Dodge Ram: Problems & Solutions

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  • dustykdustyk Member Posts: 2,926
    Emale, as far as I know any limited slip differential system used on light duty PUs that utilizes friction discs, cones, or clutches requires a friction modifier added to the lubricant.

    Regards,
    Dusty
  • 92ramv692ramv6 Member Posts: 1
    my book show's that a #45 trouble code is a fault in overdrive, but as far as i can tell my truck doesn't have overdrive. only PRND21 and no overdrive buttons anywhere on the dash. anyone have this problem before? about 2weeks ago the truck was a little sick so I checked for any trouble codes for the first time and the codes i found in the system were #12, #45, #51, #55. so i replaced the EGR valve and both battery cables with new ones. the EGR was stuck. then i drove for 5 to 6 mls and it still runs sick. black carbon smoke coming out exhaust pipe, and at part throttle the truck has a miss and i had replaced the plugs,wires, dist cap and rotor button, air filter,oil,and oil filter.
  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    I'll have to keep that in mind when I get my 05...

    kcram
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  • jcasperjcasper Member Posts: 37
    I am getting ready to make a trip up to Fort. St. John British Columbia. I have a 2004 dodge cummins 600 and was wondering what kind of additive should I add to my fuel for the cold weather. We are going to be hunting up there so we will be up in the mountains I expect it to be down in to at least the teens. I just want to prevent any problems before they arrise, whether it be from the cold weather or poor quality fuel. Amsoil sells a couple of different products that I thought about trying, but I would appreciate any products that you have tested and know work well.
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    Powerservice in the white bottle should be more than adequate for what you're doing. Wally world carries it for $4.44/quart. I normally don't run additives in my Cummins, I can't tell a difference. I do keep some around in case I get some bad fuel, or as you're doing, driving into a cold area with what is likely untreated fuel. Most of the diesel in canada is probably as-good or better than what you're used to. Just have to watch out if you fuel-up where it's warm and then drive into a very cold area.
  • matt395matt395 Member Posts: 3
    Hello i am new here and need some help ya know in the winter time when you start your car up and it takes it a bit to startup after you have turned the key? or smthing like that well my dodge ram 1500 is doing the same thing but only its summer time i didnt know if this was a problem or not.
  • oz_blokeoz_bloke Member Posts: 4
    G'Day,
    I'm looking to purchase a 2500 4X4 Manual with Laramie option. Cummins diesel etc.

    Can someone post comments about:
    1) whether 4.1 gears are needed for 4x4 or will 3.9's do?
    2) Can I get a Right Hand Drive conversion done at the factory before I pick it up?

    Manythanks...
  • 426smartin426smartin Member Posts: 2
    Is there any difference in the 2004 Cummins HO Turbo Diesel or the 2005 Cummins 600 Turbo Diesel?

    Thanks, Scott
  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    Depends on the build date.

    Prior to January 2004, the 2004 Cummins HO was rated at 305 hp and 555 lb-ft of torque. After Jan 1, the "600" was introduced at 325/600. The "600" also includes a cat-con and a revised injection sequence to cut emissions and noise.

    Here's the funny part... the 2005 Cummins is now rated at 325/610 (a very quiet notice was sent to dealers about this). Why the tiumy bump in torque? To stay ahead of the 05 Duramax which is also over the 600 lb-ft mark (but only with the Allison automatic).

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  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    To answer your questions:

    The available axles with the 2500 are 3.73 and 4.10... 3.92s are only available on the 1500. Unless you are regualrly dragging small houses behind you, the 3.73s with the Cummins will handle most jobs with no problem.

    DC will not make a right hand conversion. You can only get that done by an aftermarket converter. The Ram is not sold out of North America, nor is it considered a postal vehicle (some Subarus and Jeeps are available with RHD to US Postal Service employees who work rural areas - the RHD allows them to safely reach mailboxes at the side of the road).

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  • thebullladythebulllady Member Posts: 1
    I just came back from the dealership yesterday.. had a horrible vibration coming to a stop with the truck. They replaced the rear u-joint and sent me on my way. About 45 miles closer to home (the dealership is a LONG way from my house) I had another bad vibration after letting off the clutch from a stop. Turned around and took it back to the dealership, and the replaced the center u-joint. The young man working on the truck said it was the 4th one he'd replaced that day. Apparently with the body style change they had a different supplier of u-joints, and have had problems with them.

