Zombie
Random Dead Guy
- Location
- Sandy Utah
- Asking Price
- $19000
- Condition
- Used - Great Condition
Clean 12 valve, low miles, built trans - $19,000 or best reasonable offer.
1998 Ram 2500 12 Valve, extended cab short bed 159,595 miles. Yes, that’s right, this is not a quad cab, it’s a 2 door X cab with a factory short bed. Apparently this makes it one of about 500 trucks ever made this way - I’ve also been told that all of them are white - every one that I’ve seen was white.
2.5 owners: The original owner (my best friend’s dad), My dad (which meant I did or arranged all the work), and me.
Starts quick, runs great, great power, but it’s big and heavy and I'm not a moron, so it hasn’t been flogged. EGT has never seen over 1300, and only been over 1200 a couple of times - pyrometer is in the manifold ahead of the turbo.
The truck is very clean for what it is, but it’s not a concourse show car. It has a few little dings here and there, a crack in the passenger rear fender flare, and the tailgate is kind of rough - my dad was a carpenter, and used it as such, and had the tailgate sprayed with the same white bedliner as the rockers. I hated it, so I removed it, and tried my hand at painting the tailgate. I’m not a painter, and it shows. It works, looks good from 10 feet, and closes/opens well, but the finish isn’t great, and it has a few little dents. I had hoped to replace it and have the new tailgate shell professionally painted. The white bed liner on the rockers turns yellow, and has been sprayed over twice since 2012, including earlier this year. I didn’t get around to taking the bumper off to do the rear quarters, so the driver’s side rear bottom quarter is still a bit yellow, the passenger side is sooty anyway, so why bother. I’ve wire wheeled the pinch welds on both doors and treated with rust converter, but if you want it concourse, it’d want new door skins.
The seat belt light is always on, the tensioners locked up so I removed the stuck part - the sensor doesn't like that.
It has a slow leak from the rear pinion seal. It’s really slow, and with the hitek diff cover, it’s easy to check and add oil periodically. The rear main has a very slow leak, as does the front main - slow enough that it still reads full every six months at oil change time, it hasn’t been driven a lot in the last few years. Based on maintenance schedules, I had planned to do the trans fluid, transfer case, front diff and coolant flush in April of 2024, so those will need done soon. The drivers door could use a bushing kit. I think I’m starting to feel a little play in the track bar after getting the new control arms on - I had thought the noise and play was mostly the toast bushing in the oem upper and Rancho lowers, but there’s still a bit of noise there after the new arms.
The truck has very little rust, no body cancer that I’m aware of and only light frame and suspension rust. I’ve solved most of the problems that second gen rams have.
So Zombie, it sounds like it’s just about perfect, why are you selling it? I’ve got a few answers, some of them good, some of them probably not. The easiest answer is that I tore the rotator in my left shoulder working on the truck, I had to have it towed to have the control arms finished. With that injury I took some time for reflection on all the damage I’ve done to myself over the years, and realized that I probably shouldn’t be doing heavy mechanic work anymore. I know control arms aren’t heavy work, but when the bolts are seized into the bushings, it becomes pretty damn heavy real quick. If I can’t work on it myself, it’s not so much fun anymore, not to mention the extra expense of having to pay someone else to work on it. I also want to travel more, and wanting to upgrade everything on a truck like this doesn't provide much flexibility for a travel budget. Even though this truck hurt me (yes, I’m blaming an inanimate object, it’s easier that way) I’m still kind of torn up about letting it go, but I’ve taken a lot of time to think it over, and I’m convinced it’s the right thing for me to do.
I’m going to put it here for a little while before I drop it on Bring A Trailer. I’m hoping I might break even on my purchase and the money I’ve spent in the year and a half that I’ve been trying to improve it. I gave it as much of a detail as I can with 1.5 functioning arms, and I think it looks pretty damn good.
Let’s start the conversation at $19,000 and see where that goes. If you think I’m one of those guys selling a clapped out gasser for $20k, let me know, and then re-read the bullet points here, and remember it's a super clean 12 valve… if you think I’m still out of line, let’s talk about it.
Based on mileage, condition, mods/updates, and comparables sold, I think it’ll make more than this on Bring A Trailer, but I’d kind of rather know that someone will love it and take care of it, so I’ll try it here first.
