Dodge Ram: Problems & Solutions

KCRam

Ahhh, north NJ myself - I commute from Lake Hopatcong to Bergen County - about 75 miles a day total. I try not to flog my 3500 around like a half-ton, but I know the conditions you encounter just as well.

 

If you're familiar with Hackensack, look up Hackensack Auto Spring on River Street. These folks can align everything from a Geo Metro to a semi. When my Ram 3500 feels loose, I go there and it comes out "handling like on rails" as the saying goes. Give them a try, and if there's a problem, they will find it.

 

kcram

Host - Wagons

jcasper

I am looking at putting a spray in liner in my truck. I am between Rhino lining and Line X at this point. They each have their positives and negatives. I just want to know what everyones opinions are. I live in the northwest so I may not have access to some of the companies some of you may have used. Thanks for your input.

digynkg

I have a 04 1500 SLT and have noticed the same shudder/vibration when backing up. I have about 9000 miles. I have only noticed it in the mornings when it's cool out. Also looking for any input.

Karen_S

While you're waiting for a response from Ram owners, enter "bedliners" in the keyword search. There are a few archived topics that you may find helpful.

rangersgoalie

i just put a new batt, in my 97 ramm 1500 and the truck doesn't start all the time. it starts fine for the most part but even now and then it doesn't i turn the key and just get a click like the batt is dead. could it be the power cables?

 

and today i just started it and it had some trouble but it started, then about 30 min later i went to start it and it just gives me a click, any ideas?

mac24

Could be.......poor connection on battery cables......intermittently faulty starter, either brushes or solenoid......... intermittently faulty or out of adjustment park/neutral safety switch.

 

There, that should be enough to be going on with!

 

:--)

KCRam

Usually when I get a case of the clicks, it's time for me to break out the scrub brush and clean the corrosion off the terminals. Since this is a new battery, I'll assume that was done at the install. If you still get electricity in the run position (radio, windows/locks, blower fan), then it's likely a cable or starter relay.

 

kcram

Host - Wagons

dole

96 RAM 1500, 5.9 Almost stalls then kicks itself back up to normal idle. (Willie-nillie) when ever it feels like it. Been told its an intake manifold leak , truck has 227.000 miles but still runs strong . Sell it or fix it ?

Has a bad code on 02 sensor , but they said this wouln't cause the problem.

pyoung

I understand that the cord can be purchased from a Cummins dealer for a relatively low price. I believe that you can check the TDR -- I am sure that the part number was posted there. This option just costs $10.00 at time of order.

marsha7

I will offer some thoughts for bedliners, in addition to the reco that you should read the bedliner topic here...to sum up what I read and then what I did...spray in liners seem to look the best, but a sharp object (like a nail in a board or some rocks in the truck bed) can scrape the finish and remove it down to the metal...if you only use light duty, gentle stuff, spray-on is for you, maybe...cost about $400-500...

 

molded liners usually drop in, as they are custom molded to the truck bed...some say that water gets stuck between the ned and the liner, accelerating the rust process, but if you have heavy duty use, throw rocks, bombs, tools, etc. the abuse tolerated by a molded liner is infinite, and the bed (aside from possible rust) will be unharmed in 10 years of use...it is difficult to remove the liner, so checking for rust is cumbersome...cost about $250-350...

 

I split the difference...I put in a non-skid HD rubber bedmat, only covers the floor, for $59.00...I can remove it with no effort, clean the bed and place it back in 10 seconds...I gambled that I would hardly damage the bare sidewalls of the bed, and, if I do, it is the only spot I probably would not mind just spraying it with silver paint in 10 years...

 

On the tailgate, though, I did use the tailgate half of the molded bedliner (it is a separate piece) for another $39.00...entire project cost about $100.00...try and get the tailgate cover that uses the original screw holes, so that way they just use 1/4" longer screws, and there is NO DRILLING into your bed or tailgate...my tailgate cover has depressions molded to hold drinks when the gate is down...I think I have better than the molded or spray-in liner, and I paid less than 1/4 of the spray and less than 1/3 of the molded liner...your mileage may vary with wind speed...

medved

I have a 2004 ram laramie, 8 footer. it has 25000 km and the fuel economy is 30liters per 100km. its insanly high. numberous tests have been performed. Has anyone else had this problem? is the computer?

kjmerriman

Hi.

