New truck?- '00 Dodge 3/4 ton w/ 5.9- anyone have one?

[odoa3]

I am looking for a new DD. I have a '90 Ford F250- love it, but trucks don't last forever unfortunatly. Really looking for another F250 but I found a 2000 Dodge RAM 3/4 ton with the 5.9l in it. Anyone have one, know anything about them, have experiences with them? Really don't want to buy a truck that will be in the shop more than out. Figured you guys would be a good resource that I should at least try to tap. Thanks for any info you may have.

 

[rjfguitar]

Here is a pic of my dodge cummins I bought a couple months back.

Let me know what you would like to know about them. I personally think dodge makes the best HD truck on the market. They have a coil sprung front D60 up front and best of all is the cummins. The cummins should last an easy half a million miles between rebuilds. They can handle monster bombing and live almost as long as it would stock!

Mine is an '01.5 and has a couple of differences from the '00's. The main thing would be that in '01 the power numbers were bumped to 235/460 from the previous 215/420. Dodge went to 4 wheel disk brakes in the middle of '01. I wouldn't be scared of the 47RE auto at all like some people are. The main problem with them is that it was designed to go behind the V10 which turns more RPM's. The lack of higher cruising rpms with the cummins causes lower internal pressures inside the transmission because the pump isn't being turned as fast as behind the V10. It isn't a big deal at all if the engine is stock but if it sees a lot of loads and/or high torque from a bombed cummins it can be an issue. A great upgrade for them is an ATS torque converter and performance valve body. This solves the problem of a weak lockup clutch that will shutter and slip behind a bomber and the valve body bumps up line pressure considerably to handle a LOT more power. If the tranny has low miles....the converter and valve body are the way to go. Should be able to stand 325HP/700ft lbs without much issue. ATS also builds custom billet parts for the 47RE that will make it almost industructable with a power handling of 800/1600+! They come with a nice tag of $5K though. www.atsdiesel.com.

Issues on a stock cummins dodge that should be checked out are the fuel pressure, the lift pump is known for failure but good news...cummins will replace it for free under 100K miles. Good fuel pressure is mandatory to keep the VP44 injection pump cool, lubricated, and happy. Another issue that was a problem from 12v engines to early 2001 is the "53" block. That block for some reason was not poured correctly and has a thin spot in the wall and can crack. That can be a costly fix. Some cracked, some didn't.

A simple injector, air filter, exhaust, and Edge EZ chip upgrade and you can have an excess of 300HP/600ft lbs. For about a grand.

Does this truck have leather? I love my black leather seats, dodge was the only manu. with a black leather option when ford and chevy still had the plain grey and tan. The black leather is really sleek and compfortable. The sport models are really attractive over the SLT models due to a different one piece bumper and different grille, all which are color matched. Mine is a sport.

If you can get it for a good price I would DEFINANTLY go for it.

 

[rjfguitar]

Oh, and you want one with 3.55 gears, not the 4.10's unless you plan on going 35's or larger. The 4.10 geared trucks are dogs.

 

[Zeus33rd]

I think he means the 5.9 gasser....

 

[odoa3]

The one I am looking at is the 5.9L which equates to a 360 I believe. It has 40K on it. Just got done skimming through just over 400 reviews... seems to be quite a few tranny failures. Mileage seems to be an issue as well. You want gas mileage buy a car I know, but still seems a little low for this new of truck. Not sure which way to go.

 

[Emmettology 101]

My brother had a 97 with a 5.9 and a friend of mine has a 99 withe a 5.9..... Only problems either one of them have had with the engine is they are prone to leaky intake gaskets. That creates a lean condition and pinging. Also, something that goes along with that is the computer needs reflashed. There is a TSB out on both of those things.

Other than those, they are/were great trucks!!

 

[gotmud77]

I have a 00 ram 1500 with 5.9,auto,3.55 and so on and i cant give the pile of crap away. It only has 37,000 miles on it. I have put a new trans,convertor,trans cooler,3 batterys,fuel pump,two sets of plugs and wires,cap and rotor,all the brakes,sway bar bushings. Thats all i can remember right know but there is more. Any way i would look at it really hard before buying. I would even call the previous owner and ask them questions about the truck.

If i was ever going to buy another ram i would look for one with a cummins and a standard shift. But even those have problems. Just go over to pavementsucks and read threw all the problems and things in the dodge forum. There are guys that run these trucks and have 0 problems i am not one of them.

Good luck with your purchase,

 

[socalslider]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, I've got an 01 2500 5.9 355 gears, same truck as your lookin at.
the only problems are, leaking front seal, and front brakes every 15k.
I got the truck new, I've got about 80k on it now, and pull a 26 foot toy hauler, when loaded is a little over 10k.
mileage is 11-12 empty, and 6-8 towing, I need 4:11 gears, would help alot.

my brother bought an 00 chevy 2500, 6.0, 4:11 gears.
this set up smokes mine, on everything, more power, better mileage, if I had it to do over again, this is the way to go, other than diesel.

 

[rjfguitar]

Never mind if it's a 360. I wouldn't buy a 3/4ton dodge with a gas engine unless it was rediculously cheap.

 

[Leadfoot]

Oh, and you want one with 3.55 gears, not the 4.10's unless you plan on going 35's or larger. The 4.10 geared trucks are dogs.

How does a lower gear make it a dog? Just wondering as a lower gear (higher numerically) generally gives it a little more pep (at the expense of some top end MPH).

Or are you talking strictly in the diesels (as I have never owned one myself).

TIA

 

[rjfguitar]

How does a lower gear make it a dog? Just wondering as a lower gear (higher numerically) generally gives it a little more pep (at the expense of some top end MPH).

Or are you talking strictly in the diesels (as I have never owned one myself).

TIA

Yes, I am talking about diesel engines and the cummins especially. I have driven a 4.10 cummins before with an auto and it was terrible. The cummins doesn't like to rev high and with the lower gears the tranny shifts at a higher RPM, above what "feels" right. It is hard to explain but when you take off you can "feel" when it should shift but it doesn't and lets it spin up an extra couple hundred RPM's. With a manual rig it probably isn't a big deal. The 3.55's keep it right in the powerband keeping it from revving up too high. Cruising down the highway with 3.55's is perfect because I spin about 1800RPM's at 65mph. Also with the 3.55's when pulling a load in direct drive the engine isn't running near the governor like with the 4.10's.

 

[tarussell]

One way to look at it is that a higher ( numerically ) gear does not let the motor strain enough to build up more boost . Since I put 35" tall tires on my Dodge it is a whole lot quicker around town and pulls even harder if I get into the throttle just right.

I am not saying that the motor wants to lug but making the motor work a little does bring on the power quite nicely.
Tom

 

[odoa3]

Thanks for all the replies. This truck has 4.10 gears in it. All of these posts seem to mirror what I have read so far. Some have had great experiences, and the others not so wonderful. Never really considered Dodge before, except for perhaps an M37. Not sure which way to go....

 

[rjfguitar]

Remember that the sluggishness with 4.10's is only with the cummins, not the V10 or V8. You can't go wrong with either a ford, chevy, or dodge. It is really just a preference thing. You will here good and bad things about all three manufacturers.