Possible new Ram driver here.. general questions

[Skeer]

So I'm a new person here, all shiny and what-not. Anyway I'm looking at buying my first Ram.. actually my first Dodge product at all and it's a '96 Ram Quad-cab 1500 4x4. The last vehicle I had was an '06 Isuzu I-280.. if anyone knows is a clone of a Colorado/Canyon. I checked with the experienced folks on 355Nation prior to purchasing and ended up with some excellent advise from those guys in the past two years of owning it so I wanted to do the same this time.

I live in central MI and last week wrecked my truck after losing the butt on an icy patch and t-boning a barn. Anyway now I'm shopping for a 4x4 and in this area, in my price range the best I'm finding is a pair of Ram.. both 4x4, quad-cab 1500's and both 1996 year model. One has 86k miles, the other 89k.. I know 1996 is damn old, but with so few miles I'm hoping at the most a little bit of Seafoam cleaning and they'll be good to go.

However I wanted to ask you guys, the experts... are there any Dodge or Ram specific things to look for in a truck of this year?

I've bough plenty of used vehicles in my day but like I said, when it comes to Dodges I am in fact a nooblet. Any advise you guys can lend would be much appreciated.

 

[mumbles84]

Typical ram problems plenuim gasket,rust, bad grounds, trans not being servicecd the bands are suposed o to be adjusted when the fluid is changed. I recommend when test driving run as much eletrical devices as posible to make all the wires are good have some one check all the fluids. I love my ram

 

[PotterCountyRam]

Im pretty new here too and just bought my first Ram. A 1996 1500 5.2 5 spd manual and love it. The one thing I would check ( and I didn't know this when I bought mine) is to check for a Plenum leak. Look down the throttle body for oil. It is not bad to fix if it does have it and if it don't have the leak, I would take care of it anyway. Don't know if this helps but.....

 

[Skeer]

Thanks for the opinions guys.. kinda thought with as many members as there are here maybe more would chime in.

The 1996 was sold out from under me today.. sadly. Went and drove an 01 Dakota quad 4x4 w/4.7l... it was ok. I'm from the south so I still have to get used to northern rust.

If it's still there I'm going to look at another 99 ram in grand rapids tomorrow.. 86k miles for $5900 w/brand new tires and a camper shell.


the used dealer with the Dakota today said that he won't touch late 90's ram's because the trannies were crap.. any truth to this?

 

[Irishhawk30]

My 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 LT I got yesterday has roughly 124k miles on it. I prob paid too much for this thing in a private seller of $2500, prob spend twice of that just with the interior alone cause it's bad

 

[fonzyn75]

when it comes down to it a well maintained ram will last you a long time. they have some issues but then again so does anything else of that age. I personally like theses trucks the most due to the fact that parts and cheap and easy to obtain, and these trucks are not hard to work on. I would check the following items that were mentioned in previous posts, and if all checks out go for it!

 

[BIGCOUNTRY01]

Ram trucks are hard to beat. Now with that being said buying a truck that is a 1996 even with low miles you can still run into some problems it really depends on who has owned them. The auto transmissions aren't that great on these years of trucks. I am not sure about the 1996 but on my 1994 ram 2500 I know they did a recall on the powersteering gear box and mine started leaking last year. Its not a fun part to have to change since you have to mess with the pitman arm. I guess the best advice that I can give you is use common sense. Also I don't know if they are legal or not in MI but a good investment is a set of studded snow tires.

 

[Okiespaniel]

Thanks for the opinions guys.. kinda thought with as many members as there are here maybe more would chime in.

the used dealer with the Dakota today said that he won't touch late 90's ram's because the trannies were crap.. any truth to this?

Welcome to RF

How do I say this tactfully... It's probably because we see these questions alot...and get tired of answering them.

Consider this is a 17 year old truck, in a "rust belt" state. Everything is worn out or close to it...and what isn't, is about to rust through. The trick is... can you beat the odds?

Buying a truck with a low initial price will simply drain your wallet with the nickel and dollar repairs you'll be makeing.

Unmoddified trucks with good service records are least likely to give you issues. They'll also command a premium price.

As a rule, I would pass over earlier 2nd gens and get a 2000 or later, simply because the brakes are better so are some of the details in the suspension.

 

[MADDOG]

My prior Ram, a '99 1500 with the 5.2L had the 45RE transmission in it and I had no problems with it at all. I know there is a lot of trashing of this trans going on out there but I suspect a combination of poor maintenance, over loading the truck and expecting to haul like a 2500/3500 is the cause of the noise.

Actually, whatever you can expect to find on a 15 year old truck with 90K miles on it regardless of brand is what you'll find.

The only real model specific prevalent issues I found were:

1. Front suspension links, especially the track bar end links.
2. Cracking dash pads.
3. Plenum leaks (mainly the 360 for some reason)
4. Transfer case shifting from 2WD to 4LO.

Good luck with your purchase. My 2nd gen truck was awesome and I simply needed more cab room with a bit more power, otherwise I'd still have it.

 

[SmokedRam]

In addition to everything posted above, try to get a peek at the PCM. See if it says "Factory Authorized Update" on it. If it does, it's more than likely been flashed by a dealer at some point in time, to hide the plenum gasket problem. It's often called a "death flash" as it ******* timing, reducing knock. The only way to reverse a death flash, is to reverse it with an aftermarket programmer. I think SCT is the only programmer you'd be able to use.

 

[smiley]

The transmission is really only an issue for those that DO NOT CHANGE FLUID and FILTERS on a regular basis. Expect a truck that will get you where you need to go it will get poor mileage but it will be dependable in relation to the year. It will be rusty almost for sure where you live.