Greetings all, new to the forum and possibly new to dodge rams this week. I am looking at a 2004 Ram 1500 4 door, short bed, 5.7 Hemi, 77,000 miles lifted about 8 inches on 37 inch tires. I really like the look of this truck and havnt made a final decision so I was hoping you guys could give me so adice before I just get it. I have been doing some internet research but havnt found anything that sticks out in my mind. What are some things I should look at before I get it? Any big problems I should know about? Id really appreciate any input before I go farther with this truck, thanks a lot.

 

 

37" is a lot of tire under an IFS truck.. it will put your intermediate shafts in peril.. trailing may be off the table..

on that note, you'll want to check those shafts out (some call them CV joints).. also, because the size and weight of the tires- you'll want to look at ball joints.. lift the front off the ground a couple inches, and grab the tire at 3 and 6 o'clock.. you don't want ANY wiggle.. do it again at 12 and 6 o'clock..

the tranny is going to suffer, as will performance if those gears are 3.55:1 or even 3.92:1.. I'd ask how long those tires have been under it to try to figure the wear..

on a personal note, I'm shy of buying previously modded trucks unless I know the person who modded it well- and I shy from buying vehicles from friends too, so I'm screwed.. If it were me, I'd target a truck as close to stock as possible, and do the outfitting myself.. you'll learn what makes it tick, and you'll know it was done right.

good luck bro!

 

yea if you are buying a used LIFTED truck, it was either lifted for use or lifted to look good. heavy off roading with 37s on IFS is going to have some irregularly worn parts. Look under the truck...dented and scratched areas? bent quarter panels, pinch welds, etc?

Even a street queen IFS truck with 37s will have problems. You can check many of em just by lifting the front end.

Its a good looking truck though. Whats the price?

 

Well it has the LSD so that means 3.91 gears? I have zero plans to offroad this truck but I also have zero plans to get it and then put a bunch of money into fixing any issues. The guy talked like the lift had been on a few years and previously had 38s on it. I like the fact its lifted, that saves me money and im really to the point I dont care for stock vehicals but I know what you mean when it comes to knowing whats going on under there.

As I was sitting here typing this the guy called me and wanted to mention it had a rebuilt title. It was in a wreck and had body damage but I couldnt tell by looking at it. I dont wanna buy this guys problems.

On a side note, we are looking to do a trade. My 2003 Wrangler for his truck. My Jeep blue books at between $15-16K plus about $5k in extras and mods. In cash terms, is this a good deal? His truck blue books about the same as mine.

 

LSD doesn't necessarily mean 3.92 gearing. You can check the rear axle for a tag or the glove box for a sticker to confirm gearing.

37s are not real good on the IFS. The weight of the tires and stress from turning is bad enough, but the CV axles don't like being at angles much at all. Lot of guys changing out broken CVs with too high an angle. Some kits keep the angle pretty straight even with 6" of lift, but most are bad on them. If all 8" of lift is suspension, I'd be VERY leary of it.
Also, there is going to be wear on the ball joints and tie rods, so get under there and check them out as well. Might even need to get it off the ground for a good inspection.

I dunno, I would personally stay away from a vehicle with a rebuilt title.

You can throw the value of mods away when looking at trade or resale, believe me I know, I have modded EVERY truck I've ever had. I currently have about $13k in mods on my '04.

Without the rebuilt title, you are looking about even. I have an '04 QCSB Hemi 4x4 with 50k on the clock and the going rate is about $15k.

 

Well I know its a 6 inch fabtech suspension lift and a 2 inch body lift. I am without a doubt at least going to get my mechanic to look it over and from there probably get a carfax on it. Its a great looking truck and I like it but dont want to get it and have issues. I appreciate the responces and welcome anymore advice.

 

I'd also recommend reading the Sticky titled Known Problems With Rams...or something close to that, and go right down that list, checking each one out on this particular truck. But yeah, I'm also with everyone else on this one that the suspension is prolly suffering, and tranny has been overworked to turn over those hogs of tires...And the rebuilt title?? Sounds to me he got the insurance payoff, did most of the fixing himself then had the extra money to dump into the lift and tires, etc. I'm always leary of people working on their own stuff to that degree...cuz there is no proof that they know what they are doing...but then again some certified mechanics don't know what they are doing either, so who really knows??

 

Well its a really nice truck and exactly what im looking for. Id hate to pass it up but maybe we can work something out. Worse case scenario Im still trying to sell my current ride, id really love a cummins so if I can get the cash ill just get one of build it myself. The vehical market is just rough these days.

 

And you have to keep in mind that what kind of a problem and how much of a lose you will take when you get ready to sell that truck with a title like that. Would a dealer even take it in trade down the road if you see somthing you really like ?