Hello Everyone,
I became a member roughly about a month ago, right after I purchased my 98 2500 with a 5.9 Magnum (20,000 miles on a rebuild) and a 46RE trans. I haven't driven it too much since I got it as I am doing minor repairs to it (fuel neck,new alternator,front & rear bumper and fixing some minor rust). I bought this truck to "weekend" work it. Pull a 16' landscape trailer in the summer on weekends and light commercial plow in the winter. It has a large trans cooler on it now with check valve delete. I plan on adding a larger capacity trans pan as well as some electric cooling fans to the front of the radiator to help keep it cool with a plow hanging on it in the winter going down the freeway.

My previous truck was a 93 Dakota with a 3.9 Magnum that I bought with 80k and it is still running today with 180K which is why I stuck with Dodge and it's Magnum series. I am questioning if I made the right decision purchasing the 2500, not from personal experience but from all of yours.

Are the 2nd generation Rams that bad? It seems a few of the common threads are bad transmissions and bad plenums. I realize that no manufacturer makes a perfect truck but were the 94-01's the lemon builds of Dodge?

Thanks,
Anthony

 

My old 96 with the 5.9 was still running strong at 112,000, with no major repairs during it's life, I'm sure the plenum would have eventually failed, but the truck got stolen from me unfortunatly.

The 95 I have now has 186,000. I got it used for cheap just a few months ago, so I'm not really sure what has been done to it over it's lifetime, but it's running great right now. (Did have some tranny issues, but fluid and filter change seemed to clear it up)

So that's two trucks relatively problem free. People that have no problems aren't posting on these forums. Hang out on any forum long enough and you will start to think that brand has issues...

 

no, they're not that bad. the stock transmissions are weak and the dashes crack. other common repairs include front end stuff, plenum, heater core which are overly expensive if you have to pay someone to do it.

 

It pays to keep in mind that we're talking about trucks that are all more than 10 years old, I think.

Pretty much every vehicle model ever made has come off of the line with some kind of engineering deficiency, and any that a vehicle has will become known over time. That's what's going on with the second generation Ram -- or the trucks made by any other manufacturer during the same period. Heck, talk to the owner of a late 90's Subaru about his CV joints.

 

I owned a 1996 (bought at 92K, it had a new tranny out in at 72K) that i beat to hell for 5 years until the tranny failed. It was fried from a failed torque converter. Got my money's worth though. In 2008 I got a 2001 (41K miles!!!) that somehow still had the extended warranty. Good until March 2011 or 98K. Since buying the truck I had these replaced under warranty:
1. Power steering pump
2. Transfer case (Cracked)

$100 deductible on each. Well, the power steering pump got an extra 200 from me because I needed a new line and serp belt. Oil was everywhere when the pump blew.

Other than that, the tranny is so smooth (even smoother with the new transfer case). No problems at all. The engine is very tight, mainly because it only has 50K miles on it. The prev owner had documentation on every oil change at 3K mile intervals. ALL MOBIL 1 OIL!!!

I did the plenum upgrade and roller rockers. To my amazement, the engine was CLEAN. I could eat off the factory plenum plate. The lifter galley was clean, the rocker arms were clean. It seriously looked like a new engine that someone poured clean oil on when I did the mods. No baked on grease or sludge.

Synthetic oil changes at 3K mile intervals or every 3 months will keep your engine like new. I swear by that. 29 bucks every 3 months for a synthetic oil change special at autozone is something I am willing to spend to keep my engine clean.

 

LEMONS!? how dare you? my truck is 15 years old, i expect things to go wrong. if you want something that you can drive around and take to the dealer when your "check washer fluid" light illuminates- GET A PRIUS!

I mite swear at 'er on a regular basis, but i still lover 'er.

 

I think that the previous owner has a lot to do with it.

