I bought My Ram new on June 08. At 19K miles, the front hub bearing went out. Had it fixed under warranty. Does it make it a P.O.S? No. I now have over 44K on it. Mechanical parts fail. It happens. I know with these things happening in such a short period of ownership can leave a bad taste in your mouth. That's understandable.
The Hemi engine is all but bulletproof. And as mentioned, the transmissions may not be the most efficient as far as power loss, (12 to 18), they seem to be quite durable.
The Hemi 30K plug change is due to them using copper core plugs. Copper plugs fire hotter and burn the fuel mixture better than platinum plugs. They use these for the best power and lowest emissions. I changed mine at 30K and it took me about 1hr and 15 min. I had never done plugs on a Hemi before.
Someone earlier misspoke when they said that one set of plugs last longer then the other. This is referring to the new design 4.7L that was introduced in 2008 and uses copper plugs on top of the heads and 100K Platinums on the lower side of the heads. All 16.
Check the owners manual, I think the coolant should be changed every 50K. Hopefully back-flushing the heater core will clean it out. The problem is electrolysis on these newer vehicles. The block is cast iron, the heads are aluminum and I think the heater core is aluminum as well as the radiator. The coolant is constantly in contact with these different metals and over time caused build-up if not changed when recommended. This is probably what happened to the heater core and possibly even the waterpump seal. The waterpump looks to be a fairly easy job. Hopefully you can do some or all of these repairs yourself and save bunches of money. And after that, it possibly could be trouble free for a very long time.
As for heater cores, I have changed the one in my 88 5.0 Mustang twice. The whole dash, steering column and console has to be removed. The book calls for 8hrs, I can do it now in about 7.
Best of luck to ya, I hope you get these bugs worked out and can enjoy your Ram for a very long time and ignore the trolls on here. Unfortunately, you don't have to take an IQ test to join the forum or we could weed them out.

 

Thanks for all the great information Lxman!

I was specifically wondering why I couldnt throw in a set of 100k platinum plugs and call it a day...thanks for clarifying!

I did go ahead and back-flushed it, and all kinds of thick black gunk came out. I then alternated back and forth until everything was clear, and moving freely.

While I do not suspect the previous owner neglected the truck, I wouldnt be surprised if he "over looked" changing the coolant at 50k.

I did drive into the office today (30 miles each way), and the heater worked great! In fact, better than it ever has...I couldnt even keep it on the lowest fan setting, without having to turn down the control.

Ill admit, I was a little scared. I was thinking "Great...WTF is going to break on this trip", but all was good.

Going to look into the air bag light next. Ive also decided to do the plugs myself, but I am holding off for now...the engine runs perfect ("thump-thump" Me knocking on wood)

Thanks again!

Oh, and copy on the IQ test...I can certainly feel that!

 

Great links MrIcky!

Thanks for sharing. Now Im going to poke around there to see what else I can find.

Regards.

 

And you are at how many miles now? Around 80k or so with the original coolant? That would be neglect in my book.

And you were a mechanic at one point by trade? No offense intended, but I'm from a family of mechanics and hang with quite a few of them and some performance shop guys as well. EVERY mechanic I've ever known has done a full tune up and changed all fluids when buying a used vehicle with over say 30k miles on it REGARDLESS of what records the previous owner may or may not have. I've owned nine new vehicles and seven used ones in my life and on EVERY used one I purchased, it got a full tune up and the fluids I like to use and trust within a month of purchase and I wouldn't care if the previous owner claimed to have done it the day before I bought it.

Granted, there is no maintenance for a clock spring and it's an all too common Chrysler issue, but I think a good many of your problems are directly related to things that have been "OVERLOOKED" by the previous owner and you.

There is a reason people who are very attentive to maintenance, (like me) have not had a single issue with their truck (and there have been many in this thread already to state that). There is USUALLY a reason other people have issues with their trucks. Obviously there are exceptions, but in general, if you take care of your vehicle it will not have major issues and if you don't, it will at some point.

I would speculate that if the same owner you bought from had a different brand of truck and you bought it from him at 70k+ miles, you'd be having a good many of the same problems you are experiencing now.

My personal opinion is that if you spent more time being attentive to your truck and less time bi*ching about the thing, it'll have less problems. Just look at what a simple back flush (at WAY PAST the interval it was supposed to be done) did for you.

Please don't take this the wrong way, it's not a personal dig on you, just some observations and some generalizations on what I consider to be proper maintenance (and again, I'm **** about maintenance) and what you consider it to be.

 

Agreed.

I had the tranny flushed, oil changed, air filter changed, and inspected everything else...both diffs, transfer case, exhaust, brakes, and all suspension/steering componets. I did not change the plugs because the engine ran well, and I was not aware of the frequency of change. I also did a Carfax on it (no hits).

I dont have any evidence he did NOT change the coolant at the recommended interval, but other than that, and as stated before, I dont suspect this guy of neglecting the vehicle, but you hit the nail on the head when you said "...would speculate"...other than documentation, everything else is conjecture and/or speculation...a risk everybody takes when buying a used vehicle.

No offense taken Hammer...your professional input is always appreciated. I feel what I did was more than adequate, and more than what most people would have done buying a used vehicle. Right now, Im leaning towards the "perfect storm" syndrome...this morning was the first time I started liking the truck again, albeit, just a little bit.

Regards.

 

I would tend to agree with your "perfect storm" theory. You have a couple of common issues that happen to a lot of these trucks as they get to 75,000 miles, you have a couple that appear to be maintenance (or lack of) related and a couple that are not common that are all hitting you around the same time.

A lot of it is the attitude you choose to take, which is what I meant by stop bi*ching about it on a forum and start to tackle the issues one at a time.

Hopefully, as you take care of these issues that have popped up within the first 2000 miles of your owning it there will be no new issues and in the end, you have a truck you can rely on.

 

To be honest, I slightly understand your problems. Though, I have a 5.9L quad cab 4x4 that was very much abused when i got it. I got it at 135000 miles for only 7500. I knew that the price was too good to be true and prepared to fix it up beforehand. It's almost a year later and im still having issues here and there. I do most of the work myself, except for when the reverse went out. Im only 22, so I'm sure you should be able to fix it. I have a minimum amount of tools and replaced my water pump for 60 dollars for a new one. I just changed my wires and plugs for a cheap 30 dollars and 2 hours labor (partly because i kept stopping). So going to the dealer is not always the best way to go. They charge way too much to install parts that are simple to do in your free time.

 

gas, i think people including my self are attacking you because of the way you posted your problems, we don't mind helping you.

 

I posted my problems in a factual, and accurate way. I also shared my true feelings on the subject.

Pure honesty...I cant think of a better way.

 

okay first off ive seen plenty of vehicles that heater cores that you had to remove the dash out of second of all i said ive never seen a truck that had 16 spark plugs not that there wasnt one and alot of times when the airbag light comes on that means its usaully been replaced and not done right besides never had to work on a hemi before