1998 Ram 2500 12 Valve, extended cab short bed 159,595 miles. Yes, that’s right, this is not a quad cab, it’s a 2 door X cab with a factory short bed. Apparently this makes it one of about 500 trucks ever made this way - I’ve also been told that all of them are white - every one that I’ve seen was white.
2.5 owners: The original owner (my best friend’s dad), My dad (which meant I did or arranged all the work), and me.
Starts quick, runs great, great power, but it’s big and heavy and I'm not a moron, so it hasn’t been flogged. EGT has never seen over 1300, and only been over 1200 a couple of times - pyrometer is in the manifold ahead of the turbo.
- 12 Valve cummins motor
- Mild injectors
- KDP mitigated just after 36K miles when the Banks goodies went on
- Rotella T Synthetic used since 116K miles, Rotella T conventional used prior to 116K
- Banks Fuel Plate
- Banks Twin Ram intake Manifold
- Banks turbine housing and big head wastegate system
- Turbo is tight, no questionable play
- 2 K&N filters for stock housing
- “A little bit of timing” were put in when the banks stuff and injectors went on, still starts easy and runs great
- Valve Lash adjusted May 2023
- Valve cover gaskets replaced may 2023
- Fuel filter replaced September 2023
- Fuel return and feed lines replaced October 2023
- Upgraded 2001 OEM intercooler
- 4” MBRP exhaust, turbo to tail with MBRP series 1 muffler installed the loud way.
- 4” high flow “Cat” that passes Utah emissions visual. No additional detail will be provided about this feature in print - do with that info what you will
- Never dyno’d, but estimates of 300-350HP, 700 LBFT are reasonable, it was built for longevity, not peak power
- Suncoast stage 2.5 trans with Banks Billet lock up converter installed at 110K miles. Fluid changed twice since then with Mopar ATF+4 fluid. OEM filter used in Mag-HiTek deep trans pan
- Mag Mag-HiTek Rear Diff cover with drain hole, sight window and dipstick
- Stock rear 8800+GVW package 3” wide rear springs
- Firestone airbags ran to individual ports on rear bumper
- Rear anti-sway bar delete
- 2” Rancho Leveling Spacers on Front end
- Billstein 5100 series shocks and Steering Stabilizer installed at 140K ish miles
- Carli Extended control arms with Carli’s johnny joint knockoffs - installed last week, brand new
- Redhead steering box installed at 156K miles
- BD Steering box support brace and bearing
- OEM Front Anti Sway Bar with Rancho extended links
- Mopar performance upgraded steering linkage installed at 130K miles
- Timken Unit Bearings installed at 130K miles
- Spicer ball joints at 130K miles
- Spicer U joints in front axle at 130K miles
- Powerstop towing rotors at 130K miles
- New pads February 2023
- Front axle is OEM Non-Cobra style sway bar mounts (this is important if you want to upgrade the anti sway bar)
- Interior in great condition
- Original dash in perfect condition (it’s had a dash cover on it it’s entire life)
- New seat fabric and foam on Drivers side at 156K miles (April 2022)
- Boss 10” touch screen head unit April 2022 with bluetooth and backup camera
- Kicker Speakers - 6x9” three way front doors, 5.25” two way in rear cab sides (June 2022)
- Alphasonic 8” Sealed underseat subwoofer (June 2022)
- Planet Audio 1500 watt amplifier (June 2022)
- Viper keyless entry with remote start and remote alarm feedback (December 2018)
- Buswacker Brand Extend-a-fender Flares installed around 30K miles
- Spray In Bed Liner (2012 ish)
- Tri Fold tonneau cover (June 2023)
- White bed liner on rocker panels (2012 ish, touched up twice since initial)
- Manual fold out tow mirrors
- OEM heated and power dumbo mirrors included, with OEM mirror control joystick
- 35x12.50R17 Goodyear Duratrac Load Range E tires at 158K miles (December 2022)
- Moto Metal 957 17x9 wheels with Security lug nuts
- Dodge OEM rubber bed mat
- Rubber tailgate protector included, not installed
- FET 1000 off road driving and fog lights(Dual Beam Pattern) included, not installed
- Pilot 80 watt projector yellow beam fog lights partially installed, not wired
- A variety of hitches in several ball sizes and a few drop ranges included
- A variety of recovery shackles included
- Spare power steering hoses (new, bought in case I couldn’t get them out of the OEM steering box, kept in case I needed spares)
- Rock blockers towing mud flap mounts that slide into the receiver are included, but don’t have the flaps on them, the plastics were re-purposed for another project long ago. These have been sitting and would need some wire wheel work to make slide in and out again, but are included if you want them.
