My truck is a junker....is yours?

[dthollis]

Hi all,



I bought my '96 2500 4x4 when it was 2 years old and had 30,000 miles on it. It was owned by a guy that worked at the assembly plant in St Louis. He used the truck for mostly solo transportation.



The truck now has 74,000 miles and is used mostly for transportation and occasionally hauling a 8,300 lb travel trailer. The truck has had the following replaced to date:



1. Steering wheel (leather worn out)



2. Steering gear box



3. Steering column



4. Transmission overhaul (34,000 miles)



5. Front calipers (several times-warranty=one at a time!!)



6. Overflow valve



7. Lift pump



8. Throttle cable (soon for 2nd time)



9. NEW transmission (42,000 miles)



10. Transfer case output shaft seals



11. Windshield (it leaked)



12. Body seams sealed-new rear window-new carpet (leak-leak-

stink)



13. Fuel gauge sending unit



14. New radio (2 times)



15. A/C evaporator core



16. Track bar (twice)



17. Fuel shut-off solenoid



18. Power steering pump



19. TPS



20. Vent actuator door



21. LR axle seal



The seal between the vacuum pump and PS pump is now leaking also.



I've maintained this truck more often than called for, although I don't think ANY of these repairs could be called maintenance related.



I've owned a '92 and a '93 and my dad owns a '90, and those 3 trucks put together haven't had 1/4 the problems that this one has had.



Can anyone top this???



Sorry for the ranting...



David

 

[JConley]

Dont know what to tell you. The fuel sender, and some of your other items are known to be crap from the factory.



I have 84K on my 12 V 98 Ram, and I have replaced a cruise control servo, fuel sender, Left real axle bearings, and rear wheel cylinders. Other than that, I have had no transmission problems, and it has been the best truck that I have owned. I went 80K on the factory brakes, 60K on the factory tires, and at 60K, I replaced the valve body with a DTT unit. I do a pan drop transmission fluid change every 6-12K miles thanks to the Mag Hytex pan with a drain plug. transmission fluid is much cheaper than a new transmission, so I make this part of the routine service. I am still on the factory front rotors. They are close to the minimum spec, so I might change them out in the near future.



Sorry to hear that you are having these problems.

 

[work2muchplay2little]

Wow, that's truly impressive. I believe that's more repairs than I've done with all the vehicles I've ever owned (8). Might be time for a trade-in??

 

[Michael Hughes]

David,

Sorry to hear that you have had so much trouble with your truck. I bought my 99 with 32,000 miles on it abut a year ago. It now has 65,000 miles on it. I have only replace two tires on it. I have done the oil, oil filter and fuel filter as called for. I really like my truck!!



Michael

 

[DAWG-1]

Sounds like my '95, just not as many problems. Do not get discouraged. The design has been improved. Everytime I get into my '01. 5 I see what my '95 should have been like. Go buy a new one you will love it. Sam

 

[jsimpson]

Gee; that doesn't make me feel very good about the 94 I just bought to replace my 89!

 

[BCFAST]

Fenton junk

Please see my reply in '1st or 2nd gen' about this very thing. My experience as a body-man has shown me that, of the 3 places Rams are built, (Warren,MI - Fenton, MO - 2 plants in Mexico) that the Fenton-built trucks are hit-or-miss in the quality control dept. The Mexican vehicles are the best of the lot for quality (paint, dash fit, fender gaps, etc. ), and the Michigan trucks... well, most of the ones I've seen in the last 10 years look like they should have a rebuilt title... . right off the transporter! My heart goes out to you... I know it's frustrating... . but when you get it right, it's 3-tons of fun!

 

[EMDDIESEL]

geez, at least my clocksprig and lift pump failures dont make me feel so bad anymore!

 

[merryman]

sheesh!!!!!!

I haven't seen that many repairs since I was fool enough to buy a Mercedes followed by a Volvo. They both had that kind of repair list. They both lived at the garage and just came home with me once in awhile so something else could break!

My sympathys, that stuff gets real old.

My last Dodge in 126K miles went in for repair exactly 4 times.



Vaughn

 

[Deezul1]

That seal in the PS/Vacum pump has a 7 year unlimited mileage Recall/Warranty along with all vacum components. I believe its reacall #720, had the same thing on my 96. oil will get into the ac vacum motors and ruin them also the cruise control servo. They all got replaced free.

 

[R Anestis]

Can You Say "LEMON"?

If any one of the problems you incurred had your truck in the shop three times and it still is (or was) bad, I think you can go after DC for a new truck with the lemon law backing you. At least that's the way it is here in PA.

