I bought my 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4, used (in 1995) when it had 14k miles on it and back when i was 18. Now she's got 296K miles. Still runs. Just has a lot of rust from the midwest winters. I still keep the window sticker in the center console. I could never thinking about getting rid of it. She's like a member of my family.
i found a 96 Ram dually 147k v8 magnum all stock , changed all the fluids , cleaned undercarriage and sprayed everything with surface shield no rust , love the truck. plan to delete cat and add flowmasters
i found a 96 Ram dually 147k v8 magnum all stock , changed all the fluids , cleaned undercarriage and sprayed everything with surface shield no rust , love the truck
I have a 98 that is the only vehicle I have ever bought new for myself. Lost it in a divorce, but got it back. It was neglected and abused some while I didn't have it, but it is still a great truck. 5.9 is my favorite small block, and still runs strong. The only thing that has been a problem with the transmission was that I messed up the reverse band backing up a tow dolly under another truck at about 270,000 miles. The biggest problem with the transmission is usually people not locking out the overdrive when towing or hauling.
Yes I love my second Gen Dodge's I have three and the only transmission issue I have had was because of pulling a trailer with around 10,000 lb on it with a 1500
I’m buying an 01 ram always wanted one it has 217thou dash is gone of course, and the front bumper is dented little dings here and there other than that it’s mint he wants a grand, oh and the ac/heat doesn’t work but everything is all easy fixes I could do on a weekend
Another common problem worth noting, the ECU has a tendency to break down with age, causes running issues and in my case caused the alternator to fry itself because the voltage regulator is within the ECU, causing over charging issues and eventually failure of the alternator, the ECU is bolted in a very silly place on the firewall where water and moisture can drop on it, on a positive note I managed to buy a brand new ECU from Rock Auto for £90 which was CHEAP and have it shipped to me here in the UK for about £150 including postage and duty paid, it was plug and play with no coding required. Mine has big 22” wheels on you are indeed correct about front suspension parts with big wheels they seem to chew through components quicker, but that’s a price you pay for making it look to your own taste. Thank you for your video - all the best from the United Kingfkm 💪🏼💨💨💨
Great video man! You mentioned pretty much all the important stuff! Is this a RWD? If so the 518 (46RE?) transmission is wonky in a LOT of ways! (rebuilding them yourself will require a press, bc Chrysler decided to have overdrive engaged in the extension housing with a 900lb spring) -5.9l is awesome, and has ridiculous tow power for size. -frame WILL rust, more than fords or gms in bad rust areas -dashboard will crack, your driver seat will rip. Interiors absolutely suck. -front end is a little weird on several different front end systems. -ECM! It fails. A lot. -your wiring likes to get brittle and short. -electric window design is kinda stupid and likes to throw the pane off track because Chrysler decided to mount the pane in a weird way. Its a huge pane until you figure out the fast way to temporarily fix it. Every few weeks. 3-5 minutes a pop and some swear words. -easier to work on than a lotta vehicles. Good amount of space for many jobs.
I’ve had two 96’s a 98, and an 01. Sold all but my current 96 to family members and all of them are still running strong! Oil change every 4k, tune up at 100k, cooling system tuneup at 140k never had a problem. The only major thing to keep an eye on is rear end once you start putting some miles on them.
I bought my 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4, used, when it had 14k miles on it and back when i was 18. Now she's got 296K miles. Still runs. Just has a lot of rust from the midwest winters.
I bought a 1995 dodge ram 1500 4x4 5.9 magnum single cab with a long bed four years ago for 1650 bucks it had 83k ori miles on it. I love this truck she's in great running condition but needs painted no rust but horribly faded. My dash just actually started cracking last summer thinking about trying to install a dash skin in it. I've done a lot of work to get her running great because it sat for so long but I love my second gen Ram. They're cheap trucks but they're solid trucks with good engines. The transmission can be an issue but that's usually the early 2000s from what I've read. Anyway great video and beautiful truck
I drive my Quadcab Ram 2000y with 5.9 for ten years, and don't want to change. My personal odometer was above 80Kmiles, with total 250. I rebuilt this 46re by myself, replaced timing chain, etc. But i hate two things: 1. It's rusty! There's a lot of snow in Siberia, Russia. 2. Cracked dashboard and instrument panel cover (bezel)... And all plastic parts are fragile... (( But i love him!!! )))
I bought my 1998 Ram SS/T brand new. I have taken extremely good care of it. It has been garage kept and I've never hauled anything in the bed. It looks almost brand new. I have only done one modification to the truck. I lowered it about 13 years ago. I was pretty proud of my un-cracked dash until 2 years ago. It cracked coming from the far right screw hole over next to the a-pillar. They should have made the top panel 2 or 3 pieces instead of that giant one piece panel. My truck still runs and rides great. I've never had a transmission problem. I am going to put antique tags on it next year. Can you believe it will be 25 years old next year? My 12 year old son has laid claim to it, but I told him he will own it upon my demise.
