Why? WHY WHY WHY!

[AMink]

First, let me say I love my truck. I loved my 97 too. I even liked my 94 that was a gasser. All Dodges. BUT: Why do things continue to break/wear out/fail? I'm talking about things that have been common to all years or across one or more generations, like ball joints, manifolds, steering, etc.



In the last few months I've had to put in new ball joints, a new exhaust manifold, and my steering box is now in need of some loving. We read thread after thread about these failures yet Dodge/Ram hasn't addressed the problems. Instead, we put in new super heavy duty parts like two piece manifolds, Carli ball joints, track bars, steering stabilizers, new model steering boxes or heavy duty rebuilds and so on. Why aren't these better parts just used in the first place?



If it costs us $800 for Carli ball joints, but Dodge/Ram was buying them in huge numbers, they couldn't bump the overall cost of the construction of the truck by that much. On a truck that costs over $30,000 and in many cases over $50,000, what's another $1000-$1500 to have a truck with parts that will last? There is absolutely no reason for these parts to fail after 50-100K miles. Especially with the suspension, we say "Well, that's a big heavy engine". NO SHIITE! Put some parts under it that will hold the freakin' weight! Worn out tie rod ends and broken steering boxes are not OK, especially when we know that they occur in large numbers. We knew soon after the 24v came out that the one piece exhaust manifold warped or cracked yet there was still a one piece manifold being put on for years. I don't know what's on the newest trucks, but it is something that could have been fixed.



I get the "fun" part of enhancing your ride. Performance parts make it personal. Bigger tires, killer suspension, and other bling make it your ride. But, dang it, the main parts (in some cases necessary for safe operation of the vehicle) should be up to the task.



Oh, and the messed up tach and weak A/C in '06 models? Come on Dodge! Those things should work like champs!



Rant off.

 

[JLeake]

Unfortunately, all RAM or Chrysler cares about is more sales of new vehicles as evidenced by many things. A simple one is the support of phones with the uconnect feature, my Apple 4S does not work and apparently will not be supported ever from what I can tell. Another one is better fuel filtering retrofit, and the list is endless. From what I can fathom, it is all about two things, minimizing cost to manufacture and support. I understand them both academically, as a owner I do not appreciate it one bit.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

The new 3500s have a lot of improvements and are much more heavy duty. Still, look at how many people choose a Laramie 2500 over a SLT 3500 for similar money? How many people won't buy a new Ram because they cost over $40,000, often over $50,000? How many people buy a new or used Ram watching the price point and then have to add all the stuff they want later?
Many of the front end problems I have heard about were on Rams with lift kits and huge tires.

 

[Killgore]

I couldn't agree more. It was a mismatch in the beginning with a power plant that would run 500,000+ miles in a truck designed to last 150,000 miles. Only now is Chrysler wrapping the Cummins engine in a truck specifically designed to last the long-haul and of course the price reflects it. IMO

 

[rscurtis]

This is one of the last cars that was not built to a price point. It retailed for $31K in 1983. That would make it about a $75K car today. How many would pay over $100K for a new RAM? Not too many would be my answer.

 

[dieselpowered]

This is one of the last cars that was not built to a price point. It retailed for $31K in 1983. That would make it about a $75K car today. How many would pay over $100K for a new RAM? Not too many would be my answer.

This one is getting close lol. http://www.chrysler.com/hostd/windowsticker/getWindowStickerPdf. do?vin=3C63RRKL6EG135413

 

[Wingate]

with the value of the us dollar dropping every day, these prices will continue to rise. That being said, quality is quality no matter the price point, and I'll be the first to admit, if it weren't for the Cummins under the hood, my 06 model would have been gone in late 07!

 

[SierraRam]

I guess it is how you look at it. I expect to work on suspension parts as my truck ages. Try to improve over stock every repair I make. Dodge, Ford, Chevy they all wear out and have their issues.

 

[Jim W]

As a retired design engineer from Caterpillar I know that the design teams are always at odds with the target coast numbers establish by the marketing team. The marketing team surveys the customers and finds out what they are willing to pay for a new/updated product. This information is then used to determine the cost targets which are set for a design component/feature. We then design the component/ feature to these cost numbers selecting the best component/feature that will satisfy the design goals.

The materials team than tries to purchase the supplier components that will satisfy the design component and cost targets set by the engineering team and marketing team.

Remember every design is a compromise between design requirements such as performance and life goals along with cost targets. If engineers had their way you could not afford to purchase anything unless you were the Federal government with deep pockets.

Jim W.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I feel bad that you have not been happy with your 06, sometimes things just wear out with use. My 04. 5 has almost 140,000 HARD towing miles on it and is still on the original clutch,ball joints etc, I have not touched any of the HAVC system, differential, I did brakes on it for the first time last winter, they could have gone another 20,000 miles.

 

[rbattelle]

We should also remember that car companies will sell their own mothers up the river to save pennies per part. When you're literally buying millions of copies of a part, a penny or two makes a difference. The vast majority of people would not be willing to pay any premium at all for longer-lasting parts, especially considering how many dump a vehicle after 5 years.



Those of us who would pay a premium for longer-lasting parts, do. We buy those Carli ball joints when the factory ones go bad.



So in a way, the system works. The car company puts parts on that satisfy the 90th percentile of customers, and the other 10% buy uprated aftermarket parts at a premium. Car company makes money; small businesses like Carli make money.



-Ryan