I have a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 QuadCab Hemi Sport, and am having issues with fuel spillage.

 

When filling the truck with fuel, the gas pump seems to shut off only after the tank starts to overflow.

 

Can anyone tell me if this is a known issue with these trucks?

 

Thanks!

 

KJ

pitbullmom

I have the same truck and haven't had that problem (and hoping I don't!

Does that happen at all different gas stations?

Tanya

jbranca

I have a 2003 hemi 4x4 with the same problem. The back tail light socket is defective, it's covered under warranty. Dodge knows about it, it could be either the left or right side. What happens is the tail light gets hot and melts the plastic housing around it and allows the bulb to move loosely around, which is why the "lamp out" light comes on and off. I know how annoying that is with the beeping sound.

As far as your transmission shifting a little harsh, what I did at 10k miles was flushed the system with Amsoil Synthetic trans fluid I bought the 15 quarts and took it to Midas and had them hook it to their trans flush machine and all I can tell you is "Wow"!

The truck shifts like night and day now, super smooth and quite, If you don't mind spending about 130.00 total to do that, you won't be sorry and your truck will love you for it. I now have 36k miles on the truck.

jbranca

Your shocks are the problem! I had mine changed out at 34k and should have done it from day one. Stock shocks are terrible, spend the extra money and buy Elderbrock shocks, you will see and feel what I mean.

When you have your shocks changed, take one of the factory shocks coming of your truck and stand it on the floor and push down on it, you are going to laugh so hard in disbelief. There will be virtually no resistance at all.

I would tell all Dodge truck owners if you are driving on factory shocks get rid of them asap.

marsha7

I have a 2004 Ram 1500 Hemi Quad, and I do not have the problem with the gas tank...have you tried a different station, could it be poorly maintained gas pump valves that do not shut off when the fuel level rises???...

dmeents

I have a 94 ram 5.2L auto with OD question: truck starts fine and worms up to temp fine but after driving approx 8 miles I lose almost all power and the more gas I give it starts to cough and spit put it in neutral and engine runs fine. the codes I'm getting are 2-37s and 45. can some one point me in the right direction?

rangersgoalie

well i just took it in to the shop that works on my dads trucks for his company and they said it sounds like the starter with more wrong with it as it was leaking oil now, altho they can't find from where, and the fuel injectors were falty and giveing to much gas.

tustin

My 1999 1500 quad cab just started to stall for no apparent reason. My mechanic cannot find any codes to show a problem. The truck only has 47,000 miles on it. He drove it for three days and it would not stall for him. One thing that does happens when it stalls is the odometer changes to say "no bus". To get it started again I turn the key off for about 1 min. and start as normal. Also it may or may not have any influence on the problem, but the whole dashboard is falling apart, pieces just falling down into the dash. Any one had this problem?
Any suggestions?

KCRam

NO BUS means the dash is losing communication with the computer. If your dashboard is physically breaking, that is likely the source of the problem and you should talk to the dealer or a quality body shop to get this replaced.

kcram
Host - Wagons

cornellpinoy

I have a 2005 1500 quad cab 4x4 with the Hemi. I now have 1100 miles on it. Its exceeded my expectations, but I do have one concern. Occasionally, I notice a vibration at speed - as if I'm driving on rumble stips. Has anyone here experienced this or heard of this happening? Any ideas what may be causing this?

Thanks in advance!

k_wapp

I was looking to possibly buy a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 extended cab 4x4 with the 5.9 V8 engine with about 50,000 miles. It has the towing package, camper package, and the snow plow prep package. It seems like a really nice truck except for one thing...I noticed that when I accelerated, it has a fairly loud hissing sound of air that seems to come through the vents (and the air is not on). The sound seems to diminish some as the engine gets warmed up, but it never goes away completely. The sound does not seem to be noticeable when I am at a constant speed (i.e. not accelerating). I have test driven a few Dodge Rams around those years and haven't heard that noise with any of the other ones, but none of the other Dodge Ram 2500's were this fully equipped. Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing this noise? Is there anything that I can easily check when I go on another test drive with that vehicle? Thanks for any help or advice that you can provide!

jakk

Iam getting 19 litres per hundred kms with the diesel.What motor is in yours

tfuder

A couple of things to check:

- Check for a missing wheel balance weight. I had one pop off not long after getting my wife's new car. First time I've ever seen that happen. Gave us a vibration, but only on accelleration and at speed.
- Look for a nail or screw in the tire. I know this sounds small, but "at speed", a small nail could introduce a vibration in the tire.