- Fuel rated hoses in ⅜ and ½ inch sizes
- A spare tail light included, not installed
- A spare grille shell included, not installed
- A 295/75R17 Nitto all terrain tire included, not installed - the spare under the truck is old and sketchy, but is on a 16” wheel. I had hoped to either find another MM957, or get five new 17” wheels and either mount this Nitto as a spare, or get another 35” duratrac
The truck is very clean for what it is, but it’s not a concourse show car. It has a few little dings here and there, a crack in the passenger rear fender flare, and the tailgate is kind of rough - my dad was a carpenter, and used it as such, and had the tailgate sprayed with the same white bedliner as the rockers. I hated it, so I removed it, and tried my hand at painting the tailgate. I’m not a painter, and it shows. It works, looks good from 10 feet, and closes/opens well, but the finish isn’t great, and it has a few little dents. I had hoped to replace it and have the new tailgate shell professionally painted. The white bed liner on the rockers turns yellow, and has been sprayed over twice since 2012, including earlier this year. I didn’t get around to taking the bumper off to do the rear quarters, so the driver’s side rear bottom quarter is still a bit yellow, the passenger side is sooty anyway, so why bother. I’ve wire wheeled the pinch welds on both doors and treated with rust converter, but if you want it concourse, it’d want new door skins.
The seat belt light is always on, the tensioners locked up so I removed the stuck part - the sensor doesn't like that.
It has a slow leak from the rear pinion seal. It’s really slow, and with the hitek diff cover, it’s easy to check and add oil periodically. The rear main has a very slow leak, as does the front main - slow enough that it still reads full every six months at oil change time, it hasn’t been driven a lot in the last few years. Based on maintenance schedules, I had planned to do the trans fluid, transfer case, front diff and coolant flush in April of 2024, so those will need done soon. The drivers door could use a bushing kit. I think I’m starting to feel a little play in the track bar after getting the new control arms on - I had thought the noise and play was mostly the toast bushing in the oem upper and Rancho lowers, but there’s still a bit of noise there after the new arms.
The truck has very little rust, no body cancer that I’m aware of and only light frame and suspension rust. I’ve solved most of the problems that second gen rams have.
So Zombie, it sounds like it’s just about perfect, why are you selling it? I’ve got a few answers, some of them good, some of them probably not. The easiest answer is that I tore the rotator in my left shoulder working on the truck, I had to have it towed to have the control arms finished. With that injury I took some time for reflection on all the damage I’ve done to myself over the years, and realized that I probably shouldn’t be doing heavy mechanic work anymore. I know control arms aren’t heavy work, but when the bolts are seized into the bushings, it becomes pretty damn heavy real quick. If I can’t work on it myself, it’s not so much fun anymore, not to mention the extra expense of having to pay someone else to work on it. I also want to travel more, and wanting to upgrade everything on a truck like this doesn't provide much flexibility for a travel budget. Even though this truck hurt me (yes, I’m blaming an inanimate object, it’s easier that way) I’m still kind of torn up about letting it go, but I’ve taken a lot of time to think it over, and I’m convinced it’s the right thing for me to do.
I’m going to put it here for a little while before I drop it on Bring A Trailer. I’m hoping I might break even on my purchase and the money I’ve spent in the year and a half that I’ve been trying to improve it. I gave it as much of a detail as I can with 1.5 functioning arms, and I think it looks pretty damn good.
Let’s start the conversation at $19,000 and see where that goes. If you think I’m one of those guys selling a clapped out gasser for $20k, let me know, and then re-read the bullet points here, and remember it's a super clean 12 valve… if you think I’m still out of line, let’s talk about it.
Based on mileage, condition, mods/updates, and comparables sold, I think it’ll make more than this on Bring A Trailer, but I’d kind of rather know that someone will love it and take care of it, so I’ll try it here first.
