SORRY TITLE SHOULD SAY 1999 ram van 1500.

Looking at an '99 ram van 1500 conversion with low miles. I just want it to tow a boat (haven't bought the boat yet).

What are common problems I should look for specific to these vans?

Are these vans generally slow to accelerate? When i test drove the van it didn't seem to peppy, but hey it's a van. Other than that, the van drove fine.

Thx in advance.

PS I did check myrepairpal for their list of common reported problems. There didn't seem to be too much that was too troubling.

 

look for a tag under the hood drivers side...
that should tell the engine size and rear end

Is is it a short van or maxi van?

If the van has a 6 cyl, it will be underpowered to tow.

if it has the 5.2 or 5.9 and 4.10 gears it will be fine.

Look for floor rust under the carpet in the rear by the wheel wells... if often hides out there... you have to peel back the carpet or get under and poke with a screwdriver.

I would not pay too much even if it looks clean. After nearly 20 years there is a lot that can go wrong unless it was never used and garaged all this time.

 

Thanks. I did look under the hood and it has the 5.9l engine. Not sure about the rear end since numbers were pretty faded. It does have low miles (100k) which kinda reassures me, but i am not certain how well she was maintained. After test drive one of the belts broke. Lol Seller is fixing it and getting back to me.

Are the power seat motors hard to find? The drivers seat won't go forward or back, but everything else in the seat works.

Thx for the rust advice.

 

power seat motor/seating probably part of the conversion package and probably impossible to find

might have better luck if it just an electrical or connection issue, but usually plastic gears strip out of the mechanism after being that old

conversion vans in general do a lot of non-standard stuff, like lighting and electrical that is not documented or stock... don't count on getting anything replacement for those items

look for general corrosion under the hood, anywhere that is hidden...

better if you are in dry/desert location than the rust belt or FL for rust/corrosion

I would be wary unless price was in the $3K range or lower... you should have tranny looked at... engine is usually solid for 200K+ but tranny issues usually popup after 100K... let a tranny shop look at it for wear issues... and estimate having a repair or replacement..

be prepared to then have everything checked out. rubber hoses will be toast for vacuum and pollution stuff on the engine... just look what happened to a belt...

front rubber brake hoses will likely need to be replaced or you will have excessive brake wear...

are you mechanically inclined? then good deal if you can do the work... otherwise WALK AWAY from that old of a vehicle... dealerships will treat you like their piggy bank...

 

Thanks rsdata. Well I may replace the driver seat anyway, but hope to salvage the power controllers. It's not too important so long as I can drive it.

I doubt i will be able to have a tranny shop look at it. But it seemed to drive fairly smoothly. Just felt slow on accell, but I don't drive a lot of vans.

Thanks for the rust advice. I am in florida now and when I looked, I didn't see any rust. But i will give it a more thorough look and pull up some carpets.

Car is in the mid 2k area, but since there is no radio or speaker and the rear ac is not working i will be asking for less. It is a conversion van and they took out all the entertainment electronics. All the electrical seemed to work though.

I do like that the engine is the 5.9L.

I am mechanically inclined and was planning on a major tune up if i buy it. I'll probably shell out some cash for a tranny shop to give it a once over as well.

Any advice on testing the tranny while driving it? I have to web search that too.

Thx again.

 

a 1500 with a 5.9 should not be very slow off the line... but that could be due to needing a tune up

pull the tranny dipstick and look at the fluid after it warms a bit... if it smells burnt or looks burnt and brownish, rather than bright clear red, then you have an issue ... most likely the tranny fluid has never been changed or maintenance has never been done... trannys are easy to overlook until they start shifting rough or lose gears...

if you cant take it to a shop then at least talk to one... an independent one would be best and ask about service prices... the tranny code should also be on that label under the hood...
chances are that will be your greatest cost once you own the van... that and a tune up using brass contact distributor parts... not aluminum and new wires and plugs... parts are still available for that engine

lots of info on tune ups on this forum

 

Rsdata is right regarding acceleration the van should not feel slow. I am still sometimes surprised with the pickup off the line and merging with traffic, if the motor is running fine maybe the conversion company ordered really high gears for better mileage.

 

Thanks. I bought the van today. It drove really well. It seemed the busted belt is what was causing the sluggishness. Drove completely differently. Seller also had an '03 on the lot which i drove for comparison. Considering the van had conversion top, it drove as well as the 03.

Trans oil looked pretty clean even though the seller said they never touched the van besides the belt.

Picking her up tomorrow and will be posting a ton of questions on here...AFTER searching of course lol.

Thanks all. Was a pleasure inspecting the vehicle with all the advice from here. I also used some tips on how to test a tranny during test drive. I guess we'll all know more in a few weeks.