So I just sold my new Ram

[ALRedneck]

I was a pretty big Toyota fan. I have had excellent luck with 2 4Runners and my current '96 Land Cruiser. However, my last truck before my current Ram was a 2013 Tundra 4X4 with the 5.7. IMHO, the Tundra is the worst platform that Toyota offers. It was the second most problematic truck I ever owned. Combine that with the absolutely dismal payload, and I decided to jump ship and get into a 3500 so I can actually have some real payload numbers. The Tundra has plenty of issues associated with it.

Toyota only has a 3/36,000 miles warranty too. Never understood if they are so reliable why not give a better warranty.

 

[Atomic Ram]

Toyota only has a 3/36,000 miles warranty too. Never understood if they are so reliable why not give a better warranty.

After my Tundra sprang a Cam tower leak at 14,000 miles, I called Toyota corporate and complained and they ended up giving me a 7 year, 100,000 mile warranty for free. I was glad that they did - I used it on a handful of occasions.

 

[farout75]

So I just sold my 19 ram 2500.

I know I'm going to catch a lot of flack for this post but hey .

First off, I really liked the truck and loved the configuration. Long bed CC 4x4 6.4.
Very attractive truck, and nice standard features.

Here's what killed it. Over the 7 months I owned it, I went back to the dealer for various issues, all of which they handled very well. I had a defect in the chrome grill and they replaced it. The MDS was annoying as hell, maybe worse in this configuration I don't know. They replaced active noise dampeners which obviously didn't fix the vibration I'd get at 1900 rpm.
The truck was 2 quarts low on oil by 4k miles when I first checked. The steering wheel made a ratchet clicking sound which I've posted a video on here. Started in April and they just got the part in now 4 months later. Not their fault considering covid. The power window switch cluster was loose in the driver's door.

On the good side it was plenty fast, and towed like a champ. 4.10 rear. Very attractive truck. Probably my favorite looking HD currently.

So I had some issues. I find it ridiculous that none of my local napa or autozones carry the special spec pennzoil or valvoline required in this engine. That's an unnecessary hassle for a working person like myself. I'm not ordering on Amazon and paying shipping and waiting for oil when it's due. Yeah I could order ahead of time but get real. Its a hassle.

So, being new to ram, as I deeper research the 6.4 I begin to learn of the cam/lifter failures on them. Yes, every brand and engine has failures. Doesn't mean it's all bad. So I begin to ask around, my friends and customers with Chrysler products. 4 out of 5 of them have had lifter failure before 100k miles.

So I get nervous. I say, ya know what? I'll buy a great warranty and be at ease with this. Well they discontinued the lifetime bumper to bumper warranty last year. Best I can get is 8 years or 125k miles.

For what I paid, this truck needs to do 125k miles like it's nothing. I expect 200k miles or at minimum 175 without needing to tear into the engine and rebuild the top end for 5k.

I know this will ruffle feathers. I mean no disrespect, because I wish this worked out. But it didn't. I can't spend this money and know this many failures personally.

I sold the truck today. Took a 5k hit. I'm going to hold out a while and see what direction I go, and I'm very interested in the Ford 7.3 gas pushrod engine.

I had a 13 Ram 1500 with the 3.6 V-6 269 pounds of torque is not much of a truck. I consider that to be a light duty truck. After 5 monts I could not stand it any longer and dumped at a 3K loss. I don't regret it one bit.

Sometimes if something does not start out right the best thing is to move on.

Good luck, but I would staway from the FORF 7.3 until its been out a couple of years.

 

[crazy jerry]

but uncle tony whispered in his ear .

im sure youve already ordered aftermarket steering stabilizer, drag link ,tracbar, shocks. as those items need replaced almost right out of the gate . get a dash cam to record and document your death wobble incase the dealer pretends theyve never heard it

 

[RBinNC]

I currently own a gen 3 with 147K and never a single engine failure, still runs like new.