My 1998 Dodge Ram has 148k on it , yes my dash is cracked, yes it is rusty, but it's a 318 and runs like a Swiss watch!! I love it!!! Rusty but trusty!!!
Your passenger floorboard leak is the a/c drain on the firewall, needs new boot or silicone the old boot so water doesn’t run around it. Had a 96 3/4 ton 4x4 club cab and 99 1/2 ton . Replaced the dash in the 99 what a pain.
You may have the same problem I had on wet passenger floor well. Took me a bit to figure it out even replaced the heat core. What mine was doing the drain pipe for the heater core was clogged and back feeding into the cab. I removed it and replaced it with a bigger black hose. You will find this under the hood passenger side on the fire wall and follow it down till you find a hose that comes out and goes nowhere. Course not only did I fix the problem, got a new heater core, but I also took all the carpet out and Rhino Guard the interior. Got mine at 105k now at 168k and after doing a year long engine tune up radiator replacement the works, the transmission went out. I've been working on vehicles for 33 years and I can tell you No one ever changed the transmission fluid and I am very positive that's what lead to it's failure. My Dad's 78' Dodge Ramcharger has over 500k on it, he took care of it and to this day as of this writing (2022) still runs great. I bought my 2nd Gen used Im the 3rd owner and it was both my daily driver and my POV for the Fire Department. Yeah it took some time going 0-60 but he always got me to the Department on time and never missed a call. Retired now, just like my truck, lol, I plan to rebuild the transmission myself come this summer. Thanks for reading and thanks for the post, you have a very nice 2nd Gen, someone obviously cared about it, (Grandpa). No one except me cared about mine and I've had to fix a lot of horrible piss pour repairs and mechanical issues, no one waxed it so of course the clear coat is feathering off and the paint is going dim (black by the way). All characters to add to my trucks attitude, I was glad when driving through a forest that was on fire getting into a location or arriving on a scene after hurricane Florence was passed and running over and through trees that lol my paint job wasn't perfect. It's a great truck and after the transmission rebuild it will be on the road again hopefully for another couple hundred thousand miles.
I defiantly think it is the same issue with the heater core, going to check into it this weekend. As you said, taking care of a vehicle is very important, but most nowadays neglect their cars and do not even know how check their own oil or coolant. Hope the tranny rebuild goes well, and thank you for your service with the fire department!
@@RealSteelFabrications thank you so much, was an honor to serve my community, I'm retired but always actively looking out to see who I can help still. And thank you for the well wishes on the tranny rebuild, and I wish you God speed on your weekend project!
Great video and great rig my 3/4 ton 2nd gen fits 37s without a lift, but just terrible fuel economy so I came back down to 33s. Gonna go to 31s permanently once these ones are done for.
The reason you keep finding water on your floor boards is the brake light seal on Dodge trucks seem to leak on all of them. I ordered a new seal from Geno's garage.
I’ve only seen 3 others with the same color. I own a 98 extended cab quad door slt. The other 3 brown I’ve seen were 1500 with a beige skirt and a 2500 with a silver skirt. Mines brown all over
I have a 97 SST 200000 miles. I have bought two new trucks while I had this one, a Chevy and Ford. Gave both away to my kids kept the Dodge. Another thing to go is the plastic on the glove compartment will break making it fall down. I rigged mine with paper clips to make it open and not fall to the floor.
My dad had one of these it was also a single cab 5.9L v8 magnum but black and short bed. Best memory I has was going 120 on the freeway at night, and she still had more to give
I had a 99 Durango with the 5.9 and the 46re transmission. Has to replace the transmission a few months after I got it (not even 1000 miles). Got it replaced and put over 30k on it with no issues, and I drove it hard and made it work and only changed the trans fluid & filter once afterward.
