hey guys im new to dodges been a chevy guy all my life lol. so anyway im in the market of a new truck and am currently looking at two. the first which is relevent to the forum is a 99 dodge ram 1500 4x4 5speed 5.2l 183000 miles. now the guy says it runs good doesnt have any problems blah blah blah ill see about that when i go to look at

question 1 are there any known common problems with this truck other then the plenum i already read the sticky that i need to look for.

question 2 how well do these engines usally hold up i know it depends greatly on how it was taken care of but lets just be kinda general with it and say it had its regular maintance.

now for truck number 2 99 dakota 2wd sport 3.9 5speed 181000miles same question as above if i need to post in another forum for this one no biggie just figured i trie to hit 2 birds with one shell.

 

lots of common problems - as said, plenum usually needs fixing. transmissions can be weak and need rebuild. if already rebuilt its a plus. if original, that's not a plus but more of a minus. front ends are prone to expensive repairs including axle seals, axle u-joints, ball joints. catalytic converter are prone to clog. lsd rear diff is prone to fail, open diff is solid. 5.2 and 5.9 engine block are very solid, but head castings are a little weak and prone to crack if overheated.

test drive the truck for 15 minutes or more and pay attention to how the transmission operates both cold and warm. when very cold it will not shift into OD (normal). if the transmission malfunctions in any way shape or form, including upshift or downshift, then assume you found why he's selling and assume it needs an expensive rebuild and price it accordingly. the worst thing you can do is spend all your money on a truck and then find out it needs a $2000 repair that you cannot afford.

 

^Dhvaughan, both trucks are 5 speeds manuals.
Although they're not the stoutest transmission, you shouldnt have much of a problem with normal everyday driving or offroading with the 5 speed. The only problems you should have to look for are obviously a wearing clutch or bearing noise.

Other than the plenum and normal maintenance things that you can look for, there's not much else. You'll find out the trucks low points after you buy it.

 

We may all be a little biased here but for me it would be the ram, hands down. 4 wheel drive, MUCH more reliable engine, more power, etc. Like you said tho, you havent seen it and the body on the ram could be trash cuz they tend to rust pretty easy. Although i would def take a little bit of rust with the 4 wheel drive and the 8 cylinder assuming you arent too concerned about fuel economy lol

 

the ram looks pretty solid strait body with no rust that i can see in the pics. what are some common problems with the front axle that i should look ie is it just the normal stuff axle seal leaking bearings. what will these trucks drive like if the ujoints are bad. never had a sfa before. i read that the vac actuators for the 4wd tend to fail whats a normal operation for these quick solid engagment or are they normally a little slow.

thanks for all the help

 

My buddy has a 99 3.9 Dakota and says he only averages 16mpg, 17 when he babies it. I love my ram. 220k on the original engine and trans. I average 14mpg with my 5.2 Like said earlier, front end parts and auto trans but from what I understand there are few issues with the 5-speeds.

 

ya i already know the trans pretty well its an nv3500 chevy uses it in there 1500 as well so i like them not bullit proof but they get the job done. the reason i ask is this guy only wants 1800 for the truck so i want to be sure its vitals are good other then normal tune up.

question on the dak the guy says that the gauges dont light up and the fuel gauge sometimes doesnt work is this a comon connection problem or should i be looking into a gauge error or sending unit im going to do the cluster test if i go look at it

 

Make sure the trans and transfer case has appropriate fluid and is full and you're still light years ahead of the 46RE...

 

I would make sure the Ram starts first before anything else... It is the number one common problem for the Ram around here and that is not to start. Now I have no experience with the truck not starting but if you do a search on here you will find a crap load of threads on not starting. I would go for the Dak for some reason they do not have starting problem's like the Ram's do. Good luck

 

i have owned a 3.9 dak 2wd, 4,7l dak 2wd, 5.2 4x4 ram and 5.9 4x4 ram. and after owning the 3.9 dak i swore that i would never own another 3.9l dodge again. hated the lack of power and horrible gas mileage for a v6. i had plenum problems in the 3.9, 5.2, and 5.9. never had any starting issues with any of them. mine were all auto so of course i had tranny issues. my 5.9 ram had actuator problems but cheap part to replace. ball joints are easier and cheaper to replace in a sfa ram. daks had ball joint issues and being 2wd they are riveted into the arm. have to either drill out rivets, which sucks horribly, or replace whole control arm.