Hello everyone. I am looking at pickups and found a nice looking 1999 regular cab 4x4 with the 318 and 5spd manual. Is this a decent combination or would I be disappointed with it. I know there is no replacement for displacement but I will not be towing hardly at all and would still like to get decent fuel mileage out of it. What do you guys think of this combination? Thanks, Jeff

 

The 318 is not a bad engine. There are stronger powerplants out there, but the 318 does a good job of pushing these heavy trucks around. There are several guys here with trucks very similar to yours. I wish I had a 360 under my hood, but the 318 is not a bad option. Dodge has been making this engine since 1967 I believe, and it has been my experience that it is bullet proof, and seems to be the strongest and most dependable part of my truck.

 

mines preatty powerfull i can chirp 2nd all day with it and its a 4x4 8 foot bed and full cab with stock gears i like the stick just dont power shift to much because i have broken it twice doing that

 

Mine is a 99 318 with a 5 speed. Its a good combination in my opinion. I was running 285's and 3:55's gears. Now I am running 35's with 4:10 gears. Still decent power, and the tranny holds up well.

 

How do the 5spd manual transmissions hold up in these pickups? I have found a real nice looking 99 sport pickup with only 73,000 miles on it and I would think there are a lot of good miles left in this pickup.

Is there anything I should be looking at while test-driving this pickup? Thanks for the info. Jeff

 

id personally check the tranny. mine blew up ('98 auto) and my neighbors blew up a few times too. mine also has 120,000 miles. just my 2cents.

 

Yes, you should check the following:
-take off the air box and look inside the TB with a flashlight for oil puddling==bad plenum gasket $$$$$
-look at the radiator support or pcm for a white sticker that says "authorized software upgrade" ==deathflash, needs tuner or new flash for decent power and mileage
-crawl under front and check every joint; track bar, ball joint for wobble==cheap oem parts
-on hwy, see if the truck wanders or has slop in steering==cheap oem parts
-check front u-joints and bearings==cheap parts and more $$$$
-listen for pinging on a hill or under load. This engine will ping all day and there's no sure cure but lots of causes
-don't expect a hemi power. These trucks are comfortable and reliable but gutless (compared to new) and get poor mileage.

Mine's a 99 318 5spd 4wd and it's very reliable DD and made several looooong trips with it. Only 91k but lots of expensive repairs done with more to follow. So, if you don't mind the extra $$ involved in a truck, enjoy!!

 

yeah you may want to stop doing that, i blew second gear doing that a few years ago and had to rebuild the tranny, sucked driving around going 1st to 3rd until i could afford the work