Hi, I am looking to buy myself another Dodge Ram Van. First, let me say, that, I used to own a 1991 B350. I bought from a friend, who bought it from a dealership in Melbourne, FL, who only buys retired government vehicles. This van was bought brand new by The Air Force Base (Patrick) in the Melbourne area. This van had 260k miles with original engine and ran almost like brand new. It was a 5.2 liter with throttle body fuel injection, and 4 speed, overdrive tranny. It was gray with red interior. I am kicking myself in the @#$@ for ever have gotten rid of a rare gem like that. Maintenance was very simple, do to the immense amount of space to work on, and around the engine. When the dog house came off, just about everything was easily accessible. I have never in my life owned a better vehicle, and I say that, having owned some japanese vehicles. So this brings me to a few questions. Should I stick with the same model year? Or are there other years that where as good as 1991?. I am only familiar with the 5.2l engine. Is the 3.9l just as reliable? I don't need all that power, however, I don't want to sacrifice reliability for only a little better mpg. Are the newer models, (91--> ) just as easy to work on? Do the newer models tend to be more problematic? Any information on the subject would be greatly appreciated. I am currently trying to replace my Toyota Previa with a Ram Van.

thanks again

 

Hello,
We have a 1995 Dodge 1500 Ram Van. Bought it new. Gave decent service until around 100,000 miles. Has been a pain in the *** ever since. 43,000 miles later & we are currently in fuel pump hell. The genius that is Dodge, put the fuel pump in the tank. I'm told this is pretty common in many types of vehicles nowadays. But replacing the fuel pump is a big pain. This is the 2nd time we've had fuel related issues with this van. The tank had to be dropped 6 years ago & the fuel filter screen cleaned out. A much simpler repair if the fuel filter had been located outside of the tank. But nooooooo, the filter is in the #@*% tank!

Dodge also "experimented" with some water based primer & the paint has literally been flaking off of our van for years now. The only solution there is to sand the whole thing down to bare metal & start over, paint/primer wise. We also had freeze plugs (on the engine block) corrode & that was a nightmare to resolve. Why did we buy this van? Well, we also had a 1984 Dodge Van, 1500, 318 engine. Always heard that was one of the best engines ever made. The '84 was a good van, still runs with 250,000 miles on it. We liked it so much, we bought the '95.

Hindsight being what it is, I don't have much good to say about the '95. Dodge messed up on many levels with design changes. For instance, something as simple as radiator hoses. On the '84, you could access both radiator hoses quickly & easily. Simple change out. An important repair that should be easy to perform, don't you think?

On the '95, you practically have to take apart 1/2 of the engine (I'm exaggerating a little) just to get at one of the radiator hoses. I can't remember which one. Why in the world they would change a simple, easy access design into something so complicated for something so basic as a radiator hose change out is totally beyond me. It's no wonder the auto makers are needing a bail out. I need Dodge to bail me out! The window on this van has fallen apart too. There's a metal bracket that holds onto the bottom of the window & pushes the window up/down. The glue degraded & this part fell off the bottom of the window. Most of the glues & vinyl has degraded in this vehicle. The exterior mouldings on the van have fallen off over the years. We've glued them back on a number of times, finally gave up.

I have a 79 Ford Thunderbird, had a '77 awhile back. Granted, it's no van, but it sure is a better made vehicle than this '95 Dodge is. Easier to work on too. I replaced the fuel filter on my 79 T-bird myself, and I'm a woman with very little automotive repair experience! I never would have expected to have the problems we're having with the '95 van, compared to the '84. It's unbelievable! Maybe someone on this forum will have better things to say about the 90's vans, but I wouldn't touch another '95 with 10 foot pole. Maybe for a parts car, but that's about it.

 

ALL manufacturers put the pump in the tank. Have for years and years now. And all have put the filter with the pump in the tank since about the mid-90s. Dodge is no exception. Even if the filter wasn't in the tank, you might have had to drop the tank to clean the fuel pump inlet screen. If your tank has that much gook or crud in it, it will gook up anything in its path.

Have you looked at early to mid-90s GM vehicles recently? The paint peels off of them and shows the yellow primer. Again, Dodge is no exception.

