hello new to the whole Dodge thing mostly drove Chevrolet, SO PLEASE bare with me....
im looking at a 2001 Dodge ram 1500 4x4 5.9l 360, v8 with 160,000 miles he wants $5,600 for it, its a nice looking truck but what should i look for when i go and test drive it?? thanks in advance!!

 

Make sure the tranny shifts well. If there is any slippage or if it shifts weird, don't buy it or make him half that price (the cost of a tranny rebuild).

Thats the biggest thing, and easiest, to watch out for. These trannies are OK, but if abused, they'll show it quickly. Also, don't expect much for MPGs, the 5.9 was built for power, and only gets 10-12 in town, 14-16 on highway (average). Worse if the oxygen sensors are bad, it needs a tune-up, or if it has a blown plenum gasket. (Aluminum bottom + iron top = gaskets occasionally go bad, due to different heat expansion rates)

Quad cab or regular?

 

Might want to watch out for door rot and rust spots. Check the frame, make sure nothings bent, rust on frame. have a look over the engine, make sure there are no cracks in the headers.(pretty common thing) If you can take off the airbox and see if there is a pendulum leak.

 

regular cab, has off road bumper on front built for winch looks cool.
so check trans shift, normal driving on the road is it real noticeable if it slips?
check intake for leaks?

 

Nothing unless you know the repair history of the last 80k miles. Just expect to replace or rebuild all major components.

 

repair history not known thats what im afraid of!!

 

Personally... I'dmove on.
I know people are going to roll their eyes at me...
do a forum search for I HATE DODGE, or just look around, 90% are posts about repairs.
make sure the transmission was rebuilt recently and that the plenum gasket is checked out by a Dodge Mechanic (so they know what to look for).
other than that, expect wear and tear part replacements. But most common with dodge rams, axle seals, bearings, u-joints (cheap part tough to get to), catalytic converter....etc.

 

this pretty much sums it up...
http://www.pavementsucks.com/forums/...hp?topic=39133

additional things to be aware of or look for.

1. if there is ANY transmission issue, it will not get better, only worse. a good rebuilt will be $1500-2500. in order to evaluate trans, drive the crap out of it for at least 10-15 minutes, so it gets good and hot. that's when the problems show. Any slippage, any shudder, any no overdrive, any non-shift.

2. cracked dash. about $750-1000 to replace at dealer.

3. A/C. the evaporator that's under the cracked dash. its also about $750-1000.

4 blown plenum belly pan gasket (along w/water pump and timing chain). you guessed it - another $1000.

5. Front axle u-joints and seals. another $1000. also ball joints and front axle bearings. another $1000.

6. Steering box, steering shaft, track bar.

7. is the rear end the factory Limited Slip. it will be broke. $500-750

 

The rear end on my 95 seems to be the factory limited slip (may have been replaced along the way), but it still works well at 265,000 mi.

 

and mine grenaded at 60K.