Hey all,

Im new here and Im looking at buying a 00 Ram 1500 with the 5.9L. I have a few questions:
-what years had problematic auto trannies?
-how hard is a water pump to replace? (Ive done a couple in other vehicles)
-it has 91k miles...what should I look for?

I work with the guy, and he bought it a couple years old. Takes very meticulous care of it, and it went to the dealer for anything (i.e. he heard a squeak, so it went to the dealer) Has new ball joints, gaskets, K&N cold air, no rust, ex cab, nerf bars, tonneau cover...immaculate interior. All for $5500. He is buying a new Tundra, and if I dont buy it, he will list it for more.

Thanks everyone!

 

Sounds nice, On the tranny..you pretty much have to watch out for all of the 2nd gen rams, as the trannies are a weak spot.

I think i read somwhere that the waterpump is a Pain in the *** to replace.

Sounds like a nice truck. Make sure you look it over real good before buying it. Check the tranny fluid make sure its not nasty.. Smell it and make sure its not burnt. If your going to tow with it i suggest an aftermarket tranny cooler.


Oh yea, here is when people come in and tell you to check the intake plenum....

 

i would say thats a good deal. And like the above post theres not much you can do about the tranny. they are known to go. as for the water pump. I just did mine and it took me 2 hours. i have the 5.9L as well, and mine has A/c so there extra stuff to take off. The water pump was VERY VERY easy. only hard part was removing fan/clutch from the pump. Other than that it was a breeze.


I would jump right on that. its got decent milage, and mine has 191095 and it runs mint.

 

The plenum is one of them things.

 

Which tranny would it have? Could it have a better built tranny than most of the ones that fail? Do they all fail?

The owner says that the only time he had a problem with the tranny was on a hot day the light came on, and after it sat for awhile, it didnt come back on...but he was driving hard. No burnt fluid. The incident he had was roughly 3 years ago and nothing since. Tranny shifts smooth, even with quick acceleration. I work with the guy and he's a buddy of mine so I know he is honest.

 

You would have a 46re, if you want sum extra protection add a trans cooler and delete the check vaule and a ****f kit... Sounds like a nice buy... Ps sorry for spelling and welcome to dodge forum

 

Cool. I have been searching around here off and on today. Was the main problems that toasted the trannies the check valve and overheating the tranny? I read that the trannies were made with cheap parts...did Dodge ever get the clue to use better internals for any years?

 

sounds like my advice was pretty close one other thing on that plenem also my is leaking and i burn thru about a quart of oil every couple weeks not a big deal but ive heard u can tell it from kind of a pinging/knocking when accelerating. its a seventeen dollar gasket or you can buy a whole kit but i hear its a son of b*tch to do all the work.

 

-what years had problematic auto trannies?
all of them

-how hard is a water pump to replace? (Ive done a couple in other vehicles)
not too bad. a few hours.

-it has 91k miles...what should I look for?
drive the crap out of it for several miles and get the transmission hot. if it acts up any, any at all, even the least little bit... plan on a $1500 repair.

Has new ball joints, gaskets, K&N cold air, no rust, ex cab, nerf bars, tonneau cover...immaculate interior. All for $5500. He is buying a new Tundra, and if I dont buy it, he will list it for more.
i don't see whether you said 2wd or 4wd. unless its the most perfect 'offroad edition' 4wd truck ever, its not worth 5500, and he won't get that amount anywhere. more like 4500 if 4wd and 3500 if 2wd.

transmission is 46re and yes, they were built with cheap parts and poor designs. top quality aftermarket parts and proper installation fix both problems. overheating and poor lubrication in the OD unit are common killers. they're all the same. failure rate is something like 50-75%.

what else to watch for. plenum gasket is likely leaking and needs repair.

 

Well, considering I live in Alaska and nice vehicles cost a little more, its a good price. It books at $7975. As far as the trannies go, I guess I will take the hit if it goes out.