You may be onto something Windwalker. This owner had three of these trucks; he purchased them from Walmart; they are old Walmart fleet trucks. One of them have over a million miles but had a new Detroit Diesel. Second one he claimed had 600k. This one 456k.
As I said, I am a damn newbie in this line of work and took him at his word; I didn't know what questions to ask. This unit was the niceset of the three as far as body, interior, etc. went; I figured that the one with the lowest miles would be the best investment, even if it needed work. In retrospect the high mileage truck with the new engine may have been a better choice.
I paid 20K for the truck so figured even if I needed an inframe or whatever I would still not be into it too deep. (but who wants to pay for an overhaul in your first year when freight prices and volume are sucking as bad as right now!) :cry:
I wondered about the bottom bearings too; thought the same thing you did. I did a lot of homework before buying, but still as I said, I am new at this and should have spent a hundred bux to have a mechanic look at it. Might have saved me thousands.
I just came back from a long, hard run from Idaho into Montana and back. Lots of hills; grinding up and jaking down. Truck ran well and since we put a manual fan switch in, I just turn the fan on at the bottom of the hill and run it all the way up. Even Whitebird Hill (20 mins and it is one steep mother) at 80,000 pounds I never got the temp over 185 and the oil pressure stayed steady (albeit still below 30#).
I added a 3 quart jug of Power Service Oil Extender just before leaving on this trip, and upon return home I am only down about 1 quart, so that makes me smile. :lol: It was a long, hard run for the truck (and the driver :roll: )
Well, time will tell. I am just going to keep the oil up, watch the gauges, and hang on until I get the truck down to my friend's shop in Twin Falls to have him put it on the computer and check the gauges, etc.. then we'll know more I guess.
I appreciate everyone's help. You guys rock.