hi all,

just curious can some one tell me a little bit about the 1997 318 magnum,
some of the dos and don'ts would be nice to. what makes up a magnum
as well this may sound stupid but i have to ask , in regards to the overdrive button on the dash, when you looking at the button it says o/d off and no light is on, now when you start the truck and drive it light is not on , does this mean that the overdrive is off and to get it on you have to push the button until the light comes on , just curious because most of my operating is short stops of one mile at a time and i don't want to cause unnesacary damage. i checked in the manual and can't find the actual usage of the overdrive button. i know that your not to use it for short drives but it does not state when it is engaged.

 

GREAT engine!! Strong, hardy and dependable! I have the slightly bigger brother, the 5.9L 360, I love it, never a problem... but yor engine, 5.2L 318 is just as good and can really put out the HP if done right.

Tell us about your truck!! Congrats and WELCOME to DF!!

~Amanda

 

thanks for the quick reply, nice to see that you have great pride in your dodge,
i owned an 1997 intrepid sport was an amazing car, i am hoping to have the same quality with this truck

 

i am new to this site so i am hoping that i am doing this right,
thanks for your response, i have had the truck for only two weeks so i am hoping that i recieve the same quality that i had with my chrysler car

 

I'm sure you will. I'm one of those who faithfully changes the oil every 3,000 miles or 3 months, I do expensive gas and oil treatments at that point in time too, every time.

Routine Maintance has kept my engine running like a champ. The 318 engine is just as hardy and strong, I've known lots of people who love their 318's and swear by them.

Do you know any history on the truck? Like the last time plugs, wires, cap and rotor, air filter, oil filter, etc were changed?

~Amanda

 

i am high maintenance, do it regularly, did maintenance when purchased the truck,

 

EXCELLENT! You shouldn't have any problems!!

Are you going to modify it at all? Cold Air Intake, exhaust, chip? Lift, lower or what? LOL!

Sorry for the 20 questions... just like to hear about them Dodges!

As for the OD light... when the light is OFF, O/D is enabled, when it's lit up, the O/D is off. Sort of confusing... LOL!

~Amanda

 

the od light issue is confusing but thanks for correcting it for me , seem *** backwards kind of a pain in the *** lol. every time i get in i have to push the button. they should have made it so if you need it you push it on

 

i do plan on doing some work to it simple stuff though maybe some roof lights, maybe a visor, rollbar, being i play hard, doing some extensive maintenance, synthetic oils throughout, diffs and so on, k&n, and a box cover to assist fuel ecconomy, making it a good allround hunting truck

 

If you turn it off when you drive, if you aren't towing or racing, you are burning gas, you should keep it in O/D (light off) all the times otherwise. It saves lots of gas, it won't hurt the engine either way though... honest. You are supposed to use O/D at all times, no matter the distance, it's better for the engine, only towing and racing (needing grip off the line) should really ever cause you to turn O/D off (light on).

~Amanda