Dodge Ram: Problems & Solutions

wfuller

hey thanks for your help.. but i fixed it today.. there was an anti theft bull crap thing on it behind the dash that i took off, had to rewire the ignition but it runs great again.. i hate dealer ad-ons. thanks everybody else that helped me!

walloongirl

My brother has a 05 Dodge diesel truck,automatic. He parked the truck in his garage and all was OK. Sunday he went to drive it and he couldn't turn the steering wheel, thought the lock had engaged. He backed out of garage and also had no brakes. He checked under the hood and found that the serpentine belt had fallen off! He called Chrysler and they picked up the truck on a flatbed and hauled it to the dealership under warranty. I also own a 2005 Dodge diesel manual. I am really worried that this may happen to my truck too. Has anyone experienced this same problem or heard of a recall or TSB for the serpentine belt falling off?

ramman124

YA ASK AWAY

mchabra

I have a 1995 Cummins dually and have been recently driving about 150 miles constantly. The truck runs great around town, however the problem arises when on the interstate/main highways.

Simetimes when accelerating, once I hit 55mph, the truck will stop speeding and the rpm will continue to rise. If I let the truck speed fall down to 46mph or so, it will then engage and then proceed to accelerate beyond 55mph. Once over that, the truck will sometimes slip out of gear or the rpms will race when I go to pass someone. I have no idea what the could be. Can someone please help! I'll explore whatever ideas are out there. I just want to feel like I'm in a reliable truck again. Thanks!

walloongirl

Well I found out that my brother said the dealer told him it was just a bad belt and they replaced it. I sure hope there is no more problems for serpentine belts.
Walloongirl

dieseldevildog

Steps in replacing serp belt in 1998 dodge ram 1500... v-8... no a/c???

mchabra

Also, after driving for abour twenty minutes the truck begins to shake for about a minute and then stops. This then repeats. I'm going about 65-70 on the highway and this concerns me too. It a newer development but becoming an issue. I had also forgot to mention that this is an automatic transmission. Thanks for reading and your help!

ksgary

Had a problem with 94 dodge v10 with automatic and the
problem with it was my thermostat it was not letting the motor warm up to operating temp the torq converter will not lock up until operating temp is reached don't know if this your problem or not but was mine.

jed249

Hi all, I have a 90 ram 250 with the 318 and was wondering if I could swap the starter out for the older gear reduction starter. Nothing wrong with current starter just want the old chrysler sound, any help would be appreciated.

jed249

Hello everyone again have another problem, I have speed but the odometer does not work neither does the trip meter, but the speed registers fine. Thanks

roadkingrider

I just had the APPS replaced on friday. I'll let you know if it was the problem.

sammy12

changed the ASD but Problem didn't solved .
Thanks, Sammy :confuse:

rwynne

We are in the Congo and service the police's mexican built Rams fitted with the 5.9 cummins diesel. One of them cranks fine but makes no attempt to fire, but starts easily when pushed. Have we missed something silly? Plse reply by email to richardwynne@hotmail.com as our internet connection is a bit "dodgy" arf arf.

mchabra

I had this same problem with my 3500 Cummins Dually. Firtly, I had taken the truck to a shop that does nothing but front-end repairs and they told me that this is a common problem among dodge front-end designs. About $1300.00 later, I practically had a new front end. The track bar, both left and right sway bar connectors w/ new ball joints, and steering damper. They said that mostly the track bar is what caused the problem, but that a combination of all these issues have culminated into the severity of the problem. They also aligned the front end. Thus far, I have had no problems with it and its been about a year now. Hope this helps! I wouldn't suggest doing this yourself because the alignment is best done through computers and professionals. Good Luck!

mchabra

My fuel gauge in the cab wasn't working so I ended up taking the bed of the truck off rather than dropping the fuel tank. It was easier because there was a lot of fuel left and easier to work on because of the tight working conditions. When I had taken the fuel sending unit out, it turned out that the whole unit was mangled. The device is adjustable for various tanks and one of the brass screws came out of the adjuster so that the unit was semi-apart in the tank. Taking the unit out, securing it with new and stronger screws, a new fuel level sending unit, and then putting it back solved my problem. Look at the diagram for the fuel unit thats in a dodge book and maybe it'll help you to diagnose your problem.

