So after months of researching trucks, I have finally signed on the dotted line on an 03 Ram 1500 QC SLT Hemi. I am comming from a 4 cylinder Tacoma, and cant wait for the power, although it gets half the mpg my yota got.

The rack and pinion is shot, so I will be replacing that (by myself hopefully) Does anyone have a how to on the r&p replacement?

I plan on having the trans flushed, and changing the diff fluids too. Should I just use the oils the manufacturer recomends, or something else? Is there anything else I should do maintenance wise on this truck to ensure it lasts forever? It has 80000 miles.

I will get up some pics when I get it (I dont have it yet)
I hope this truck is even better to me than my yota was.

 

welcome, that hemi is going to be a huge upgrade from your ol toy

 

You're coming from about the same boat as me. I drove a 4-cylinder Toyota before I drove my Dodge, I got an '03 with about 80,000 miles on it. Don't tell me yours is Graphite Metallic also.

You'll love the truck, but won't care for the fuel mileage so much. The height of the truck is something that is really nice also.

 

Nope, mines black, and a sport. How does the reliability of the dodge compare to your yota?

 

My Toyota was a very sound truck at only 140,000 miles. The only problems with the Dodge is that my front end squeaks a little bit, and sometimes my brakes will too. On the Toyota, I have a radiator leak, but I don't know what's wrong. The radiator was replaced twice, the top and bottom hoses were replaced, and we JB welded the metal piping on it. Still can't find the leak, but used pepper to fix it. The throw-out bearing went out a month or so ago, and now it just wants to heat up all the time. But that's because my brother is driving it, and he swears that the truck hates him.
It's also so nice being able to get out in traffic, and not always hearing a little "vrruuuummm" and rather a nice deep rumble.

 

getting out in traffic will be nice. i had to put a motor in my yota at 100000 miles, which surprised me, it has still been a good truck tho and if they werent so outrageously priced i would have bought another one. I sure do love the looks of the dodges tho...

 

congrats on the Dodge you should really love the power upgrade and like everyone else said filling up the tank can kinda hurt. good luck on the repairs and just remember there is lots of info here on the forum look in the FAQ section and use the search I find them very helpful.

 

would it be a good idea to do a trans flush? what kind of fluid should i use? is it better to flush with a cooler line flush machine, or a pump inlet flush machine.
thanks