Hello Dodge family!
Just bought my 2nd dodge from a friend for only $1500. It is a 2004 Ram1500 4.7 2wd. Cosmetically it is in decent enough shape and mechanically it appears right on par with the 255K on the cluster. He had it for the majority of its life and did the very basic routine maintenance. This would be my 2nd 2004 4.7, the previous one I purchased had a mopar rebuild around 300K. I want to be proactive now while I have a little money to throw at her, about $1500 and another $500/month if need be. Youtube has been my best friend for any work I have done in the past from brakes to front end replacements.
The issues I know of at the moment are:
-Electrical issue somewhere? Driver brake light on (not a bulb issue), horn would not stop so fuse was pulled and airbags are inop? (that is how it was explained, i will verify everything this weekend)
-I notice it gets a little sluggish when giving gas uphill (as much of a hill as we see in FL at least) cannot tell if it is tranny slipping or a misfire maybe? Just hesitates and putters
-Cannot fill gas tank all the way or it will stall. EVAP? Seems simple enough
That is where I am at now, a week into driving. I will be looking a little more in depth this weekend. I am hoping ya'll can help me focus my attention where known issues typically show up and what should I do to be proactive in replacing? I am already thinking dizzy, plugs, wires, valves, filters, etc. Any advice is appreciated, I know the expertise on this forum is incredible so thanks in advance.
I'd start with the wiring schematic and start tracing out the problem components to see if you have wire or component damage. IPM boards tend to corrode and cause tracing open circuits, and they are relatively easy to crack open and inspect.
General tune up, like you mentioned, should help you set a baseline. Then I'd use my bluetooth obd2 adapter and Torque app on my phone to see how the fuel trims and vacuum signals are looking.
Not sure about the fuel problem, I think I'd start with checking the fuel pressure when filled vs not and see if the pump is having issues.