ramman124

thanks im putting in 4.10 gears next week and ill change my upper and lower ball joints and let you know

jc67

MY 2001 DODGE RAM 3.9 V6 56,000 MI HAS A TRANS. PROBLEM. THIS IS WHAT I GOT. WHEN IN DRIVE THE TRANS SLIPS A BIT AT TAKE OFF 1ST GEAR RIGHT? . NOW IF ITS' IN DRIVE IT JUST SLIPS A BIT AND THEN IT GOES ON AND SHIFTS FINE ALL OTHER GEARS. EVEN O.D.IF YOU PUT IT IN LOW 1 AND MANUALLY SHIFT IT THREW ALL GEARS NO SLIP AT ALL TAKES OFF JUST FINE BUT PUT IT BACK IN DRIVE IT WILL SLIP A BIT AGAIN JUST IN 1ST GEAR WHAT IS THIS. A DIRTY VALVE BODY OR WHAT. THE FLUID AND FILTER HAS BEEN CHANGED EVERY 30,000 MI. THE FIRST TIME AT 30,000 MI I CHANGED IT AND THE MAGNET IN THE TRANS PAN HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TRASH ON IT BUT NOT MUCH I WENT TO THE DEALER AND GOT THE TRANS. FLUID. THAT THEY GAVE ME THEN AT 32,000 THIS SLIPPING 1ST GEAR IN DRIVE STARTED THEN THE ENG, LIGHT CAME ON TOOK IT TO THE DEALEAR THEY SAID NOTHING WAS WRONG THEY SAID THAT THE TRANS WAS FLUSHED NEW FLUID AND FILTER RESET THE CHECK ENG,LIGHT AND CHARGED ME $200.00 AND SENT ME ON MY WAY THE LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN TWO DAY'S LATER SO I HAVE DELT WITH THIS FOR THE LAST 30,000 MI. I NEED TO PUT THIS IN THE SHOP BEFORE 70,000 MI. THIS IS WHEN MY WARR.IS UP HELP PLEASE.

badassdodge

i have a 97 dodge ram 1500 with a 6.5 inch lift and i was told by 2 different mechanics that the pitman and idle arms needed to be replaced and the noise wasn't too bad before but now its making a really bad screeching noise. i was wondering if you could tell me where you got your pitman arm for so cheap and any tips on installing it. any help would be appreciated. thanks, matt

ramman124

yes i have i am a mechanic and also own a 1500 4x4 first there is no such thing as a perfect brake, ceramic is good for quick stopping and low noise and dust but they will wear veryu fast metalic are good brakes for standard driving and will last a long time but have moderate noise and dust with your truck and the driving conditions it sees yiu need a severe duty pad they will last a realy long time stop realy good but you will get alot of dust and nose try those and i bet it gets rid of your problem ive seen it alot

dustyk

Sounds like a bad overrunning clutch, sticking governor or or 1-2 shift valve.

Regards,
Dusty

ptemple

I HAVE A PROBLEM ALSO THAT SOUNDS LIKE YOURS.
UN PLUG YOUR ALTERNATOR A SEE IF THE PROBLEM
GOES AWAY

winisko

back up lights do not work checked wireing bulbs and fuse ,all are good .where is switch on transmission ,is it electronic and can it be cleaned ?It has standard transmission .
thanks

luckyman1

is this in front or in the rear?its in a dodge 3500 with 5.2 gas engine

t2003

The power door locks on my truck arbitrarily go up and down when I'm driving. What's the problem? Any suggestions?

magn45

Same code read out on my Dodge Ram,,,it was the second sensor,,The one closest to the Cat.

techmedic

real easy I got mine online from Autozone for $13 delivered had it on in 20 seconds..just plugs in and push it on the door jamb.

moparblue2

I have a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 4 by 4. Bought it new in Feb. 2003. It has only 22000 miles on it. I started to see spots or red oil on the drive way at the front of the truck. Took it to dealer to have it looked at. They said it was out of factory warranty So my exteneded warranty might cover problems. I bought CNA exteneded warranty when new. They said power steering hoses are leaking & the trans. cooler in radiator is leaking. Exstened warranty will only cover radiator & trans. cooler & one day car rental. The two POWER STERING hoses are 168.00 put on. Is that a good price? Checked parts stores for hoses they can only get high presure side low presure dealer only. That seems funny to me. Dodge warrantys are better. Ticket writer said the dealer makes more money on none Dodge warrantys like the CNA WARRANTY I BOUGHT. They told me that warranty would cover everything after factory warranty 3 years or 36000 miles. So now i have a warranty that they cover what they want. Good to 70000 miles or 02-04-2010 I will not buy nothing but factory warrantys from now on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad: :sick:

peake

I just bought a used 05 RAM 3500 Diesel 4x4 auto from a Dodge dealer and it does exactly what you are describing. Not real bad, just annoying. Any luck getting it fixed?

