I bought the CHEAPEST Cummins I could find… but it might be broken

Travis buys his favorite kind of truck. A mechanical 12 valve Cummins turbo diesel. 1997 to be exact. I bought it on the cheap on the assumption it has a bad transmission. But we will dig into it and find out exactly what needs to be fixed.
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/ @theetravisb
Send dad and me junk to our P.O. Box
P.O. Box 1772
Cortaro, Az
85652-1772
Business inquiries and if you have a car in the southwest you want dad and me to check out email us here
[e-mail]
Interested in pre 1980 abandoned cars or trucks/ barn finds. (Not interested in foreign cars) and 1st and 2nd gen Cummins (89-98) diesels only

[@dave1956]

You wouldn’t find anything like this in Wisconsin. They are rusted out up to the door handles.

[@rirebel6029]

Same in New England ! Never knew how bad have it until youtube came along and I saw what they considered "rusty" in certain parts of the country 😂😂😂😂

[@robbalinski1606]

You'll find a year round daily 2nd gen in my driveway up here in Canada that's just as clean. It's called properly washing a vehicle and no rust happens.

[@dave1956]

@@robbalinski1606 Depending on where you are in Canada, they may not use the amount of road salt that is used here in Southeastern Wisconsin. I have seen Dodge, Ford & GM trucks severely rusted and they are only 6 or 7 years old. My neighbor just got rid of an ‘11 F-150 that had no rockers left. When I was still working I took in a ‘13 F-150 that was 4 years old. When we removed the fenders the structure underneath was badly rusted. I even called the owner of the truck in to see it so that down the road if there was an issue, we wouldn’t be accused of shoddy workmanship.

[@gavspamz5704]

try california 😭

[@johnfranklin5277]

We are very fortunate here in Southern California. Our climate is perfect for long term survival of automobiles. No snow, no salt, hell, it hardly ever rains here! Lol..my 58 cadillac and 68 Mustang are lifelong Southern California cars. No body rust, and the undercarriages of both are just amazing. A little surface rust here and there, but mostly no rust at all. The frame on the caddy is still sporting all its factory black paint. Now the political situation here is a whole other story.....

[@KrishnaDraws]

Seeing the El Camino was a nice surprise. Good video, Travis.

[@theetravisb]

Had to put it in there

[@javivaldes8352]

I lost it when he squeezed the diff oil bottle 😂

[@richardbates2367]

My front suspension is completely rebuilt and the previous owner has replaced the front pump input shaft seal and torque converter so the transmission shifts right into reverse and just starts backing up with almost no throttle input so it doesn't have transmission issues..

[@muskokaroads2371]

Those are 2nd gen seats dude 3 of my trucks have the exact same ones

[@Philipfougere]

I owned a 1999 1500 5.2 for twenty years. Loved it. In October 2022, it saved our life. My side got hit at 85 mph by person running from the police. Minor injuries, but we're alive today. Replaced it with a 2019 Ram 1500. Thank you for the great content.

[@jimcabezola3051]

Your Dad did a FINE job on his Elco! That ol' truck deserved all those ministrations. That Cummins truck is awesome and make a superb vehicle for the next buyer. Once again, I like the great lighting and camera angles. The action was engaging and informative! Mahalo!

[@theetravisb]

Thank you for the feedback from Hawaii

[@gregndebbieglass3887]

Good work Travis, perfect example of perseverance. I like saving old stuff too. Especially when there's life left in it👍

[@theetravisb]

Plenty of life left in this ol girl

[@AlanHernandez-pd5xj]

Fellow tucsonan, hooked on your videos! I appreciate a mechanic who actually diagnosis instead of throwing parts at a problem.

[@GuildOfCalamity]

A note about compressors: You should never have to add refrigerant to a AC system, it is a hermetic system. This indicates that there's a leak somewhere and if you add refrigerant you'll just be doing it again down the road. They make a UV dye you can add to the system which will help you find the leak source.

[@johnfranklin5277]

This is hard to believe, but my 94 Trans am with 338.000 miles on it, I bought new, and lives in the southern California desert area, where AC is needed from May thru October , still has perfectly functioning AC, nice and cold, and never had any refrigerant added! Amazing.

[@WinnieThePugh]

@@johnfranklin5277 that's extremely fortunate, here's to another 338k miles!

[@rayscrafield2106]

Well done Youngster.