Todd

emil

How do I turn off the maintenance required light without buying an expensive tool?

solter

Can someone please tell me how to solve my power steering wheel problem?

I have a 98 dodge ram 1500. All of a sudden, I lost the power steering. It still can turn, but I had to force it with great strength. Pleas help..

mac24

Possible causes:

Low or no fluid (check for leaks)

Slipping belt

Bad pump

Bad steering box

Constricted (swollen) hoses

Seized or binding steering joint or component

Listed in approximate order of likelihood.

harryi

Good afternoon.. hoping that someone can help me i have a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 automatic with the 5.9 engine the problem i have with it is when driving along and have to let off gas quickly such as for a car stopping abrubtly in front of me or a quick changing traffic light or just actually anytime that i let my foot off the gas and i am not going along at a quick clip the tach drops to 0 and sometimes recovers and comes right back up to normal but 99% of the time it stalls it starts right back up with no problems and other than this runs great no hesitating no nothing no missing,starts right up all the time etc.can anyone help me..thanks in advance

harryi

The truck has 85,700 miles on it and the only problem i ever had ith it was at 68,000 had to install a new fuel pump ( dealer installed for 800.00, what a deal..lol ) other than that and normal oil changes, brakes filters and fluids have had to do nothing put first set of plugs in at 80,000 and the originals i removed looked as if they went in a couple of days before like brand new everyone of them any ways thanks again in advance for any info that anyone can give me....Harry

pitbullmom

Thanks! I have always thought it was my shocks and have bitched about them every time I go to the dealer. I am definitely getting them changed!

gdepietro

Hi I have a 1999 Dodge 2500 4 wheele drive,I purchased new ...I have only 51000 miles on it now.My tranny failed at 47000 miles.The tranny was fixed at a dodge dealer...I now have the overdrive light coming on and you cant shut it with the button on the shift arm.If you shut the truck off and let it cool down for a while and re-start it goes back to normal... Anyway to help with this on going problem...

normart

First I have to say this site is awesome.
I have had my truck, a 2001 Dodge Ram V6 2WD, for about two years now and everything has been cool until now. My truck started making this scraping noise that was really loud and annoying, my father told me it was the bearings, so I took some stuff apart and discovered the Bearings are integrated w/ the Hub so i said cool and replaced the Hub.
So after about two months the sounds came back and I got mad. I think the problem is the the "thing" that the hub is put on is deteriorated and worn so the hub breaks easy, and that is what the problem is I dont know what that piece is called so i dont know what to ask for or what to look up on the Internet.
I am torn weather it is the Spindle or the Stub Shaft, but i know what the Hub is. and one more question, is the piece i have to replace one piece or can i take the the "thing" that holds the Hub out and only replace that-it looks cheaper.

thanks

dole

I have a similar problem , was wondering if you found the answer

tfuder

I haven't found one, yet. My initial reaction is to just increase the idle speed about 50 or so RPM, which would solve the symptom, but I dont' know the cause.

Unfortunately, you have to have a computer to program the throttle idle adjustment, and I dont' have one, and it's not a big enough deal for me to spend the money to have someone fix it.

As far as I am aware, it's not hurting the engine any, and I'm not stalling out. Although it does make it harder to sell the truck (no one likes an idiot light to light up when they're test driving a used truck!

