Hi. I'm new to this forum, but not new to forums in general.

My name is Dave, and I'm probably buying a Dodge Ram 1500 on Monday.

I see that this forum is pretty active, and hope to get some good advice from those who know Dodge trucks.

Mainly, I want to find out what the big "gotchas" are in the model/year I'm looking at. I did read some of the forum, particularly the bit about catalytic converters going bad, and the recall section.

If anyone can point me in the right direction for the particular truck I'm looking at, it would be hugely appreciated!

Link to the truck I want to buy, on Autotrader

1998 Ram 1500
93,000 miles
4x4
5.9l v8
Automatic
Towing
Long bed
Extended cab
Includes a Leer cap

$9,999 asking - they already came down a tiny bit, to $9,750, for what it's worth. I haven't made a counteroffer yet, but have a deposit down, and will be speaking with them again Monday.

 

Welcome to the site.

 

Thanks for the welcome... Any quick succestions for keywords to search on, relating to Ram 1500 problems?

 

Welcome to Dodge Forum! Enjoy the site!

Dusty

 

It's not a bad looking truck...and for that price...that's pretty decent. I'd definitely look into the condition of the tires and check the truck for leaks/oil/fluid drips.

Things to be concerned about with the 2nd Gen Ram is the plenum gasket, transmission, and rust on the rear quarter panels above the wheel well. The "death wobble" is pretty common in the 2nd Gen Ram's...and you can search on plenum gasket, death wobble, transmission in the 2nd gen section and get a ton of results.

I'd take the VIN # and check on Dodge.com in the owners section to see what kind of recall work has been performed on the truck. That may help inform you more about the truck. Also, have the truck looked at by a mechanic....as the 100k mark is close and you would want the tranny and motor looked over.


Tani or Steve...can you think of anything else I missed? I know those are pretty big items to check...but you guys know more then I do.

 

hey most everything devils reject said are our main problems. the auto trans problem come more from the actual overdrive unit then the trans. ive heard people that said that if they never use the overdrive there trans will outlast the truck. the plenum gasket ( a gasket on the underside of the intake manifold is know to blow out do to falty design allowing oil to be sucked into the intake and a lack of engine vaccume. the dealers wont fix it under warrenty so they do what they call a death flash to the computer. if thats done it will feel like the truck has no power. there should also be a sticker on the pcm if they gave it death flash. thats about all i can think of for now.

 

Bad head castings...especially with the 360...like I mentioned in his other thread earlier

 

Yeah, sorry about the "double post" here... My original post in the New Members area got relocated so I would get more visibility.

I really appreciate all the responses. I'm going to see about having the truck checked out at a local dealership for these specific issues before I pull the trigger on it. I figure even if I spend $150 getting it checked out, that's a lot better than a $10k mistake.

 

I moved it here to help you out, and I wasnt aware you had posted elsewhere....its okay though

 

yea i saw that, i guess ill just delete the other one then since its all the same info.