[@alancoller1602]

I like watching your videos because you don’t talk rubbish. A tip when you do rear brakes just wash them out with water hose pressure. Thanks Alan

[@littleredridinghood5622]

A southern rust free Dodge 12 valve here in Nova Scotia sell for 10,000 - 20,000 depending on model and options ...I've had a few..

[@theglitch99]

I watch a channel out of Canada and he is always going to the lower 48 southern states and picking up trucks to fix up rust free. Soon we won't have any left they will all be rusted!! 😂

[@codyster]

Omg please stop smashing your ratchet with your hand. That can cause problems in the future such as carpal tunnel and arthritis. We would like you to continue making videos in the foreseeable future brother. Invest in a extendable ratchet or a longer one. Amazon has some great ones.

[@robertpierce9385]

I'm gonna have 100 times worse carpel tunnel I'm thousands of times rougher with my hands using them as hammers

[@graydonanderson5071]

94-97 had the other seats 98-02 had those seats

[@EricB-somejibberish]

beautiful job - and just the extent of your knowledge and problem solving is fantastic to watch

[@theetravisb]

Appreciate that!

[@Nothingschanged]

Great project with a solid foundation. Have fun!

[@matticus6339]

On the blowby issue make sure you don't have any of the vacuum lines coming from the vacuum pump leaking. I all the sudden started getting alot of blowby out of the vent tube on my 24V, I had a broke vacuum line and it will suck air in and it gets pumped into the crankcase which gives the illusion of blowby. I installed new vacuum lines and my blowby went away.

[@matticus6339]

sorry should have watched longer, I seen you mentioned the pump can cause blowby.

[@theglitch99]

I Picked up an 04 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 w/24v Recently, im just a big fan of these trucks!

[@Demonslayer9017]

that's a third gen were dodge got rid of the square body rip.

[@marcusaurelius2770]

Very satisfying to watch you perform the maintenance and general repairs. I'm sure you got a lot of satisfaction completing the job.

[@robbalinski1606]

Those seats are from a 99-02 2nd gen factory upgrade for the older trucks. Dont get why your afraid of the 2nd gen 24valves their just as solid trucks.

[@Texas12valve]

My 94 has manual seats. Can I put these power seats in it and supply them with power and ground and they'll work?

[@danswartwood4580]

Thank you for sharing and your APPRECIATION to your subscribers Travis.

[@theetravisb]

Of course thank you 💪🏼

[@AustinHise98]

Those are actually factory 2nd gen seats found in a Laramie slt plus

[@thefox7073]

It seems to me the only issue with this truck was the lack of maintenance. Good Work!!

[@beauridge472]

Those are factory quad cab seats, 98-02 style

[@cameronbarton3296]

I have the same exact truck 😂😂 you’re doing a walkthrough of my truck for me

[@ryanb1776murica]

Damn good murican🇺🇸keep it truckin

[@shawnfaulconer]

Those are actually factory second gen seats. Have a second gen with the exact same ones, in tan leather. Premium package

[@dylanmoore5258]

I’ve learned my lesson by messing with something that worked, then broke don’t fix it if it work only fix what’s broke what’s worked for me.

[@Bhall958]

At my local parts stores you can only buy synthetic brake fluid, the old kind that would make ur fingers warm isn’t available anymore

[@coltonchristman2070]

Blow by is pressure. If your oil fill cap doesn’t get moved or blown off then it’s not blowby. Crankcase vapor is what you physically see, and it’s nothing to worry about. Oil gets hot, it creates vapor. As for the seats, those are stock 98-02 seats. Your oil leak is a booger to deal with. It’s a simple o ring, but getting it aligned back up is a bear sometimes

[@ryanb1776murica]

Gotta love it this is true honest hard work no giving up whatsoever

[@WinnieThePugh]

I have a 1996 2500 and learned more useful information about it from this video than all the other ones I've watched, thank you

[@gordonstroup882]

Great Job on the DODGE! It's nice to see someone actually showing you what they did to fix their vehicle up, and do it the right way. Stay cool down there in Tucson, HA, because I'm staying nice and cool up here in the Payson area.... 🙂🥶

[@ThomasBilt]

That frame is so clean. You cant find vehicles that are 5 years old with frames that clean in virginia. Damn that would be nice to live somewhere with very little rust, used cars are probably a blast to work on there

[@theetravisb]

We’re pretty lucky

[@johnwohlheter601]

if somebody told me that a truck shifts like a dog I would assume thats a bad thing.

