DODGE truck people..need your help

[Nick110]

Alright guys tell me your thoughts on this. I think its a good deal but If I remember these trannys are junk. Help me out i really havent researched these trucks.

My bad forgot the link

http://buffalo.craigslist.org/car/498241407.html

[trx400EXtreme]

i have no experience with dodges other than deisels. the cummins motor is amazing! sooo powerfull. my dad has an '03 cummins. over 100,000 miles already. he LOVES it. we puul alot with it. when we went to the dunes we pulled a 40 foot goose neck with two fully built jeeps, two quads, and a rhino. pulled like there was nothin back there.

[Hondamaster5505]

My Father had a 1500 ram with the 5.9 and as long as you take care of the trans and service them, it should be fine.

It was replaced before he bought it, but he had it up to 170,000 miles and still the same trans with the fluid still pink.

Just take care of it and service it and it will be fine.

It was a great truck for us.

1 thing though, dodges are NOTORIOUS for rotting out, so check that out

[416exfreak]

My 93 with almost 200k miles on it runs just as good as the day ti was new. It has the 5.9L V8 Magnum and an Automatic tranny. Ive never had any problems with it.;)

[Nick110]

Originally posted by trx400EXtreme
i have no experience with dodges other than deisels. the cummins motor is amazing! sooo powerfull. my dad has an '03 cummins. over 100,000 miles already. he LOVES it. we puul alot with it. when we went to the dunes we pulled a 40 foot goose neck with two fully built jeeps, two quads, and a rhino. pulled like there was nothin back there.

Great post but it has nothing to do with this thread.


416ex- What kinda gas mileage do you get? Any rust on yours? Anything I should check out when I go to see it?

[IOWAracer]

we have two one dakota and one diesel the diesel is lifted and mud tires seen more mud than most trucks ever have and we wash it and take care of it and it has a 173K on original motor/trans 0 problems other then alignment issues but thats a simple fix and not one spot of rust pretty good for a 98 id say love the truck and if any one tells you well dodges suck cause they only have 6 cylinders say give me a reason to need 8 and i will buy a chevy

[Nick110]

Originally posted by trx400EXtreme
my bad, link wasnt there when i posted.


Na man my bad, ha I feel like an idiot.

[Hondamaster5505]

check for rust in the door jams, fenders, frame, etc..

We still have ours for sale, but it might be sold.

It had a bad rusty fender that his friend fixed (body guy)

What engine?

5.9-great engine, never ran into any problems

5.2-underpowered in these big dodges, known for throwing rods.

6-cylinder- forget about it, unless you wanna do 0-60 in 25sec. lol. way too small for this truck

[Hondamaster5505]

oh, then theres the 5.9 diesel

GREAT ENGINE, the real deal cummins. Great towing. The 5.9 gas was pretty good towing too

[Waddell]

Well I had a 98 5.9L and the tranny was out of it at 110,000 it cost about $800 to get it rebuilt!!

[TWILES]

I bought my 05 3/4 ton new and I haven't had a problem. Its a 4x4, cummins, auto trans. It runs like new with 56,000 miles. The only people I've heard having trans problems have either pulled too much or put a high-horse chip in them and the auto transmission isn't made to handle that much more power. Most all trucks will last a long time if you drive them like you give a ****.

[300exOH]

I have a 98 dakota 4x4 5.2L V8 auto with just under 150,000 mi and the truck has been bulletproof. Not one trans problem yet...in fact it shifts better than any chevy I've ever owned. I'm not sure why hondamaster says the 5.2 is known for throwing rods...I've never heard that myself. It is the same block as the 5.9. If the truck has been well cared for it should be worth buying. From what I can tell the truck appears to be in good shape at least on the outside. Rams are great trucks. My next truck will likely be a Ram...if the dakota ever dies.:devil:

[smr]

since it doesn't say 4X4 I'm assuming it's 2wd. 3500 is to much for a 96 2wd. If it's 4wd then go for it.

