Hey. I was just talking to my uncle the other day about his 1996 ram 1500, 2wd, AT Laramie SLT and all the problems he has had over the years. I thought I would post them because I have never heard this many problems, he has definitly gotten a lemon. I will try to list all of the problems the best I can, now keep in mind he is the original owner and has never abused this truck and changed the oil every 3000 miles. Ok:

First 2000 miles: Windshield wipers dont work properly, he takes it into the dealer and cant get them to do anything about it, after about 5000 miles he finally dumps it at the dealership and forces them to fix it. He later found out they had to put in a whole new windsheild, the old one was molded improperly.

12000 miles: Infinity radio stops working on FM, dealer puts in new one, it does the same thing when it is out of warranty.

13000 miles: headlight switch melts, he replaces it with a mopar switch, it then does the same thing so he replaces it with an aftermarket switch.

15000 miles: battery dies, replaces it then it dies again, thus replacing it again.

25000 miles: fuel pump goes bad

40000 miles: posi rear end blows, he puts in a limited slip

60000 miles: mount for the drivers seat breaks while he was driving, he had to weld it together

75000 miles: transmission wont shift from 2nd to 3rd, changed oil and filter but did no good, put lucas instead of fluid in as a last resort and worked for about 30000 miles

80000 miles: brake line rusts through causing him to hit the side of a train

90000 miles: fuel pump goes bad again

105000 miles: tranny rebuilt

106000 miles: the fuel straps for the tank rusted out causing the whole tank to fall out

He still says he loves the way the truck drives, the looks of it, and he has never had any problems with the engine, but he says he is done with dodge. I was wondering if anyone else has had any of these problems with their truck. Thanks!!

 

I have the exact same truck although you didnt spec the engine. I have a 1996 Reg Cab Long Bed 2wd 5.2/AT SLT Larmie.

Bought at 104,000 October 05
Now has 142,000 Feb 07

October 2005 - Fixed vacume leak ie cruise control and defroster leak

December 2005 -Replaced Cracked radiator

May 2006 - Re Painted truck cause the paint was peeling

November 2006 - Replaced Crackedradiator again, water pump thermostat and all 3 yes 3 radiator hoses. The 3rd is a bypass in front of the manifold to the top of the water pump.

PS radiator leaks again due to collision, im getting quick at swaping em out!

 

How much did your repaint cost?

 

________bump________

 

Would have thought the truck was done at 80,000 miles when he hit the train. That had to hurt!

 

Personally, I think your uncle got crappy service at the stealership, something which happened to me until I swore I would never again go to them to have my vehicles looked after.

As for a windshield wiper failure, this is something that used to frustrate me until I started using Rain-X and now I don't care if they work or not (thou it's nice to be able to use the washer system).
It's not that uncommon, but how the windshield's mounting could have caused this appears to be yet another great example of crappy stealership bs, when a wiper will work even when pulled upright (thou you can't do it on a dodge, I'm just saying).
But, it doesn't make the truck a lemon.

Ok, fuel pumps should last longer, 200k miles or around 15-20 years or so.

Some of the rest could be lack of maintenance...
On the differential, was the fluid ever changed?
Same on the transmission, DIY'ers recommended fluid and filter changes every 10k miles or every 3rd oil and filter change.
On top of that, was this light truck used for towing?
If so, did it pull in excess of 1,000 pounds (or even close to 1k) on a regular basis?
If that is true, then this is also not surprising.
The 1500 is the lightest duty full size truck, it is really more like a car than a truck, meant more as an economical alternative to homeowners whose 2x / year trip to Home Depot justifies the purchase of such a vehicle, most 1/2 ton trucks are never used for any type of work such as which is normally attributed to full size pick up trucks.
Unfortunately, once you get into said type of work (such as regular towing, etc), you really need at least a 3/4 ton.
It's all in that transmission, the 1500's tranny simply isn't designed for torque.
Yes, it will pull, but then so will my car, the thing is neither was designed for it.

The battery, was it at least a 1,000 cca?
If not, if it was a lesser one (such as a 750-800 cca unit), this is not surprising.
A 1000 cca battery almost always eliminates dead battery nonsense, they last at least 5 years if you leave your headlights on overnight, half the time it still starts right up in the morning (not recommended lol).

The rust issues, was this truck used in the northern parts, where road salts get on a vehicle?
There appears little can be done to prevent this, mine has rust, too (from being in New Hampshire / Mass for most of the past 12 years).

There are a few things which I would consider highly annoying failures (such as the seat bracket, but this could also have been a north country salt and rust related thing, a driver's shoes carry this stuff inside the cab)... But overall this is not an unusually high break down rate, not in my experience, I just bought my '95 and a lot of that stuff you describe I had to fix right after I bought it (and then some, I spent close to $1,500 and did most all of it myself but all of that is normal on a truck that is being sold in Fair condition), and even on a well maintained car (not saying he didn't, but).

 

Now im not downing the ram, neither is he but he has put tons of money and time into it, and his time is very valuable. He owns a small apartment building that he has been working on for the last ten years, doing one apartment at a time by himself, and you really have to admire the guys work, he dosnt cut any corners. Anyways, when he bought the truck he got the towing package with a reese hitch and tranny cooler, and he has only put a trailer on it once, and that was to move it from his brothers to his building. As for hauling, he dosnt do extremely heavy stuff, but he still needs the truck for what he does. Just to give an idea, over about one year he will spend 15-20K at lowes and home depot in stuff and he cuts all of his own firewood on his own property so he dosent do too much heavey hauling. There is absolutly no exuse for some of these things to go wrong, he babys this thing like its new. He does mostly country driving and let me tell you, even with how much he does he isnt in a hurry to get anywhere. When he accelerates he just barely taps it and slowly takes it up to 50, to save gas. He has always drivin that truck like that. Now the seat bracket, I suppose I should have specified that it was the bracket that holds the top and bottom of the seat together, not the floor mount. I wonder what would have happend if he got into a wreck before he welded it[&:]

By the way, it is a 318