It is not expensive, it is part of the high level scheduled maintenance on the tranny you have to do like every 60kto 70k miles. Dealer charges about a $100 bucks for this scheduled high level. They change your fluids and adjust the bands. I would problaby pick the 2000 model if you choose the 5.9. 2001-2003 has a A/C fan flaw (resister pack) issues. Other than that, you can stick with the 2003 model that IndyDurango recommended.

 

3064:

Just got to jump on the wagon here and add to the many fine responses already posted.

Being a 4.7 owner, ( a minority in this post) don't sell the 4.7 motor short. I have had 62K+ trouble free miles. The 4.7 is newer technology being an OHC motor. Also, no plug wires or distributor cap or rotor to fool with. As long as you are not towing alot or really big loads, the 4.7 is a great choice. You will see an extra mpg or 3 with it over the 360 which is a nice plus these days.

And........ don't sell the AWD option of the R/T short. You will find out as many have that the economy difference is 2 mpg or less. That is a small penalty to pay for the added safety and traction of full time 4WD.After looking into the benefits of the AWD, I swapped in a full time t case so that the extra 4x4 hardware will work for me 24/7 in all weather instead of only on slippery surfaces or off road.

One more point, many folks seem to poo-poo (I think I can say that here LOL) the 01 up electric transfer case. Again, I have had zero zip notta issues with mine. Ilike the fact that 4 high/4 low is just a **** turn away.

Good luck with your quest and let us know what you decide on.

Don

 

Buy my 00 Dingo, I cant afford payments anymore just hit 97K miles

 

lots and lots of good information on this forum thanks guys! Yea, i really have never had such a hard time in purchasing a vehicle until this time around. I'm looking at the pros and cons of all 2 of the motors. I just dont know which route i wanna go with as of yet. I start my new job in the next two weeks tho, so i need to do something soon! lol! One more question, I'm looking at tune up issues as well. Some say that the 5.2 is the easiest to work on. I love to work on cars and trucks, but I've never dealt with any mopar 8's. How hard is the 360 to work on compared to a 318 or a 4.7? (forgot the cubes on that one 29???? lol) And i'm talking about routine things, tuneups and that kind of stuff. Thanks again guys, you've been a great help

 

the 318 and 360 along with a plethra of others are all the same block with diff heads on them. so if you know how to fix a 318, you know how to fix all the others, besides the new hemi, which sucks

edit: the 4.7 is an entierly new block nothing like the OHV 318 and 360 the 4.7 is SOHC which puts out almost the same numbers as the 318

 

so in your opinion, 5.9, which would you consider? what should i really look out for that would cause major problems on these bad boys?

 

Transmissions can be the downfall with these. I would suggest that if it goes out you get a built tranny, then you will have no problems.

 

well, all said, the 318/360 have been around since before the 60's so a moders POV would be that there are alot of options as far as upgrades and readily avl parts on hand.for break downs.

On the other hand there are still alot of mods avbl for the 4.7 and with the newer tech. it should, in theory, last longs with fewer break downs and whatnot but i dont think thats the case. Being partially bias towards the 360 since i have one, i think its a great choice if you dont care about gas mileage. If you want better mileage, get a 4.7 is what it boils down to, i think. The 318 is going to give you the worst of both worlds, bad milage and not more then 5 lb/ft more then the 4.7 i think.are the right numbers. if you dont plan on towing anything, i would look at another vehicle with better gas mileage

 

I would think that the 318 would be the longest lasting as it seems to always run cooler then any other V8 ive seen stock

Problems are like MG said, the trans on all the models, upper ball joints were bad, i think my brakes suck *******, and ive heard they like to stick and be sqeeky. other then that ive not had many problems with mine that are her fault but the previous owners for not replacing the radiator cap and rusting out my whole cooling system.

 

when do you think is a good time to get the tranny replaced? I mean, i dont want to sound dumb, i know if the truck shifts funny, then somethings wrong, but someone also said that the band in the tranny need to be adjusted as well. So how do i know the difference when the bands need to be adjusted or its time to go with a rebuilt tranny? How long could i expect to get out of a factory stock tranny in a D?