Alrighty guys, I have myself a 3rd gen ram and have already posted in the 3rd gen section about some used ones I found for my wife but...here is a new issue.

A long time family friend has a 1998 Ram club cab short bed with a 5.9 that she is willing to sell me for 5k if I want it.

the truck only has 42k Original Miles on it and has been pretty damn well maintained. Her husband just shipped off to Iraq and is fine with the thought of selling it.

The price is right on with blue book value.

But, I wanted to ask you all what you thought of the deal.

It looks seemingly better than paying 10k for a 3rd gen with 60k on it imo.

Thanks all. Looking forward to your replies.

 

if you are wanting a play truck id jump on it. There is however, a long list of common problems with the 2ndgen trucks. IMO the tranny seem to be the biggest issue. although if the truck only has 4x,xxx miles on it you should be fine for awhile.
These trucks have alot of capacity for upgrades.

The only other thing is (and i think i will gain enemies by saying this) I dont believe that the 360 motors last quite as long as the 318. Both are a long life motor but it seems that the 360 will fail before a 318 does. IMO I think that the 318 motor was the bes thing Dodge ever did.
Good luck ans post some pics too!

 

Id say jump on the offer, but make sure you have money stashed away for a new tranny and pendlum repair kits. Two of the biggest and most common problems, and of course cash stashed away to make that thing a beast. Go for it, but be aware of the problems. Even with a new tranny you should be around 7k for the truck. With only 42k miles on it, that should be awhile away anywho.

 

How dare thee challenge my 5.9! I shall smite thee with my greater number of cubic inches!

Seriously though, I have no idea if you're right or not. However, I do know they are very similar engines, so the logical conclusion would be that they have similar lifetimes.

Of course, the word "logical" usually doesn't fit with most vehicle manufacturers and their designs.

Pendulum? (You mean plenum, right?) I never knew these trucks had a swinging pendulum like a grandfather clock. Where's it at? Does it help keep the time of the digital clock in the cab?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

Well, thanks guys for the replies.

I'm definitely looking at the truck.

If not as a daily driver, as a plaything.

It's kind of a tie between this and an old 1990 Chevy (blasphemy?!) for a toy.

Something I can go tear through the dunes at the coast with

Of course whatever I get I have to let my wife drive too

 

Yeah, 5k is a decent price. I was unaware of tranny problems when making my purchase. Maybe the guys can list some of the symptoms so you know when you test drive.

 

man wish i could find a truck with low miles like that for that price, what motor , and you have any pics ???

 

IU love my 5.9, but it's hard to keep up with all the other parts to get the full HP out of it, Tranny and Plenum specifically. Also the stock exhaust has something left to be desired. 360's sound nice with an aftermarket setup. Truck is also VERY easy to work with, VERY in terms of having room and parts readily available through various websites.

 

....mean. So spelling is my strong point. heh

But some ideas on when your tranny is going, well to start off i knew mine went when it wouldnt shift out of first a WOT, the shift points started to sag a bit, by that i mean they were off from the usual spots. Shifting feels harder (but remember when your moving fast and you shift theyre going to be hard ).

 

Just giving you a hard time Mowhawk. Don't take it personally.