Hey everyone! I just picked up a 1995 Ram SLT 5.9L Auto and love it! I bought it to tow my race car and go kart and So far have been super impressed with this truck. I do have some general questions as I learn about the truck I hope you guys can help me with...


1) What Wheel options are there for these trucks? Will the factory 02 18" Wheels work?
2) What is the max towing capacity of a 5.9 and what kind of towing gas mileage canI expect? Would this be enough motor to tow a 2100lb race car and enclosed trailer???
3) What is the normal oil pressure of these trucks when idling warm and under acceleration? The gauge on the dash is bad and the previous owner installed his own gauge which when cold reads about 35-40 idle and 45-50 accel and warm 20-30 idling and 40-45 under accel... Is that within normal specs???
4) What kind of things should I look for that are problem areas on the 5.9s????

Thanks for any help you guys can give, I really think I'm going to enjoy this truck for a long time!!

Rob

 

Welcome Turbo

I can help with a couple of questions

1) I dont know
2) 5.9 maxs out at about 7000 lbs towing (7800 is the max i think)
3) My guage reads 0-to 110 so your oil pressure looks ok. 40 is center of the guage
4) Plemun can leak. (gasket under the intake manifold.) Your truck being a 95 will may need a new tranny sometime. DONT TOW in overdrive.

5) Mileage towing sucks but you are in a big truck with a big engine & you have a load on. 8 to 10 has been reported.

Jeff

 

1) What Wheel options are there for these trucks? Will the factory 02 18" Wheels work?

The twenty inch wheels work just fine, so I have no reason to believe the 18 inchers wouldn't.

2) What is the max towing capacity of a 5.9 and what kind of towing gas mileage canI expect? Would this be enough motor to tow a 2100lb race car and enclosed trailer???

From dodgeram.info -

Ram 1500 4x2 Regular Cab w/ 5.9L = 7950 lbs
Ram 1500 4x2 Quad Cab w/ 5.9L = 7500 lbs
Ram 1500 4x4 Regular Cab w/ 5.9L = 7600 lbs
Ram 1500 4x4 Quad Cab w/ 5.9L = 7150 lbs

Those numbers are for a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500, but I don't think tow ratings would have changed very much from one year of 2nd Generation Ram to the next. Yours might be slightly different.

3) What is the normal oil pressure of these trucks when idling warm and under acceleration? The gauge on the dash is bad and the previous owner installed his own gauge which when cold reads about 35-40 idle and 45-50 accel and warm 20-30 idling and 40-45 under accel... Is that within normal specs???

Looks good to me.

4) What kind of things should I look for that are problem areas on the 5.9s????

Don't tow heavy loads in OD ever, I will repeat what wvjefo said. Plenum, yep. Maybe a new tranny, depending on the previous owners.

Thanks for any help you guys can give, I really think I'm going to enjoy this truck for a long time!!

No problem Rob. Glad we could help. This forum is a monstrous volume of knowledge, glad to have you here. Welcome to DF!

 

If your ram is a 2 wheel drive the newer model rims (18's or 20"s) will not fit. The front hubs are too big for the hubs on the rims. I went through that already and lost money on a set of 3rd gen 20's that didn't fit. However if you have a 4 wheel drive then there should be no problem.
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