Hello everyone. I am pretty new here and have a few questions about 2500 gas pickups. For those of you with the 5.9 Magnum how do you like it? Now I agree there is " No replacement for displacement" and would love the power of the V-10 but honestly I do not tow or really do enough to justify it. Is the 5.9 adequate for most jobs or do you wish that you had the V-10? How has the 5.9 been as far as reliibility goes, pretty solid engine with little problems? I am looking to buy a gas powered 2500 this summer and trying to gather info now before I get real serious on buying on. Thanks for the info. Jeff

 

I have a 98 Quadcab Longbox with 5.9 wich just turned over 150,000. I bought it with 98,000 four years ago. It has the tow package and is registered as a 3/4 ton. I abuse the hell out of it as much as I can, it is my daily driver but on the weekends it hauls crap from the houses I build. I was telling someone earlier that I hauled over 2100 pounds in the back of it and the 360 barley even new it was there. Besides modifications the only thing I've had to change and alot is brakes. Ihave had to do wearable items but nothing unusual for a nine year old truck with high miles. I've serviced the tranny at 140,000 and it was just a new filter and fluid. I've done the occational tune up but nothing major. I was a hugeFORD guy untilI bought my first Ram, now I think they will have to pry me out before I get ridof it. I think the 5.9 is more than adiquate for what I do, I'm glade I don't drive the V10, partsseem to be more expensive and I don't see the advantage to having one other than the raw power you can achive.The only thing bad about the 5.9 is its thirsty I only get 12MPG but I don't care.

 

i'd go with the 5.9 motor... I had a 2000 ram with it and loved it. all of the shortcomings of the mag motor have been identified and can easily be fixed... the biggest is the plenum gasket... it's on the bottom of the intake manifold, when they leak, it'll ping and have poor performance. If you do get one, get a bigg tranny cooler and mount it up front. I'd recommend ditching the rad cooler and just use the added cooler...

I had mine apart several times for upgrades and the block (cylinders) looked to be in awesome condition. I would not hessitate to by another...

 

I agree with Steve, easy to work on, readily available parts, extremely reliable engine and more than enough power for the average person.

I found out that the weight of these Dodge, coupled with the power/torque is awesome compared to other trucks, pulled out some bushes around my house last year, Ram did it without even breaking a tire loose on my grass, just put it in gear and goosed gas a bit, big bushes also.

I was a Ford person for a long time also and had the chance last summer to go back, but I just couldnt part with my Ram

" Hey can I borrow that tractor"

 

Not trying to sway you one way or the other. Just my experience...
[ul][*]V10 has hauled or pulled anything I've asked it to without even breaking a sweat (including a flatbed over the rockies w/2 Farmall M's).[*]From discussion on this forum in the past, the 5.9's mpg is only marginally better than the V10's.[*]Parts for the V10 are slightly more expensive and it's a little harder to work on (especially the lower motor/trans)[*]Never driven one, but buddies tell me their 5.9's bog down pretty easy when hauling or towing.[/ul]
Moral of the story...depends what your using it for.Only a littlehauling/towing? Go for the 5.9. More hauling/towing? Spring for the V10.

 

i have an 02 2500 that i just bought i love the truck have had a few issues with it but it has been taken care of by the dealer. i love how dodge kept it simple solid front axles dana 60'sthe motor isnt cover in plastic and wires.not saying this is a common problem but i had poor performance that i was told do to the death flash but i kept digging and found that my heads were cracked and valves stuck open at 50k mi. but all taken care of and its a whole new truck

 

I've got experience with both engines, 97 2500 ext cab long box V10 has tons of power and is great for towing. Our V10 has 3.92 rear end and my 2001 1500 quad cab short box 5.9 V8 has 4.10s, mileage is pretty much the same for both, 10-11 or so around town, maybe 13-14 on the highway. Both tow damn near the same, both provide adequate power, used both to haul horse trailers, 1000 gallon water tanks, 20ft flat bed, you name it they can handle. V10 is larger and this makes it little bit more difficult to service, again nothing too major. As for reliability, both trucks have had minimal engine problems, V10 is pushin 160,000 and did new head gasket and radiator, all I can think of right now aside from plugs wires and usual stuff like that. 5.9 have not had any troubles with yet engine wise at 76,000 miles.

 

hey i have a great q if anybody could answer it i have a 95 dodge ram 4x4. awesome truck nice 360 engine plenty of power love it, altho it does go throw a half a quart of tranny fluid every 6 months. but anyways for some reason my electronics on my passenger side went out, my windows door locks my rear lights none of them work. now i can work the locks and windows for my door from the driver side. but i need to know how to fix it. i took my dash apart and i didnt find anything seperated does anybody have a clue? ?

 

Thanks for the info.

I too have been a die hard Ford guy but I am ready for a change and really like the looks of the Ram pickups. I would really love to have a brand new one but they are just too far out of my price range so I am looking for a good used one. Most that I have found online have been diesels, and would love to have one but I sure don’t need one and really can’t afford the higher cost associated with a diesel.

Does the 8.0 have the same plenum issues as the 5.2/5.9? I don’t know if it is true but you may be able to answer, but is it true that V-10 is basically a 5.9 with two cylinders added on to it with a little longer stroke?

bamory, Sure you could borrow that tractor but I don’t think you really would want too. I am a Service Rep for Case IH and can tell you it is a very, very high maintenance machine, how ever with saying that it will out pull anything out there and it looks pretty darn cool.

 

no joke, that things sweet. good luck with the truck.