Alright so today i went and test drove a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500. It was driving fine. Their was just a little vibration under the passengers floor board. Kinda felt like one of those pop out top mint cans. Thats not the problem though. When we were driving we noticed that the water temp was fluctuating between 200-215 degrees. I know its common for Dodge Rams and Jeeps to run at some what higher water temps but what im worried about is how the water temp went up and down so often. What could the problem be? Is the radiator clogged? Also, the fluid in the engine coolant overflow thing (which was practically empty) the fluid was rust red? I think it might need a new radiator and heater core.

Its got 96,000 miles and its a Automatic Transmission

 

Sounds like a good vehicle to pass on. Rust in the coolant probably indicates that someone's been running straight water in there -- and who runs straight water? Idiots who've got leaks they don't want to fix. And how do idiots fix coolant leaks? Bar's Leaks. That crap is famous for plugging up the lower passages in engine blocks.

But if you want to buy the other guy's headache, you should at least pull out the block drains long enough to see if coolant runs out. If it doesn't flow out of any one of them it's a definite pass. If it does, you're looking at a new thermostat and a water pump wouldn't hurt (it's going to fail soon anyway), a serious flush/de-scale, and a radiator whose lifespan has been dramatically decreased. It might go fountain on you when you flush the system.

All that said, even with those low miles it's begging to be passed up.

 

96k miles makes me suspicious as that's only about 6k per year. unless this is owned by a retired geezer, then the cluster has been changed out and that's not the right mileage.

anyway, the overheating is mostly likely the combination of 195* stat, radiator efficiency low, and AC on. its not the end of the world, but it might need a new radiator, t-stat, flush. that's only about $200 or so. the kick in the *** will be if it needs a heater core, since its inconveniently located under the dash. you might can just flush the heater core and be ok.

so what's the price? and is it 4wd? if you can get it for a good price, say $2000 or less, go for it. i wouldn't pay a whole lot of money for a 96, regardless of low mileage.

 

Its a 4x4. He is asking $3500. We are buying it from a retired cop. Before we buy it we are gonna take it for two hours and have our mechanic friend inspect it. What do you mean pull the block drain? What is that? Where is it?

 

there are 2 hex head pipe plugs for draining the block, 1 on each side. They hide behind the engine mounts and are a little hard to find and even harder to get a wrench on. And they tend to round off. If they've never been out, its going to be tough to get them out without stripping the heads off. if/when you do this - use very good vice grips.