    I've never had to put new u-joints in a truck unless it had thousands of miles on it. Has anyone else had this problem?
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    No problems with my u-joints on my '03, 54k miles towing. Maybe it's an '04 supplier issue. It's not uncommon for suppliers to change at any time. Certainly sounds like a manufacturing defect.

    I do have some sort of ticking coming from my left front wheel, going in soon to have it checked on. The only other issue I have is with the rear-end making a whining sound at 60mph. Dealer says it's only in 4:10 equipped trucks and they're working on a fix. So far none have failed, just noisy. It rarely runs that slow anyway;) Dealer said whatever it is, they'll cover it under warranty regardless of miles so that works for me.
  • mettechmettech Member Posts: 28
    I would ALWAYS go with the 4.10.... Never heard of the right hand drive in the RAM.... Are you a postal worker?
  • sk1faninpask1faninpa Member Posts: 3
    has anybody put headers on their 2002 dodge ram 5.9 truck? if so what is a good make of headers?
  • pickupwbbpickupwbb Member Posts: 10
    I am hoping someone out there can help me with this ??

    I am driving a 1999 Ram 2500 Diesel 4x4. I am getting some whining/vibrating sounds occasionally coming from the front of the truck. It is difficult to know wxactly where cause diesels are so quiet. This usually happens at a constant RPM and appears to occur more often when I am turning but some times happens when I am going straight. If I step on the accelerator it goes away. This occurs about 20% of the time does anyone have a direction to point me in?

    What are the sysmptoms of potential power steering failure?

    Thanks in advance
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Binding, noise, no assist to either or both sides, vibration, leakage or poor returnability. Those COULD be signs of power steering problems, but remember that some of the same symptoms can be caused by other problems like wrong tire pressure, steering components, misalignment of the front end or just the need for a chassis lubrication.

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  • gresockgresock Member Posts: 1
    Dusty,
     I thought I was the only one with this problem with condensation in the crankcase. I have just bought my Dodge truck a week ago. I had the oil changed by a local shop. The Mech. show me the white, milky stuff inside the oil cap. I took the truck back to the dealer. He said, that I am not the first one with this problem. He want to do a pressure test to see if this will show any leaks. I cant beleave that dodge has not had any recalls about this issue! let me know if there is?? thanks Steve
  • dustykdustyk Member Posts: 2,926
    Gresock,

    I actually think this is within the realm of normal. My wife's Toyota Avalon does it much worse, as does my daughter's Altima. Because the oil cap is placed onto a plastic tower the cooler temperature of the plastic will cause some condensation.

    It is impossible to keep moisture out of the inside of the engine entirely. However, as the engine is run at operating temperature this moist air will be purged. The problem, of course, is that on some vehicles the engine isn't driven enough at operating temperature to purge the system completely. Over time this builds up and forms that milky substance on cooler parts of the motor.

    Fortunately the 4.7 design accommodates this rather well by placing the PCV valve just below the oil fill cap on the plastic tower. This forces air to flow under the cap where any milky build up can be easily spotted and cleaned.

    In my case, despite a lot of short trip driving, mine as never gotten bad enough to cause me to worry. And it is really only present during the winter months. I clean the cap and tower area this past spring and mine has remained free of and milky residue. More frequent oil changes in the winter would help to reduce this effect as well.

    Best regards,
    Dusty
  • jcasperjcasper Member Posts: 37
    I just returned from a 2,000 mile road trip to British Columbia. I own a 2004 Ram2500 4X4 with the Cummins 600, six speed manual transmission and 3.73 gears. Normaly driving around home at about 65-70MPH I get between 17.5 and 18MPG. On this trip to B.C. I was towing a small flatbed trailer on the way up and only got 13.5MPG driving between 75-80MPH. On the way home I was without the trailer driving about the same maybe a little faster and got 14.5MPG. There was at times a pretty good headwind or sometimes crosswind that I know would affect this, but I didn't think it would make this much of a difference. What about motor temperature, it seemed to be about 5-10 degrees higher at times.
  • KCRamKCRam Member Posts: 3,516
    jcasper, the winds did hurt you, but it was more your speed. Diesels are most efficient right around their initial torque peak, which for the Cummins is 1600 rpm. That works out to about 55 mph with 3.73s and OEM tires. After that, you can basically lose 1 mpg for every 5 mph increase in speed. At 80 mph, the engine is turning around 2300 rpm, and your mileage is not surprising at that speed.

