweetk30]

me my self on daily driver and work use go factory cast manifold. new shouldnt be bad.

and as to swap out get new bolts for all parts of it and the 3 studs and nuts with gaskets for it.

should be no real problems. and no do at work after hr's but i can do it for ya on the clock if you want me to do it.


and a lot of guys love that 8.1 for raw tourqe power and allision to boot is a bonus in my book.

 

[udy2554]

On the clock is what I meant, you do have Sat hrs? Is it a one day job? About how much?

 

[rob h]

I dont know how big of a difference it is but i changed my manifolds to shorty headers on my 03 hd with a 6.0. It was fairly simple and took like maybe 2 hours to do...although they were 285.oo for edelbrock titec coating....the replacement manifold maybe cheaper tho..

 

[sweetk30]

ya 1-2 hr's prob. will check for ya. you get parts?

 

[udy2554]

Thanks to all! Yes Brett, I'm looking at prices. Any recommendations?

 

[sweetk30]

if you want headers name brand only.

edelbrock/jba/gibson stuff like that.

 

[udy2554]

Looks like a $500 deal no matter what. Still looking into the truck first. Any unforseens besides gaskets, donuts, etc.? New studs...or bolts?

 

[rydawg]

I have the exact same truck (minus the lift). Mine has 125,000 miles.

The 8.1's from '01 and '02 sometimes have crank position sensor issues. This is an easy DIY fix and the part is about $50. They have a newer design after '02 which is one piece, the early ones fouled from oil entering through a 2-piece design. Signs of that going out are stalling (while driving regular road or freeway speeds), then starting back up again after a couple seconds.

Another issue these year trucks have is the pump rub problem on the transfer case, NV 263xhd. Virtually all of these trucks have this problem come up, but there are preventative fixes for it. It happened to mine at about 70,000 miles. Expensive fix because you have to replace the back half of the T-case. A pinhole develops from the pump vibrating inside the case. All kinds of write-ups on this at dieselplace.com. Do a search on "pump rub". Fluid will be spraying all over the underside of the truck when this happens. If it runs dry for any length of time the innards will be shot.

Other than those issues I love the truck and it has been great.

 

[udy2554]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I appreciate the help. For now, my brother has backed out of the deal, untill he can find an Avalanche or quadcab, to replace his extra cab.

So...untill later, THANKS!!

 

[80' 427]

my dad has a reg cab 8.1 wt and it is my favorite truck ever. He doesn't know anything about mechanics but stopped complaining about 10mpg after pulling his 26' spray trailer. 04 I told my boss when he sold is ext cab short box 04 8.1 to tell me first. Diesels are great but I love big gas engines. heck the mpg isn't much worse than a 6.0.

 

[Madspeed]

Could be a good truck

alldata is pertty close to dealer list prices so right manifold is 876.43 and lab time calls for 2.0 hrs
Left manifold lists at 927.87 wo air injection and 585.53 wi air injection, lab time is 1.6 hrs.
8.1 w ally will be a decent puller good luck getting 8 mpg towing though unless you tow at 45 mph w a tail wind. My 05 Duramax diesel gets 9 mpg doin 90 w a car on a trailer, Hehe I took a 78 chev 1/2 ton 4x4 to 98 on the trailer and it had assloads left but the swaying made me **** myself . I get an overall avg of 16 mpg w 37" toyos
I could be wrong on gasser milage but I doubt it, everyon feels thiuer truck gets great milage and its bs