New (To me) vehicle...what should I be doing for maintenance?

[CraigD2599]

Just bought this truck...what do I need to look for?|
Hey gang...new member here. I just bought a 2000 1500 Ram with the 5.9 Magnum. 2WD quad cab. It's in pretty nice shape for 26 years and 222000 miles. Body is remarkably straight and rust free. Has wear and tear items you'd expect...passenger side window switch not working, drivers side rear door won't open from the outside. And the dash looks like it went through a wood chipper. The AC system has a leak, will not hold vacuum a and the heater core leaks so when I pull the dash for replacement, I'm replacing the entire AC system and heater core. Other than check and repair / replace suspension and brakes as needed, is there anything I need to do at this mileage? I am going to assume the previous owner didn't do any long term maintenance on it. The engine runs well but seems a bit low on power. I've read that timing chanin and gearset should be addressed at this mileage, which would incorporate the plenum gasket replacement since I'm going that far anyway. Anything else I need to look at?

 

[Yeret]

Mechanically, aside from the intake plenum, the only other common major issue is the transmission. Kind of a long list of possible problems that may or may not cause a domino effect, but 46re being prone to failure is about as well-known as the sky being blue. If it's been serviced regularly, it'll last as long as it's gonna last, but as soon as you start noticing weird shifting, you're probably gonna wanna get tabs on a good transmission shop soon.

The good news is that once they've been rebuilt with a few upgrades and addressing to known weak spots, they're no less reliable than any other truck transmission of the era.