I lost my 2nd gen ram to the bad cats deal it blew my motor from the backpressure and heat so i went and bought a 3rd gen 2004 ram 1500 shortbox quadcab slt got it for a good deal during the fuel crisis $13000.00cdn with 78000km on it and in great shape with slt and image group package on it anyways ive had a few problems and starting too get worried about having to do alot of repair on this truck
the tires was the first thing that caused probs about 2 months after getting the truck they started to shake and shimmy at hwy speed then started shaking and bumping around at every speed at first i was convinced my girlfriend had slid into a curb and bent an axle but i changed the tires which still had 50% tread on the and the problem was 90% cleared up. the remaining shake was from a bad upper ball joint on the front right corner replaced at 80 000 km guess the bad tires shook it loose so i replaced both sides i have now learned i should have used a moog replacement with a grease nipple apparently these rams go through stock replacements just as the warranty expires
another problem is erratic idle and shake and intermittant stalling while not fully warmed up also motor sounds like it has a miss or small knock at speeds just above idle ???

another problem is noisy steering pump and a small leak in one of the lines and alot of pressure built up in the resevoir (the cap pops off in your face when checking fluid level) i havent been able to look closely at it yet it has been too cold outside and dont have use of an indoor spot

 

also the power lock on the drivers door just stopped working and have to open the door from the back seat or crawl over the passenger seat to get into my vehicle dont know if it just the actuator or an electrical prob ?

and tranny seems to make a squealing noise when shifting at full acceleration ???

all these problems at only 80,000 km maybe this truck was the last vehicle off the line before the end of the shift ha ha ha

 

forgot to mention i am going through oil 1 litre per tank of gas and its not leaking anywhere guess i should check cyl compression first eh?

 

Sounds like you have a lot of problems based on this post and the next couple. Here are a couple of easy things to check. For the idle it sounds like you might have a dirty thottle body. Pull it off and give it a good cleaning. This is a pretty common fix for the idle problem you mentioned.

For the power steering it is probably the return hose leaking which again is pretty common. A hose clamp can fix that right up. I just did mine last week and took only 5 minutes. Now the leak is gone.

 

i had the same driver door lock problem on my 04, i actually bought the truck with it broken and just got it fixed a year later, its the actuator in the door, your going to have to get it replaced. im also having the same front end problem that you are, shaking and what not, im also going to have to replace a ball joint possibly. sounds like whoever had the truck before you beat it up alittle, hope you have a warrenty? do yourself a favor and change ALL fluids to prevent further problems. these truck done have the best trannys to begin with.

 

That much oil consumption should be evident in the exhaust -- serious blue cloud. Sounds like you bought a truck someone had beat the hell out of.

 

Or a lemon that they unloaded on this guy.

 

Here is what I don’t get. How can you say in this paragraph that the truck was in great shape at 78000 km:

Quote:

Originally Posted by 043rdgenram

i went and bought a 3rd gen 2004 ram 1500 shortbox quadcab slt got it for a good deal during the fuel crisis $13000.00cdn with 78000km on it and in great shape with slt and image group package on it

And then go on to list all of these problems at 80000 km such as this:

Quote:

Originally Posted by 043rdgenram

the tires was the first thing that caused probs about 2 months after getting the truck they started to shake and shimmy at hwy speed then started shaking and bumping around at every speed at first i was convinced my girlfriend had slid into a curb and bent an axle but i changed the tires which still had 50% tread on the and the problem was 90% cleared up. the remaining shake was from a bad upper ball joint on the front right corner replaced at 80 000 km guess the bad tires shook it loose so i replaced both sides i have now learned i should have used a moog replacement with a grease nipple apparently these rams go through stock replacements just as the warranty expires

And this:

Quote:

Originally Posted by 043rdgenram

also the power lock on the drivers door just stopped working and have to open the door from the back seat or crawl over the passenger seat to get into my vehicle dont know if it just the actuator or an electrical prob ?

And this too:



Was the truck really in great shape and then just totally fall apart as soon as you got it or was it in bad shape when you bought it and you just didn't notice the condition or did you beat this truck since the time you bought it?

 

when i said truck was in great shape i meant cosmetically and compared to the rest of the 04/05's on the market at that time and did not have any of the above problems appearant within the short time of test driving the vehicle and haggling with the dealer. the truck literally seams as though it is falling apart and developing some problems just wanted to know if any others were having the same issues or worse issues with their trucks. possibly future recalls. thanks for those who responded with tips on repairs and those having the same issues just was seeing if its worth keeping the truck and repairing or dealing it off and trying something else. i like the way the truck looks and drives and is useful to me but i was just checking for similar defects in other trucks . thanks

 

Not a good deal