I'm new to the forum and thought I would ask you Dodge enthusiasts for a little advice. I was born and raised on Dodge and now that I've bought a new house that requires a TON of DIY projects and repairs, I'm finding my car to be less than helpful, so I'm looking to get a truck.

I found an 01 Dodge Ram 1500 ext cab on Craigslist that is in my area and would like to know all you've got to tell me about the do's and dont's of that year and maybe what to look out for if I go to look at it. I've got the guy interested in possibly trading for my 04 Grand Am, which would be a lifesaver..I am NOT a car girl AT ALL so having to own this one has been a nightmare. It will be my first truck (only SUVS and a car before now) and I could not be more thrilled, but I would hate to get stuck with a bum deal, or find out that the year I'm looking at is one of the bad ones. It's got a straight body, and is said to run "GREAT", so we will see if/when I go take it for a test drive.
Now, of course, I know I will be taking a hit on the gas mileage, but I work only a few miles from my house, and live in a convenient spot in the city so I never have to go to far. About 1ce every month or two, I take a trip 2 hours back to my hometown to visit family and friends, but other than that, I don't travel far from home. So from a REAL point of view, how's your gas mileage? Any advice you're willing to give, I'm happy to take.

 

check the transmission fluid (while running in neutral), and how the tranny shifts...the tranns typically dont last to much past 150K if it even makes it that far. rebuilds go for about $1700+

Plenum gasket....its blown, theres no way around it....look down into the throttle body, and if theres any signs of black, its bad.

deathflash, look on the PCM (under the hood, pass. side) and see if theres been "software updates" if there has been, you need a tuner to eliminate the deathflash

fuel pumps are common issues, as well as the IAC sensor.

shackles tend to snap, so have a look at those.

also the timing cover gasket tends to leak, check that as well.



^these are the most common problems to look for,.

 

do you have a link ??

how many miles does it have ?

bring someone that know what there looking at check oil,tranny fluid make sure tranny fluid is red , not dirty.

gas milage is anywhere from 8-12 lol you get more towerd 8 if you need a tune up and if plenum gasket is blown. and if ouyr a lead foot hehe

 

well i have a 01' and not much i can say bad bout mine, but these trucks have a few flaws in them like everything. the dash likes to crack, the trannies like to go out but that just depends on the one u get but its usually 100k-150k miles.mine got rebuilt cuz i messed it up on accident. the plenum also is something that usually for some reason messes up and needs to be replaced, but mine hasn't done it so i think its a toss up. but either engine it has, either the 5.2 or the 5.9 both are very strong engines. now mpg, depends on whats done to it, but u could get anywhere from 12-20 on the highway.

 

welcome ram chick to DF!!!

well frist if you can tell us a little more info like motor/trans/4x4or2wd

i can say this when my truck(5.2 2wd) was running the best i was getting around 15mpg in town/Country driving

01's will problemly have the death flash but that can be fix with a tuner

check the trans out make sure i shifts easy

also these trucks a plenum gasket problem

 

welcome to df.
00-01 have better brakes, so that's good.
01's dash is more prone to crack, but they all do it. if the dash is not yet cracked, then you need to keep it out of the sun.
my 01 4wd gets about 13 city and 15-16+ highway.

your biggest risk is the auto transmission. ask about service records and whether trans has ever been rebuilt or not. rebuilt is better than not. as said, cost is 1500-2000, so if you can't afford that possibility somewhere down the line, then don't buy it. i've read a 100 or more stories where people buy one of these trucks, and spend every nickel they have on the purchase, and then can't afford a transmission repair in a year or month or 2 days.

test drive the truck pretty hard for 10-15 minutes and get everything nice and hot. if the transmission does ANYTHING wrong, including shaking, shuddering, banging, not shifting, shifting early, shifting late, or anything - then you've uncovered the reason he's selling the truck - so plan on a repair - or walk away.

common problems that can be expensive are -
plenum repair (intake belly pan gasket)
water pump
cracked dash
poor steering, bearings, ball joints.
heater core (buried under the cracked dash)

check KBB private party value and don't overpay.
these trucks are not worth a whole lot, especially 2wd.

 

http://joplin.craigslist.org/cto/1762544589.html

That should be the link the the truck. Now remember, I'm just considering it, I haven't even gone to check it out yet, so if it sounds like a bad deal, it's no biggie, I can keep looking.
I want to say that I do like the style of this year, but I'm also fond of the 98-00. so really any 2nd Gen information on preffered year/model help is appreciated. I'm not towing and I really don't see myself doing a lot of it for quite some time, so I don't need anything more than a 1500 and I gotta have 4x4. I may live in the city but when I head back home my country roots kick in so the tires can't stay clean forever. haha.
Thanks for the helpful welcome, too. If you even sound like you might be a woman on another site you get practically banned. Don't know what's wrong with a girl likin her trucks?!?!

 

Oh and (in regard to the link) I do realize there's some wear on it, with the bumper dent and whatnot, but since I plan to baby it, the rear bumper would probably get replaced eventually anyway and it might even get a paint job if it doesn't hassle me too much, so I'm not really worried about the minor wear, unless fellow dodge owners think the price is unfair for the wear. Just thought I'd throw that in.

 

That's the only kinda girl there should be, in my opinion! Looks like a decent deal to me, but I'd wait to hear from all the guys on here. They definitely know their stuff.

 

my thoughs,,,,miles are a little high,,,,,,,, and if it ran good and you really wanted it 4000-5000dollars