Like new 2005

[Wv old man]

Hey guys, I just joined forum. I bought an 05 ram 1500 base model with 27460 origina miles a couple days ago. Excellent condition except for slight surface rust on bed wheelwell, one side. Almost Showroom condition. Love the truck, but rides a little rough with 265/70/17 tires. Its got 5.7 hemi. How can I get a smoother ride? The tires look like new, but they were made in 2013. Paid $9000 for it. Any suggestions?

 

[Fitz-0518]

Wow what a great find. First I would look at Cooper, Goodrich and Michelin tires. I would also replace the factory shocks with Bilstien application specific shocks.

 

[Wv old man]

Thanks. The previous owner said he used 5/20 mobile oil, non-synthetic. Should I switch to synthetic?

 

[ramportin1]

Absolutely switch to synthetic oil and I would recommend using a quality one with some moly to avoid hemi tick. I've had excellent results with using Castrol edge and I send in yearly oil analysis, another popular hemi oil choice is pennzoil ultra platinum and of course redline.
To answer your question, as stated above I would recommend swapping out your shocks for bilstien 5100's. Costed me around 400 to do all four and the ride difference was night and day, also prevented my truck from squatting so bad when I got 3 bikes loaded up. Can find them on amazon still I believe or rockauto.com is always a great place to look.
Anyway, congrats on the nice find!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Wv old man]

Thanks, will look into shocks and switch oil.

 

[HemiLonestar]

Good find! First fix, change the 6yr old tires. Though 5W-20 is what the factory called for in 2005, they only did it so that all 5.7's across the board were using the same oil weight; just so happens that the MDS 5.7's came out that year in the LX platform and MDS needs the specific weight oil to function correctly. Yours is non-MDS and 03-04 non-MDS 5.7's were 5W-30; you could easily switch if you were so inclined. I have both versions and run Mobile1 synthetic at 6000 mile change intervals. My Ram has 160,000mi, Magnum has over 130,000mi and before it got wrecked for me my Charger had over 180,000mi, all on that regimen. The synthetic will help cut down on/help negate the sludge issues these engines can have using dino oil and not getting warmed up enough to burn the condensation out of the crankcase. You might see this yellowy stuff on the underside of your oil cap; don't panic, the oil fill is the highest point in the system and is where that stuff collects. Just wipe it out. X3 on the Bilsteins.

 

[Marley]

Yes, I'm an advocate of synthetic, goes in every engine I own......mower, generator, wood splitter, you name it.

Nice truck, keep the frame in good shape with Fluid film, good stuff.

Noticed your user name.
Wife and I have camped in most of WV's state parks, some of best out there.

 

[Wv old man]

Good find! First fix, change the 6yr old tires. Though 5W-20 is what the factory called for in 2005, they only did it so that all 5.7's across the board were using the same oil weight; just so happens that the MDS 5.7's came out that year in the LX platform and MDS needs the specific weight oil to function correctly. Yours is non-MDS and 03-04 non-MDS 5.7's were 5W-30; you could easily switch if you were so inclined. I have both versions and run Mobile1 synthetic at 6000 mile change intervals. My Ram has 160,000mi, Magnum has over 130,000mi and before it got wrecked for me my Charger had over 180,000mi, all on that regimen. The synthetic will help cut down on/help negate the sludge issues these engines can have using dino oil and not getting warmed up enough to burn the condensation out of the crankcase. You might see this yellowy stuff on the underside of your oil cap; don't panic, the oil fill is the highest point in the system and is where that stuff collects. Just wipe it out. X3 on the Bilsteins.

 

[Wv old man]

Thanks, will definately switch to synthetic 5/20. Will change tires as soon as I can and try the blitzsteins

 

[Wv old man]

Yes, I'm an advocate of synthetic, goes in every engine I own......mower, generator, wood splitter, you name it.

Nice truck, keep the frame in good shape with Fluid film, good stuff.

Noticed your user name.
Wife and I have camped in most of WV's state parks, some of best out there.

 

[Wv old man]

Thanks, I have an 01 dakota with badly rusted frame. I was wondering about that on this one. Yeah, WV is the best, you've been to more than I have, lol. We also have great kayaking and trails. Right across the line, Narrows, Va has Mill creek trails. Great hiking and mountain bike trails.