I am looking at buying a full size ram..... i'd prefer a man. but i think my dreams of finding one in a 1500 are pretty much near zero from what i can find....... how many owners out there like the auto in the 1500, with either the 4.7 or the 5.7?? any problems early on? or something i should look out for?? thanks for any help, i currently own an 03 dakota with the 3.9 and a 5spd. man. i think it's time for a bigger truck.

 

If you keep it bone stock, not bad. If you modify for more power, they tend to have shorter lifespans.

 

i was doing some reading on here last night just reading mainly about the trans. problems people posted about....... i think the only thing i would do is an exhaust, cold air intake and a superchip or a diablo to put a halt on the mds system that i've been hearing alot about on here........ my bro had a 1500 with the hemi.... put on a cold air intake, and it sounded like he put duels on it...... all i could hear was that thing sucking air, like the old school 4 barrel big block cars...... it's mainly gonna be used for everyday trans. to and from work, maybe some towing or hauling a few times a year, but nothing thats gonna put a strain on it.

 

When left behind a stock motor, and keeping up with a decent fluid change interval, its an awesome trans. My first car was a 99 grand cherokee with the same transmission. 245,000 miles on the original trans.

 

thats some good news, lol. i'm usually pretty good about keeping up on maint. i have 117,xxx on my 03 dakota, oil change every 3 to 4 thousand miles, depending on how much i use it..... i drive ten mins. to and from work, the fastest i go is 40. usually on weekends it sits. but that has a 5spd. in it, but i haven't had much luck with autos. in the mopar family...... the best car i owned was a 68 plymouth. 318 with a 3 spd. 727. i had a 1/2 ton d250 with the same setup with nearly 200,000 miles and i smoked the pump, and the clutches when the pump seal decided to stop sealing, and it dumped most of the fluid on the road...... put in what i had to get me home, and the fluid was not red, but a black metallic color when it was running out of the bellhousing...... said it's last rights and sent it off to the scrap yard, lol. i suppose i'll give the auto. a try.

 

I'm not a big fan of auto transmissions in general, but in a 1500 series truck this is the one to have. Much better than the chevy 4l80E's that just self destruct randomly.

 

yeah, i can remember changing, alot of the autos. gm put in the blazers, and also the same with fords exploder. well, i'll give it a shot i guess........ could always trade it for something else if i don't like it.

 

I have over 98k on my 07. The only issue I've had was cracked trans filter that may have happened on a previous service. Mine has some funkiness in the lower gears that's irritating, like bogging down and "gurgling" on a downshift or occasional hard shifts but overall it's been reliable. I do some towing with mine as we'll, 5-6,000 pounds at 70-80 mph.

 

now i know when dodge brought the hemi back in the early 2000s, the trans. would shift, but you weren't supposed to feel it. i never rode in one then, but are they the same trans. they used back then? or have they done away with them since?

 

Same trans behind the 4.7 back then, so like 1998 through like 2010. You can feel it shift though lol.