A co-worker of mine is getting rid of his 99 Ram 1500 quad cam with a 5.2 liter and 4 speed auto with 113K. Its in great shape, the guy really takes care of his vehicles so I was definately interested when he said he was thinking about letting it go. I read up alittle on them and it seems they are notorious for bad transmissions, which was funny because I drove by Bucholtz transmisison on sheridan yesterday and there were three Rams in the parking lot. Dont know much else about them, anyone have experience with them?
Used an 01 as a work truck.
2500 Ram.
Ate coil packs/coolant/driveshafts
Bought it new and 2 years almost always had a cel.
Survey Says, avoid at all costs
Rams are solid other than the trannys, my friend currently has a 98 ram with the 318 auto 4x4 short box. He beats the crap out of it and tows frequently, it has 165k on the oem tranny
[quote=“Viper966,post:3,topic:39335"”]
Survey Says, avoid at all costs
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I couldn’t agree more, we rarely stock those on our used car lot because they usually are a pain to warranty and cost us more than they are worth. They aren’t all junk but the majority are and thats enough for me to say don’t buy one
+1 stay away
A rolling STD, not worth the trouble.
1999 Dodge Ram 1500 Reliability Rating
Category Rating Comments
Engine Occasional problems on this vehicle are failures of the Intake Manifold Gasket and the Crankshaft Position (CKP) Sensor (V6 and V8 engines only). Failure of the CKP Sensor will prevent the vehicle from starting. The cost to replace the Intake Manifold Gasket is estimated at $12.00 for parts and $279.50 for labor. The cost to replace the CKP Sensor is estimated at $87.60 for parts and $71.50 for labor, Manual Transmission vehicle and $122.00 for parts and $71.50 for labor, Automatic Transmission vehicle. All prices are estimates based on $65 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.
Transmission & Driveline An occasional problem on this vehicle is the failure of the Transmission Output Shaft Speed Sensor. The cost to replace the Transmission Output Shaft Speed Sensor is estimated at $25.50 for parts and $45.50 for labor. All prices are estimates based on $65 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.
Steering & Suspension Infrequent problems reported, all with low repair costs.
Brakes An occasional problem on this vehicle is the failure of the Rear Axle Speed Sensor. The cost to replace the Rear Axle Speed Sensor is estimated at $31.75 for parts and $32.50 for labor. All prices are estimates based on $65 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.
Heating & Air Conditioning Infrequent problems reported, all with low repair costs.
Starting & Charging Infrequent problems reported, all with low repair costs.
Accessories Infrequent problems reported, all with low repair costs.
Overall 4 out of 5*Repair costs are based on a flat rate of $65.00 per hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=1999&make=Dodge&model=Ram%201500
Sure it’s only MSN Autos, but their info seems to usually be fairly accurate. :shrug:
[quote=“Fry,post:8,topic:39335"”]
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Reliability.aspx?year=1999&make=Dodge&model=Ram%201500
Sure it’s only MSN Autos, but their info seems to usually be fairly accurate. :shrug:
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Seems like pretty inexpensive stuff, for all that have said to avoid them do you care to elaborate why exactly?
If you can get it 1/2 price of an equivelent Chevy model go for it.
What are they asking?
[quote=“fairgentleman Z,post:10,topic:39335"”]
If you can get it 1/2 price of an equivelent Chevy model go for it.
What are they asking?
[/quote]
Slightly below KBB value, around 6K
I really think it would be hard to find something similar that has been so well maintained and not abused. Generally people that have full size pickups trailer them or plow. This thing hasnt seen much but highway mileage.
[quote=“StairSRT4,post:12,topic:39335"”]
are you going to trade in the Rolla? :lol:
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It might be available soon, along with the audi
I dunno, I picked up the 1998 RamVan 5.2l V8 with 109k miles for $4k three years ago, KBB was like $7-8 then. I wouldn’t say great, but good condition.
It’s nice to have a $2-3k buffer to pay for a tranny and all other repairs when the time comes.
The only problems I’ve had so far is a bad O2 sensor that causes backfire during start up and after idling. I’ve learned to drive through it. HVAC controls took a dump for a while, no they are working again. Probably should get that fixed.
I owned one.(1998, 4x4 318 w 3.55 gears) It was under powered, couldnt tow a 2 place covered trailer without the tranny up/down shifting all the time. Brakes are horrible, the worst I ever had. I tried upgrading with slotted rotors, HP pads, New HD rear drums with HD shoes. I even replaced the vacuum booster & master cylinder because I thought something had to be wrong. Nope, they are that bad. Front axle u joints and seals are common failures. 4x4 actuator freezes up on front axle & no 4WD. 2 front wheel bearing assemblies. I had it aligned 2ce, still ate front tires. Handled great, had a great stereo. Nice interior.
I worked at a tranny shop for years, they were the #1 highest failure of the big 3. Than Ford (EOD) with a diesel, and than Chevy 1/2 ton.(4l60e)
I know the new body style went through some mechanical changes, but I wouldnt buy another one. But for 6 G, might be worth it.
Not even looking (just the daily browse)…
http://buffalo.craigslist.org/car/491419533.html
I dunno, IMO if you are going to buy a Dodge, buy it cheap and save the money for repairs.
Only good things that come in a Ram are Cummins engines, Dana rears, NV4500 and NV5600 trannies, and NP transfer cases.
Brakes and suspension are on par with other domestics. Auto transmissions are notoriously problematic.
dodge trannies get a bad rap for two reasons.
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the bean counters like to tell the engineers to replace critical components with plastic cause its cheaper. i know a few guys that work in the kokomo indiana trans plant.
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they arent tolerant of not changing the fluid or using the wrong fluid. i know countless people that say “just put dextron/mercron in there… its good enough” WRONG. ATF+3 or +4 ONLY. people dont change the fluid either. i dont care if you say “but i never changed the fluid in my toyota ever and it was fine and kept working when it was black as coal” dodges dont like it. you can get 200k out of it if you change the fluid regularly. i recommend once a year whether it needs it or not.
a buddy of mine, his parents got ~200k out of the stock trans in their grand caravan by changing the fluid regularly. it was the long wheelbase 3.3L with the 4-speed which was the one that got a bad rap due to laziness and using the wrong fluid.
Brian
[quote=“reliant_turbo,post:18,topic:39335"”]
dodge trannies get a bad rap for two reasons.
-
the bean counters like to tell the engineers to replace critical components with plastic cause its cheaper. i know a few guys that work in the kokomo indiana trans plant.
-
they arent tolerant of not changing the fluid or using the wrong fluid. i know countless people that say “just put dextron/mercron in there… its good enough” WRONG. ATF+3 or +4 ONLY. people dont change the fluid either. i dont care if you say “but i never changed the fluid in my toyota ever and it was fine and kept working when it was black as coal” dodges dont like it. you can get 200k out of it if you change the fluid regularly. i recommend once a year whether it needs it or not.
a buddy of mine, his parents got ~200k out of the stock trans in their grand caravan by changing the fluid regularly. it was the long wheelbase 3.3L with the 4-speed which was the one that got a bad rap due to laziness and using the wrong fluid.
Brian
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This kinda goes along the lines of why I was so interested in the truck, I know the owner maintained it well So maybe I might pay alittle more, but it wont be a rusted out pile of problems like lower priced trucks.
My buddy bought a almost new one in 01. He went through about 2 sets of front ball joints in 6 months. Dunno what the deal was but it happened. Other then that he liked the truck.