-Ron



PS: 38k on my truck and the only repair has been a bad lift pump, which might as well be expected by everyone.

 

[Archive]

Almost 40,000 miles on my '99, and only an oil pressure sending unit has been replaced. Sorry you are having such a bad time...

 

[illflem]

I have to wonder how the previous owner treated the truck, worn out steering wheel is suspicious. The only problems I've really had with my '95s have been the throttle cables and return fuel lines. 2500 has 144k, 3500 is at 82k.

 

[Hammer]

Sorry to here that your experience is not that good,,The 95 I owned had 135,650 miles on it when I sold it a year ago to by the 98 I own now,,The 95 was purchased by a older gentleman who uses it to deliever campers for Sunline Campers Denver,PA,,When I last saw him the truck had over 210,000 miles on it,,It had taken no major components except a starter,all others repairs were normal wear and tear,,Keep your chin up it will get better...

 

[RustyJC]

Wow, my Mexican-built 1996 V-10 with 45,000 miles has consumed an oil pressure sending unit, a fan clutch and front calipers and pads. Period! After that story, I sure hope I'm doing the right thing getting this 2002 Cummins!



Rusty

 

[jeepit]

Sounds as bad as my 85 CJ7. It takes a beating and keeps on breakin.

 

[jsimpson]

OK; I bought my 94 D3500 5 speed with 152,000 miles on it for $7750. I cleaned it up, pressure cleaned the motor, steam cleaned the interior, stitched up the rip at the outside seam of the driver's seat, then discovered that the bed is eaten up underneath the bedliner. It rides much more comfortably than my 89. The clutch is strong but has monster pedal effort. I love the power mirrors. It has plenty of gusto from 3rd gear on, but my 89 automatic will eat it alive up until 3rd gear. It will need tires soon. I'm taking in it for recall 720 nad 970 soon. The seats are far more comfortable than the ones in the 89, but the upholstery is much flimsier! No real complaints so far.

 

[mbrolin]

RustyJC,your are making the right choice. Your mpgs will definetly improve. A word of caution. Dont expect the fast acceleration compared to the V-10. It took me a while to get used to the Cummins compared to a gasser but I havent looked back.

 

[B9Mile]

Faster, Cheaper, BETTER ??

Where does one begin to address this wonderful aspect of the current DC mentality. Does anyone recall a post last winter about DC trying to squeeze lower prices out of their component suppliers?



I'll look around a bit, but I think I remember one where DC even tried to put the squeeze on Cummins, so DC could make a couple of extra bucks per unit. Anyways, according to that posting, Cummins told DC, "No moola per our CONTRACT, no engines. " DC put their tail between their legs and searched for "savings" from other suppliers.



Anyways, just like everybody else in the manufacturing business, DC is in the "Faster Cheaper, Better" mode. This doesn't always produce a quality product. My truck was assembled in Mexico. I went over it with a fine toothed comb. The fit and finish were excellent. There was only one problem. DC tried to produce a quality product with JUNK parts.



Here is what has been done to my truck.



@814 miles -Replace Power Steering Pump (bad shaft seal)

814 -Replace Vaccuum Pump (bad shaft seal)

3,367 -Replace Steering Gear Box (bad output shaft seal)

6,808 -Replace Steering Gear Box (bad output shaft seal)

14,625 -Recall 788, Low Pressure Fuel Line

14,625 -Recall 799, NOx reflash (I took it in for the fuel line fix, and it was reflashed with the "Latest Software Edition TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE".

15,265 -Replace rear Pinion Seal

18,911 -Replace Vacuum Pump(bad shaft seal)

23,154 -TSB reflash Cruise (It surged quite a bit. I finally convinced the service manager that the vacuum pump was bad, AGAIN!

27,300 -Replace X-fer Case Rear Output Seal

31,734 -Replace X-fer Case Rear Output Seal

32,847 -Replace Vacuum Pump (bad shaft seal) This fixed the surging Cruise.

32,847 -Replace X-fer Case Rear Output Seal, Extension, Bushing, & Driveshaft Yoke

46,194 -The compulsory Lift Pump replacement. DC was charged $329, just for the pump! The total for the job was $457. 90, under warranty, of course.



Anybody care to speculate if the next gereration Ram ('03) will be built using QUALITY parts, or ones that have been "engineered" to be Faster, Cheaper, Better?

 

[John Berger]

I wonder if your truck and that of the poster prior to me had Monday or Friday build dates.