    ...and diesels don't get "gas" mileage... (hehehe - sorry, couldn't resist, I'm a Cummins owner myself)

    kcram
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  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    I agree, the difference between 65-70 and 75-80 is quite substantial. Not only are you running higher rpms, you're also pushing a lot more air (as well as headwinds). These trucks aren't aerodynamic marvels, and wind is a huge factor in mpg.
  • sad_ram_buyersad_ram_buyer Member Posts: 1
    Hi all, I just purchased a 2500 with the Cummins engine. It's already been back to dealer three times, and working on the fourth. The Raw and partially combusted diesel fumes coming into the cab is incredibly heavy. The dealer told me that ALL of the last few months production have had this problem but the factory is denying it. The local area dealers have a bandaid solution - routing the engine vent to the back of the vehicle so the fumes aren't so bad in the cab, but it still doesn't solve the problem.

    My specific complaint and concern is that the new truck I have purchased may have a defective or missing part within the engine and/or exhaust system or the assembly of the engine and/or exhaust system may have been performed incorrectly. The symptoms are a heavy odor of raw and/or combusted diesel fumes coming not from the muffler exhaust, but directly from the engine itself, which is then drawn inside the cab while the vehicle is stopped. A band aid solution of venting this emission to the rear of the vehicle only treats the symptom, but does nothing to solve the problem. In fact, this stop-gap solution may cause long term damage to the engine by introducing non-OEM backpressures into the engine and or its components.

    I am formally requesting that either the engine be repaired to factory spec or the vehicle replaced. But the factory rep says no.
  • crackcheckercrackchecker Member Posts: 32
    What year truck is it?

    Sounds to me that there is a gasket leaking somewhere or a hose off. I have a 96 diesel and my inlaws have a 2004 diesel and neither of us have that problem at all. I suggest taking your truck to a real muffler shop and have them "sniff" it out.

    This brings me to another question for the masses.

    This weekend I got a fully loaded trailer and truck of lumber and came down a pretty nasty grade road. I kept it in 1st with OD off and the truck was still pushed down the hill. Almost to the point that if I didn't manually slow the truck down every couple of seconds with the brakes it would have overreved the engine. Has anyone tried, with any success, the aftermarket exhaust brakes for Diesels?
  • nettnutnettnut Member Posts: 1
    Hi Matt,
    I have the same problem with my 1994 Dodge Van.
    Did you get any answers?
    Thanks
  • loncrayloncray Member Posts: 301
    My Cummins is an '03, and there was a little diesel smell when I first got it - either it went away or I got used to it. Either your truck really is leaking someplace or you're physically sensitive to the odor - you shouldn't have diesel smell so much that you stop loving the truck!
  • ranger2003ranger2003 Member Posts: 1
    how much did they chrge you to change the instrument control cluster?? have the same damn problem on my 2002 thanks shawn
  • roper2roper2 Member Posts: 61
    I have 66k on this truck and need to replace the brake pads.I was wandering are the oem replacement pads good? The dealer will do the work. thanks
  • lralstonlralston Member Posts: 9
    Just purchased a Ram 2500 Quad Cab Diesel 4X4 SLT truck. Has a high frequency vibration from 65 MPH to 75 MPH. Dealer has replaced rear drive line but vibration still persists. Technician working on vehicle states Dodge has had problems with rear drive shafts being out of balance from the factory. Has anyone had this problem, and if so, what are the solutions.
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    Is this a vibration or a whine? Do you have 4.10 gears? I have a '03 3500 4x4 diesel with 4.10 six-speed and have a whine around 65mph, mainly when unloaded. You can kind of feel it too, but nothing really shakes from it, just more of a sound frequency feeling. I'm rarely unloaded so it hasn't been a huge concern, but the dealer told me that Dodge is working on a fix and they'd take care of it as soon as they knew something. My particular problem was only effecting the 4.10 gear models though. It's actually something in the rear-end. They've pulled a couple trucks apart and could find nothing wrong or misaligned. I'm at 60k miles, about 95% of which is pulling 12,000-15,000#. No problems, just the noise.
  • lralstonlralston Member Posts: 9
    My 2500 Ram is an auto trans with 3.73 gears. The vehicle is used for commuting and hauling an overhead camper plus pulling a 3,500 lb boat. It is definitely a high freq. vibration. Can be felt in the steering wheel and seat of your britches. I have talked with the dealer again about the issue and I get the same ambiguous answer, "we are aware of the problem and are working on the fix". In the mean time I am documenting the problem about every two months. Hope the fix is found before the base warranty runs out. Have heard there has been problems with the 2004's with u-joint and drive shaft vibrations.
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    Well that sounds different than mine. If you've got it documented as being a problem before the warranty is up, they'll fix it down the road. I first complained about mine at 30k miles and they told me they'd take care of it regardless of miles when the fix came down. It gets driven a lot so that was a concern. I think a lot of this covered upto 70k miles anyway.
  • bluegrass1bluegrass1 Member Posts: 50
    I just changed the fuel filter for the first time on my 2004 cummins, at 16000 miles.
    Just wanted to let everyone know that it sure is easier than on the 1999 I had. Just unscrew the top of the container, fill container with new diesel fuel, slip in the new filter and all is well. I had to go thru a priming process with the older model and also the filter housing was built different and harder to remove and replace filters.
  • gtyatesgtyates Member Posts: 14
    My boss has a 1999 Ram 1500 with an unusual problem. Last night, he left the keys in the ignition with them in the "on" position. This morning, when approaching the truck, he heard a slight humming sound, which was when he realized he had done something wring. When he got in the truck, it would not start. He jumped the battery off of his Durango, and the truck started, but will not run without keeping foot on accelator. Is the fuel pump fried? Or, could a now bad battery be the problem?
  • dustykdustyk Member Posts: 2,926
    Hard to say on this one, but I doubt it's the fuel pump. The fuel pump will shut off when it reaches a certain fuel line pressure. In addition, if it were not working the engine wouldn't run at all at open throttle.

