I am picking up a 95 SportsWagon RAM 3500 in a few days. It has 99K on the odometer. This was pretty much the best deal I could find on a camper van, these things are getting pricey. I have about a million questions, but will just stick to a few for now. I plan to give it a thorough evaluation once I get it home.
I have heard about cracked heads. transmission issues, and leaky intake manifolds. Anything I should look at initially to head off a problem? The trans fluid is really clean, but I think there is a leak (maybe always fresh due to topping off).
The handling is sloppy as expected with all the weight. My first task was going to be new springs, shocks, and maybe air bags. Any good resources for these parts?
Finally, best as I can tell, this was the last year before OBD-II. Does this mean no way to get codes to troubleshoot things that might come up?

I'm going in to this project assuming the worse, like new engine worse. I have had everything from VWs and Fiats to my current Hondas. For an older camper van, the chassis choices are limited to the Big 3 mostly. My experiences with Ford were horrible, GM only slightly better. The only Dodge I have ever owned previously was a Mitsubishi Colt, which actually wasn't all that bad. I intend to bring this one back to it's glory and treat it well, even if it costs a few bucks. I searched this forum for manuals, but didn't see this specific one. Looking forward to digging in to this thing. Thanks in advance for any help I will surely find here.

Mike B.

 

The trans can be very reliable, if it is treated well. So, keep the fluid up to snuff, the maintenance up to date, and keep it cool. Trans temp gauge probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

Heads: Yep, prone to cracking, and giving you a mystery miss. Others run their cracked heads for 200K miles, and never even notice. In this case, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Intake manifold is a two-piece design, and it just LOVES to blow out the gasket between the two, and suck oil right out of the engine. Fouled plugs, clogged cats, and wasted O2 sensors are the result. Easy to check, just pull the air filter housing off, crack the throttle wide open, and have a look down there. See oil? Gasket is blown.... There are 'kits' to fix this particular problem.... Comes with all the bolts ya need, an aluminum plate, to replace the steel one, and gaskets. When I bought mine, it came with a steel gasket for the plenum plate..... I didn't care for that idea, so, just picked up a Fel-Pro intake gasket set, and used those instead.

If you end up doing the plenum, doing the water pump, and timing chain/gears at the same time is a VERY good idea.

I would go thru and completely inspect the front suspension before replacing a single part......

Yep, you are OBDI, which makes finding a scanner that will talk to the computer rather problematic. I think you can still find Snap-On MT2500's on Ebay for a reasonable price, or, you could grab the PCM, and wiring from a 96 or 97 Van, and swap 'em out, and have OBDII. (98 and newer won't work, too much changed.)