Hey all,
I semi-recently bought a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500. She needs a little TLC, well alot of TLC, however I love the Gen 2 Rams alot. I jumped at the chance to buy her. I was wondering what was the best mods you all had for the Gen 2 Rams. Examples of this would be , this would be intakes, turbo kits, lift kits etc. I also want to fully restore this truck as well, so any advice on that would be greatly appreciated as well. Here are some pictures of her. I have mechanical knowledge, and i know alot of people who have alot of knowledge of these trucks as well. So the sky is the limit. I was thinking about removing the bed, and replacing it with another one that was reletilively dent free. I was also going to replace the extended cab door as well. Repaint the whole thing the factory red color. I like red and black, so i was going to respray the tool box a deep black color. Im having transmission issues, so i was going to rebuild the transmission. It will go out of overdrive after about 30 minutes of driving, and wont shift back into it. However if you turn the truck off, and wait 5 minutes, it will shift just fine for about another 30 minutes. You could probally fix that without a full transmission rebuild, however that transmission already has 100,000 miles on it, ad the rebuild kits arent super expensive. so might as well do it. When accelerating the vents will close, therefore stopping airflow. So i was wondering how to fix that as well. Also i was thinking about boosting the horsepower and torque numbers on it. Nothing crazy, just maybe 300- 350 horsepower, and 350-400 ft - pounds of torque. I was thinking of using a turbo kit to do that, so suggestions for that would be nice as well. I probally named the thread the wrong thing. It should have been called restoration or something. anyway, thanks all.

 

Wow, first thing is I suggest cutting back on the coffee. Or just taking a breath when typing. I'm teasing. Kind of.

Secondly, there isn't a lot you can do to the 2wd trucks. Most owners prefer the 4wd and the aftermarket agrees. But you can still upgrade everything you have like suspension, trans, engine, etc. You won't see 300hp with these engines unless a major rebuild and tune is in your budget. And trans for that matter. And read end.

Thirdly, there are some common issues you will need to address like steering, plenum gasket, and dash. The vent thing is the vacuum check valve. Commonly found on amazon.

And finally, have fun! These trucks are classics now and I've had mine since 2001 when it was current. I've got over 250k on it and still drive it daily. I've wrenched every nut or bolt on it at one point or another. So feel free to ask away as you restore it. Might as well keep this thread open for all your questions.

 

Welcome! Take a look around this section:

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...d-how-tos-143/

If it's been done, it's documented in that section.

 

I have the 2001 2wd as well. You can view my tag for mods I've done, most documented somewhere in here. Search for Wild Vents for the fix for the A/C issues. You might consider swapping out the throttle position sensor and see if that solves your transmission issue. 25-50 bucks and fixed a surge issue I was having on mine that I thought was related to the OD solenoid.

Best thing I can tell you is research, research, research.....especially if you're serious about the turbo (lot's of info out there) and be prepared for large sums of money escaping from your bank account. There's nothing cheap about performance in these trucks. But I enjoy mine immensely! Have Fun!

 

Would yall reccommend trading my ram for another model? I have a deal available to me to trade my truck and also pay 1500 dollars to buy a 2001 dodge ram 2500 Laramie SLT with 300,000 miles on it. Its equipped with 4wd and also 5.9 lliter diesel engine. I heard the diesels are more reliable, what are y'all's thughts on that? Ill be able to keep my brand new tires on my truck with this deal. Would that be a fair trade, and also is the aftermarket stronger with the 3/4 tons.

 

I've already replaced the throttle position sensor. It made my truck idle better. Also mine used to surge through gears as well before changing the sensor, now it doesn't surge at all. The problem with the overdrive persisted through however. Its giving me the Overdrive or TCC performance check engine light. I think i found another thread that addresses my exact problem.

 

I had a Cummins abs they are expensive to fix. Same market as the 1/2 tons

 

Yeah, and with 300K on it, the engine may still be fine, but, EVERYTHING else on the truck is going to be at end of life.

 

The 1500 has 250000 miles on it. And also i would like to restore it fully and add power. To add power id have to upgrade internal engine components. And to fully restore it, id have to replace suspension components, as well the door and bed of the truck. Also if i am going to keep this truck, i want it be be 4wd.I already am planning on rebuildig the transmission. Id have to convert it over to 4wd. Would it be worth doing all that to this truck, or get the 2500 which is in much better exterior shape? Would restoring the 2500 be better because i wouldnt have to do all the conversions and body work?

 

No. It would not be worth doing.