Hello all, Im now the owner of a 01 Ram 1500 Quad SLT with a 318, 5 speed manual, open rear. This is the first dodge Ive owned. Ive had tacoma and a nissan 4x4s in the past but when my buddy decided to light my Nissan on fire (beer) I bought a Dodge to replace it. So far I am inpressed. The only thing fishy Ive noticed in the 4 days Ive owned it is that it takes an awfeul lot of cranks to start when the engine is cold. Ive tried turning the key two clicks then wait about ten seconds before starting but it hasnt seemed to help. Any advice on this would be helpful. Also any advice about the truck in general would be cool to, common problems, things to watch for ect. Thank guys. I tried posting a pic but I suck at the whole computer thin so it might not work

 

5 speed. alright! one less thing to worry about.
if you depress the gas pedal just a little does it crank better? if so, IAC or TPS.
check fuel pressure at the rail, should be about 49.
if thats ok, try a tuneup, see if any of the plugs are nasty. replace dist cap and rotor.
it should fire right up on just about 1/2 engine turn.

 

I've only been a member here for about a year and I've learned alot on this forum. This forum is almost as addictive watching *****. I'm on here everyday and am always reloading the page checking for new posts....I was never a hardcore Dodge guy but I love my truck..it is actually the same as yours minus the manual trans. Welcome to DF

 

First off, welcome to Mopar!

My ram seems to take a few turns to start also. I think it is just the way the trucks were built. The starters are pretty strong on these trucks.

How many miles are on your truck? I think you are in pretty good shape with the manual trans, I think that they hold up pretty well from what I have read on the forum. As you will end up hearing if you stick around is that the automatics are quite flawed. I just finished rebuilding mine.

All in all, my truck has given me a little bit of s**t, but I love it and am dreading the day that it is finally worthless and time to get something new. Hopefully this is a long way out.

 

Welcome. Nice truck is it 2wd or 4wd? looks like a 4wd but i cant tell lol. If ya dont have it already invest in some exhaust you will like that as a first mod, I did. I dont know about your starting problem though mine fires up pretty quick on the first shot. You got any major plans for the truck or what??

 

Its a 4x4 with 82,000 miles. I really dont have any major plans for the truck yet. I may go with some lockers in the future as I always seem to get my trucks stuck. As far as the starting issue, it has new plugs rotor, cap and I bought it certified used and in all it seem to be in perfect shape.Im sure the starting problem can be easily fixed I just dont know how to go about it yet as I really dont know much about dodge motors. I may also do some exhaust mods. Any advice for better MPG, although im impressed with what it is getting now.

 

Welcome to the forum!! immensely helpful in many ways, and great for ideas with what to do with your truck! Its a great truck, mine is the same one except for the doors and the year, its going past 200k and still going strong! Good luck with your truck and if you need anything feel free to post, we all love to pick through solutions to any problem!

 

any exhaust will work , these trucks sounds nasty with what ever you put on, go on you tube and type in dodge ram exhaust and you will come up with tons and then you can get a idea on what you want

 

Or if your broke like most of us in Michigan you can start by tearing off your cat (especially if its plugged and shops want $600 to replace it). These trucks sound a little better just taking that out. Not that I would know of anything...

 

Welcome Joe2fish! Theres some very knowledgeable guys on here that are always willing to lend a helping hand. Also use the search feature on here for your problems, A LOT of topics have been covered many many times and i have found that a lot of my issues can be solved with it. As far as the better gas mileage........keep everything clean and running right and stay out of the gas Theres only a few guys running in the 16's but for the rest of us were down in the 10-12 range typically. And since no one has said it yet.......beware of purple haha