Faults:
Nut came off the differential input shaft at 144K. Rear driveshaft dropped, differential internals exploded, rear end locked solid. $1250 including a Megatron battery and new rear brake shoes, professionally serviced.
Lost water pump center bearing at 180K. $80, self installed.
Replaced clutch at 183K, $200, self installed.
Driveshaft service at 183K, one new universal joint, some truing and rebalancing. $125 at an auto machine shop. I pulled it and reinstalled it.
Replaced faulty wiper linkage at 183K, wipers were going off the windshield. $50 used part, self installed.
Replaced catalytic converter, oxygen sensor, and muffler at 184K, $200, self installed.
Replaced wiring harnesses to license plate lights at 184K. $30, self installed.
Lost NV3500 transmission at 185K due to fluid leak. Remanufactured 5-speed was $1500 installed with 12/12000 warranty.
Replaced very squeaky left upper control arm bushings and balljoint at 185.5K. About $125 including having a machine shop press the balljoint on. I did the rest.
Replaced NV3500 shifter handle that was hitting the dash in 3rd and 5th. $50, self installed.
318 engine evaluated at 186K and diagnosed with a blown head gasket and two cracked heads. Motor completely remanufactured with 3 year/unlimited mileage warranty. Plugged radiator replaced also. $3100.
Plastic parts starting to give way, paint peeling from primer underneath, driver's seat deteriorating.
New engine still runs rough, probable crossfire.
Fuel pump randomly cavitates (whines) sometimes for months at a time, quiet at the moment.
General Comments:
Luckily it was almost free to begin with, but I'm getting tired of spending money and playing mechanic. Very reliable from 118K up until around 180K, a nightmare since. More than two weeks of downtime total in the last ninety days.
Local dealer charges more than list price for parts. I won't take it there for repairs.
230HP, 300ft/lbs and it can't chirp the 265/70-16 tires.
Tows reasonably well under 4000 pounds, hauls 2000 pounds without too much complaint.
No real torque for towing or hauling until 2300 RPM. Forget about pulling hills on the highway in 5th.
Two-piece driveshaft is an atrocity.
Three or four inches of center dead spot in the steering wheel. It's in the rack, not the linkage.
Cheesy plastic clutch hydraulic system looks like a toy, can't be bled by conventional means.
Brakes are marginal at best. Spend the $800 on aftermarket dual piston calipers and slotted rotors if you tow, haul, or want to stop quickly.
I saw the distributor cap for the first time from underneath the truck when I pulled the transmission back to replace the clutch. Play twister and use a mirror to adjust the timing.
15-20MPG is typical.
Handling not bad for a truck, but has a wide three-lane turning radius with a regular cab and 8-foot bed.
27th Mar 2005, 20:56
Good reading. I have a red sport model, same year and have had it from new from 8 miles. Same 318 motor and the same manual transmission as in the review and two wheel drive.
I also experienced the rear differential lockup and explosion after the nut backed off, but this was at 72000 miles, 2000 miles after the drive train warranty expired. I was doing 45 miles an hour around a corner when my back wheels became gigantic rubber skids. I did a 180 and slid into a shallow ditch going back wards. The cast differential housing looked like an exit wound on a soda can with the pinions and gears pushing through. The brothers who fixed it said they hadn't seen anything like it in 25 years of fixing transmission and read ends. 1700 bucks later had a rebuilt positive traction 392 rear end put in.
Also had the clutch eat itself when a spring popped free and got in front of the flywheel. 200 dollar replacement and helped the family mechanic put it in.
Replaced the lower ball joints because they were getting noisy and had to replace the lower control arms as well. Dodge doesn't sell the tack-weld in place ball joints the truck came with any longer. I had to replace both lower control arms and get the new manufacture joints which use snap rings to hold them in place. What should have been 75 bucks for the ball joints turned into almost 400 bucks for the control arms as well.
Those are the only major problems. It uses a bit of oil now, but the high mileage motor oil I bought seems to be working and that has reduced the oil usage.
Minor problems include the air control knobs breaking. When you turn them they simply break the plastic housing and the metal insert stays in place. Had the cable on the spare tire snap and drop my spare in my parking spot.
I am very happy with my old truck. It runs well and gets me around just fine. I put 60 miles on her 5 days a week and she stills rumbles along just fine. The 318 is a fairly bulletproof motor.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Sean.