Im looking at a 1500 dodge ram 2001 are there any common problems regarding the 5.2L vs 5.9L? also im looking at a 03 1500 ram. Is the 5.7L hemi a good engine and are there any common problems for that model?

 

Welcome to DF.

5.7 HEMI is a little more reliable and a little more power, but I wouldn't call the 5.2L/5.9L V8s unreliable. Reliability for any of those engines pretty much depends on if maintenance was done at the correct times and done correctly.

I will move you to the correct location on the forum to get more answers. For future reference, please visit the below link:
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-r...ead-first.html

 

I would say the Magnum engines are extremely reliable if taken care of. They will generally run anyways, just maybe not well. They SUCK gas but have gobs of torque.

the early 5.7s had valvetrain issues i think,

main problem with second gen trucks is plenum and transmissions

 

Magnum motors are simple to understand and easy to work on. The hemi not as much from my experience. 03 was the first year of the 5.7L hemi and have valve spring issues, though nothing an upgrade wouldnt fix. Leaky plenums and transmissions are the weak point of the magnum motors, plenum is an easy fix and transmission can be rebuilt a little tougher as well. You'd be better off doing research in the 3rd gen section and asking those guys about the 3rd gen trucks. Myself when I had this question, I picked the 2nd Gen Magnum and havent looked back

 

Thanks so much for the information guys, very helpful!

 

+1 on what the previous posters said, the plenum and the transmission attached to the magnum motors are really the only weak points. otherwise these engines are great and very powerful, just don't expect good mpg though lmaoo

 

lol, i just bought my truck to be my daily driver, lol.

 

Gotta be honest I'm broke as a joke and don't have a nickel for a coke and I can afford to drive my 360 Ram. My transmission has held up great thus far, I've done plenty of burnouts with it and lost my license in part because of that and another thing. I think a trans that has kept ATF4 in it and has had little to no Dexron ever, will survive the rigors of service easily. That's a common thing that I notice, people using Dexron in place of ATF4 because its cheaper and easier to get and every person I've talked to who has had a trans failure on their Ram has admitted to using Dexron3!. And to be fair to my Dodge, My brother has had a 92 Chevy truck with a 350 and his new truck (a 93 Chevy with a 350 and 700R4) all have had pumps, clutches & a blown apart spider gear and something else go out on their transmissions. My Dodge on the other hand has 60hp more and 45ft lbs of torque more and has never had transmission work at 179,000 miles.

These Magnums are very tough engines, the LA Style 360's & 318's before them were just as tough. The '84 360 I got out of my parents van I junked has 280,000 on it and the week before it was pulled out my dad torched a 5.0 Mustang 5 speed from a 15mph roll up to 80mph by 4 car lengths!, that engine had awesome power!. My Magnum 360 has 179,000 on it and it survives constant abuse by me and especially my girlfriend. Plus it even gets better gas mileage than my GF's trailblazer which is an absolute C*nt on gas compared to my Ram. After my plenum gasket change last year, on the highway I average 18-19mpg with my 360, that's with new Autolite 3923 plugs, cheapo mileage plus wires from Napa & a brass cap & rotor. For a V8 pulling 5300 lbs of extended cab 4x4 truck that's pretty respectable!. Of course when you're repaving the streets with it, the mileage goes down, but if you keep a light foot on the gas, it'll do very well.

The main thing to worry about on these Magnums is the plenum gasket, pcv valve & valve seals...basically anything that could leak oil. If you keep oil in them and the gas flowing they won't quit running!. Another thing is some oil pumps tend to get lazy as the engine gets more miles on it, a new pump is $25 ($35 with new upgraded pickup tube) and can be swapped without using a jack on the 4x4 Sport model. Its pretty easy to change and while you're down there you mine as well change the rear main seal. The Magnums stock oil pickup tube is pretty thin, the upgraded one from Auto Zone keeps a nice free flowing supply of oil to the bearings & Pistons. Other than oil pump pickup, plenum gasket & roller lifters that sometimes get weak & noisy, all except the plenum gasket are trivial things, these engines will take any abuse you can throw at them as long as theres oil that's able to circulate around the engine.

I will leave you with one last example of the Magnum's reliability... My Parents '92 Dodge Van with a 318 they got from my aunt & uncle has 336,000 miles on it and my fatso uncle who weighs no lie 550 lbs used to pound the crap out of it all the time. He had coolers stacked up behind the drivers seat because every time he'd engage the passing gear the back of the seat would collapse LOL. I remember as a kid watching my Aunt & Uncle leave our yard and he would back out onto the road & throw it into drive as it was still rolling backwards & burnout with it and he did it all the time. It made trips everywhere from BC Canada, California, Las Vegas, New York and back to Wisconsin again without one engine problem or work done on it. This engine hasn't even had a tune up in 100,000 miles or plenum repair EVER in all of those years!.

 

there are no common problems.

 

Heh, plenum gasket in a '92.

On to the OP's question:

Hmmm... common problems. Plenum gasket, weak transmisssions, wandering steering, cracked dashes, expensive freakin' unit bearings in the front end of 4x4's, splattered transfer cases of 4x4's.

If you're dumb enough to ignore the symptoms of a blown plenum gasket, it'll cost you oxygen sensors, catalytic converters, and heads -- usually the passenger side head goes first.

If you're running a pickup truck of the same era, the automatic transmission is a problem Plan on replacing it, and if you're intending to keep the truck, plan on going ugly early with a PATC Mega Viper. The stockers are weak, end of story. Same in Chebbies and Frods. 'Nuff sed.

For the wandering steering: Every solid front axle 4x4 suffers the same stuff, really, except Uncle Chrysler also gave us a crap steering column. Search the web for Rock Solid Ram Steering Fix, which is one failure point solved.

The dash is a PITA. Plan on replacing with one from LMC Truck. It's not necessarily a difficult job but it's a big one. Do the heater core and A/C condenser at the same time since you're in that deep.

Unit bearings? Well, heck, they ain't CV joints but they're almost as expensive. Welcome to the really world, friend.

A new transfer case is about $1500. Plug in a transfer case saver for about $50 and you won't have that worry. Wanna know why? Look here.

Ultimately, a second generation Ram is no more expensive to keep on the road than any other of the same era. The thing is: Are you going for a second generation Ram because it's the coolest damn truck since early 60's Chevy trucks, or because you're a BAMF (broke-a** mother f***er)? If you're a BAMF, buy a car. If you're an enthusiast: Welcome, Brother!