New guy here.

I acquired a 96 Dodge Ram 1500 and I had no info on it, except that it needed work and wasnt running. This truck use to be the Mrs Step dads truck who has Parkinson's and is in a nursing home. The truck has not been running for over a year. Heck I didnt even remember what color the truck was let alone the type, thats how long its been. Anyway... I had the truck towed to my house where they put it on the side of the house.

The Pics

Left hand side is not bad


Right hand side is better


1 Flat tire


2 Flat Tires


Leaves and crap in the cab, including the Air intake system.


More leaves and crap


Gee, I wonder whats missing from the Engine bay...


Not really a dent, the front got hit so I need to move the panel forward again.


This is the hit, might be easier to replace the whole indicator and head light housing in one hit, Note the water in the head light.


Umm Yeah, string to hold the wiper on.


This is my first truck and my first v8. But the internet is my friend, and I will get a plan of action going with a list of things to buy and fix.

So Day 1 of what to do.

Took a trip to Autozone and picked up a few things.

Repair manual for a 96 Dodge Ram 1500 $24 (RTFM!!)
5 quarts of oil with filter $12 It was the cheapest I could find.
Duralast battery $100 I had no core to give back, so I had to eat that. The guy did say just bring any old dead battery back and I'll get $12 back.
Carb cleaner $4
Wire Brushes $4
Emery paper $4

I got home, and for ****s and giggles put the battery on and turned the key to see if it would turn over. IT DID! I was amazed, it died straight away but hey! if it turns, thats the first hurdle.
Got the Carb Cleaner and cleaned the throttle body and got all the leaves out. Opened the throttle and sprayed it good in there too. Tried to start it again and it started up, after a couple pumps on the gas. Kept the rev's around 1500 and let it sit there for about 30 seconds, then rev'd it a little more, blowing smoke out the back. Obviously the gas in this truck is old, like at least a year old, could be more. The fuel gauge is on empty with the light on, so I can put some clean gas in it since it wont have much.

Things I noticed:

1 No water in radiator, filled it up, will see if it stays in there
2 Lots of smoke from engine bay, I think somebody spilt some oil or something on the headers, as thats what was smoking
3 One of the battery tie downs were missing, need to get another one of those.
4 No Oil Dipstick, none at autozone for a Dodge, may need to get it from GM
5 Negative Battery cable head was cracked right at the bolt, so I bought another head so I could just cut the cable, strip the sheath and just bolt it in.

All in all, Im excited. I know its running, I didnt check the gearbox to see if it works, but Im keeping my hopes high.

Things to get:

4 new tires, they are all bald or flat.
Oil Dipstick
Air cleaner. Thinking of going from the default and going with a 14x3 Edelbrock Air Cleaner.
Soap to clean all the **** off.
Head light assembly.

Im sure there will be more, but I will add them to the list when I find them.

Thanks

 

You are gonna wanna clean as much of the crap out of the engine bay as you can before getting the engine too warm. Don't want a fire.

While the aircleaner is non-existent, look down the throttle body, see any oil in there??

Should be able to get a dipstick from Summit, Jegs, or LMC Truck. Might even be cheaper than the dealership.

Welcome to DF!

 

Oh, Thanks for that, I didnt even think of Jegs or Summit, I was looking at LMC didnt have much luck. Im a car guy and usually just work on my Subaru. Truck places are new to me, but thats why I came here, so I could learn from the rest of you

 

Check out the FAQ's section here https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-ram-faqs-143/.
Most of the common issues have been covered there.
Also if its an automatic tranny and should you have issues with it post your questions here,
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...on-corner.html.
He is the tranny guru on this site.
Read thru the thread and hopefullly your question has already been answered and you wont double post.
Good luck with the truck.
Dave

 

You can get oddball things like the stock air cleaner assembly, dipstick, and headlight assembly at a junkyard for next to nothing if you've got the time and inclination to scavenge. I'd go cheap like that, probably even get used tires until I got the mechanical stuff kinda checked out. I'd hate to buy new tires and stuff and then find out the tranny won't shift out. Sweet project truck though. Looks much better than my project 83 dodge truck. Not sure if I'm going to keep it or scrap it, still checking out the mechanicals on it. Its hot wired (no key) and keeps draining the battery. Tell ya what I'd do. Put some decent used tires on it, or just air the old ones up. Pour some heet in the gas tank and about 10 gallons of gas. Top off all the fluids (drain the old oil if u want and put in 5 quarts), if it cranks drive it like ya got it for free. Then you'll know what needs to be fixed.

 

looks like an awesome project. id say just patch the flat 2 tires myself. and dodge isnt GM. (right?) but jswain has the right idea. junk yard, like pull a part if yall got one. that and ebay. keep us updated with pictures and stuff!

 

looks like ya got a great project! you def wanna make sure you got the correct dipstick in there....

 

The spider is missing.

Looks like a fun project, hope it doesn't break your bank.

Welcome to the forum!

 

Looks like the thing needs brake fluid from the pics, and definantely take a blower or something and try to get all them leaves and crap out of engine bay may even want to have a hose or fire extinguisher close by the first time you get it up too temp.

Looks like a fun project, what are your plans for it once its up and driving with no problems

 

Update:

Day2, not really a big update. I called around and got some prices.

Head light housing from carparts (junk yard) $100 Used
Engine Oil Dipstick, $15 New

I thought I would try pumping up the tires, so I pulled the air compressor out and pumped them both up, both holding air just fine. The tires have alot of rot on them, so I contacted my local tire discounters, they usually do all my tire work, anyways, I asked him if he could just get me some used tires so I could replace the rotten ones I have and he is sending an email to the other stores see if they could help me out.

I also gave truck a quick wash, nothing serious, it really needs a full detail before its going to look any good, but for now it actually looks pretty decent and Im happy with it.



Quick Note: I dont know how you truck guys do it, but man, Im 6 foot and I couldnt even clean all the glass, let alone the whole hood. Ended up getting a hard brush on a stick and putting a clean towel on it so I could reach it. Then climbed in the back and on top of the tool box just to do the roof. I was like, dang, this thing is bigger and taller than I thought! Then I remembered I just pumped the tires up and its sitting at its correct height lol

Even more reason to get new tires