AND it's spent it's whole life towing in the mountains.......2004 Ram 2500 5.7 Hemi.

It's the reason I'm waiting to order a 2021 Ram 2500 with 6.4 Hemi.

That era dodge seems to have less problems from what I've heard, but, look at the "lifestyle" of the engine. Its towing in the mountains. That means it's revving high on a regular basis. According to that video I posted, that's the best way for these hemi's to get oil splashed on the cam.

Where I live it's not mountains, the truck does double duty commuting and I eat my lunch in there. That means commonly lower rpm's and idle time, two of the worst things for these engines.

You'll notice hotshot guys will get high mileage but again, they're towing all the time. High revs.

I tried to keep mine in the upper register 2500+, just meant I was driving like an a-hole around town, and with these 8 speeds they tend to hang more in the 1500-2000 range commuting.

 

[RBinNC]

but uncle tony whispered in his ear .

im sure youve already ordered aftermarket steering stabilizer, drag link ,tracbar, shocks. as those items need replaced almost right out of the gate . get a dash cam to record and document your death wobble incase the dealer pretends theyve never heard it

Aww. Your feelings got hurt.

 

[crazy jerry]

Aww. Your feelings got hurt.

no sir. its your money so buy what you want. just dont come back here crying when death wobble sets in at 75mph with a 30' camper in tow, or the vacuum hubs are gummep up and wont engage, or the door handles are frozen shut in january, or that new 10spd is so clunky it gives you whiplash.

 

[RBinNC]

no sir. its your money so buy what you want. just dont come back here crying when death wobble sets in at 75mph with a 30' camper in tow, or the vacuum hubs are gummep up and wont engage, or the door handles are frozen shut in january, or that new 10spd is so clunky it gives you whiplash.

In 6 thousand miles i had my grill replaced, steering column replaced, waited 4 months on a broken clock spring, it was 2 quarts low on oil, the power window switch cluster was loose in the door panel, active noise dampeners replaced, trans was jolty when cold.....

Did FCA and my dealership back me up? You bet your ass. Its the reason the truck stayed in my ownership even that long.

Was my first experience with a chrysler product on thin ice? Yes.

Then I started to see cam/lifter failures around various places on the web.

My boss's 07 has 220k miles on it. He replaced lifters around 100k miles. He has had good luck with his truck and works it often. He's a big reason I tried ram.

I then began to talk to various customers we're closer with about the thought of selling the truck and my fear of the engine issue. One has a Jeep Wrangler with the v6, had to replace lifters at 40k miles. Another has a newer ram van and had to replace lifters at 60k miles.

The uncertainty grew. I joined a ram 6.4 group on Facebook and posted a simple question - how many of you have had cam/lifter failure? About 6 did, some multiples, a couple did not.

One guy posted the Uncle Tony vid which breaks it down.

In that video on YouTube I spoke with others, some having worked for chrysler before.

The engine issues on top of all of my "nickel and dime" crap was the nail in the coffin.

I work too damn hard and these trucks cost too damn much to have that major of an issue being common.

I never owned a new ford, but drove multiple into 200k miles. Never had power train issues other than intake manifold on a 4.6 mustang that I drove for 10 years. A $200 part and an hour or less to change.

Nobodies perfect. And honestly this ram was 95 percent there. If Chrysler didn't have this ******** MDS system and a known issue with the cam/lifters I'd still be in that truck.

If they come out with an engine update I'd certainly consider one.

 

[Scotts26]

In 6 thousand miles i had my grill replaced, steering column replaced, waited 4 months on a broken clock spring, it was 2 quarts low on oil, the power window switch cluster was loose in the door panel, active noise dampeners replaced, trans was jolty when cold.....

Did FCA and my dealership back me up? You bet your ass. Its the reason the truck stayed in my ownership even that long.

Was my first experience with a chrysler product on thin ice? Yes.

Then I started to see cam/lifter failures around various places on the web.

