2000 Ram 1500 4x4. 318 5 speed. 315/75/16 tires and a skyjacker lift. Runs and drives good. But it smells like coolant up top of the motor, and found coolant bottles in bed.

What's most probable issue? Intake gasket?

It doesn't smell like coolant out the exhaust.

Looking at buying. truck has 91K miles

 

It could be that they just spilled coolant when they were putting it in...

I like to think optimistic.. If its not coming out the exhaust or any hoses leaking you should be golden?


latas

 

look on the bottom of the water pump/belt pulley for a green drip. also look for wet spot where coolant might be slinging out of the seal. its about the right time for a 2000 original wp to fail.

they might have also recently backflushed the heater core trying to get the damn heater to work.

 

That's gonna be an absolute slug unless they put in at least 4.10 gears.

 

Thanks to all the answers. It's kinda sluggish. It rev's really nice.

Tires are BRAND new. It's got manual windows and locks with cruise control. And a rubber floor.

It does need a clutch in near future. It slips ( I say it does, however it's just really high pedal travel to engage)

No oil leaks from front or rear main seals. looks like front axle seals are starting to go (barely damp)

Radiator hoses need to be changed really bad. That could be the problem. The heat works outstanding, A/C not at all

So with the approximate 35" (315/75/16) tires it really needs what ratio of gears to be correct 4.10 or 4.56?

 

Most will say 4.10 for 33" and 4.56 for 35". That's the same truck in stock form as mine. The clutch is supposed to engage at the very end of travel.

AC could just need recharging. Mine went empty about 90k. Still works great with original hoses.

Get it up to operating temp and check where the temp needle reads. You'll want a 180 stat in it instead of the 195 stock one.

Also make sure it steers perfectly as its a pain to fix steering issues on these. Check for any movement in the track bar. There should be a drop bracket on it for the lift.