Common 2001 dodge ram 1500 problems?

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SirDan

SirDan

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my friend is looking for a winter truck and found a 2001 dodge ram 1500, 4x4 318 engine, he didn't specify but id assume its an auto. I think he said it had like 200k on it. that scares me a bit.

probably checking it out in person tonight. I figured here I would get a fast response.

thanks guys.
 
I have a 2001 off road ram and love it. But the trans has been rebuilt and the rear ends blow out a lot. But once that is fixed they are pretty good.
 
yes. i was just going to say that the trans is known for problems, and the rear. that is about it. also, if he ever plans to pull a trailer behind it, the 318 is a little sluggesh. fyi
 
I have a 01 Ram 1500 Quad cab 2wd 318 auto,I bought it with 10000 miles on it .Other than general maintenance all ive had go wrong is the trans at 120000 miles,speed sensor shortly after.I love it and I do pull a car trailer with it quite often and yes it is a little sluggish but does the job .....................Jeff
 
the belly pan on bottom of intake the gasket goes bad.cause oil from engine to be sucked into intake,causeing rough idle,oil soaked plugs on cylinders 4-6-7-8. easy fix
 
rear end bearing issues, trans, head gaskets those are the big issues but once maintained correctly it'll last forever
 
X5 on the trans problems. I haven't seen much rear axle problems but the front hub bearings go bad on the 1/2 tons on a regular basis. Dash pads are chronic crackers and the front seat outside hinge area is butt buster and usually torn there.
 
my rear went out at 8k.Axle bearing. Abs light came on. dealer fixed it and have 150k now with no problems
 
Have read about many trans problems.

Ditto for the intake "plenum seal leak". Rather than just re-install the sheet metal cover and wait for the seal to blow again, look on ebay. There is a thicker aluminum plate ~$75 and an aluminum plate w/ divider ~$125. The later would be very stiff and helps redirect the air flow better. You can also cut away some of the intake runner tubes for claimed better mileage and better high end.

The biggest concern might be cracked valve seats, which seems a big problem with Magnum heads. One FABO guy said he got 3 sets of heads at the junkyard and all had cracked seats. You probably need to take it on a long road trip to test, since the cracks may only open when hot. Check Dodge truck boards for symptoms.
 
Looked at the truck today, seemed really nice. 30 pounds oil pressure at idle. There was oil under it but it looked like something leaking off the front of the motor, nothing hard to fix. Overall it seemed nice. We did not go for a test drive though as the owner said he just registered it and it would take a month to get the damn title! :banghead:hopefully in that month none of his friends offer him more money for it. I guess we will see how this goes. probably wont end up getting it.
 
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