My boss's 07 has 220k miles on it. He replaced lifters around 100k miles. He has had good luck with his truck and works it often. He's a big reason I tried ram.

I then began to talk to various customers we're closer with about the thought of selling the truck and my fear of the engine issue. One has a Jeep Wrangler with the v6, had to replace lifters at 40k miles. Another has a newer ram van and had to replace lifters at 60k miles.

The uncertainty grew. I joined a ram 6.4 group on Facebook and posted a simple question - how many of you have had cam/lifter failure? About 6 did, some multiples, a couple did not.

One guy posted the Uncle Tony vid which breaks it down.

In that video on YouTube I spoke with others, some having worked for chrysler before.

The engine issues on top of all of my "nickel and dime" crap was the nail in the coffin.

I work too damn hard and these trucks cost too damn much to have that major of an issue being common.

I never owned a new ford, but drove multiple into 200k miles. Never had power train issues other than intake manifold on a 4.6 mustang that I drove for 10 years. A $200 part and an hour or less to change.

Nobodies perfect. And honestly this ram was 95 percent there. If Chrysler didn't have this ******** MDS system and a known issue with the cam/lifters I'd still be in that truck.

If they come out with an engine update I'd certainly consider one.

Lol dude you come across as one of those people who are never gonna be satisfied with their purchase.

I’ve dealt with the owners of new multi million dollar pieces of industrial equipment that had start up issues who got less worked up than you over your truck.

I mean it’s your money so fret as much as you want but man it’s not good for ya.
You’re over here clutching your pearls over problems that haven’t even happened to the truck you had and statistically probably won’t. I bet the service department at your former Ram dealer and the people at FCA did cartwheels when you announced you sold the truck.

My advice before your next purchase would be to not read the internet, forums in particular but especially stay from anyone named Uncle Tony lol

 

[crazy jerry]

no need to explain yourself. if the decision makes sense to you,thats what matters. your oil comment was lame as hell though. any dealer in the country has the oil you need and dealers arent usually that far away. if your a penny pincher and adament about saving 5 or 6 more bucks theres numerous online stores that will have it sitting on your door in 4days. but i wonder if you would even be changing the oil yourself anyways, which would make your oil concearn all the more lame . anyways im out. best of luck

 

[ALRedneck]

@RBinNC I get where you’re coming from. I traded my diesel in on my Ram before the warranty ran out. It’s all about confidence and what is acceptable. For me, new injectors or new turbo wasn’t what I wanted to fork out years down the road and I no longer needed a diesel to tow all my random crap. New cam shaft 175,000 miles later, sure, I can live with that. Also, I felt my odds of needing a new cam shaft where better than needing new injectors. Just ask my dad about Duramax trucks and he will tell you it’s the best truck ever made and will neglect to mention the 10,000 he spent on it before selling to my buddy with 124,000 mikes on it. My buddy thinks this Duramax is awesome but has spent 5,000 fixing all the potential problems. That sounds crappy to me so you will get two different opinions on a Duramax. Also keep in mind that extended warranty makes these third parties money. If the majority of 6.4 needed new cam shafts, they wouldn’t offer these warranties. Extended warranties are like life insurance, they bet you you won’t die before you’re 64 and you bet them you will! Obviously, at some point all bets are off because you will die and the truck will break.

 

[Ervin]

You young guys whine too much about every little thing...... Had Trucks for 50 years....you couldn't own one of the earlier models be it Chevy, Ford or Dodge.... these new Rams are the best I've ever owned, they ride like a Imperial,handle like a sports car and get great mileage for a truck. and no road noise....maybe some of you cupcakes go drive a 1967 or 73 truck for a year and then see what the difference is...that is if you have any Kidneys left !!

i had a 93, and they told me if I owned one of those, I would go to heaven because riding in the 93 was pure hell. The suspension was so rough, it was a real truck. When I got my 95, it was like heaven, and has improved over the years.