Todd

harryi

Has anyone looked at message # 1322 and # 1323 and have a answer/solution/recomendation for me thanks.. Harry

loncray

Sorry, Harryi, my 5.9l engine is the I6 instead of the V8, so I'm of no help to ya.

harryi

Thanks anyways loncray at least i know now that someone is seeing it i just thought more people visited and would have some kind of responce by now its been 3 days and this problem is very frustating not being able to figure it out.
Thanks again,
Harry

mac24

I can only be non vehicle specific here, but it sounds like a sensor problem, TPS or IAC perhaps, in which case it should have recorded a code. Have you tried checking for codes?

harryi

i tried getting codes with the key methodand did not get any until i tried disconnecting the IAC electrical connection like the manual (Haynes) said it also said to listen for an idle speed change when i did this i noticed a big one the engine completely died ( of course the manual doesnt say anything about if that happened anyway that is when the Check engine light came on ( which it has never done before and i tried the key method again and it did register a code at that point ( i dont remeber which one it was probably for that) reset check engine light drove it and tried again and no codes again you mentioned TPS what sensor is that. other than that it runs fine as long as you are moving along but once you let off to stop or corner etc instant stall unles you are going over 40 or so? anyways thanks much for your input appreciate it.Harry

wisdodge

I have a new 2004 diesel with the automatic transmission and about 12,000 miles. I tow a 31’, about 8,000 lb travel trailer, a few times a year. The last time I towed it I only got 10.3 miles to the gal. If I had it in the tow mode I could only do about 65 mph and it was close to red line. If I take it out of tow mode I could drive at 74 mph and the transmission never shifted out of overdrive. Is it safe to drive it in overdrive? Shouldn’t I be getting better gas mileage? I thought they should be getting 14 to 18 mpg while towing. This is fairly flat Wisconsin land a few hills but nothing major. How often should I change the transmission fluid and the gearbox lube? I was surprised to see the book said to change the gearbox lube at 15,000 miles.
Thanks

sebring95

It seems when you're towing, the mileage is lower regardless of the weight. I get between 9-10mpg pulling 15,000#. Maybe 11-12mpg pulling 8,000#. That's generally at 70-75mph. I have a six-speed and it'll run pretty much faster than I need to be going with that much weight on. I've done clips of 90mph though out west where it's straight and clear.

You really only need to lock it out of overdrive if it's shifting a lot. If it starts hunting gears, it's best to lock it out so you don't overheat the tranny. If it'll pull it in overdrive, no reason not to. Unless it's a serious grade, I rarely come out of 6th gear.

mac24

As I said, my reply was not vehicle specific, so you may not have a TPS (which is a Throttle Position Sensor). However, it must have something similar as it needs to know how far open the throttle is. Problems arise when it thinks it's in a different position to the actual one.

harryi

Yes Mac24 it does have one do you have any idea on how to test or eliminate the suspicion of that particular device? and thank you very much for your responces........... Harry

mac24

We're now at the point where we need to go from generalities to specifics.

I would suggest that you'd find a years subscription to the Factory Service Manual (FSM) to be $25 well spent. Go to http://www.alldatadiy.com/ for more info. Not only will you get access to the genuine factory manual (and be able to print it out as required), but to the full version of the TSBs as well.

lynx849

I have a 2005 RAM 1500 Hemi Quad Cab 4x4 w/20" wheels.

The truck behaves a bit odd when going over small bumps such as expansion joints on the roads. The problem is that after the jolt (expected) from the bump, the truck sorta jiggles up an down a couple of times and then stops. On a road with regular expansion joints, especially up here in the winter, the constant repetition of the jiggles can result in an upset stomach.

Since I got the truck in December, I have added a winch and a cap for the rear for about 350 extra pounds. This didn't change the behavior at all.
I have checked the tire pressures and they are right.

Any suggestions? Anyone else experienced this?

Thanks
s/rob

harryi

Thanks much for the advice Mac24 does that manual have a large troubleshooting section that is more than a quick non specific generic type as the haynes repair manual. or is it a real technical break down of all the components Thanks again for your input and advice greatly appreciated.. Harry

mac24

The manual is the same one that the techs in the dealership use. It is absolutely vehicle specific and will contain all repair and trouble shooting procedures for that particular vehicle.

harryi

Thanks again Mac 24 for all your help and advice.................................Harry

mac24

You're welcome...............good luck!

:--)

mettech

Does anyone know why Dodge is so tight on their tow ratings? I have a '03 2500 QC 4X4 SB Hemi. It is rated to tow 8.8K lbs. If you look at Ford and Chevy/GMC, it appears that for a 5th Wheel, they add in the payload capty to the tow rate. Dodge does not. Is this because of a weaker drive tran or what?