    A guess -- maybe a wild one -- but if it runs okay but doesn't idle it might be the Idle Speed Motor has failed.

    Good luck,
    Dusty
  • 04hemi04hemi Member Posts: 1
    Just bought 04 hemi quad cab, I have put 3000 miles on it. Truck stalled at 4000 rpm when I was getting on it. Did this twic. After parking the truck and restarting appears problem went away. I brought it to the dealer tonight. Any one else heard of this problem?
  • tommy4tommy4 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 92 D250 5.9 recently the speedometer started acting eradic just bouncing all over. I assumed it was the speed sensor as this would usaly go out every 50000 or so. That wasen't it so I changed it again just to be sure I didn't get a bad one. I stopped by my local dealer thinking they would have a guess what part to replace by haveing seen the problem before but they were clueless. Of course this same dealer never could figure out what was wrong with my fuel gauge after four trys been without a guage for 60000 mi, Love the engine no problems there, Any suggestions would be appreciated as it won't shift into o.d. with the speedometer malfunctioning.
  • gtyatesgtyates Member Posts: 14
    After replacing battery, all is well again!! Battery was so weak truck would not run with jumper cables removed from other vehicle.
  • ramexicanramexican Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1999 Ram 1500 SLT QC, 4x2, 5.9L engine. Two times my battery had died and after removing jumper cables from another vehicle the engine stops running without keeping foot on accelerator. You need to push the pedal all the way down for a couple of minutes (watch the red line!) and problem solve. Why?, only god knows. The humming sound could be the fuel pump on all the time due to a faulty fuel pump relay. Surely it was the cause of the dead battery. Just replace the relay. Sorry for my english, I live in Mexico.
  • dustykdustyk Member Posts: 2,926
    The post above is the second one that I've heard of. It's possible that a shorted battery could give you these same symptoms.

    Best regards,
    Dusty
  • stabburstabbur Member Posts: 75
    I have a 2001 Ram 2500 Cummins 5.9L ATM with 40,800 miles on it. Shortly after startup 3 weeks ago and while driving there was a bong and message on instrument panel read "check gages" which I did instantly. No oil pressure. Pulled right over and shut it down. Checked oil level and it was right up to the line. There had been no unusual noises or events, so I figured oil pressure sender and drove it about 3 miles to dealer. Service manager gave me an appointment for 48 hrs later without checking anything. "Is it OK to drive?" I asked.
    Reply: "I would. Computer may just need to be reflashed. So I drove it 20 miles home. Gauge sometimes would work OK, maybe a third of the time. Drove it back to dealers at 48 hrs. Diagnosis: "Open circuit in line from oil pressure sender." Ordered a replacement ($200 - that extended warranty was a very wise investment) A week later, new sender was installed, but by the time I had gone 2 miles the gauge was "0" again. Took it right back. Now the diagnosis was a defect in the wiring harness. Now service manager is having trouble finding the exact wiring harness for this truck. Needs to talk to regional rep. I wonder whether he is just stalling for time so that the extended warranty guy will forget about paying $200 plus $78 for installation of sender that probably wasn't needed.