I have a 2001 reg cab short bed with the 5.2, 4x4, nv3500 5spd, no rust that I bought last year from the original owner. It has no rust and all sorts of offroad goodies on it, I use it to pull a small trailer with my welder on it and with a tune and all the performance internals and bolt on, and I manage 21 mpg highway on 32s
@@RealSteelFabrications like I said in my other response, I have the 3.55 rear end and the manual which does have a high overdrive, my engine also has a lot of work in it that allows it to be a lot more relaxed when cruising
Just got a 99 club cab with the 5.9 it’s only problem was the crankshaft position sensor, replaced that and now I can give it the beans (what it has at least 😂) and get “decent” mileage, only got 147k and I’m planning a full restoratiob
I’m on my 3rd one. I like them mostly for the cab room, as I’m a big guy. Not afraid to say they are junk in so many ways, many of which you mention. My current one is a unicorn, 5 speed manual, 1500 club cab. The automatic transmissions are on borrowed time after about 140K miles.
My 1500 has 296k miles. All original motor and transmission. But I've never hauled anything heavy with it. Never needed to. I had always heard that the 3500's were notorious for their transmission issues.
my ram tips r ( especially if u got vigger tires) replace sway bar ball joints for bushings and links , if u got a 2500 or 3500 (especially if u have a lift) u need the gearbox brace and longer front control arms imo l. i heard the alcohol in armor all is really hard on those dashs. a small crack between the valves on the rear most cylinder heads seems common on these, but if u got decent compression and no water leaks i say just send it. genos garage has the cupholder attachment for center console,its awesome.if u got the 12v diesel get that kdp fixed
I love gen 2 dodges. So slick. I got a gen 4 crew cab currently as I have kids. Once the kids are a little older and more independent I wanna hunt for a gen 2. Sexy truck, brother. Never sale it. Especially being your pops. Gotta keep it, brother.
I have a 1998 Ram 2500 early 1998 it is 2 door club cab , 12 valve Cummins, short bed (Dodge switched to 24 valve Cummins and 4 door club cab in mid 1998) ..Works good gets about 22 mpg ..
these are great trucks...5.9 is a gas hog but rock solid ...if you can find one that has had trans rebuilt i would not hesitate to buy..that is the only real weak point..
I forgot to say, the leak is not usually the rear window. It's probably the seal around the third brake light. Mine has leaked since new, but I have no damage due to it staying indoors and hardly ever being rained on.
I've owned a 99 1500 5.9 for seven years. Daily driver with 160,000 miles and one transmission rebuild. Yes it's a gas hog but 12 mpg is what these trucks were expected to run in 99. I still have the window sticker and it says 11 city 13 hwy so that's good its normal. Texas truck no rust at all. Plastic interior parts dash etc. was a screw up from the factory getting the raw materials mixed wrong causing it to be brittle. If yours is still decent protect it and be gentle. Aftermarket plastic parts will never fit as good as OEM. Emissions suck on this truck but I got my last inspection a couple days ago truck is now over 25 yrs old so I will be slowly deleting that bs.
I have an 02 4x4 Cummins and I haven’t had any of the problems you talked about even with the dash and I have 290,000 + miles no rust holes and great fuel mileage it’s on 33’s
I have a 1995 Dodge Ram 1500 Club Cab Lamarie SLT 4x4. It has the 360 engine and 168k miles and the tranny was rebuilt at 77k miles. The dash is in bad shape. The headliner needs replaced. The paint is peeling on both sides of bed. The top of the truck has surface rust. I plan to have the repainted in 2023. I bought the truck new and I enjoy driving it. The truck runs good and is a gas hog but it's paid off. I have the truck rustproofed every year. The rustproofing helped the truck not rust out. It has been rustproofed for 6 years now and Krown Rustproofing has saved the truck.
my '95 Ram 3500 w/ v10 has the same issues. peeling paint. cheap plastic dash totally disintegrating, headliner badly drooping with deteriorating foam. The Trans has started to slip & also sketchy shifting. It's an Auto. Truck has 103,000 miles, & has been trouble free for years, except for the usual brake job. It's also a total Gas hawg & the ride is a bit bouncy Actually It is real bouncy lol. but It means business.
Some people dont know but the same transmission was used by chevy. The difference is the Chevy ones use better parts. So when yoju get them rebuilt use the chevy parts and never have a problem again.