[Flynbryan19]

They "can" be very good trucks, but there are also ALOT of lemons in that model between 94'-01'. As others have said flush/service the tranny very often (25k miles), keep an eye on the wheel bearings and ball joints(known to fail prematurely), and watch your tire wear. If it is very progressive on one side you most likely have a shot front torsion bar. They also wear out very prematurely.

The key thing to look out for motor wise is an engine knock/detonation under load around 2500rpm. Heat is diverted very poorly from these motors and they are known to crack between two of the passenger side cylinders.

They can be good trucks and I have known a couple guys that have gotten MAJOR miles out of their Rams. But, I have also known people that have had nothing but problems with them from day one. Before I bought the truck I would do some research over on www.dodgeforum.com Very helpful people on this site and ALOT of info about inherient problems of the truck. Good luck. ;)

[416exfreak]

Originally posted by Nick110
Great post but it has nothing to do with this thread.


416ex- What kinda gas mileage do you get? Any rust on yours? Anything I should check out when I go to see it?

I can get 17mpg if I can keep my foot out of it.

The paint is coming off below the passenger window in a small spot and its also coming off on top of the cab in a few small spots.

Its getting repainted soon though, so it wont matter.

[400exrider707]

Watch out for chryslers terrible paint! I see a lot of rams/dakotas and jeeps with the paint flaking right off of it.

[Hondamaster5505]

Originally posted by 300exOH
I have a 98 dakota 4x4 5.2L V8 auto with just under 150,000 mi and the truck has been bulletproof. Not one trans problem yet...in fact it shifts better than any chevy I've ever owned. I'm not sure why hondamaster says the 5.2 is known for throwing rods...I've never heard that myself. It is the same block as the 5.9. If the truck has been well cared for it should be worth buying. From what I can tell the truck appears to be in good shape at least on the outside. Rams are great trucks. My next truck will likely be a Ram...if the dakota ever dies.:devil:

Actually i made a typo, i ment both the 5.2 and 5.9 are known to do that with what i looked up.

Ive only known 1 durango that did it though. As long as you take care of it it should be fine

[RideRed84]

I had a 96 Dakota with a 5.2 and I miss that damn truck so much. The only problems I had was the radiator which was no big deal and the paint flaked. I liked it better than my ford. Gas mileage was crap but thats expected with a V8. Any body know about the 03 Hemi's. I'm looking to buy a quad cab in the spring.

[Robin Hood]

2001 Dodge Ram *Offroad 4x4 edition*, 5.9L magnum.

Tranny blew at 125k miles. Then again at 130k miles.

Paid 7,500$ for it, + 3500 in rapairs.

Front end is a piece of crap. It vibrates and slams around like the suspension is made of cinder blocks.

I'd say for 3500 it's good though.

[Nick110]

Ok im gonna call him sometime this week and see if its 4x4, if the tranny has ever been rebuilt, any rust, and any other info i can get out of him.

Thanks for the info guys.

[416exfreak]

Just check under the bed, in the fender wells, and on the hood/top of the cab.

Basically...Dodge has the chittiest paint ever...so...yea...look out for it.;)

[Flynbryan19]

The flaw behind the paint is the primer that they used from the factory. It doesn't adhere well to the paint and over time it flakes off. My father is an auto/body painter for a Dodge dealership, so he does ALOT of warranty work for this.

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by RideRed84
I had a 96 Dakota with a 5.2 and I miss that damn truck so much. The only problems I had was the radiator which was no big deal and the paint flaked. I liked it better than my ford. Gas mileage was crap but thats expected with a V8. Any body know about the 03 Hemi's. I'm looking to buy a quad cab in the spring.

If you think your mileage is bad now, why do you want a hemi? Very underpowered and terrible fuel mileage. I was not impressed one bit.

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by Flynbryan19
The flaw behind the paint is the primer that they used from the factory. It doesn't adhere well to the paint and over time it flakes off. My father is an auto/body painter for a Dodge dealership, so he does ALOT of warranty work for this.

I was under the impression that they used a one stage paint/primer deal all at once, and it obviously isn't working... I have a buddy with a 93 jeep, and another buddy who just picked up a 99 dakota and they both look the same, neither one have paint on their roof/hood anymore. It makes a decent 99 pickup truck look like a POS.