EVALUATING A TRUCKS CONDITION

We've all hastily purchased a vehicle at one time or another because we had to have THAT ONE only later realizing all those missing items we would need to located at wrecking yards or swap meets and then theirs those funny looking bubbles in the paint "Oh No"!

Well this check list should help you evaluate the Trucks Over-all condition and check for those know rust and cracking areas before you make that purchase.

The first thing you should know is that a running truck may cost more then one that's frozen up but it also allows you to verify the condition of the :

    1) Hydraulic brakes and emergency brake.
    2) Cooling/heating system.
    3) Transmission
    4) Electrical system
    5) Steering/Suspension
    6) Engine
    7) Wiper
    8) Gauges

This may be of no concern to you if your planning a total rebuild and plan to discard all the drive train for a more modern running gear but to a person who's planning to put it on the road right away it's a very bit deal.

Take your time in evaluating the trucks condition. Wear some working cloths or take some cover-alls with you so you can check under the truck for rust and mechanical problems that may need your immediate attention.

STRESS POINT AREAS THAT DEVELOP CRACKS:

    1) Bed rail at the corner of the stake pockets
     2) Bed angle skid strips "the L-shaped strips that attach to the side of the bed".
     3) Rear fender at:

Lower brace attachment
Center brace rivets of fender
Front edge where running board attaches to the fender

    4) Bed to running board cover where the cover brace attaches to fender
    5) A-pillars by windshield leading to drip rail (under factory leaded seam).
    6) Front fender at lower brace attachment
    7) Front Gravel shield "splash pan"

KNOWN RUST AREA'S:

   1) Rear cab corners
    2) Front cab corners just in front of door.
    3) Floor "so be sure to pull the carpet or mat up and take a look"
    4) Bottom of doors
    5) Rear edge of front fender (check all the fenders just in case)
    6) Battery box tray

DOOR MECHANICAL CONDITION:

1) Check the door strikers and latch mechanism for wear. Latches are pretty expensive to replace but the strikers can be welded up to new condition.   Vendors also sell a clip that can be attached over the striker to make the metal just like new.

2) Grab the door at the bottom corner with your right hand and toward the top by the body line with your other hand and rock upward toward the top to check for hinge pin wear. If the door rocks up and down plan on replacing the hinge pins.   You can also almost close the door and see if the door body line, lines up with the body line on the cab.

3) Roll the window up and down to check the window mechanism. If it's hard to operate you may have a bad roller or guide.

4) Check the condition of the inner door handle and window cranks. Sometimes the pop metal strips out or wears the shaft splines away. These items are hard to come by and expensive. Their should be only a set screw that keeps the handles attached to the shaft but sometimes people drill into the shaft to keep the handle in place when the splines wear out.

BRAKE CONDITION:

Aside from pulling each drum off and checking the brake pad thickness, wheel cylinders for leakage, drums for wear etc., your probably stuck to doing a visual for leaks at the backing plates and making sure the emergency cables aren't cut where they meet the actuating rod on each side of the frame.

Before the test drive you can check the condition of the master cylinder by pressing the brake pedal 4 or 5 times quickly and holding the pedal down. If the pedal continues to go down, you have an internal leak in the master cylinder and it needs to be rebuilt or replaced.

During the test drive you can you can see if the drums are out of round by the feel of a pulsing pedal when the brakes are applied.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:

The electrical system can first be checked visually by looking under the hood and dash at the gauge cluster and headlight switch for frayed and taped up wires. If the truck still has the original braided cover wire then your pretty much assured of having to rewire the entire truck because every time you touch one of those old wires the braided cover will fall off an expose the metal core of wire.

With the vehicle started you should see the amp meter registering on the + side, the temperature and oil gauges raising up to register the vehicle operating temp and oil pressure along with the fuel gauge reading what's in the tank.

If you press on the brake pedal, usually you can see the Amp meter gauge move slightly as it registers a current draw or you can have someone out back checking to see if the brake lights turn on.

If the truck is wired up for signals, count yourself luck as this wasn't a factory option.

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