what would you do?
 

as my business is growing i think its time to add another truck. now i have an opportunity to buy a 2001 379. while i'm not a fan of the long hood at all the price is way too good to pass up. 1 owner truck maintained like crazy, new rears, rebuilt trans motor was rebuilt (maybe out of frame) a month after i got my columbia out of cat, ALL new suspension, front axle, springs, rear springs, air bags shocks the body has over a million miles on it. it has the special sleeper with the table and fold down bed.


550 cat
18 speed
3.55's
short 24.5's

now the bad..

it has a major electrical issue. apparently its been like that since new but many people have been in there to try to fix it. i was told it needs a new wiring harness. it runs and drives fine though.

my plan is to take it to cat throw it on the dyno and make sure the truck checks out. from there i want to take it to peterbilt to have the electrical system looked at to see exactly what it needs.

so what would you guys do?

Electrical problems can be difficult to find and expensive to repair. Often when a problem is hard to find it is something simple. When you say major electrical issue, what do you mean. You stated that it runs good. A dyno and oil analysis would be good for the engine, but won't tell you anything about the electrical issue. CAT or a good garage might be able to find the problem by connecting to the ECM. Wiring harnesses are not usually cheap. It might even be in the ECM. Those are also not cheap. If the price was cheap enough I might give it a try. But, without knowing what I was facing in repairs, I would be cautious. What is it doing? If the problem has persisted since new, I would think that someone would have been able to find the problem and repair it. For me, it would depend on the symptoms and repair costs.

i should have been more clear (was dealing with one of my dad's trucks thats acting up in FL with a bad fuel filter)

the truck is owned by my main customer who recently switched to volvo. so i do know the truck.


the motor was rebuilt right after mine came out of cat built by the same cat dealer.

the electrical issues are the alarms will go off for no reason and low air pressure warnings will go off for no reason. so maybe major was the wrong word for it.

Well, it may be not really electrical. May be like Gman said ECM, or bad sensor. ECM is no big deal, 2 grand+... But i wouldn't worry about it much, since truck was able to run with it for over million miles...

yeah def. not the ECM. i thought it was a 02 with the new style dash. i know pete had a issue with the fuse box being leaked on. i'm kinda hoping thats what the issue is. i run across PA twice a week at 80k so the 18 speed (though i prefer the 13) would be nice and the 550 will definitely be nice. i'll eventually be running on flat ground so the 3.55's are nice as well.

2 concerns is that i'm not used to the hood

and how heavy is that truck with that ultra sleeper?

the price is so good i have to buy it. just wanted to get some opinions.

So buy it. The hood is not a problem, you'll get use to it, and i guess they will let you scale it before you'll buy. Difference between 18 an 13 , is only split in a lower gears, it's good to have it, but you don't have to use it. What kind of a fuel mileage it's ECM showing?
BTW this year, i've started running mostly NJ to PA and back, and mostly heavy, my average dropped from 7mpg to 6.1 mpg...

i can't go by the ECM. they go out heavy and back dead empty. there is a scale on premises so thats easy (not sure why i didn't think of that). i hope i get used to the hood.. i do brooklyn and queens at times. i'm betting the fuel milage will be the same to my truck going out which is 5.5mpg going though the hills. my truck is a 10 speed and 435 so i'm really beating on it.

If the engine has been rebuilt then I would probably go ahead and buy it. The hood may take a little time to get used to after driving a Columbia. It takes a wider area in which to turn than most other trucks. If you have the time and don't mind spending a little money tracking down the electrical issues, it would probably be a good buy.

Great. Thanks guys! Think I'm going to do it.

Let us know what you find out about the electrical problem.