Hello,
Just wondering, what do you think the best year, in terms of workmanship, reliability, and maintenance issues, was the best year for Dodge vans in the 1994-2000 production span?

Which years were the best, and which were the most problematic?

For one, I would not look to any years from 1997 or older.
From 1998 and newer, these are the improvements ...

- Spare tire no longer hangs off of the rear door, but is mounted on a quick release cable to the rear underside like the Dodge Caravan.
- The instrument cluster is more modern, easy to read the gauges
- OBDII and easier to diagnose
- R134A AC coolant
- Tow package becomes standard equipment... has tranny cooler and oil cooler.
- Engine is now 4 inches forward and the dog house in the front seat area takes up less room.
- Both the front and rear (if equipped ) HVAC systems are much easier to work on.
- The problematic side slider door for the Ram Van Wagon (passenger version) is gone. The side barn doors are standard.
- Gas tank is located central under the body to prevent rear end accident fires and to greatly help the van with center of gravity control.
- The stereo system is compatible with the Dodge Caravan. Thus you can swap in a radio with a CD player easily. Pre-1998 isn't
- Starting in 1998, the lower body panels received a better coating of paint textured surface to reduce stone chips, marks and some minor rust prevention.
- 1998 and newer came in four or size basic colors. No more two tone Ram Vans unless they were special ordered vs. having it as a standard option.
- Anti-lock brakes became standard for the rear.
- Dash next to radio has two power outlets like Dodge Caravan. One by key on, the other power on demand all the time.
- The 1998 and newer can easily use the Dodge Viper eFan cooling for the radiator and ditch the belt and clutch fan setup. This will increase the water pump flow and less engine drain providing better mpg.
- Cloth seats are standard vs. the el-cheap-o vinyl ones that split and ripped frequently.

There may be more than what I can remember from the top of my head ...

Now, in the 1998-2003 era, which should be called Ram Van Gen-2b, the 2000-2003 were the best years. 1998 & 99 had a few more TSB and things were getting tweaked properly. By 2003, Daimler killed the Ram Van with the awful Sprinter.

I personally like my 97 over any 1998 or newer vans. I will agree there are good improvements such as the higher weight and towing abilities and dual airbags, but these did come with some drawbacks IMO.

With the 98 -03 vans having the engine moved forward 4 inches it makes it harder and more time consuming to change out the spark plugs. In my 97 I can do all the left side through the drivers door and right side through the passenger door. On the 98 and newer you have to go back and forth between under the hood to the doors to change them, at least on the V-8's.

The rear RWAL (Rear Wheel Anti-Lock) brakes became standard in 1989, not 1998.

134a AC refrigerant systems became standard in 1994, not 1998.

The only drawback to adding the passenger airbag was that Dodge moved the dash towards the passengers 4 inches which makes it hard for some people to get into the van verses the 97 and older vans. Dodge really should have looked into moving the front doors back at least 4 to 6 inches.

96 and 97 vans are OBD-II where you can get some information from the "Check Engine" (MIL: Malfunction Indicator Lamp) lamp by doing the key dance (counting the flashes to count the codes). 98 and newer use the digital odometer to give you a better understanding of the codes that trip the MIL lamp.

Well, speaking from experience, the 5.2L/318cid engine from 1998-2003 is not hard to change the park plugs. Just pop the dog-house off and change them. I'm not sure about the 5.9L/360cid. It may be too tight to reach for that V8. However, with any given year of Gen-II, you can take off the front wheels and easily get to any spark plug without any problems. And if the passenger front wheel is off, you can easily remove the oil filter without crawling under the van.

I like the 1998-2003 with the rear wheel off of the rear door. I have seen more than my share of crushed in doors for the Ram Van. My folks have a 1992. Once backing up, it was crushed. And once in a parking lot someone backed into them crushing the rear door in. Twice the door had to be replaced. Also, that wheel brake can rust through the door even.

The one I worked on was a 99 B1500 with the 318 engine. Did work on this one twice due to faulty plug wires and even the second time (about 14 months from the first time) I still had to go between the front doors and under the hood to change them and the spark plugs.

On my 97 I don't have the tire problem on the rear door but have the problem of it taking up space on the right side interior mount. Can't use that space for tool boxes or shelves, unless of course I just toss the tire out all together which is not my preference, lol.

I have to say it is a real pleasure to work on the '98 & newer vans when it comes to the rear axle. Just serviced the diff on my '98 and it was PURE JOY not to have the gas tank in my friggin' way.

Just dropped the tire down, rolled it over and was good to go.

Oh don't you worry, they get even with you when it's time to replace the brake line running from the front to the back.

Or the AC/HTR lines to the rear HVAC. Been there done that with the fuel tank sitting right there. The good thing is, the lines are not too big and can be maneuvered around.


My folks need another Ram Van conversion. They are looking for a 1999-2003. The hard part is, not many conversions were made in those last running years since many conversion companies tossed in the towel and closed shop.

"tossed in the towel and closed shop"---imagine that!!!!-how could that be?