I'm going to look at a 1993 W250 4X4 with a 12V Cummins tomorrow. I've never had a first gen, so I'm looking for common problems and things to look out for.

Had two '93 Ramchargers, great trucks. I've heard of cowl cracking problems on 1st gen Diesels, seems like I recall upper passenger side? Many '91 ~ '93 parts are unique and hard to come by. Supposedly several years ago I bought the very last A/C control unit? Window regulators are hard to find and unique to these three years. The grills tend to break, chinese replacements used to be cheap & plentiful, I don't know if that's still the case. The KDP potential problem has most likely already been addressed as old as the truck is?

Check the pinch weld at the roof line above the windshield. That is a potential rust area. Cab corners and seatbelt bolt area on the floor is an area where I had one rust out as well.
They are tough, no frills trucks - and I enjoyed beating the snot out of several of them over the years. Specifically with a Cummins version, check and see if it will do 70 on the highway - the 3 speed auto versions coupled with typical truck rear gears can make for a truck that can pull a house down, but can't go much past 60 mph.

Not sure, but thought I've heard of issues with stress cracks on the frame near the steering box.

I was supposed to look at it tomorrow, but it looks like the millennial selling it flaked out on me.

The headlight switch and tail light wiring are junk. 18 gauge wire off of the headlight switch going to the tail lights. All ready to melt down when you hook up a trailer. If you going to pull a trailer, it's best to run a separate switch for its running lights, or else use a relay

Basically it’s a 1972 designed truck with a Cummins power plant. I’ve had two of them. I never had rust issues living in Texas but I had upper a arm issues. The truck is just not heavy enough to take prolonged punishment like the newer body styles. Brakes wore out real fast. I was real good at that. I had extra rotors and drums turned and ready. My son in law has a 89. It really lacks in power without the intercooler. Wiring is giving him all kinds of trouble and parts are hard to find. Odometers can break easily. Motor outlast the body by a long time.

That 1st sentence is true, the rest is questionable.

How fast did your brakes wear out? What problems did you have?

I've got 50 k on my rears and no signs of trouble yet. The original brakes went 120k. I'm on my second set of front pads, the first went close to 40k.

What upper arm issues?

89 had less than desirable gearing if equipped with the automatic.

Most if not all electric problems I've had on Dodge trucks have been caused by previous owners.

Make sure you get a parts truck with your 93 so you won't be at the mercy of the greedy idiots that might have what you need. Everybody confuses first gens with hemi cuda$.

This is pretty spot on. Never had the a arm issues though. We had a couple nonintercooler trucks that ran good. A stick that was scary to a few guys back almost thirty years ago. A turned up auto with the 3.08 or 3.07 rear felt strong. Truck around the engine just wasn’t in the same class as the engine.

Yeah that's for sure. I have an 85 D150 w/a slant 6 that I'm surprised lasted all these years and was even there for me to have a chance to buy..... I'm really surprised this thing didnt end up a fireball years ago. bad enough I didn't even try to fix the original harness. I wound up finding another truck in the junkyard with a harness in MUCH better shape, and went thru that one to verify all was good with it, only found a couple nicks in the replacement harness from age, heat, and having "taken a set" in place, and a couple of "oop's" from the process of transplanting from junkyard to my truck....

Probably the worst one I had is a current driver, my 92 diesel. It had multiple hitches and plugs installed over the years.

Apparently nobody bothered with a wiring diagram and just poked wires until they found what they wanted. I pulled the harness from firewall to taillights fixed 30 to 40 piercings and cuttings in maybe a dozen wires.

On 2 wheel drives that is an issue for sure. Also on 2WD the frame will break by the front cab mount at the dog leg if the truck was actually used as a truck every day.

Kevin

^^^^^^ sez the who drives this rig

New adventures in super trucking...

Kevin

OHHHH !!!!................one of my pet peeves when it comes to wiring ! and i have repaired a bunch of those over the years !

The 1st Gen Cummins trucks are some of the favorite machines I've ever owned/operated. I've got a lot of time behind the wheel of them, both auto's and manuals, and I have some good tech I can link for you.

Bottom line: Classic trucks that can make an easy 300hp/650tq and an honest 20 mpg all day long. Great machines - easy to operate - easy to upgrade - in many ways a lot like maintaining an old-school hot rod.

Very inexpensive to up the power to much more useful levels - not the dyno sled-puller nonsense, but actual useful power. Every factory automatic ('diesel' 518/46RH) needs a fresh torque converter - the factory units have a lot of slop (heat) in them, which led to the undeserved bad reputation of the diesel 518, especially when the power was tuned up a little. The 5-speed (G360) trucks were nice, and could also benefit from a bit better clutch.

Engine. Easy to maintain, easy to BOMB (Better Off Modified Baby). Simple upgrades net an unbelievable improvement in power and drivability, with zero reduction in mpg's. Best upgrade = $20 "366" spring

Drawbacks. They're old, and stuff wears out, and all of it is replaceable or bypass-able or upgradeable. Suspensions (especially the 4x4s) are pretty stiff, all of which is easy to improve.

I wish I still had one.

For anyone that might be interested, here's a link to the diesel section in RCC (Ramchargercentral) with lots of additional links that may help better understand the OPs question. Some of the links I've personally developed/compiled from many sources or my own experience, including multiple Cummins swaps I and many others have done, all with pics and tech and explanations along the way.

https://www.ramchargercentral.com/forums/diesel-talk.117/ (definitely check out the 'De-computerize your Dodge' thread)

- Sam