 

[2019RamInSC]

You young guys whine too much about every little thing...... Had Trucks for 50 years....you couldn't own one of the earlier models be it Chevy, Ford or Dodge.... these new Rams are the best I've ever owned, they ride like a Imperial,handle like a sports car and get great mileage for a truck. and no road noise....maybe some of you cupcakes go drive a 1967 or 73 truck for a year and then see what the difference is...that is if you have any Kidneys left !!

Yeah and before we had trucks we had to walk to school 10 miles each way. Thru 5 foot deep snow. And this was in the summer.

We only had 3 TV Stations and they stopped transmission at midnight.

I could go on but I'm 72 and forgot everything else *****

 

[Narg]

Modern trucks freak me out. I'm used to trucks rattling, and the newer ones are so quiet.

 

[blahargoue]

You young guys whine too much about every little thing...... Had Trucks for 50 years....you couldn't own one of the earlier models be it Chevy, Ford or Dodge.... these new Rams are the best I've ever owned, they ride like a Imperial,handle like a sports car and get great mileage for a truck. and no road noise....maybe some of you cupcakes go drive a 1967 or 73 truck for a year and then see what the difference is...that is if you have any Kidneys left !!

Now that's funny. You probably have a lot of young guys Google'n "Imperial" just see what you are referring to. Trucks have come a long ways from the '66 Chevy stepside that I learned to drive in. 6 cylinder, 3 speed, a "2-65" air conditioner, no radio and a heater with BTU output of a dying campfire.

I wish I still had it.

 

[pacofortacos]

That era dodge seems to have less problems from what I've heard, but, look at the "lifestyle" of the engine. Its towing in the mountains. That means it's revving high on a regular basis. According to that video I posted, that's the best way for these hemi's to get oil splashed on the cam.

Where I live it's not mountains, the truck does double duty commuting and I eat my lunch in there. That means commonly lower rpm's and idle time, two of the worst things for these engines.

You'll notice hotshot guys will get high mileage but again, they're towing all the time. High revs.

I tried to keep mine in the upper register 2500+, just meant I was driving like an a-hole around town, and with these 8 speeds they tend to hang more in the 1500-2000 range commuting.

UGH, the cam gets oil from 3 sources.
The oil galley - oil is there at ALL times, more when in MDS.
The pushrods - oil is there at ALL times.
Splash/windage - more at higher rpms, but most likely a light mist at most all rpms.

 

[Hemimania]

This is sad. Sorry to hear all the problems. Maybe u got a lemon. For all the bad stories, there's usually 50 good ones. Hope u get a good one next.

Tonino

 

[retirednak]

My first Cummins was running strong at 1 million miles, the engine was never apart. One set of injectors & a turbo at 600K. Still see my old truck running around once in a while. My '03 Cummins is at 160K with General maintenance runs like new. Bought a new' 18 EcoDiesel to save what's left of my back. I drove a new hemi and could not stomach it. As far as maintenance goes on Cummins, oil & filter changes and occasional fuel filter and you're good to go at least 400K without breaking your wallet

 

[Jay Herbert]

If (when) I sell mine it won’t be for issues, rather for capability.

We are looking at purchasing a larger travel trailer or motor home in the next 12-18 months and all chips are on the table.

If it makes more financial sense to pick up a 3500 DRW and travel trailer instead of a motor home, I’ll be shopping.

Check out rvwholesalers.com The bank offered 30k for the new trailer I bought there and it was only $11,500

you'll either have to drive to Ohio to pick it up or have it shipped but on average you save $8k on trailers and thats shipped.

They also have motor homes. Best of luck

 

[BRUXUS]

If (when) I sell mine it won’t be for issues, rather for capability.

We are looking at purchasing a larger travel trailer or motor home in the next 12-18 months and all chips are on the table.

If it makes more financial sense to pick up a 3500 DRW and travel trailer instead of a motor home, I’ll be shopping.