Just replaced my fan belt + belt tensor+ two idle pullys, I knew the fan belt was kinda going south when I could not get it tight, belt tensor was far too easy to move by hand so I brought my truck into my mecanic ( non dodge dealer )

120,000 km Now the truck sounds better than new and really has lot more go with a lot less effort, I replaced the high beam switch my self, still have not sorted out my left head light and front u drive u joints need a blast of wd 40.

Next is my third go arround with the drives seat foam and fabric, little items that I reason are cheaper than new truck payments, yet temptation is great when I know the front drive u jionts on the axle are shot again.

When you replace parts, are you staying with mopar?

Im not.

 

The tensioner and idlers on mine are still hangin' in at 186km When I did my cooling system flush recently, it took a fair bit of horsepower to move the tensioner. The pulleys felt and sounded OK, too.

The only factory part I can ever recall buying was the PCV valve on this Ram. I buy rebuilts pretty much all the time.

 

I replaced my tensioner last year with a replacement from Advance Auto parts and a year later this one is making a clicking noise under load like the old one. I plan on replacing it again soon. I also replaced both idlers about a month ago at 100,000 miles. They still worked but made a little bit of noise and started to wobble a little more than I wanted them to. The new ones run straight and quite.

 

Parts should be replaced with discretion. For example, you can go to the dealer and pay $8 for a Champion copper plug in a Mopar box or you can go to the parts store and pay $2 for a Champion plug in a Champion box. Same goes for oil and airfilters and belts...
Parts like u-joints I would get at the parts store. Idler pulley and belt, I would get at parts store. Internal parts, I'd rather get at the dealer(waterpump, oil pump, timing components, throttle body..etc) Obvious things like tipm, cluster, interior components you have no choice but the dealer.


Ujoints that need wd-40 are on the brink of needing replacement.
Seatfoam is a common issue with wear.
Your headlight is a tipm or wiring problem I'd suspect from previous posts and that alone can be difficult to deal with as it requires paying the dealer...$$$
2006 is 6years old now and things will be breaking, for this reason...I think trucks, especially HD trucks are worth leasing rather than buying due to the extra cost of maintnance expenses. My wife juts purchased a Subaru and they tried to sell us a maintenance package that would cover absolutely everything up to 60kmi including lost keys. Was a little too expensive IMO($1200) but it's something thats available for ~$20/mo in a new car payment. Only issue I have with leases are the end "wear and Tear" expense.

 

I need to replace the tensioner pulley on mine, after we removed it with the front end stuff it has been squeaking and moving at idle.

 

When I bought my dodge, I needed a work truck, 3/4 to reg cab 4wd 6sp man, is a basic work truck. In the first year, to 4 years, I pit a lot of km on the truck, and mainatained it right from day one, as I could write off maintence expenses.

WD 40 keeps me ticking cheaper than new front u joints, I I drove this truck more often, I would have to repalce them, and All the u joints in the drive train.

THe fan belt, tensor, ect were a no brainer, they had to get done just to allow me to get back to haveing utility on demand.