I would look at the bottom of the doors, mine is starting to go there. I used some rust killer to slow it, but If i end up keeping the truck (Rumble Bee is still a possibility) Im thinking replacements. I live in Ohio and they love to salt these roads

 

Taller and thicker.

I don't fear my Dana 70, that thing is stout. But the balljoint, unit hub and CAD Dana 60 is weak compared to the old Dana 60's (pre-94)


I looked at a (supposedly) "mint" 2001, it was from the Chicago area and the door bottoms at the seam were already rusting out on a four year old truck. Could be the previous owner(s) didn't bother washing it, because other 99-01's I looked at weren't rusting. Overall, the 2nd gen is way better than 1st gen as far as rust problems.

 

OK - here's the truck that i looked at yesterday (pic attached below)

1999 Dodge Ram 2500
5.9L V8 4x4
125,000 miles
Auto Trans
Quad Cab
Cloth interior
A/C, AM/FM Cassette

Being it was sunday, i didn't get a chance to drive it, or get inside for that matter. but here's all of the things i noticed from the outside:

Bottom of the front doors rusting pretty good
Transfer case leaking
Needs tires
couple nicks & scratches here and there
Topper door has rubbed the paint off the tailgate
Tailgate won't latch closed
The motor & trans were dry, and looked untouched
Inside looks REALLY clean

Now i can handle a lot of the minor stuff (fixing tailgate, minor scratches, etc.), but the leaky transfer case i'd like fixed IF i were to get this truck. Something else that worries me is the rusty doors. I'm guessing this truck to be a 1-owner farm truck, that probably sat outside all of it's life. I'm located in Northern Illinois, so the salt that they use here probably didn't help either.

My next concern is price (ok, it's my biggest). With everything listed above, what do you think this truck is worth?

Kelley blue book numbers for this truck are:
Trade-in: $6600
Private Party: $8750
Sugg. Retail: $11850 (which is BS)

They're asking $9962, and over the phone, they've already said they'd go down to $8840. But with the problems it has (rust, tires, xfer case leaking), i'd certainly want to go lower - and i haven't even driven it yet. heck, i could find something catastrophic when i drive it, and that would kill it there...

Anyhow - if anyone has any input as to what this truck would be worth (in your opinion), i'd be very interested in hearing it.

One more thing - this truck has LT285/75R16 tires on it. I like the way this truck sits - does it look like it's sitting higher than an average 2500 4x4? Does anyone think this truck has some sort of lift on it? The tires are worn pretty good right down the middle of the tire, so i'm guessing the tire is a bit too big for the width of the stock wheels. Any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated as well. Thank you very much!

YB

 

My experiences with my 98 Ram 1500 with the 5.9 Magnum have been varied. I love the truck and don't want to trade it in, but I'm probably going to later this month.

Now, the problems I've had with mine have been a few, but not too out of line, with one exception.

I bought my truck with 80K on the odo in May of 01. It now has over 130K on it. From the time I bought it, I had trouble with one of the cylinders. In my case, the number 5 cylinder. As it turned out, I didn't know that the 360 Magnum series engines have a tendency to crack the cylinder heads between the valves. This past August, it finally threw a code and started running like ca ca. After much troubleshooting and screaming, I pulled the heads and found that in addition to a burnt valve, the heads were cracked. I've been told that this occurs when the driver is a lead foot (I am, I love flooring it), and when the truck is used for heavy towing (I haven't hauled anything except the occasional quad, but the previous owner might have). In any event, the heads had to be replaced. They are NOT reparable. I used some aftermarket OEM replacement heads, but I've since heard that for a bit more I could have replaced them with some R/T heads from Mopar. Oh well, live and learn.

The tranny hasn't failed me, but it does act up a little, especially when its cold. Mine is an A/T but if I were going to be towing, I'd get the Manual and when the clutch finally give out, replace it with a beefed up unit.

Another thing to watch out for is the track bar that connects the front axle assembly on the passenger side to the frame on the drivers side. The joint at the frame is known for wearing out, causing some weird problems. The track bar is somewhat expensive to replace considering what it is. In my humble opinion, the design should be changed, but as of yet, Mopar hasn't.

The rig you have pictured doesn't look like a "Girly" rig to me, but that's my opinion only. A few little touches here and there, and you could easily man it up more. Cleaned up as it is and you could go to the opera in it. Or at least a good country music concert! hehehe It appears to sit about normal for a 3/4 ton. They usually sit a bit higher than their 1/2 ton counterparts.

Like I said, I drive my truck hard. But considering how I drive, it really hasn't been that bad. I just want a Diesel rig. I'm tired of working on engines.

Good luck and have fun with the truck. I don't care what some people say, Dodge makes the best trucks!!!

 

I think i've made a decision on the above listed truck. I'm going to pass, and look for one with less (or no) rust. i've got 2 dodge trucks in my fleet at work, and i've got a close friend with one too. two of them are '97s, and one's a '99. out of all three of these trucks, NONE of them have ANY rust on the bottom edge of the doors. Now of these three trucks, all of them see the salt. One of them has sat outside since it was new (one of the 97's). So why this truck has rust on the doors, i really have no idea. But i know that there are some 99's out there w/o rust, and that's what i'll start with. I'll keep an eye out for the trans's - i'll definitely have it looked at before i buy any truck. thanks for all of the info!

YB