    A week later for the first time in the history of this truck it sometimes will not accelerate when the pedal is pushed down. This happens most often when the engine is cold, but sometimes happens when the engine is hot. There is about a 5 second delay between pushing the pedal and the increase in power. If the pedal is pushed down part way and held there, eventually the engine will pull, even if the pedal is not pushed further down.

    Questions: are the two problems related? I cannot see how a wiring harness problem would give me both problems. I don't think that they have ever checked the actual oil pressure. What steps do you think should this shop should do to make a diagnosis.

    We are at three weeks and every time I give a buddy a ride, they nearly croak when the red light comes on the dash and my pressure is 0.
  • wwhite2wwhite2 Member Posts: 535
    I have the same problem on my 04 2500 Hemi with the 410 Axle . I have had the tires Hunter Roadforced at my cost no difference . As stated its a high freguency vibration you feel in the wheel and seat . It also slightly distorts the image in the rear view miror . They need to fix this
  • gary8gary8 Member Posts: 10
    I have the same problem,2004 diesel 4w.d.quad cab, I've been in the driveline business for 30 years, tried to recomend the repair, they tried u-joint's, a different shaft, o-h transfer case, o.d.bearing, etc. the vibration is worse now, I would bet money a 2-piece driveshaft w-carrier brg would fix problem. when i would change old pick-ups to 373 I had to install a 2 piece drive-shaft to stop vibration. Gary
  • kumosokumoso Member Posts: 2
    I have a 99 dodge ram 4x4 that had the same problem. After finding a decent mechanic we found out that my driveline was not balanced properly. That fixed it a little bit but not compeletly. Later on I found out that my transfer case was cracked and once that was fixed the humm went away.
  • kumosokumoso Member Posts: 2
    I own a 99 dodge ram 4x4 w/ quad cab and have been having some problems with the transmission slipping out of gear when I hit a decent mut not huge bump. Like if I got over the train tracks to fast or something. It will just slip out of gear and I will have to stop the truck to get it back in gear. Any ideas what might be causing this.

    I thank anyone that can help me with this matter ahead of time.
  • lralstonlralston Member Posts: 9
    Stopped by the dealer yesterday and spoke with the tech. that worked on my truck. They had another truck in their shop with the same vibration problem. 2004 Ram 2500 quad cab diesel 4X4. They tried the drive line replacement fix and it didn't work. They have stated the factory has no fix at this time. Hope someone out there as had better luck with the repair of this problem. If so, give me some suggestions.
  • gary8gary8 Member Posts: 10
    I also have the same vehice 2500 Quad cab 4 wheel drive, diesel, had to dealer twice, first said all those veh. have that problem, that was where i bought it, then took to another dealer, they changed the u-joint's, overhauled the transfer case, and removed the overdrive unit and replaced a bearing. now the vibration is worse, so it must be in the driveline, I'm a stickler on fixing things right, so if I find the problem, I will let you know, Gary
  • jbrantnerjbrantner Member Posts: 2
    Just bought a used 2500 ext cab.Went for state inspection and found out it needs upper and lower ball joints. has 60000 miles on it. 2 shops refused to replace them. too difficult to replace on dana axles. won't go to a dealer. They said they will charge 1500.00. Have to cut them out?
  • sebring95sebring95 Member Posts: 3,241
    This was one of the only problems my '01 2500 truck has had. At 80k miles, the ball joints were bad and I had them replaced at a dealer. I don't believe you're getting good information because mine were going to be $800, but then the dealer got them covered under warranty for me. The truck was only 2 years old at the time though, and they claimed there were some QC problems with the ball joints causing them to wear prematurely. I don't know if I got updated parts or what, but I've put another 80k miles on it and they seem to be fine.
  • lisastricklisastrick Member Posts: 1
    We own a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 it only has 57,000 miles. The other day I was backing out of a parking spot and it died so I restarted it and it had no problem restarting and no problem in drive but when I put it in reverse and started to back out again the RPMs dropped very low and it died again so I restarted it AGAIN and it started fine did fine in drive and when I put in in reverse and started backing out it did not die again and it has not done this agian but it makes me very nervous because we dont know why it did that. If anyone knows why the truck would have done this or have had this same problem I would appreciate it very much if you let me know.
  • gary8gary8 Member Posts: 10
    The problem probably is electrical, I would go to an independent auto shop, remove the sending unit while the engine is warm, ck with manual gauge, run for 30 minutes, that will tell you if it's oil pressure or electrical.
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