Hello to all! I want to say this forum is a plethora of information. I bought my truck about 2 months ago and love it. It's a 98 1500 QC with the 318. It only had about 87k miles on it and the guy wanted 1500 so I couldn't say no. It now has 91k. In the 2 months only had a few issues. Pinging that I attributed to bad gas, but has since come back, so prob the plenum gasket. That will be done soon. Premium fuel until then. Oh it also had cylinder 8 misfire plug was fouled and gap was huge so new plugs and wires went on. About a week ago the torque converter started locking and un locking while at a steady speed. Replaced TPS and is all good now. Today discovered a small trans leak at the drive shaft/output shaft. Not sure if that will be a pain to fix or not.

Other than that I love the truck, and for the price I'm willing to spend a little on her.

 

You had me until I heard you talking about the small trans leak by the output shaft. Is it a 4x4? Because that would be the transfer case. I had 49K on my 2001 when I noticed a leak in the exact same spot. Ended up the transfer case was cracked. Good thing it was still under warranty (6 months ago, the truck has 51K).

That leak could just be a seal, or the tranny/transfer case could be cracked. Maybe that was the reason for the price.

I hope it is just a seal. If not, a junkyard tranny should not be that hard. There is a great boneyard near Russelville it is called Arkansas pick a part (Not sure if it is PIK or pick). I am living in Fort Smith, AR right now.

http://www.arkansaspik-a-part.com/
There it is. If you can't find anything at your local boneyard, they should have everything you need. It is pretty much a retirement home for 2ndgen rams and daks.

 

Sorry about the confusion. Not output shaft im 2wd here. I'm just dead tired and was reading a post from someone else. It's the seal at the rear of the transmission, right at the drive shaft. It's not more than a drop or two over night. Again sorry about the confusion. Thanks for the info on pik a part. My local only has a few 2nd gens and they have been pretty much picked over.

 

Well,the tailshaft seal replacement is about 400 at the dealership to replace (labor being the biggie).

Good deal. I would have bought a 2ndgen with that many miles for 1500 if it was missing an engine.

 

Welcome to the forum! I had the same #8 misfire/badly fouled problem as you, I changed mine out too but I hear the plenum leak can affect that cylinder worse for whatever reason so I imagine it'll be back. I keep meaning to pull it again to check it, it's been a few months now. Enjoy the site!