1992 Dodge W350 Club Cab LE review from North America

Replaced front brake calipers due to corrosion inside the cylinder that caused sticking.

This truck is a W350 one-ton 4x4 with dual rear wheels. It is designed for work and not to give a comfortable ride. The W350 has leaf springs all around, and a solid front axle, so the ride is quite jarring on rough roads. However, this also makes the suspension very strong, and heavy loads are not a problem.

The Cummins Turbo Diesel is rated for 160HP and 400LB of torque for 1992. This results in adequate acceleration when empty or loaded, but it is not going to provide the same power as the newer turbo diesels with over 325HP. This engine is extremely reliable, tough, and quite loud.

The automatic transmission is a 3-speed with an overdrive unit mounted at the tailshaft. It does not have a lock-up torque converter, so there is a certain amount of slippage at all speeds, resulting in more heat. It is important to change the fluid regularly in this transmission, especially if pulling heavy trailers. Better yet is to switch to a synthetic ATF such as Amsoil.

The transfer case is the New Process 205, which is gear driven and regarded as one of the strongest transfer cases ever made for a pickup truck. The front and rear axles are made by Dana, and are also very durable.

This is a big truck designed for hauling cargo and pulling trailers. It is not the easiest to drive due to the rough ride, large turning radius, and long length. I replaced the terrible factory bench seat with leather power buckets from a newer Ram. The rear of the Club Cab comes with fold down jump seats from the factory, which are useless. I ripped those out as well and installed a rear leather bench seat from a smaller Toyota car. Even so, the rear is best left for children under the age of ten due to lack of legroom.

These Cummins diesel trucks have a loyal following, and the 1st Gen trucks built from 89-93 are getting very hard to find in good condition. They do hold their value very well, with clean examples selling for $8k-$12k even with over 100k miles on them. Make sure you test drive one extensively before purchasing so you know what you are buying. It is probably more truck than most people need, but for someone who needs a solid workhorse of a truck, it's hard to beat a Cummins Dodge.