Hello everybody. My name is Jeremy and I'd like to say hello first off. Look forward to browsing around the site.
Currently I'm looking to buy a 2000 1500 Ram w/ the SLT package on it. It's a 2wd automatic with the 5.9L, and has 92k on it. I will mainly be using it for towing my Jeep Cherokee around and hunting purposes, so it will see a lot of garage time lol. Anyway, I was wondering before I go and buy this truck, if there was anything I should look out for when I'm checking it out/test driving it? I was also curious if this will be enough truck to do the hauling I want to do (anyone know the Maximum Towing Capacity is)? Thanks ahead of time for any help!

 

hey welcome to DF! the auto trans are the biggest problem we have. dont ever tow in over drive. the first thing your should do is get a bigger trans cooler. the motors are strong and will last a long time.

 

Im not trying to hyjack this post but I would like to someone to point me to some technical facts that show Dodge tranny's are junk, not just people opinion. I have 180,000 on my Ram with the original tranny, filter changed regularly...etc...etc. I have looked but couldnt find anything, alot of opinion out there but couldnt find concrete evidence of defective parts.

If you put 120,000 on your tranny and not have it serviced then your asking for problems.

 

The 5.9 will give you more then enough power to pull stuff. Magnums are very strong like Tani said. Keep that tranny serviced and if your gonna be towing get that aux tranny cooler!

 

Guy’s thanks for all the replies. The truck has a towing package on it, so doesn't that mean it has the inner/tranny cooler on it? I will definitely keep up on the maintenance too.

 

yea but trust me you want a bigger one. hey bamory. does your truck have over drive. over drive is really what killes them.

 

Most automatic trucks have overdrive, but have the overdrive turnoff button too. I know my dad's Dakota does, which we turn off when I pull my Jeep with it. We have had no problems with his truck at all pulling the Jeep, but it just does not weigh enough, which leads to breaking issues. He's got the 5.2L in his, which is plenty of engine and the tranny has had no issues what so ever either. I just don’t want to buy a full size truck, and have the same wieght issues.

 

Pretty much ALL 2nd Gen Auto Rams had overdrive

I know they had the 32RH, 36RH, and 37RH transmissions (727s), but I've never actually seen one in 2nd gen truck [>:] They're extremely rare...if they even exist [>:]

142k on my V10 (47RH)...no tranny problems yet, just a leaky converter seal.

 

Don't know if this will help you in what your looking for, but try to find a copy of any Consumer Reports magazine that has the car reviews (they do one every year on nothing but cars) that goes back enough years to cover 2nd gen Rams. I remember looking at one back when my trans went out. They had the trans marked as very poor, and it had major defects reported something like 14%-17% of the time (which they consider very significant in the realm of reported problem percentages). I can't remember the exact numbers now, so don't quote me on that. I just know they have a decent polling process used to determine if a certain part is prone to failure. They indicated that the Rams auto tranmissions were. Also, contact your local Chrylser dealership and ask them. I bet you might be able to get some info that way about how many trans issues they service a month or something.

Report back if you are able to find out anything good to confirm what people tend to report on these forums. I'll look for that copy of Consumer Reports if I still have it around.

 

rom isnt the RH a heaveduty tranny? the RE is the base line model? anyway... trany is the bigest worry like the above mentioned... also if you hear a pinging or spark knock..dont worry to much...thats also comon on our magnums but its an easy fix and a popular topic from this forum... just give it a good once or twice over before you write the check... the obvious things .. such as wierd noises.... and look around the drive train...look to see if you can notice an oil-moisture spots... dark wetspots around the seals...usually indicates bad seals that will need replacing.. other then that.. should be a nice truck... oh and dont worry bout the MPG... your not buying a ram to conserve gas... your buying it b/c its a meatball!