NEVER DOs of our vehicles:
1. Never buy engine oil flush: This includes putting seafoam into the OIL. If you want to flush the REAL way, to synthetic oil changes every month ( or 300-500 mi whichever comes first) for about 4 months if you think it is that bad. You will notice a BIG difference after the 3rd change.
2. Never use the RESTORE crap. It will restore compression, but it will also stick to your timing chain, valvesprings, lifters...EVERYTHING and cake on this thin layer of crud. That is why it restores compression, because it fills in your scored cylinders with that stuff that cakes your other parts with black crud. Lucas oil additive works without making the baked on crud.
3. ONLY Buy name brand gas. Valero, Hess, sunoco, shell, chevron, mobil, exxon, BP. Stay away from Lukoil, delta and other crappy gas from the EZ mart. Valero and hess are my favorites.
4. Oil changes: 3000 mi or 3 months. whichever comes first. After time, your oil starts to thin and changes its composition. Namely in engines with bad compression or blow by. The air fuel mixture will blow by the piston on the compression stroke, sending fuel into your crankcase and it mizes with oil. This thins the oil. ALSO, you need to run your engine to FULL OPERATING TEMP. THis means the ENGINE AND TRANNY. the engine oil needs to get to 220* and higher to burn off vapors that get sucked out through PCV. This takes about 45 mins of DRIVING. Until your tranny gets to about 110*, your coolant and engine are not at full operating temp (in an automatic). Since the tranny fluid goes through your radiator, it will actually COOL the coolant until it gets hot enough. This is during cold weather especially. I have a tranny temp gauge and it took me 45 mins of driving to get over 110*. However, tranny's do get hotter FASTER in city driving than HWY driving (especially if you have the aux tranny cooler like I have).

Those are some tips on how to make your truck last and last. Some will disagree with the 3K or 3 months. But my engine is so clean, I want to keep it that way. However, i think that the tranny, steering components and transfer case will not outlast the engine.

 

Not to be contrary, but I get to be one of those who disagree because just about no motor oil will show appreciable viscosity breakdown in 3000 miles, or even 9000 miles, of typical street/highway operation. The reason for changing the oil on schedule is absolutely not to maintain viscosity, but primarily to drain out the fly ash and microscopic particles of metal that would otherwise circulate around and scour the close-fit parts.

If your truck is used in what the factory service manual considers light duty schedule A conditions, your oil change interval is specified as every 7,500 miles/6 months. Light duty schedule B is any of "Frequent short trips of less than 5 miles; Frequent driving in dusty conditions; Trailer towing; Frequent long periods of engine idling; More than 50% of the driving is at sustained high speeds during hot weather, above 90F; Frequent stop and go driving; Day and night temperatures below freezing; Taxi, police, or delivery service; Off-road or desert operation" -- and for those conditions your oil change interval is 3,000 miles.

Medium duty and heavy duty schedule A specifies an oil change interval of 6,000 miles/6 months. Medium duty and heavy duty schedule B, the same conditions as light duty schedule B, is again 3,000 mile oil change intervals.

This is all from the Chrysler factory service manual.

On the other hand, if a guy wants to change his oil every 3,000 miles/3 months, it's his vehicle, his wallet, and his time so it's no concern of mine. (I change mine, presently, at 3 months/3000 miles because my operating environment is most certainly a schedule B environment. If it were a schedule A environment, I'd cut my annual oil change bill in half without a worry.)

 

Thank you for the positive feedback and the service tips on the Rams. It's good to hear the plus sides. My confidence is restored.

 

mine has 227xxx miles and i pull a 6500 pound trailer mud truck combo every weekend and it dont leak a drop of anything. I have had a few problems with wiring mainly wires being corroded and breaking. but other than that the trans was rebuild at 94xxx according to the paper work and the motor has never been rebuilt. i dont leak a drop of anything... my girlfriend taurus with 67xxx miles and 9 years newer her halfshaft are goin out her wheel bearings are shot and the motor has a majior lifter ticking...but those are common problems with those cars. so i agree with everyone else our trucks are great and if you notice you will see lots of the same threads posted over and over plenium, more power, tranny... and people dont post to say how great there truck is most the time