Hi all, i'm about to buy a Dodge Ram Van in the UK and take it round Europe. I was just wondering what the most common problems usually are with them as spares will be hard to get and was thinking about stocking up with parts before heading off to save time on repairs if there are any problems.

What would you put in the box?

Cheers

Dave

 

Hi Dave this is Al also in the UK parts are easy available, i allways use Ultimate spares of America very helpfull friendly and good prices and delivery is excellent. Have a good tool kit handy set ofplugs and leads cap and rota spare altenator belt. Engine is pretty bullet proof just get a good service before you go. Remember going to Europe set of spare bulbs and warning triangle compulsary,
You should not have any problems just enjoy your trip.
Al.[8D]

 

well, I can tell you that the 5.2 & 5.9 magnum motors (1993 & up) are prone to having the plenum gasket leaking... easy fix if you can wrench. there is a DIY writeup in the DIY forum if you ever need it.

if you do buy it, upgrade the tranny cooler to the biggest one you can find.

 

You don't say what year van you are buying, and that does affect the list a bit. I know the only thing I ever broke on a re-occurring basis were, fuses, the mechanical fuel pump,the ballast resistor, and the ECM/Spark Control Computer.

During the 150K miles that I owned my 83 (something north of 250K total), I put in 2 ECM/SCC units, replaced the ballast resistor 4 times, and the mechanical fuel pump would collapse after 30K miles or so. It may have been my luck with re-manufactured parts though. I installed an electric pump in place of the mechanical one and it has been going for about 60K in the 87 I now drive with no problems. Also on the 87 Ive never needed to replace the ECM/SCC unit nor the balast resistor, though I do leave one of each in the bottom of the drawer. A set those two are about $30 US together so I was like what the heck. I seem to blow more fuses on the 87 than the 83, but since that problem isn't consistent, it is much harder to track down. I will say if you ever notice that your dash back lights are out, all of the exterior marker lights are off as well and you have blown a fuse. You should put on your hazzard lights, stop and replace it so that people can see you. By marker lights, I mean everything that comes on when you pull out the headlamp switch to the first notch. Brake, Head and Directionals are on different fuses. Fuses are the AGC glass barrel type. The sizes are 5A / 10A / 15A / 20A. Its been my luck that I pop more 20A's than anything else. The blower motor for heat seems to be a re-occurring trick in my van. The other one I seem to pop is the marker light one (10A), but that is because I have a fair ammout of stuff plugged into the cigarette lighter jack which is on the same circuit. Come summer that will hopefully stop as all of that will be on a second battery and dedicated wiring (Im a ham radio operator).

It is good to get a complete set of bulbs, in my 83 and 87, the are 4 types of bulbs. The rear side marker lights, and all of the dashboard lights use 194 (spade type bulbs). In an emergency I'll swipe a dash light for an exterior one. The front directional and rear backup bulb are the same bulb 1156 I think, and the Tail/Brake light is the third type (1157), the 4th is whatever style headlight you use. Round ones are always combined H/L in one bulb, the square can be either, but you would have 4 in front if you have the separate, lights instead of two. Every thing I mentioned would fit rather easily inside a 30 cm cube. You could probably also fit a DVM and a Haynes Manual in that space as well if you like to wrench.

 

The 3.9L/239cid, 5.2L/318cid and the 5.9L/360cid Mangum engines are great. The better years are 1998 and newer since many things became standard and the fuel tank is located mid-vehicle. The spare tire then goes under the van.

One thing to clean once a year is the IAC. If it gets dirty, the engine surges at idle and wastes fuel. Here's my handy 56k friendly step-by-step procedure to keep that thing clean and healthy.

https://dodgeforum.com/m_525409/tm.htm

 

hello can anybody tell me where the blower motor resistor block is located for a 2001 v6 full size dodge van is located? my low speeds quit working last night and i have done reserch and i hope that is my problem thanks

 

Under the hood, passenger side, see that big black box? The resistor is mounted in the front of that box held in by two bolts and has a flat 4-wire connector going to it.