12th Apr 2005, 10:10

I own a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 Off-road that I bought straight out of college. Loved the look of the truck, and no matter what anyone told me about the quality, I was going to own it. Well, 4 years, 90k miles, 2 sets of ball joints, 1 U-Joint, 1 transfer case, and now 1 torque converter and solenoid later I wish I had listened to them (I've never towed anything close to the THEORETICAL limits of the truck). I had better luck with my hand me down vehicles in high school. My wife and I just purchased a new vehicle, and as much as I like the styling of the Chrysler product line, I will never purchase one again.

3rd Jun 2005, 13:12

I own a 1998 Dodge Ram regular cab, short bed 1500 4x4. I have owned a total of 6 Dodges in my life. I love the way they look and ride.

The problems that I have had with my truck are as follows:

At 95690 miles, the engine smokes and uses 4 quarts every 100 miles. Wheel bearings both sides out on the front, #8 cylinder misfire due to oil fouling. Both front axle seals, left side axle went out, and both left and right u-joints went out. A clutch (5 speed manual trans.), but I know that the entire engine cooling system has been replaced.

I know that people talk bad about Dodge... bad mouthing them, and that's cool, because that's all I'm going to buy.

The problems I have had with my truck, minus the cooling system, are my fault. From playing in high water, I sucked water in through the intake manifold, and that's why it smokes so bad. The axle and bearing are also my fault from running every other day in mud and water, and not cleaning and greasing it like I should.

Now if the truth be told about all the problems with Dodge trannys, it's that you may not haul a lot, but hard acceleration and playing around in off road applications is one of the hardest things there is on a transmission. The factory installed Dodge transmissions do not hold up. If you buy a Dodge from 1993 till 2002, buy one with a stick shift, as they have the same manufacturer of the transmission as does Chevrolet five speeds. I have had zero problems out of my trans., save for my clutch, but that's my fault for racing and mudding too much!

Any questions or comments, contact me at killer_harding@yahoo.com

Jeremy Harding.

7th Jul 2005, 20:54

I just sold my 1998 dodge 4x4 club cab. Very very happy day. Got my 14,000 and put it down on a 2005 F-250 4x4 crew cab power-stroke diesel. The only thing I could say so far is wow! Finally a truck, a real truck just go test drive one and you will see what I mean. Good luck to all you dodge owners and I sincerely mean it.

20th Mar 2006, 21:03

I have a 1998 2WD 1500 SLT with 150k miles on it, which I bought used with 40k miles. I replaced the fuel pump (which is common by today standards after 100k miles), and rebuilt the rear differential (which I assumed was due to heavy towing without proper break-in). I haven't had any tranny problems, but I have NEVER changed the transmission oil. This is my third dodge, drove each of them till around 200k miles, and I don't touch the transmission fluids. I'd be curious as to how many people with transmission problems change the transmission oil?

20th Apr 2006, 21:06

I own a 1998 dodge ram 1500 Laramie SLT. Love it. No problems till now. ABS & brake light come on and stay on. Haven't noticed any lack of braking. Probably could use a brake job, but could anything else cause this. Oh yeah, truck has 109,000 miles. e-mail me at gene_b49@yahoo.com Thanks.

7th Jun 2006, 23:12

I have a 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 - has about 91,000 miles. Just recently, if I let it sit for more than 24 hours, it's totally dead. I had the battery, starter, and alternator checked and all are working well. When I try to start it, I turn the key and there's no sound at all. If I jump the battery, it will run fine for a while and not die while I'm driving it, but the next morning - dead again. Is there a known problem with the electrical? something that would be draining the battery slowly like an accessory light that's not shutting off?

11th Jun 2006, 16:01

Your ABS and Park brake light are due to a poor rear end sensor. It is a very common problem with Dodges from those years. My suggestion if you have any more problems is to sign up with www.dodgetalk.com. They have every little problem you could possibly think of, because basically it's all Dodge owners. I have never had a problem where someone hasn't figured it out for me there... Sign up... you won't regret it.

16th Jul 2006, 07:15

I owned mostly Fords since I could drive. I just had to have a newer Dodge though. I couldn't afford my '98 Ram 1500 until April of '03. I got rid of my '78 Ford 4x4 (it leaked oil and I had to work on it once in a while) for my "newer, trouble free, under 50,000 mile Dodge". I've had it 2 1/2 years, and it's been in the garage almost the whole time. The list follows: bad fuel pump for prolonged crank hard start, vacuum leak (cracked canister) resulted in front axle slipping in and out of 4WD (which I think trashed gears in front diff, not sure yet) when locked in and losing heater/AC controls under acceleration, plugged catalytic converter (expensive), front axle seals, joints, and upper & lower ball joints, water pump, driver side glass falls out of track, rear speakers don't work, front speakers work when they feel like it, and it leaks oil now too from the rear diff and several places from tranny. I'm sure there are some things I am forgetting. All this for almost the payment of a new one, but with no warranty! Seems like a lot of trouble and a WHOLE LOT of money for 80,000 miles. I am holding my breath for the sure to come burned up tranny even though I haul nothing and carry almost nothing. I miss my Ford...