Just bought '04 ST 5-speed 4.7, hello hello

[JeffffeJ]

Thanks all for a great forum. Just picked up a pristine 1-owner ST 1500 4.7L V8 5-speed crew cab, Georgia truck, long bed, has new Yokohamas, bedliner, A/C, and that's about it, vinyl floor, roll-up windows, etc. Old guy rarely drove it, it's in great shape, 35,001 miles for $6500. My wife and I have been looking for a simple truck for camping and hauling, couldn't pass this up. Super smooth and quiet, I think I found a good one!!!

Spent a day detailing it, O/F change, etc. One thing I noticed is the fan speed resistor issue so I have one on order. I might do some hood stripes as well just to liven it up a bit, it's pretty vanilla looking. But what a great truck!!!

So anyhow I wanted to introduce myself and if any of you are still reading I'd love to hear your opinions on the first and best mods to improve these trucks. Not wanting to spend much money, but I do a lot of DIY and have owned many cars and do a good bit of modding so I am sure there are 3 or 4 things that really improve the truck on a budget. So any ideas are welcome.

Thanks a bunch.

Jeff

Here are some pics...

 

[Joe w.]

Welcome great find nice looking truck

 

[rule18]

Welcome to RamForum, nice truck. i
In case you haven't been poking around, here's a link to the 3rd Gen area. https://www.ramforum.com/forums/3rd-gen-2002-2008.43/

 

[Papa Red]

Welcome to the forum.

Red

 

[JeffffeJ]

Thanks guys.

Welcome to RamForum, nice truck. i
In case you haven't been poking around, here's a link to the 3rd Gen area. https://www.ramforum.com/forums/3rd-gen-2002-2008.43/

Yeah I looked through that yesterday, I appreciate it. Can you recommend the best side steps out there for these trucks? Not looking for fancy, just functional.

 

[Harley Harrold]

 

[Treburkulosis]

Welcome! Great looking truck! I almost pulled the trigger on a 03 quad cab back in 2009, but I will warn you to watch it, the heads were known to crack due to overheating even when new. I held off until 2016, but regret not taking my chances earlier. My cousin had a new 03 in 05 he got it hot and cracked the heads. Luckily back then Dodge did cover it. Just watch it with the 4.7. I love the 3rd gens! One of the best looking trucks of my college era days!

 

[JeffffeJ]

Welcome! Great looking truck! I almost pulled the trigger on a 03 quad cab back in 2009, but I will warn you to watch it, the heads were known to crack due to overheating even when new. I held off until 2016, but regret not taking my chances earlier. My cousin had a new 03 in 05 he got it hot and cracked the heads. Luckily back then Dodge did cover it. Just watch it with the 4.7. I love the 3rd gens! One of the best looking trucks of my college era days!

Thank you very much, I was not aware. It's strange, I read hours of reviews on epinions and edmunds and etc. and most of the folks said stuff like "I've run this truck 200,000 with no issues". So I hadn't heard of the head cracking. Is it a coolant loss issue or if not what is causing this? Bad design? Let me know so I know what to look out for.

 

[JeffffeJ]

Welcome! Great looking truck! I almost pulled the trigger on a 03 quad cab back in 2009, but I will warn you to watch it, the heads were known to crack due to overheating even when new. I held off until 2016, but regret not taking my chances earlier. My cousin had a new 03 in 05 he got it hot and cracked the heads. Luckily back then Dodge did cover it. Just watch it with the 4.7. I love the 3rd gens! One of the best looking trucks of my college era days!

Actually just found some stuff on this...looks like it happens closer to 100k miles...is this something that happens to most of these 4.7s or just some? How common is it?

Quote below from research:

Apparently it is an engineering design flaw of motor oil circulation. After 70-100K, a head gasket blows, resulting in loss of coolant, water in oil, and warping of one or both heads, with loss of compression in one or more cylinders. There are reports of owners who have changed their oil every 3K miles with Mobil 1 synthetic, and the problem still happens. Ancillary repairs are reported, such as water pump replacement, etc. but the core of the problem is oil sludging, lack of circulation of oil, overheating, and damage. Chrysler is obviously aware of the problem, since many owners initially service at their dealer. My dealer quoted $5,000. Private mechanic repaired mine for $3,250. I would hope there will be a class action lawsuit against Chrysler for this problem. Apparently they have corrected the design flaw in subsequent year models. Their motto and claim to fame in the early 2000's was engine and drive train reliability with the best in class warranty with 7yr/100K. The rest of the story is what happens immediately after the warranty for so many owners.

 

[G-Ride990]

Use quality oil and filters and make sure you don't over heat it and the truck should give you years of trouble free use. I think the best thing you can do for that low mile truck is just go put some miles on it and get the fluids moving.

Nice find, enjoy it!

 

[JeffffeJ]

Use quality oil and filters and make sure you don't over heat it and the truck should give you years of trouble free use. I think the best thing you can do for that low mile truck is just go put some miles on it and get the fluids moving.

Nice find, enjoy it!

Right on, good advice, appreciated. From more research the issue seems to be sludge buildup, not coolant leaking.

 

[Treburkulosis]

I had a few people that I knew that had the same issue. I don't think it was all of them, but its like the Hemi tick in the 4th gens. Some had it some didn't. Dodge did cover it thank goodness as that was an expensive fix back then out of pocket. I would just make sure you have new correct coolant, the water pump, radiator, fan clutch, and thermostat are all working as they should. Thats about all you can do. I know lots of people on here that have never had any issues. Good luck to you! You truck should be completely fine. I just didn't know if you were aware of that problem. Your truck is super clean for its age!

 

[JeffffeJ]

Thanks again guys. Very helpful. Loving this truck.

Question about the blower motor resistor fix, mine came in the mail today, installed it, works great. Speeds 1 and 2 seem almost identical, is that normal? Only had 3 and 4 before, now I have the full range but 1 and 2 seem about the same.

 

[JeffffeJ]

Had to do some stripes....$40...came out really good.