There is an opportunity to buy a good-looking '96 Dodge B2500 Van in our area. This van is equipped with the 3.9L V6 Magnum engine.

Is this engine a Chrysler Lemon(ade) we should stay away from? From your experience what could be the most important things we should be looking for at this age?

 

If you read thru any number of threads in this Ram Van forum, going back any number of years, I don't think you will find anyone complaining about any of the engines in general as lemons, whether it be the 3.9, 5.2 or 5.9 V-8. However, like a doctor's office, most of what you will find here are people looking for advise on how to fix their sick van engine as most people on this forum want to do some of the repair work themselves.

When purchasing an older Dodge van, the list of ills that it can have can be long, and just figure that you will have some time, your own effort, some dollars, or more dollars and someone else's time (mechanic) doing work on it, simply because it is old, and age always will cause problems. Often though, mechanic's hate older cars and just throw parts at problems without trying to figure out the underlying cause.

Certainly rust is a big factor. Not only look at the outer body, but get under and look for signs of undercarriage deterioration. Look under the hood, where electrical components are and look for signs of body rust where cables are attached, ground straps and such. Bad grounds make for strange engine problems. Look for rust coming thru the floor area near the rear wheel wells, something that is easily hid under a layer of carpet.

The engine, if it is taken care of, will last you several hundred thousand miles. My 5.2 l currently own has 175,000 miles on it, and will lose 1/2 quart of oil every 5,000 miles which is great. However, dried out crankshaft seals often will let the rear man bearing leak, which will cause much oil wetness to be noticed under the rear of the engine. My '94 B250 5.9 had over 235,000 when I totaled it in '05, and it ran great with no significant work ever done on it. However it was on it's second transmission.

Look at the color of the transmission fluid. Dark brown burnt smelling fluid means the tranny has not been taken care of, while fresh bright red fluid at least means the transmission fluid has recently been changed. The transmissions do not last forever. I had to change mine out at 169,000 on my '01, and 120,000 miles on my '94.

You will probably have to get the front brake hoses replaced as old ones have a tendency to break down from the inside (invisible to your eye), and do not let the caliper release which wears front brake parts quickly. This was true on my '94 B250 and was true on my '01 B2500 also.

Run the van around for 20 minutes. Stop for lunch, then get back in and drive for another 20 minutes to make sure you catch all OBDII codes that may have been erased for your benefit, and take an OBD code reader with you when checking out the van.

The only thing wrong with the 3.9 is a lack of significant power. However, if you are not planning on towing anything real heavy, it should work just fine, and there are many of those engines out there.

I hope this helps some.

 

Thank you for all the great info RS! I will be looking for the rust tell-tale signs but the van appears to be kept inside for most of its life...

The only worry is the carsurvey.org has only bad reviews concerning the 3.9L Magnums, on the other side, the V8's - 5.2L and 5.9L has only good reviews.

I thought we should better ask around on the owner's forums about these engines before making a purchase.

 

Simply put: It all depends on how well it was taken care of. You can find issues with all kinds of engines, but that doesn't mean there was something inherently wrong with it.

 

From what we read on carsurvey.org the 3.9L Magnums had some issues with the factory timing chain missing a tensioner, damaging the timing cover or skipping a grade and damaging the pistons/valves.

That seems like a pretty serious issue and I doubt this engine had the timing chain changed ever. Have you encountered this type of problems on these engines?

 

I don't know of any Magnum engines that had a factory installed timing chain tensioner. I know my 2000 5.9l didn't. They are available as add-ons, usually installed when you replace a timing chain.

 

The van was checked and appears to be in pretty good order except the IAC valve/sensor which messes-up the engine idle rpms.

Is there a way to determine what king of transmission is installed in this '96 RAM Van - 3 speed or 4 speed automatic?

Any other bits and bites of useful information from mechanics that worked on these vans are immensely appreciated!

 

There is a sticker under the hood, and a metal body code plate riveted to the inner fender beside the battery. The sticker could say DGB *and* DGT which means 4 speed (overdrive).

For a 2000 Dodge Ram Van, bottom line of the body code plate, read first three letters:
DGG is a 3 speed (32RE)
DGT is a 4 speed (46RE)

Vans with overdrive have a button and a dash indicator lamp. This button will shut off overdrive for towing or when you intend to haul full capacity payload.

 

easy to read and DIY article on cleaning IAC

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-r...n-the-iac.html

 

The v6, at least in 98-2003, did not have the 46re as an option.
If it is a V6 it is a 32RE.
V8 could be a 32RE or a 46 RE
Almost all the 5.9 engines had the 46RE, especially in conversions.
Crawl under and look, the 46 has a long tail section with a coffee can built into it. Just in case someone swapped the 46 for a 32 for cheap fix.