How well does the 3rd gen age in general?

[ramffml]

If I can find a 3rd gen 2500/3500, preferably cummins, how well do these age? I'm thinking low mileage (120k miles to 150k miles). I know the cummins will last forever (right?) but what about the rest of the truck? Transmission, electrical, interior, steering/frontend, ball joints etc etc?

I've always thought Ram made huge strides in both the 4th gen and now my 5th gen in terms of quality, fit and finish etc. I'm not looking for a garage queen, and I can handle some aging issues, I'm just wondering in terms of "will this fall apart on me"?

 

[Dean2]

The only weak spot on the 2nd and 3rd gen was the front ends. On rough roads you need to do all the joints, rods etc about every 100,000 miles. Outside of that, as long as you are buying one that isn't from the rust belt-heavy salt states, the rest of the truck will hold up really well.

 

[crash68]

Even an '08 is +14 years old, finding one with less than 10K a year will probably be a stretch. Mileage will probably be into the 200K range especially if it's a Cummins. Keep in mind a Cummins in the Dodge truck has a B10 rating of 300K miles, CTDs in commercial trucks is 500K

 

[ramffml]

Even an '08 is +14 years old, finding one with less than 10K a year will probably be a stretch. Mileage will probably be into the 200K range especially if it's a Cummins. Keep in mind a Cummins in the Dodge truck has a B10 rating of 300K miles, CTDs in commercial trucks is 500K

Speaking of the cummins; what about stuff like injectors? I've read horror stories about the cost of replacing them, is it a guarantee that all diesels need new injectors at some point or do many cummins reach (say) 250 to 300k miles without problems?

 

[Dean2]

Back in the day we ran V10s and Cummins and after the V10 was discontinued, only Cummins as hotshot trucks. We had lots of them that went 6 or 700,000 Klms with nothing but front ends. Odd one needed injectors, and you did have to set the mechanical fuel pump but Ii don't remember that being a big cost. No idea what it costs today to do a set in one of the older trucks, but got to be way less than what the new ones run.

 

[tron67j]

My 03 2500, gas, was a rock. Bought it new in 03 and drove it hard until I bought my new one in 2019. Then my parents drove it a couple more years and just sold it last year. Kept up service, only major work were 2 front bearing hubs and a couple replacement header bolts. It looked great and aged mechanically
well.

 

[ramffml]

Interiors held up too?

 

[Dean2]

Interiors held up too?

That will depend entirely on the one you buy. Ours all had seat covers and were rarely parked so the seats stayed good and so did the rest. Only interior issue I remeber was ones stored outside in hot areas, the dashes tended to crack.

 

[tron67j]

I forgot to mention, my dash area around top vents cracked, guess that was a thing in certain years but they sell a aftermarket replacement vent piece. The old one pops off and new one snaps in place. And the master window controller on driver door went but you can either find video on how to resolder the unit (easy) or replacement control is cheap and plug/play. But remainder of interior held up great. Cloth seats, carpet, headliner, etc. all held up great. For a 2003 we had until last year, owed us nothing.

 

[HemiLonestar]

The cracked dash always sucks, especially when it's the main piece. After a couple of my newer cars the original cloth seats in my 2003 (while in good shape) just didn't do it for me anymore. Luckily upgrades are easy and some interior stuff does amazing things to make the truck more enjoyable again. I could have stopped at installing just the 4th gen seats and a new head unit, but decided on some sound deadening and a new carpet as well as a console and conversion to floor shift.