1988 377 with cummins big cam

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by alien4fish, Dec 20, 2008.

  1. alien4fish

    alien4fish Light Load Member

    Hi everyone, I have been lurking around here for a while and finally decided to become a member.:biggrin_25525:
    I have a shot at buying a 1988 377 with a cummins big cam 444 witha fuller 15 speed, stand up sleeper(wich may remove and turn it in to a day cab)
    its got a million250 on it with about 11k in rework, i havent gone over that paperwork as of yet but i will soon, no paperwork
    showing an inframe has been done.
    Anyway, im not real dialed on the cummins big cam.
    what are the pros and cons of this motor?what to watch out for ? is it reliable?
    what would YOU pay for an old truck like that?
    I will post up pix as soon as I can thanks folks
     
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  3. alien4fish

    alien4fish Light Load Member

    ok here are some pix of the truck i have some others let me know what you guys and gals think. And how much should this fine peterbuilt cost
     

    Attached Files:

    Baack Thanks this.
  4. Les2

    Les2 Road Train Member

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    Nice looking pete! Looks like it was well taken care of.

    The 444's when they first come out they had alot of injector problems. They eventually got the problem fixed so you should be alright. Some cummins guys should be able to help you more.
     
  5. MedicineMan

    MedicineMan Road Train Member

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    looks clean. personally I never liked the 377. set back axle rode choppy and the headlights are held in with plastic clips you may as well buy in gross as you are always replacing them.
    I have a big cam but not a 444. I know they had someissues but don't know how they were resolved. Big cams weak spots are the head bolts. they are known for breaking, they are also known for blowing head gaskets. On the bright side they are easy to replace and cheap. You can buy a whole new head for around $350 (there is three seperate heads) I see by the small coolant hoses it has the low flow coling system. it's okay if both thermostats are good, there is two if one goes it will run hot. Also if you ever want to turn some more fuel to it it's not long befre you willbe looking to convert it back to the older high flow system

    if you are going to have a mechanical big am you better know how to work on it. they aren't like the new motors where you can put a million on them and only change the oil. the old timers would replace pistions and liners every year at about 150k miles. Now that's a later model which most likely has the LPF liners which go a long way twords extending there replacement intervals
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2008
  6. alien4fish

    alien4fish Light Load Member

    funny you should mention the headlites MedicineMan, my wife pointed out that we need to r/r the head lamps, they re all faded and wont turn on im sure its a simple fix but right now its a barganing chip on the price. I was unaware that there were two thermostats in that motor.Now the truck has been sitting for awhile (6months or so), so it took a little get her to fire and when she did white smoke came up i let her idle a good 15 min.before i took her out for a little test run she seems to runs well. But 1 small problem when i was test driving the truck the split side of the tranny(blue button)in high range the synchros wouldnt line up when i went to split, they would just tumble so i would have to stop and start again. now im not sure if its just moisture in the air lines or if its a bigger problem. Coz when i drop the split when im in the big holes it falls right in on the up shift and the down shift.......
     
  7. Les2

    Les2 Road Train Member

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    You don't use that blue button on the side in high range!!!!!! Thats your deep reduction, it's only used on the low side.
     
  8. stranger

    stranger Road Train Member

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    Most Big Cam motors I have ran would go 400-500K before inframe. They would be using some oil, but keep on going.

    You will need rod and main bearings around 250-300 in most cases, but they are also cheap, and easy to replace.

    Going by the miles, that motor has probally been inframed twice, and out of framed once.
     
  9. alien4fish

    alien4fish Light Load Member

    thanks Les2, its the highside, ive run deep reduction in my 379 pete so im familiar with the tranny config. lots of mud and slurry driving in my line of work
    Stranger,well thats comforting,like i said i havent gone over all the paperwork yet,to find out what has been done
     
  10. 1989 Pete

    1989 Pete "Pine Tree Eater"

    Welcome!!!!!:biggrin_25526:
     
  11. alien4fish

    alien4fish Light Load Member

    thanks 1989 pete, good looking truck BTW:biggrin_25525:ive driven LOTS of trucks in my 19plus year carrier, and peterbuilt has always been my favorite! LONG AND LOW IS HOW I ROLL:biggrin_25511:
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2008
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