[@matticus6339]

I resealed my vacuum pump back in 2016 with the Gould kit and still leak free as of today.

[@carchub]

Truck cleaned up real nice. There’s just so much real estate on that dash for the sun to come in and ruin everything. Nice work though, it’s crazy how often cars are given up on after just a little maintenance is missed. A little TLC goes a long way with a good rig like this

[@theetravisb]

Yes that’s true

[@Monaghan]

I've been subscribed for a while now. I love this channel. Keep up the great work!

[@theetravisb]

Love to hear that thanks

[@terryeustice5399]

Well Travis you definitely are in your element. Glad you found a Cummins Diesel pick up. To show off your skills. The El Camino is coming along.

[@NikolaTanasic-nt2yq]

Very nice job, keep on going with old school mechanics.

[@williamhorn4600]

Great content again, I like the variety. Thought it funny your dad dustin' you while you're working on the tire. Keep the videos coming. Thanks for the update on the other car

[@theetravisb]

He just keeps on goin

[@supremeautomotive6749]

Those are factory dodge ram 2nd gen seats from 98 2001

[@howardkoster4026]

Whoa, your dad did a great splice job on the '60 El Camino fender!!! And you did a great job on that puck up!!!

[@designfabrication512]

Haha at 45:35 dad just blowing brake dust, tire dust, silica into your lungs like “fu*k it” lol. You didn’t answer my question about furthest you’ve gone to pick up a truck…?

[@shmitt8307]

As a youngin who’s learning ur vids are fun to watch keep it up man im super impressed with how easy you make it look

[@SchysCraftCo.]

My brother had one in high school. Nice truck. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friends. Fab On. Weld On. Keep Making. God bless.

[@somerandomguy3868]

Gotta say that frame is fantastic, that's better than fair milage and you are right to expect it's gonna need some love

[@daviddamico4288]

Nice work,fixing it up…

[@stephenholland5930]

Great job on the Dodge, Travis. Loved seeing your Dad's fantastic bodywork improvements on the El Camino.

[@theetravisb]

Thank you ! Yeah he keeps plugging away

[@doubleq1223]

First video of yours I've seen. I really like the set-up you've got! Also, being in new york, i cannot wrap my head around how clean and rust-free everything is.

[@theetravisb]

Haha yes we take it for granted sometimes.

[@geebopbaluba1591]

Love those early elco’s and you did that truck maintenance like a pro.

[@awakeariseandwatch5976]

Very nice job fixing it up. Great truck. God bless

[@robertlacob8831]

Nice job Travis! I remember when working for Chrysler up into the mid 90s, the early Cummins had recalls on transmission flex plates cracking and a host of other items. once all those bugs were gone, that truck combination has been bulletproof as with good maintenance.

[@theetravisb]

Yes close to bulletproof as one can get !

[@CavanalK5]

18:17 when they used up all the ugga dugga on the oil drain plug and the rear plugs…😂

[@rogergraves242]

Good job

[@user-bj6oz6nq7f]

I love this channel.Very happy I found it.the 1300 mile trip and the old hay truck will it start we're really cool

[@theetravisb]

Thank you 💪🏼

[@waltalbright]

Enjoyed the picture show.

[@niloualq1988]

Great job and clean work and its save to buy and drive for long time

[@dannyisaacs3877]

Gotta love it this is true honest hard work no giving up whatsoever.😁😁😁

[@richardbates2367]

Those seats are from the interior redesign in 98-02 for the 1 tons i the truck dash skinz dash cap on my 2000 anyways the Laramie slt plus are the one's that got those leather dodge ram seats and they usually have woodgrain on the door panels and the dash bezel..

[@01cummins24v]

Those seats are from the trucks after 98 which had the redesigned interior design interior

[@matticus6339]

I have done the same trick to get the drums off my 1999. But I left a few nuts on the studs so it couldn't sling it off, your passenger side came close.

[@timothymichaelgoff2715]

Thanks for being so thorough with your fixes. I would be very content buying a vehicle from you.!

[@staninjapan07]

I would, too. Also, he doesn't pretend that he' going to thoroughly rebuild everything in the cases where he's not. He clearly knows enough to have a good idea of when a part or assembly is going to be reliable enough for the vehicle (at least for the time being).

[@fivenine1057]

Bro, the new rams come with coin slots, lmao. My 2020 2500 did.