I'm sorry you're having trouble with your van, but that does not mean that you didn't get a lemon. Which has happened with any vehicle ever made and will continue to happen. You cannot generalize that all 95 Dodge vans are garbage from your experience with one.

I have a 1990 B250 w/360 that I love. Have had some issues with the tranny, but they were caused by the PO and given the coup de grace by my bf. Yes, I have peeling grey paint. When I get around to it, I will repaint it. The thing hauls whatever I ask it to, tows whatever I ask it to and gets the same mileage regardless (which isn't good, but that's not why I bought it). Oh, and doesn't care about how much snow I'm going through, either.

 

I have been finding out, that, after the early 90s, all vans, chevy, ford, and dodge, have changed for the worst. I am going to try to find a van in the same range (1988-1991) The 1991 engine package was excellent. hoses, and anything else around the engine was easy to replace. I did replace the fuel level sending unit and fuel pump in the 1991 B350. Wasn't very hard to drop the tank in this particular model. Thanks for your input

 

I didn't mean to generalize & I don't know that I'd go so far as to call this van a lemon, it gave decent service for about 100,000 miles. But, because of the fuel pump in the tank, some engine design changes & the paint problems (which have prematurely aged all types of vehicles -not just Dodge-), I wouldn't buy another 95, unless it was for parts. It is so much more difficult to work on than our 84 was, and the paint on the 84 is still on the vehicle. I think it's a pretty well accepted fact that they don't make cars like they used to. Too much plastic & glue. Good luck in your search, wagoneer, I hope you find a good vehicle!

 

Regarding the fuel pump in the tank, here is the point that is being missed by many:

Intelligent engineers & designers from other automobile manufacturers provide an access plate above their fuel tanks so that changing a faulty fuel pump is a 30 minute job instead of a 3 day job.

Considering the availability of floor space in a B series van this should be a foregone conclusion. We all should have a 16" round plate on the inside cargo floor over the in-tank fuel pump. It should be secured around the edges with recessed screws.

Other companies do it so why doesn't Dodge do it? Maybe they've incorporated this feature into their newer vans (I doubt it) but I know for sure that vans up to '95 require dropping the tank to change the fuel pump.

 

My 97 and a 98 that I have worked on have the same problem. I was able to change a 96 fuel pump in 4 hours, included having to go get the pump and the rubber piece that attaches the fuel filler tube to the tank.

Two floor jacks do help in making this job easier.

 

Unfortunately, neither my hubby nor I are skilled enough to tackle a fuel pump install. We don't even own a floor jack. I did install a fuel filter in my 79' T-bird, I'm pretty proud of that...novice that I am. It was so simple, only needed basic tools & limited skill. Super cheap repair too!

YES, it would have been a common sense design to include a floor panel to allow access to the fuel pump. That's another of those "Why didn't Dodge do that?" questions we have about this '95 van. We also have "Why the hell did they do THAT?"
questions!

We are currently at the mercies of our mechanic regarding this repair. My husband was originally going to attempt it himself, so we bought the Airtex pump from Auto Zone. Hubby changed his mind & van went to mechanic for install. That pump has been problematic ever since. I'm told I can file a labor claim with AutoZone, so we'll see.

Mechanic says pump is defective, so now we are in round 2 with another pump install. Basically starting over by letting the mechanic purchase a different brand pump. At least that way, if the 2nd pump fails, he will have to warranty his labor. That wasn't so with the 1st pump because we supplied it. My gut told me to just take the pump back after hubby changed his mind (before it was installed). I didn't listen to my gut. Oh well, woulda, coulda shoulda!

 

I usually tell people that have the desire to do their own repairs to buy a repair manual and the needed tools. The money you save on the labor pays for these items, with the bonus being that when the job is done you have the tools for future repairs. There is also the satisfaction and piece of mind in knowing that you did the job and did it right.

 

I have bought two of the Wal-Mart floor jacks, one of them is 12 years old the newer is just about 6 years old. They are the small ones but have been very dependable. I kept the bottle jack that came with my van but I have never used it. The bumper jack that came in my Impala when I bought it I threw out. Each vehicle has a floor jacks, I feel they are much safer and easier to use. You can usually buy them for under $30.00.