The c3 and older series I'd say yes but the c4 (84 on) family is galvanized. so its a rare issue.. c5 is reinforced balsawood and other stuff thrown in there..c6 ?? I dunno.

 

I plan on having mine for a while. My only concern is the electronics. 10 years from now if the pcm goes, I'm going to have a helluva time finding one in a junkyard and even then the dealer may no longer have the ability to flash it for the correct options.

 

Well, speaking as someone who buys his daily drivers with 100,000 miles on the clock, a well maintained vehicle that is a model or brand that is reasonably reliable should be able to easily run to 200,000 miles / 300,000 km.

The Ram I just bought replaces a '77 model truck that I parked running, with 287,000 miles on it. You can drive it today; it has current safeties for both mechanical and body integrity.

I use full synthetic and good oil filters. I don't know how the Mopar ones are but the AC Delcos are good; metal through-out including the bypass valve spring, full filter media inside. After I price the Dodge Store variety I may cut a new one apart and have a look. The cheap ones everywhere use cardboard in places where there should be metal, plastic bypass valve, and half the canister can be empty of filter media, or use less of it. There's no secrets to the oil filter game ... a $3 filter has three bucks worth of stuff in it.

Don't overheat the engine (keep coolant system in good shape) and don't overheat the transmission. One good cook and it's toast. Not sure if the Ram tranny issues are heat related or not, though but perhaps not since the problem rate seems higher than it should be.

You don't put many miles on, and it would be helpful to know how you drive or why you don't drive as much as average. You might take different approaches for best reliability and longevity with a vehicle that sees regular short trips versus one that sits for long periods of time.

Keep the gas tank 1/2 full most of the time and full if you store it. Burn the gas within 6 months. All petroleum based fluids are attacked by bacteria and break down starting pretty much the moment they leave the wellhead. Switching to synthetic lubricants will allow you to change based on mileage instead of age.

You should be taking at least one trip every month that fully warms up the truck; oil and water temps to the operating range and run at that temp for a while, to burn off water and let the additives in the oil eat up the byproducts. Idling is not so great but if you need to to get the temps up, it's better than it never getting hot enough.

 

I hear you Johnny, I make sure that once a week, I get the truck running on a long trip. It takes a long time to get to operating temp because of the Tranny cooler and radiator. I know about getting the oil heated up to evaporate water and other solubles. That is another reason i change oil so often. Since the solubles do not evaporate due to the heat as often as I would like, the composition of the oil would deteriorate faster. So I change it at more frequent intervals.

 

i've got a 76 chevy that i drove as a daily driver for 30 years. i finally retired it at about 275k miles due to rust, horribly faded paint, weak engine, and just generally out of style. the rust was the deal breaker that led me not to put 1000-2000 dollars back into it and drive it another 30 years.

if you can avoid wrecking it, avoid overheating, and avoid rust, your dodge will last 20+ years and 250k-300k. if your transmission is still original - you'll need a trans rebuild, a timing chain, and all the usual maintenance including water pump, wheel bearings, etc. the only other serious malfunction that might occur along the way would be a cracked heat. avoiding overheating will help prevent that.