My brother has a 01 1500 5.9.. It's 100% stock everything besides being converted to e85 and a optional performance map. It got WAY WAY faster with just that. I have video on my channel beating a 350z in it. While being fully loaded to the max with tools and heavy chrome wheels.
the transmissions are actually decent but what happens is the check ball in the trans cooler line will gum up and cause them to fail. if you get rid of that check ball then the trans should last for years and years. fyi you can abuse the crap out of those 46re as long as that check ball is gone.
I have a 96 2500 5.9 mag. 330,000 miles got it for 700$ no interior dash gone, but i driven it for years now and no problems except reverse when cold. Great running ugly pos but i wouldn't give her up. Good truck see them everywhere. 😊
I have an '01 with the 5.2L and manual transmission. Clear coat failed on it. I've replaced the rear differential (my fault for towing big loads), the starter, oil pump (my fault again), the ignition coil, and just had to have the intake manifold replaced (corroded out a big hole). Oh, and the AC compressor. Almost 180k miles on it, I really like that old thing. It has done everything I've asked it to do, and the manual trans just keeps going. Geno's Garage for new ABS replacement dashes, but they're pricey. That and a repaint are on the list. I also have a '15 Ram that I mainly drive, but sort of prefer less bells and whistles of the '01.
@@VareaIII I didn't do oil changes regularly like I should have. The engine got all gummed up and I was lucky to save it. It's pretty well cleaned now, but it wasn't pretty.
I bought my 98 5.9 quad cab a couple years ago for $1300! A bad spark plug wire scared the last owner who didn't know much about cars. 215,000 miles on it and it runs great dash is next to be replaced but I am blown away from the lack of rust on this truck especially when we are in the Rockies.
I have a 98 dodge my parents bought me when I was 15. I am now 30. When we first got the truck it had 211K miles and now it has close to 299K miles. Just got through putting a new LMC truck dash in it.
I have a 97 2g 2500 with the 5.9 V8 and she is decent for have been sitting outside for a decent amount of time, the frame only has surface rust but the bed is a whole different story lol currently it has 111k miles and the ol 46RH is still goin fine
Bought mine new 2001 dodge ram 2500 5.9 magnum off show room floor 2001 ,first thing did 3inch body lift 35 tires lol than did additional 2 inch level kit went put 36 tires but go back 35 tires just find 35 tire best on truck better mileage,but my front end original and never greased them ,wish post pic truck excellent condition also slt laramie but 4 door after cab , I harassed dodge dealer sell it to me unti said yes ,was loaded and show model show people could have,but wanted original one lol oh mine only has 100,000 on it!
I have a 1998 V10 ran 35” tires on for 275,000 miles,now 40” irocks and 300,000, 1 ball joint was loose so I swapped them all, did 2 set of stearing systems, 3 sets of uni bearings, far cry from every 2 months ball joints lol
Yeah my 01’s trans went out 2 weeks ago. 113k on it, literally never towed anything (was grandpa’s truck). These transmissions are just a hunk of sh!t lol but I have to say the rebuilt transmissions are so much nicer
Also can’t say it was neglected. I had the trans fluid flushed and all that buy a shop around 6k miles ago and everything was looking great at the time
trans and the rear ends are the weak points.....my rear end blew up on me last year....had 140k hard miles so i guess i cant complain...500$ for a junkyard one good to go..
@@RealSteelFabrications yeah I’m hoping to get canned tunes for my birthday cuz it really doesn’t help when I am trying to save money but get such bad mpg😂
My favorite truck. I have two questions, how is insurance on these and does the "Sport" model become more expensive if you know? My Dakota insurance is cheap but I wanna replace it with a 2nd gen ram so bad! Also im looking at ones for around 4k and some have 122k or 150k and my only concern is the transmission?
Also for a 5.9 gasser are steel bumpers (mainly want a front one) too much payload on the trans or front end if you've ever considered one? Thanks again.
Yea I have a 2000 ram 1500 sport and a 2016 ram 1500 5.7 hemi big horn with the entertainment package tell you the truth I like the 2000 better in some ways
need help bad my 5.9 low idols and throws random misfire codes constantly it isn’t spark plugs and idk what vacuum leaks it could be can someone tell me what it could be pls
If you get a cheapo rough country lift sure you’ll go through shit quicker than normal. But a good quality lift that comes with a body lift as well will last. Just be prepared to spend some cash
