Hi,
Maybe someone can help. I drove truck home in the rain 2 nights ago and it ran fine lights didnt dim or anything. Next morning wont start, and I didnt leave anything on. I use one if those plus in the wall socket jumpstarts I have and it jumps off easily and runs. I leave it for about 30 mins and try to start again wont start. I jump again turn on lights and wiper to see if lights dim, they dont, look at battery post clean, belts tight, alternator not making noises, but Walmart battery is 2 1/2 yrs old on a 3 yr battery. I bought truck one year ago. I call Walmart they say that they have tester, ask if I have receipt and I said no, they said thats ok bring it in! So this morning I hook jumpstart and crank it but as soon as I let off gas it dies. It doesnt sputter and die it dies like someone turned it off. Only way I can keep running is foot on fuel feed at all times. Yesterday it ran just fine after being jumped. I loved my truck but it has been one thing after another. I have spent around 5k on it in one year and it still has issues besides this most pressing one. Also is this year model prone to lots of problems?

 

I just read on another post that its probably the IAC which probably does need cleaning or replacing but someone wrote this "hang on and don't replace anything yet. a weak battery screws up the idle signal on these trucks. thoroughly charge the battery and verify that you've got 12 volts before start and 14+ volts when running." so im going to see if I can get ride to get battery. It did this right after battery issue so thats probably the prob. I live in BFE and i need to figure this truck out and make it dependable or trade in.

 

Your 98 isn't a problematic year by itself... it's all of the 94-01 trucks lol.
So...was the battery tested? Did it pass? If not get a new battery.

If it's good. Pull off the throttle body, clean the IAC, the passage the IAC sits in and the rest of the throttle body. Make sure you replace the throttle body gasket and make sure you disconnect the negative battery cable before starting.

These are all free things to do, well besides the cost of a TB gasket and some carb cleaner.

 

Thanks, Didn't make it to replace battery yet, waiting for ride. I will have a ride tomorrow for sure. I found a really good DYI on cleaning IAC on this forum. I have spent a fortune on this truck. The front end work, transmission rebuilt, still has issues. Dont know if truck or mechanic, $1150 spent on a/c complete new system compressor was bad from auto parts though so I paid labor again to replace. A friend I paid first did it, before moving and I had to pay mechanic. Now a/c has quit again. Transmission ( I think) does not automatically go into gear when cold, i was told that was because I had a heavier torque converter put in? Same person who put a/c together said to step on brake slightly with gas at about 60 mph and if it revs up, you have problems?? It does I also can hear a low almost brake dragging sound coming from it at any speed except when exhaust drowns it out, including coasting. No one else has been able to hear this (2) mechanics but me. It now viberates at around 50 mph ...sometimes...sigh. Oh yea and sometimes doesnt want to shift into O/D. The front end is having issues again because the tires are wearing out too fast, i think. Drivers side window motor is out and passengers is on it way also. The guy that rebuilt the transmission and front end work is a mechanic and did it under the table at his house. Problem was he had it for a month and now I wonder if it was fixed. So this is why I am on this forum. I like Dodge truck, not the new body styles though. I want this one fixed enough to trade in on another with less miles 169k. I bought it with 140k and it was really a clean looking truck for the model and age. Except the grill fell out, i have that tie strapped in, and the bumper appears to be falling off. I know this sounds like a lame joke but I have noticed other ppl with these years bumpers look like this too. I really dont want a truck pmt right now. I'll stop now since I realized Im whining .

 

You jest drive an old truck, and you are at the mercy of mechanics. Stay on the forum, and you should buy a service manual (at the very least a Haynes manual) from the local auto parts. If you don't have tools, tell folks you need and want them, and maybe santa will be good this year. But, crap, don't sell yer truck if you can help it. You are right about the truck payment thing. I have 260K+ on my '96 1500, and it doesn't owe me a thing. right now, i have the front end torn down installing new ball joints and control arm bushings, and am replacing the heater core this weekend. It's all still cheaper than a truck payment, plus the truck is a known quantity. I tow a car hauler with it cross country, and I still love it after all these years. Hang in there, ask for help, and good luck. ~Swamp

 

-That's a crazy amount to pay for a/c in my opinion. Mine doesn't work either, and it gets into the 90s in the summer where i live, but it doesn't bother me to just have the windows down and drive it. I probably just need to recharge it, but I could care less to spend $30 or whatever to fix it when I can just roll the windows down. But that's just me.

-I don't know much of anything about the auto trans, but you should let the truck idle in neutral for a minute or so before you put it in gear. That lets the torque converter fill with fluid quicker, allowing you to shift into gear more smoothly...or so I've read on here.

-If the truck is vibrating, check u joints and front end components especially the track bar. Bad steering components also lead to tire wear...so does bad alignment; get it aligned.

-It really just sounds like the guy who did the work to your truck, didn't actually do the work, or didn't do it right. I'd tell him to fix it right and if not you'll take legal action (not sure if your circumstances will even allow you to do so, but...)

-If you're buying another ram, try to find one with a manual trans. Much less problems there.

 

Thank you,*
I have the Haynes, bought that when I thought I was going to fix a/c myself then realized that it was not something I could
Do, didn't have vacuum pump, gauges, confidence, etc. My heater core didn't have to be replaced then, maybe now. But I just looked and had saved a good *utube on how to replace it. * Its called "dodge ram heater core replacement" . That makes me feel good about the milage, I also pull a trailer this was why I was thinking I probably needed 3/4 ton. Its a two horse, but its a 80 something model and its extra tall for large horses, so its heavy and has lots of wind drag. It pulls it well, if I ever get the transmission where I trust it. One thing though "knock on wood" its never left me stranded on the road. I moved 150 miles and used the horse trailer and made about 9 trips loaded heavy. *This is an awesome forum, I have learned a lot in a short time.
* Brenda*

 

I agree about the a/c amount but it happened a little at a time. In Texas a/c is mandatory. The heat index is always over a hundred in the summer. When it went out my window motor also went so I couldn't roll window down on my side. Now its cooled off some, so I can slide without it. When I went to replace compressor, i was just going to get a pulley. But I would have to have ordered off the internet, so I bought rebuilt compressor at ORiley. They told me I also needed orfis tube sp? And dryer. I bought freon And a special orfis tube tool that was necessary. The parts were $400 +, my friends, friend stopped by and brought the pump and the gauges. They replaced everything then it wouldn't work. They determined it was the compressor was bad. I paid $400 labor bringing the total to almost $900. He couldn't stay and replace it again ( he was moving) I paid him what it would have cost me at the shop*labor because he needed $$ I bought the parts and should of never bought a rebuilt*compressor. I read later ( I think on this forum) that they are bad a lot of times. I then took it to a shop and they pulled that compressor, took it back and got another ( which i just now snapped would have been a rebuilt... Crap)
I should of paid extra for new. That shop charged me around $250 and I also decided to replace the belt too.*
*Thats good about the torque converter i feel a little better about maybe he actually did do something to the transmission.*
*I do know he replaced most of the front end, he showed me what was wore out. * * * Funny you said track bar i was just researching that, and I don't think it was replaced. It was aligned though about 5 months ago.
*Legal action wont really work because I would have to have a certified mechanic tear into the transmission, and be able to say that he can prove the work wasn't done. I paid mostly cash to him, did write a*
couple of checks. I have no invoices for the work. I really don't know if he did or didn't.*
*The rams with manual transmissions are either rare here or people hang on to them. I would prefer a manual... Especially since transmissions cost almost the same as engines. Thanks. Brenda

 

A full A/C repair/replacement will run you around $1200. Most of that is parts.