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2nd Gen Ram Tech1994-2001 Rams: This section is for TECHNICAL discussions only, that involve the 1994 through 2001 Rams. For any non-tech discussions, please direct your attention to the "General discussion/NON-tech" sub sections.
Power isn't everything, I would much rather have a straight axle in the front over the IFS that GM and Ford offered at the time. The 360 and 318 are great engines, that are more reliable than the Ford 4.6 and 5.4. Also you have to consider torque, and what rpm they make their power at, the Dodge 318, and 360 have more low end, where as with the Ford 4.6 and 5.4 you have to rev them to the moon to get any work done.
Power isn't everything, I would much rather have a straight axle in the front over the IFS that GM and Ford offered at the time. The 360 and 318 are great engines, that are more reliable than the Ford 4.6 and 5.4. Also you have to consider torque, and what rpm they make their power at, the Dodge 318, and 360 have more low end, where as with the Ford 4.6 and 5.4 you have to rev them to the moon to get any work done.
Oh, I agree. There is definitely more to a truck that power. The lack of power nor the poor gas mileage isn't necessarily what makes the 2nd gen Ram's bad trucks. It's the overall poor quality of them. The poor quality transmission, the poorly designed front end parts, the lousy dash, the unreliable lsd in the rear of some of the trucks that break apart, the poorly designed door drains that cause premature door rust, the plenum gasket issues, the poor quality heads that commonly crack, the cheap evaporator cores that often leak, etc. Those are the things that make it a lousy truck, not the power. The poor gas mileage and sub par power just add to the negatives.
The autos aren't the best but most good transmission shops know how to build them so they will last, the Ford and GM autos of that era aren't the best either, get a manual transmission if you want to avoid all of that. GM uses a Gov lock in the rear then commonly explodes, and Fords trac lok limited slip isn't that good either. The front end parts are better than the Ford or GMs IFS. GM and Ford aren't immune to the other issues you listed either.
The dodge transmissions got a bad rep. Some folks can't even get 50K miles out of them, other folks are WELL into six digits with 'em. I regularly see 47/48 transmissions pushing 300K miles. (one of the reasons I bought one.....) I suspect a lot of it is 'luck of the draw', coupled with how it has been treated, and what folks are doing with them. If you tow in overdrive with a 46, no, it simply isn't going to last very long. Take care of it though, and you can easily get 200K miles out of it.
Chevrolet offered the following:
5.0L - 230HP
5.7L - 255HP
Ford offered the following:
4.6L - 220HP
5.4L - 230HP
Dodge offered the following:
5.3L - 220 HP
5.9L - 230 HP
So while, they were very comparable to the Ford motor's, they still were making less power than Chevrolet's offerings.
Dodge did make a huge improvement with the hemi motor, but again it's offered in a second generation Ram. The 3rd gen steering, dash, etc. were also significantly improved over the 2nd gen. Unfortunately we're talking about 2nd gen Rams in this case, not the 3rd gen.
As for the two rating, for 97 it was higher than Chevrolet's, but according to trailers.com the 97 F-150 with the 5.4L had a 7800lb tow rating while the 97 Ram 1500 with the 5.9L had a 7600lb tow rating. So not sure that argument holds true either. They 2nd generation Ram's just weren't very impressive trucks. Then nor now. I have sentimental attachment to mine and I've made a lot of memories with mine, while it does what I need for the most part, especially since I rarely drive it. This makes me keep fixing it instead buying something else. However, if I used it more often, I'd buy something else. If I didn't already own it, I'd definitely not buy a 2nd gen Ram. I get that this is a 2nd gen Ram forum, so most owners are going to defend what they own, but they just really aren't that great of trucks.
Before my year, 1999, Dodge had the most power of all brands. And don't forget the V10 which trumped every other engine including the Cummins when it debuted. Plus the Cummins was always top dog too. It wasn't until the end of 2nd gen run that the competition had caught up with the 5.3, 6.0 GM's and 5.4 plug spitters. And my dash lasted over 10 years and everything else has been reliable. I really wanted a 98 Silverado when I shopped in 2001 but the ones I found were already worn out. Come on, before 99 Ford and gm were in desperate need to catch up. Also don't forget that everyone copied the bigrig design. Sure 3rd gens were better because Dodge finally had money to spend from the success of the 2nd gens. But they were the original and you can't beat Dana, new venture, and magnum drivetrains. Period.
As you can see, both Ford and Chevrolet use smaller motors that are more efficient resulting in more horsepower and better gas mileage.
The transmissions absolutely are bad. With the posts you've made about your truck and all of the piecing together that's been done on it, there is no way to know how many miles are on that transmission. I highly doubt you have 400k miles on it. Even if there is one out there somewhere that's managed to last that long, the majority of them don't.
So... I had a 98 F-150 with the 2v 5.4L and my 96 Ram 1500 5.2L.... while the Ram produces less power than the 5.4L I had... the 46re puts the power down way more efficiently than the transmission in my F-150 did. I know your argument isn't about efficiency... I just wanted to remind people that power doesn't mean squat if the transmission is sloppy *cough*E4OD and 4R100*cough*.
The dodge transmissions got a bad rep. Some folks can't even get 50K miles out of them, other folks are WELL into six digits with 'em. I regularly see 47/48 transmissions pushing 300K miles. (one of the reasons I bought one.....) I suspect a lot of it is 'luck of the draw', coupled with how it has been treated, and what folks are doing with them. If you tow in overdrive with a 46, no, it simply isn't going to last very long. Take care of it though, and you can easily get 200K miles out of it.
My 2001 1500 has 207,000+ miles on it with the original transmission. I've owned it since 2005, when I bought it with about 44,000 miles. I don't tow with it, I don't drive it like a race car, and I change the transmission fluid every 30,000 miles....and what do you know, it's never failed me.
Surely this guarantees the transmission will die tomorrow....but even if it does, it doesn't owe me a thing. 200,000+ miles on an automatic transmission in a 5500 lb truck is outstanding.
I know lots of people had issues with their 46re...but like HeyYou said, I think it had a lot to do with how it is driven and maintained. A co-worker just dumped his 2004 F-150 after his second replacement transmission crapped out. But guess what - he never changed the fluid. Imagine that.
In my opinion, it's all about how you take care of your equipment.
Bought mine 2 years ago for 5K. 86K (still) on the odo. Things I've done for maintenance and upkeep. New, rebuilt by me, performance transmission, $1500. New crappy paint job by me, Hammerite, it was sun baked (chalky) since new, $200. New headlight assemblies and fog lites, $100. 4 new O2 sensors, NTK (I was down there) $100. Mopar Crank Position Sensor, $45. Smog Headers, Pacesetter, $200. All new synthetic oil, eng, Xfer case, axles $150. $2295 so far. Needs: New belt and hoses, original still in there. Coolant flush, New radiator cap (just because), Belt tensioner. Needs:$300. Up to now $2595+$5000=$7595, for an almost new truck.
Wants,1.7 roller rockers $380, Cat back exhaust, Flowmaster, 3 inch single, $200. Volante CAI, $240, 52mm TB, $200. Not going to lift it but going with 285's when these tires go. As for new vehicles, I have a 2018 Jeep Trailhawk 5.7L, $51,000 and a 2018 Jeep Renegade /w Altitude package, $33,000.
