high mileage
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 4
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high mileage
one of my friends is thinking about buying a 96 dodge ram but it has 132,000 miles on it. How do the dodge engines hold up? would this be worthwile. its a 1500 v8. the price is $7995. His main concern is the mileage so any help would be great. thanks
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 404
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From: Mason, WI
RE: high mileage
i think the price is high! My uncle just bought a 98 for 6500 with a 360 and an auto tranny, with about the same miles on it. If the engine was maintained well it should last awhile, but thats any motor
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 404
Likes: 0
From: Mason, WI
RE: high mileage
if its an auto tranny I wouldnt worry about the engine, I'd be more worried about the tranny.
Big rubber + auto tranny = Big problems (sometimes)
Anytime you increase the tire size on your vehicle, you increase the strain on the driveline. The best thing to do would be to take the truck for a test drive (with the radio off!) and listen for odd noises such as the tranny slipping, or banging into the gears. Also let the truck warm up and listen to the engine for any knocks, pings, or rattles. When driving, make sure to see how it stops, seeing how its got 38's its not gonna stop great to start with, but listen for grinds and squeels, and also if the steering wheel shakes when you hit the brakes. Plus make sure the 4 wheel drive engages and disengages.
That should cover almost everything mechanical, but if I forgot something, please someone feel free to add.
Remember its better to be a carefull buyer than having to carefully guide your new truck off the road to fix it
P.S.
Get the V.I.N. number and run it through www.carfax.com if serious about buying this truck, never hurts to have to much info
Big rubber + auto tranny = Big problems (sometimes)
Anytime you increase the tire size on your vehicle, you increase the strain on the driveline. The best thing to do would be to take the truck for a test drive (with the radio off!) and listen for odd noises such as the tranny slipping, or banging into the gears. Also let the truck warm up and listen to the engine for any knocks, pings, or rattles. When driving, make sure to see how it stops, seeing how its got 38's its not gonna stop great to start with, but listen for grinds and squeels, and also if the steering wheel shakes when you hit the brakes. Plus make sure the 4 wheel drive engages and disengages.
That should cover almost everything mechanical, but if I forgot something, please someone feel free to add.
Remember its better to be a carefull buyer than having to carefully guide your new truck off the road to fix it
P.S.
Get the V.I.N. number and run it through www.carfax.com if serious about buying this truck, never hurts to have to much info
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
RE: high mileage
Only reason i was asking is because i have no idea about dodge's, but i have a lifted jeep cherokee with an automatic tranny so i know all about that good stuff. just wasnt sure about he mileage. thanks for the help though guys.
Hall Of Fame
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 12,943
Likes: 308
RE: high mileage
regardless of the miles, it all depends on how it was taken care of. things to look for are:
1) leaky plenum gasket... look down the throttle body and see if there is any oil on the bottom of the intake manifold
2) if it's a 4x4 then look at the front suspension for wear, tie rod ends, tracbar (very common), ball joints etc...
3) auto tranny shifting correctly up and down... most of them up shift at around 2k if your light on the throttle and you can be in od while going around 40 mph... under heavier throttle positions, it'll upshift later between 2500~3000 rpm's (don't remember exactly) but if you pay attention while test driving it, you'll see what I mean.
these are the main things to look out for. the rest of the truck is pretty good, normal wear and tear items that usually wear out should be checked into...
1) leaky plenum gasket... look down the throttle body and see if there is any oil on the bottom of the intake manifold
2) if it's a 4x4 then look at the front suspension for wear, tie rod ends, tracbar (very common), ball joints etc...
3) auto tranny shifting correctly up and down... most of them up shift at around 2k if your light on the throttle and you can be in od while going around 40 mph... under heavier throttle positions, it'll upshift later between 2500~3000 rpm's (don't remember exactly) but if you pay attention while test driving it, you'll see what I mean.
these are the main things to look out for. the rest of the truck is pretty good, normal wear and tear items that usually wear out should be checked into...
