New Ram owner... what should I know/do?

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Gordinho80

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I just picked up a 2012 Ram 1500 Big Horn Crew Cab with the 5.7 Hemi. 57k on the clock.

Dealer I bought it from says they did all fluids. What should I do? What should I know?

Thanks.

Mario
 

Pull Ya

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Do you trust the dealer? Is there any way to ID the previous owner? If so, you might try to contact them. Have you seen the maintenance records if the previous owner used the dealer you bought from?
Jay
 

MADDOG

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I'd contact your nearest Ram dealer and have them download the service and recall history on the truck.

Then ask them if there are any outstanding recalls or service bulletins that should be addressed.

Lastly, drive it!
 

1quick1

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My dealer tells me it does a lot of things as well.
 

arod412

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Ask for it in writing

Former owner of a 2012 Ram 1500...and future owner of a Ram 1500
 
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Gordinho80

Gordinho80

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Truck drives great. Seems solid. Carfax is clean but no way of contacting precious owners. Somewhat trust the dealer... as much as one can trust a used car dealer. Owner graduated HS with my brother in law way back and they have remained cordial.

I think I’ll change the oil and filter soon, won’t hurt it.
 

patchelect

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You are as much at the mercy of the dealer as you would be from a private seller who cooked the books. At some point in life you need to trust others and hang the towel from your belt to cover your butt. I'd leave things as they are and use my personal interval of oil and filter changes going forward. True, dealers have reputations that aren't always stellar, but we're talking oil and filter here, not transmission rebuilding. I'd accept what was told to me and move on. There's bigger fish to fry in the world.

And BTW, good luck with your new baby!
 
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Gordinho80

Gordinho80

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One open recall on the truck...

Manufacturer Safety recall issued
NHTSA #17V-821
#T79 BRAKE TRANSMISSION SHIFT INTERLOCK
Status: Remedy not yet available

Already called Chrysler and got on the notification list for when the parts are available.

I not sure what kind of oil to run. Not sure if its ever ran synthetic and I should stick with it or if I should run conventional.
 

MADDOG

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Ram Trucks recommends API-approved 5W-20 conventional motor oil for all 2012 pickups with gasoline engines.

No way of knowing on what was used in the past but going to synthetic at this point and sticking to it won't hurt.
 

CLOUDL1GHT

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Owner of a 2012 like yourself. Service the transmission fluid with that many miles or at least check to make sure it's still nice and red. 4th gear is super fragile and mine slips with 70k miles on the truck now. Other than that if it's driving solid change that oil and call it a day.

Speaking of oil, I run 5w30 Castrol Edge with titanium and that keeps my hemi tick nice and quiet.
 

Jeff CA

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Pre-2014 trucks have conventional spark plugs with a 30k change interval IIRC. You are 3k away so I would change them soon. I would switch to a high quality synthetic oil such as Amsoil, Redline, Royal Purple, or Pennzoil ULTRA Platinum to reduce/eliminate current or potential Hemi tick and to minimize engine wear versus conventional oil. I would re-seal your third brake light as many fourth gen Rams leak here. There was a fix put out in the last year or two by FCA but you're earlier than this.
 

Docpaulo

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Bought my truck used.... flushed all oils to be safe... engine, tranny, transfer case, differential... about 10 gallons all in all

Better safe than sorry... people planning to trade their vehicles tend to skip maintenance stuff the last year or so...
 

1quick1

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Some dealers say they perform a maintenance as well and if it wasn't for a trained eye you'd have no clue.

Yea this legit still happens even with 48k vehicles..
d
 

Jeepwalker

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Since you live in NJ and the truck's age, I would inspect the plugs and address potential rust issues first before worrying about the fluids. Lot of good misinformation about the fluids here. Book clearly says first tranny change at 120k mi (64k mi if it is used for fleet or frequent towing). Same for xfer case fluid. They're synthetic, last a long time. It probably wouldn't hurt to change them anyway, but the rust issues if they catch up with you will be something that'll bring down your spirit. 104k for the coolant. Come spring I'd probably run new fluid through the brakes to replace the stuff that's in there. If you do that, it'll save you a lot of headaches down the road ...and it's easy to do.

Search out for a thread titled 'Fluid Film' and there is some good info there. Areas like the hood corners, cab corners, Fender rust astonishingly quick on some trucks in the NE ....and especially the gas tank support bracket rust quick. The gas tank bracket doesn't have a drain hole. A lot of guys drill one and it saves a lot of headache. If it rusts (and they do) it can put a hole in yer frame and it's custom fabrication to repair which will be expensive. So, I'd try to drill a drain hole and squirt some oil up there. I had something along those lines happen on another truck and it was extremely time-consuming to repair ...and I'm a pretty good fabricator. I just squirt oil instead of fluid film. It's easy, cheap and works. Oh, don't forget the tailgate. Yours probably already has rust developing on the bottom inner seam (take a look).

Front and rear pumpkin fluids: I'd probably change them and put in synthetic and be done with it. If yours has a limited slip rear, you need to add friction modifier to it. Mopar has a fluid with modifier already added. I just got all my fluids from Mopar as (at the time) they were quite a bit cheaper than everyone else.

Let's see, yours is a 1500, right? The 2500's have a hidden zerk on the driveshaft that a lot of guys miss. Probably doesn't apply to you.

Engine exhaust studs commonly break on these trucks, especially the pass side rear. It's common on other makes of vehicles as well.

Other than that, a good general inspection is a good idea. There's a Large version of the manual you can download ...somewhere. I bought one off ebay ...but unless you're really going to look at it a lot, probably better to download. It's over 700 pages. There's some good info in there more detailed than the mini glove box manual.

Enjoy your new RAM!!
 
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Jeff CA

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Fyi not all diff fluids require a friction modifier. Some, like Royal Purple and Redline, say right on the bottle that one is not needed for limited slip diffs
 
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Gordinho80

Gordinho80

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Thanks all! My intentions are to keep this thing for as long as possible. Looking into extended warranties from Chrysler as well. I don't commute, it may even sit for days between use.

I would like to make some changes to it eventually...

  • Side Steps for the wife
  • Air lift bags in the rear to assist when we have to tow our 28ft travel trailer a couple of times a year (Short few hundred mile trips if that)
  • Leveling kit or equivalent for the front, I've seen posts about Bilstein shocks that you can adjust.
  • Remote Start, looking at the Doug's plug and play with the DSM350 Smart Start
  • Brake Controller... likely OEM unit in place of the cubby hole on the left of the dash
  • Backup camera and either a rear view mirror screen or replace factory stereo with an aftermarket like Pioneer or something. I plan on putting a camera on the rear of the camper as well, so I'd like to be able to switch between cameras on the screen, either controlled through screen or with some toggle switch
I want to keep it looking like that how it rolled off the factory... so any additional switches and such, I'd like to keep to OEM style. Hoping I can do Aux switches in the dash panel where the Tow/Haul, Traction Control, Hazard, and the Power Outlet switches are. I've got 3 slots available, if I can in fact put AUX switches here... both outer slots and an inner slot. Anyone ever do this? I've seen tutorial on AUX switches on a different dash... not sure if there is something out there for this panel... pictured here.
Ram_interior.jpg
 

Jeepwalker

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Looks like my radio system. Plenty of back-up camera options on ebay pretty cheap. Just remember raising the front, while it looks cool, will accelerate half-shaft wear ....not to mention reduced fuel economy.
 

U&A

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For the love of your truck please dont use 20w oil.

Visit the synthetic oil theead in the “enging and proformance” section. We will help.
 
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