Okay, I think I found a pretty good work truck but I don't know much about Dodge trucks so if you could help me out that would be great. The truck is a 1990 Ram 150 , 2wd, 4 speed manual w/ OD, with about 135k.
The truck runs good and had been kept up pretty well. The only problem is that the bed has some really bad rust spots but the cab is in good shape. Is there anything I should know about this truck? Was this year a good truck?
The owner wants about 1200 for it is that a good deal?

Thanks,

jp

 

Well it seems you've got it confused with a chevy -

In 1990 the half ton 2wd Dodges were Ram 150, and the 4wd versions were Power Ram 150
Also Chevy is the only company that made a true 5.0 back in the 90s (the 302 is actually a 4.9 liter). The 318 that Dodge built is a 5.2 liter.

That aside, $1200 seems like a decent price for a mechanically sound truck with average cosmetic defects. The rust in the bed is a concern only if you absolutely don't want to deal with it. It's not impossible to swap the bed out should it rust through. If you really don't care you could always cut out the rust and patch it with plate steel.

Keep in mind that it is a 15 year old truck and things do wear out. Alternators, starters, tie rod ends, etc...

My 86 goes for extended periods of time where everything seems to work great, then something wears out and it gives me headaches. But when it runs right I love it.

 

Thank you for correcting me...
Anything you can tell me about these trucks? Good Mods? and anything that might be known to go bad?


Thanks again

 

Well I've got an 86 and I can tell you what I've done to it, but I really have no idea how receptive to modification the fuel injection system is. I replaced my alternator twice, once right after I got it and again just over 3 years later - about a month ago. I've replaced voltage regulators several times. Other than that I don't really know any common problems for the first gen Rams - just your normal wear stuff. They're good trucks and people tend to drive them forever - I even saw a farmer towing a cattle/horse trailer down the freeway in an early 90's Cummins that had been rolled. Looked like he probably replaced the glass and straightened the cab with a come-along and a tree or something and that's about it. [:-]

 

I just took over ownership of a 89 Ram 150 pick up 2wd that my grandpa has owned since new. It had a tranny replaced after approx. 25000mi. After that he hadn't had a problem up until the fuel pump went last year. Since then I have replaced the tranny mounts because they were completely rusted through ( I live near Toronto, Canada where they use salt for snow removal so everything is rusted). $50 later it was fixed and it has run great ever since. The only problems that I have heard of is rusting around the wheel wells because of the chrome trim Dodge used.

Brian

P.S. my truck just clicked over 300,000kms (approx. 180,000mi)