Hey guys, new here. Im Andrew, Im 16,my usernameis what it is because I drive a black 2 door Jeep Cherokee. Im looking at buying a Dodge, Im wanting a 2wd for the better mpg. Im looking at one right now that Im thinking about buying, but I have some questions.....

1. Is the 5.2 a good towing motor, Im wanting to pull my Jeep on a trailer to go wheeling, not very far, maybe a 45 min highway drive. Will the 318 do pretty good, I plan to get a tranny cooler for the truck because I personally think its necissary for any highway towing.

2. Can I put a leveling kit on a 2wd ram? I want to make it sit close to a 4wds height, is it possible?

The one Im looking at is a 5.2 with 115,000 miles on it. I know they usually need plenum gaskets, I think I can prolly handle it (I do have a Jeep ) From my research the Hughes kit seems the best.

Thanks a lot

Oh and heres a pic of my Jeep if anyone is interested

 

I'd go with the 360, run electric fans, tranny cooler like you said, and stiffen up the suspension; ball joints go bad. I've gotten away with some Spicer Red Label BJ's and they've been fine, I just need to do the Tie Rod End's and get some better shocks.

Um, 50 mm Fastman Throttle body for a 318, 52 mm for a 360 apparently gives some good umph.

Kits for 2wd are far and few, but available. One of the more experienced guys like Silver_Dodge knows a good deal about the motors and all that. HankL always has interesting reads. Not many pro 2wd guys though.

 

The 2wd rams only get about 2mpg better than 4wd, and if you lift it to 4wd height, you're gonna lose like 1mpg right there. If you're gonna be hauling your jeep around to offroad places you might end up pulling a 2wd truck out more than you want.Hauling on anything other than pavement in 2wd usually doesn't work out so well.

That aside if you get the 5.2 make sure you get it with a manual transmission. You lose alot of power through an automatic.

and check to see what gears in has in it. 3.92 or 4.10 gears work alot better for towing than 3.55 does.

 

How are the manuals in these? They pretty tough? I know Dodge auto kinda suck.

 

+1 on whatcereal said. go with a 4wd, 5.9l. youll appreciate the extra power, make sure it has 4.10 gears as well.

 

To be honest; I wish my 2wd was 4x4. The engine and truck match up evenly so there's no significant mpg difference. If your hauling offroad, I'd say shop around for a 2500 like motorrbreath's. 1500 has some iffy lift stuff. Good for a ranch type truck though. Just personally think 2500/3500 is better for offroad.

 

2500 4x4 long wheel base with LSD is unstoppable offroad. you want towing strength and offroad capability, get a 2500.

 

If your trying to save on gas, and thats your main concern. Of course the 5.2 2wd is going to do better than the 5.9 4x4.

You do lose power with the automatic, but it is more convenient. I know someone with a dakota with the V6 and he regularly tows cars. I have seen him overload it but for the most part it does well. From my experience the 5.2 2wd tows great. I have towed my boat through some soft dirt and mud. I have never had any trouble with it getting stuck. I did get the boat stuck one time, and not be able to get enough grip on the grass to pull it out.

I used to mud alot, and I love 4x4s, some of my best memories where of skipping school to go ride my cherokee through the spillway, get it looking like yours and let everyone know how much fun you had.
My last 4x4 was a money pit like no other (1997 Montero; many nations use them like we use the hummer). For now I needed a decent mpg hauler.

I think I would have been fine with the v6. A jeep is not that heavy. Of course I live no where near any hills so that helps. I am sure there are situations where you NEED a 5.9 4x4, but I think you will do fine with what you originally wanted to get.
90% of the guys here are all for big engines and 4x4s.

Of course no matter which you get, gas will be $4 soon and probably $5 not much later.

 

I dont know, I have a 1500 5.2 2wd. I tow a 20ft enclosed trailer with an old jeep in it. Pulls good to me. 4 speed auto. I do have the tounge stabilizer bar things so that the back of the tuck doesnt squat so much. It only drops down about an inch. Not bad at all.

You could also get overload springs for the back end of your truck. That way if you do level out your truck from the front, it wont squat like hell in the back and look like crap going down the road. Besides that, 5.2 has plenty of power and gets better milage then the 5.9. Oh and I have brochers from when I bought the truck. My 95 Ram pulls 8100 lbs. The 5.9 pulled no more and the 4x4's pulled less. That is according to the Dodge brochers that came with it.

 

Dodge automatic transmissions are great if you take care of them. The problem is that most people are too stupid to change the trans fluid, and if they do, they don't use the correct stuff (Chrysler ATF+4) in them.

I've got a 318 4x4 with an auto, and it has plenty of power for me. I towed my Duster on an auto transport all up and down the mountains of Pennsylvania without any problems.