On my way home for Christmas my truck got a rod knock. I dropped the pan, rod 4 was loose and rod 6 was even looser. I am sick and tired of these trucks, and am getting rid of it. I have owned the truck 5 1/2 years and only put 28k miles on it in that time. I have replaced every item on the serpentine drive (except AC, never worked anyway), rebuilt the front end, swapped in a another rear end, first motor was a 318 that lost oil pressure and clattered badly (never bothered finding out why), I put in the 360 that recently blew (only had 120K miles total), rebuilt the trans (at least 3rd tranny in truck) and replaced countless other parts. I also added performance parts in some hope that the truck would get out of its own way but it was always a dog. I pulled the performance parts off the truck and am selling it or scrapping it. I am selling the performance parts so if you are in WI and are interested PM me. I have HS 1.7 RR, K+N FIPK, tow hooks ect. I also have a nearly rust free cab for sale. These trucks look great but are nightmares to try to keep on the road. It has already been replaced with a '96 F250 Powerstroke crewcab short bed as I knew the dodge wasn't going to last and I was prepared for its demise. I hope the heavy duty ford will hold up a bit better than the dodge.

 

Sorry to hear it, bro. My buddy at work has an F250 like that and it's got over 300k miles on the motor.

 

Sorry to hear about the demise of your truck.

If you've lucked into the E40D transmission you're kinda sorta right back where you started from. If you throw power adders at it it'll fail faster -- as will the TTY head bolts which are just barely sufficient for stock trim. The turbos on the powerjokes of that era like to eat bearings. Vacuum pumps have a thing about not lasting. Those are the common complaints I've heard. I hope it works out for you!

 

Dodge came out with a really great revolutionary body style in 1994 for these generation 2 trucks and as a result sold a lot of them. Dodge did however go cheap on alot of things in the trucks (plenum, dash, heater core, rusting out, and so on) and this has resulted in almost all the trucks needing many repairs.

My company bought 2 f350s at the same time as buying 2 ram 2500s and the f-350s have been very low maintenance and the Dodges are non stop repairs.

Its really crazy how after 100,000 miles these dodges need everything. A 1999 F series ford for example had coil over plug where a dodge had a rotor and screwed up plug wires.

 

It is an auto unfortunately. I can live with that though as the OBS Crew cab (4 full doors) short beds are rare and its what I wanted. When it goes I will rebuild it myself, I did the one in the dodge and after that it is one of the few things that was not falling apart. The turbo, vacuum pump and injectors have already been replaced and it only has 147K miles on it! I hope I don't have to do them for awhile at least. The front end is a TTB Dana 50 which wears out but is cheaper to rebuild than the dodge front end as it does not have unit bearings.

I do know that my dodge was not well maintained before I bought it (realized it after I purchased it though). I am big on regular maintenance and my new F250 was much better cared for than my dodge by their previous owners. The F250 is also a heavier duty truck, the 1/2 ton dodge I had was overworked and I am sure that that contributed to my bad experience. I would buy a Dodge in the future (still have two other older dodges), I just need a break from them for awhile.

 

It definitely pays to be picky when buying an older vehicle, and doubly so when buying a second generation Ram. I figure that the best reason to buy one is because you have an irrational affection for the machine, its looks and its place in automotive history -- and have some disposable income to spend on making it the reliable machine it should have been. It's not really hard to do, but it's expensive and hard to justify unless you take a really long view.

Good luck with the Frod! It's good that you know what to keep an eye on. I hope it treats you well and that some day you find yourself with a keeper of a second generation Ram under your butt.

 

What do you want for the rockers?

 

....And the vultures are circling....



I am sooo glad I don't live up north.

 

If he lived closer, I would be circling for a selection of other parts as well. I have a laundry list of 'needs' on my truck.

 

Wow.
I love Texas, I don't have rust all over my truck, just mud and scratches.