Hello Everyone,

I recently inherited an 02 Ram 1500 quad cab shortbox 4x4 from my grandfather who recently passed away. I paid off the loan balance and bought it from the estate knowing it would probably need a fair amount of work. The price was right, so I wasn't going to complain. Its got 169k on with the 4.7L motor.

I have several issues like the front diff seal at the axle, driveshaft seal at the rear diff, leaking power steering rack, lousy driver seat cushion foam, the brakes need to be done, needs a new exhaust, etc. All things I can address in time.

My two issues that I'm trying to address at the moment are this:

The left rear door doesn't unlock or lock with the button like the rest of the doors. The dome light does not come on with this door open either. However, the power window works with either the master switch up front or the door switch. Is this a common thing? What would be the most likely culprit?

The other issue that concerns me more is the way the truck behaved on the highway. I drove it 340 miles from my Grandpa's farm to my place in IL. The whole way I had it at 70 which is exactly 2000 rpms. Every few seconds it would jump to 2200 rpm or sometimes 2500rpm. It seemed more pronounced with the cruise on, but it also did it with me holding my foot steady on the gas. It was mostly flat terrain the entire drive. If I blipped the throttle 3 or 4 times about halfway down it would settle down for a while and stay at 2k, but it would randomly start up again later.

It almost seemed like the torque converter was unlocking/locking for no good reason. I really have no idea when or if the fluid/filters have been changed. I found a new filter set in the cab, so I have a feeling my grandpa was getting ready to have it done. I'm planning to drop the pan and change the two filters and then flush out the system. I hope that helps. Is this a common issue? I'm hoping this thing doesn't need a new torque converter or worse yet a new trans. It shifts smoothly and doesn't buck or shudder or anything.

 

The door lock issue will most likely be damaged and broken wires inside the wiring boot that connects the door to the frame. That's a very common problem. (exact same problem with mine still)
The torque converter could be the problem with the overdrive kicking on and off, but a full fluid flush would be a good start. I think there's an article in our FAQ section, and it was in a recent post... you disconnect one of the hoses from the tranny oil cooler and start the truck and let the old fluid drain in a bucket, as soon as the fluid starts sputtering out, turn the truck off, fill up the tranny fluid, and repeat until new fluid comes out.

My condolences about your grandfather.
Welcome to the forum.


* here's that thread.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...intenance.html
Pay good attention to posts #5 and #11, DirtyDog explains the process quite well

 

Cool, thanks for the info. Sounds fairly simple. I wonder if there's bad wires in my driver door too. I can adjust the mirrors left or down, but not right or up.