[@cargotoolshop5319]

Working on a Cummins truck would make you love a 318-360, i usually sell my Cummins when I run across one, if your not pulling a house over you can keep them

[@toomanytododge2594]

Thoes seats are factory second gen dodge seats. 98-02 extended cab thoes leather seats are worth alot

[@buckroger5850]

Good candidate for a 6-speed manual. I have a 1994 Dodge cummins 2wd with a Ford Zf6 6 speed, and I love it!

[@OtherSarah2]

Dude, those are too OEM seats for a Ram Quad Cab. They started that in '98 with the four doors, because they had to move the seat belt anchors. They're leather, probably out of a Laramie SLT

[@axelraver]

For the brake light check your fuses, my 2nd gen had a missing fuse for abs even tho it didnt had an abs.

[@armandopatane5343]

As always very educational video = love you and your family

[@theetravisb]

Thank you Armando

[@ghlvvylas3703]

Those seats are from 98-02 Laramie trucks , they are factory 2nd gen seats

[@cwg1998]

98 to 02 2nd gen seats

[@RusThompson]

Great truck and great job

[@angelsuarez3448]

Lol those are 24v 2nd gen seats factory

[@noahingram8052]

Great job I've had 3 12 valves so far I love em my newest one I'm not selling though

[@FatOlFrog]

Seats are from a 2nd gen.. mine had the same ones except they were cloth grey.. hated those seatbelt points cause mine constantly would lock up and not come out

[@axelraver]

For your information, those automatic transmission needs bamds adjustment every 10k miles for the trans to last.

[@pauldilorenzo5530]

Good content I'm a heavy diesel mech myself so interesting to me

[@CliffordRainwater]

Nice looking now.

[@allenbuck5589]

Great tuff truck. Thanks from. Sc

[@justinraystyles3537]

Im from upstate sc!💗

[@allenbuck5589]

@@justinraystyles3537 Aiken sir

[@justinraystyles3537]

@@allenbuck5589 I'm from Greer

[@staninjapan07]

37:20 The new front right wing panel: I wonder when 3D printing and laser dimension scanning will be at the point where you could scan (or get 3D data for) an original part and then print it out of something like fiber-glass.

[@jasonmorales1846]

One thing to do is pressure wash under the engine.Those tires look like the same type of tread pattern used on semi trailers.

[@CG-zh1td]

I have a 24V, but love the 12V's too.

[@richardbates2367]

Actually I believe that the 3500 2000 to 02 slt plus interior do have those leather ram head seats and wood grain trim and cluster bezel trim, my 2000 dodge ram laramie slt quad cab long bed is just a magnum V8 318 gas at 46 RH 4x4 truck and manual rainbow thead seats and door panels typical Chrysler interior mist grey

[@BillyBob-uc9zp]

Well done Mr 😎

[@ryancollins3227]

Me buying any 7.3l i can get my hands on cause they just run and run and run, glad to see someone else doing the same

[@ryancollins3227]

Also i live right by Murphy Nc lmao wild

[@TheCaperfish]

use 2 screwdrivers when loosing off brakes one little one to push in on starwheel stoper arm to get it away from star wheel and other to spin star wheel .

[@michaelw6277]

15:30 I felt that

[@larryoren5928]

You should've changed the tyranny filter, especially not knowing when the last time it has been changed,

[@bobfurman862]

Very good video...nice job bringing it back for years more service!

[@AndreasLarsson95]

Don't forget blinker fluids!

[@RealSaulGoodman78]

I love those types of Ram trucks

[@WAVEGURU]

Wouldn't unloosen mean tighten???

[@DodgePW1947]

Those are factory 2nd gen seats had the same ones in my 1999 3500

[@SchnelleKat]

Your dad does amazing bodywork! I sure wish mine was the same! That's a Really clean 2nd gen for its age. I wish my 91 OBS was like that! P.S REALLY Cool 1950s Washer/Dryer i spot.

[@theetravisb]

Thank you Good eye lol

[@matticus6339]

at 8:44 thats either a fly buzzing or a fart from the weight of the drum HAHAHAHAH

[@axelraver]

These 2nd gen use atf+4 for the power steering so it may be cheaper to use atf than using power steering fluid.

[@mattmonteith2175]

I'm from Burlington wi I own. 2000 5;9 gas v 8. Love it 4 doors

[@countryboyzz8448]

Seats are from a 24v 2nd gen