This is my first dodge, never thought I'd own one. Bought it spur of the moment from 1000 miles away. Kinda took a chance. I'm a mechanic but wasn't present to check it out. Sent my cousin and had him be my eyes as we went over it. The deal was simply too good and I couldn't pass.

It came from chicago which kills me, 14 years of salt on the roads during winter will not look pretty. However, it's only got 40k

I thought there would be a sticky but I guess not. I will do some research on the truck but I have no, I mean no knowledge of these, usual problems, engine stuff, tranny stuff.....literally nothing. And of course that stuff will take time to find out. Which I don't really have.

I'm flying to chicago and will have about 3 days with the truck, then I will have to drive it 2000 miles to california.

I will do all the standard. Oil change, Transmission Oil Change, Plugs, Diff fluid, transfer fluid, check brakes, etc etc.

Is there an accepted standard of what I should be using for these fluids? Like something these components really like? (also, it's from a dealer, I have no idea what's in it and have records) Like my w126 benzes, i know that for some vehicles it can make a BIG difference which oil or whatnot you use.

ALSO....one big problem I now of. If you don't pull the negative battery cable the truck will kill it's battery in pretty quick fashion. Of course I can go through and find it with reasonable speed but I may not have time to fix it or order a part until I get back to california. Are there any usual suspects that may fail and be the likely culprit here?

Of course i have a million more questions but those are really what I need to know to help prep myself for this long trip in an unfamilair vehicle. Any other little tips or things to look at would be SOOOO GREATLY appreciated. I look forward to hangin out here...thanks guys!!

 

Read the stickied plenum thread at the top of the page. Biggest issue with these trucks by far.

 

The info about the oils and plugs and what not is in the 2nd gen ram FAQ's DIYs and How-to's section too..


Bring a quick disconnect for the battery before you go up there to pick it up. That way you can disconnect the battery if you need to let it sit for a little while without draining the battery.

And yes, the plenum is a big issue with these 2nd gen rams. This weekend I will be doing my plenum fix along with water pump, timing chain, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, pre-o2 sensor, TPS, front main seal...and a few other things....

Good luck!

 

Why sticky when you can have a whole section??

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...d-how-tos-143/

Welcome to DF!

 

hey...thanks for the info so far guys. Kinda uneasy knowing I don't have time to do a proper research on the vehicle prior to buying....and especially needing to know I have just a few days until I literally have to jump in and drive 2k cross country.

I'm looking at pics at it just looks like the tires are on the small the side to me. I know they are crap tires, not sure if I will buy new ones or not. I personally have never heard of them. They are Stampede AT's 245 75 16. Seems small to me. I'm going to look it up later.

 

Alot of these trucks came with either the 245's or 265's.. Might want to run the vin here on the site and get a build sheet.. Use ATF +4 only in the trans and tcase.. Dont recommend flushing it either... Ive run 10-40 oil in all of my trucks since ive had them.. 10-30 is fine also..

These trucks done really like the fancy plugs much.. Wires is your choice. The plenum is an issue on these trucks but that is something you want to set aside a day or 2 to fix.. You will be fine driving it home before you fix it.

Other than that you should be good to go.. Just be sure to have enough $$$$ set aside for gas on that long trip.. It will be costly

 

And if the plenum is really bad.... keep a couple quarts of oil with ya as well.

 

Amen to that. Before I fixed my plenum, there were a few occasions where I was so low on oil after a few weeks that my oil pressure would drop to zero suddenly and come back... not very good for the truck.

 

Copper spark plugs! I like Champions!

 

Mine did that before i fixed my plenum as well.