Need advice, may buy sas mounty

[slickemhoundd]

Im talking to this guy about buying or trading for his 99 5.0 sas mounty. He doesnt seem to know much about it im gathering he bought it the way it is. He doesnt know what axle it has, said it was a 35 out of a jeep but im figuring a 30 or 44. It has about 10" of lift on 36's with leaves up front. Heres the kicker, its awd and has no front driveshaft. So i dont know if the axle has issues. I guess my main concern is will the awd t-case handle 36's daily if i found a driveshaft? Also he says hes getting a clunk on accel from the front axle..... thats not attatched. And he has no idea what it is. Im trying to meet him today to evalute it but want to know if it sounds like im buying a money pit. I figure all the big mods are out of the way. Be cool if i could slap a np205 in....

 

[rabbit91]

Hopefully it's a 44 if it has tires that big and with an sas you might need a custom dshaft to fit in order to turn and check the front axle. The AWD tcase is very reliable but swapping in an f150 case to make it true 4x4 and give you 2wd is a great way to go. Soo happy I did it go mine. I wonder how long this owner has has it for. Take some pics!

 

[FIND]

You aren't planning on paying money for it are you?


I have a rule. Never buy a modified vehicle unless the seller knows everything about it. If they don't, they are likely neglecting maintenance and I've seen plenty of jury-rigged crap to cover up problems on vehicles because the owner or their mechanic didn't understand how the modifications were set up.

With an owner who knows all about his mods, you can talk to him long enough to see if he really knew what he was doing, and you will know better what to inspect, since you will know how he did everything.

Honestly, modified vehicles are generally worth a lot less than a factory vehicle. It is a niche market, and most modified vehicles aren't as reliable as a factory spec vehicle. There are other reasons too for this, but that's not really that important. I'm just trying to stress that any time you buy a modified vehicle, you want to be sure that you know EVERYTHING about it.

 

[slickemhoundd]

It did worry me that the more I dug the guy didn't seem to know much. It seems to good to pass up I just don't want to screw myself. The truck is gorgeous and I'd hate to pass it up but don't want to jump in someone's else's grave. Is there any articles on swapping in a f150 tcase? I didn't meet with the guy today I decided to do the trans mount u joints and swap t-cases today so I don't know when we will meet. The guy doesn't have enough money for gas to meet me halfway at a 45 minute drive so that say something as well

 

[rabbit91]

There is tonnes of info on the swap and a few great how to's. Search bw4406 and you will find Everything you need to know

 

[OffTrac]

If he's hurting that bad for money and there's that much unknown information, offer him scrap value or just a little over that. If it proves to be a money pit, be sure you can get out. If his asking price is a lot higher than that, I'd be very cautious.

 

[slickemhoundd]

He's askin 4500, he said he's pretty negotiable. I shouldnr be nervous about this and if I am I outta back out, its just sooo pretty

 

[RomeovilleIL]

A 99 with known axle problems for $4500? No way. Maybe if everything was running perfect you might pay that for a modified truck. I would run on the assumption you will need to rebuild the gears, replace missing drive shaft, and swap in a 4406 so drop that price at least $2500. (AWD is wonderful for snow and daily driving, but not hard climbing or deep mud - doesnt make sense on a lifted rig with solid front axle)

 

[FIND]

I wouldn't pay more than $2000 if the body is in amazing condition and the engine runs the way it did the day it rolled out of the factory. You can do a manual 4wd swap for under a couple hundred bucks if you can find everything at your local pick and pull, but you still don't know anything about that front axle or what is wrong with it. Honestly though... I would walk away from it. If you have 4500 bucks, just find a good 5.0 truck and do the swap yourself. If you watch your expenses, make the pick and pull your new home, and are willing to wait for a good deal on a truck to come, you can maybe get it done for that price. Plus, you will know everything about the truck then, and it will all work right.

Granted, I might be lowballing the cost of it. You can get explorers and parts around here stupid cheap if you look around... Might not be as easy there. You can get good 99 5.0 trucks around here for as little as $2000. A 5.0 mounty... you can get an 01 for under 4500 no problem, and like I said, a modified vehicle is worth less on the open market than a factory vehicle because it is a niche market, and they often cost more to own.