cfl18

Can you tell me what is a PCM failure

mac24

PCM stands for Powertrain Control Module, commonly referred to as the vehicle's computer

stooges3

Dodge has to know about this problem and they are keeping it a secret. I had a 2000 Dakota and a 2002 Ram 1500 and both trucks had power steering hose leaks that had to be replaced at around 22,000 miles. Dodge trucks are also bad with leaking heater cores. I had mine fixed on the Dakota and know I smell anti-freeze in my Ram heater. Its a labor intensive job and now my Ram is out of warranty.

missakbrown

Does anyone know if the power lock doors on a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 supposed to work without the keys in the ignition? I just purchased one yesterday and my door locks don't work unless the keys are in the ignition. If this is a problem could someone give me an estimate on about how much this would cost to get fixed?

dustyk

I don't believe there is a major component quality issue with the power steering hoses on Dakotas or RAMs. I know nine people with Dakotas and not one has had a failure of this type, and I've not heard anyone else having this problem, either.

Heaters cores? I do know one person with a '99 Dakota that's had a heater core leak. Of course the vehicle is six years old. Is this indicative of a problem? I don't know, but I don't see or hear of them locally.

Heater fan resistors, ball joints (pre-the recall), gas caps causing check engine lights, cracked vapor lines, and intermediate steering shafts, yes. Pretty much anything else has been one-offs

Regards,
Dusty

ptemple

I have a 98 Dodge 3500 5.9 Turbo Diesel. It shifts out of overdrive and will go back in at lower speeds. It seems to shift between gears. If I unplug the alternator, it shifts just fine. I've sent it back to the dealer for a new computer (2nd computer) and it worked great for about 25 miles. It's better, but the problem is still there. I need help and am looking for any ideas????

truckman06

i have a 1995 dodge 1500 pickup radios not working looking for a used one but i dont know what years enterchange without having to change anything thanks for any help

cfl18

If there was a computer problem wouldn't I get codes.Is it more like to be a converter problem.Is there any way to check it besides to change it.

carlamigo

I have 1995 RAM 2500 same thing happened 3 or 4 years ago. After diagnosing the usual fuse, making sure that dc was getting to the radio connector, I dismantled the radio from the dash board, pull it apart and sprayed it quite generously with CRC Electric 2-26 multi-purpose precision lubricant. Let it dry out 24 hours set it in and it has been working since than. Was-it a miracle? I use this stuff a lot in computer and it pretty magic what it can do do circuit boards. If your radio is like mine was i.e. death you have not much to lose. About the lubricant see www.crcindustries.com. Hope this settle your problem in canada they were asking $300 us the replace that thing.

crall444

i have some of the same ,the dealer replaced one side of my lifter but the noise is still there, but i also found that they want to turn there head the other way on the problem , my truck is a 04 1500 57 that as you start it cold it quite for about 10 min, then it starts to my this noise like a lifter, then when you step on the gas and a good rev it doesn,t return until its stone cold again on the next start up, this truck has 14000 miles and they say that my springs are good, its been in several time to get no problems found , yea right, been doing this since 6000 miles, crall444

viperman1500

:mad: hi all just bought a 2003 dodge ram quad cab 1500 ...it ran great or 7 days then the c.e.l came on took it to the dealer ,he replaced the o2 sensor and the vacuum leak detector, ran fine for 3 miles ,then came on AGAIN took it back today and they say i need a pcm driver circuit board ? talked to my brother in law which is a auto genius he says it sounds like they are just FISHING FOR A FIX.well they ordered the part should be in on friday..drove it a little today and now its stalling...well im getting a bent out of shape thank god its under warranty any suggestions will be helpful well thanx all

viperman1500

hi well ive had problems with the check engine light and took it to get looked at they replaced my o2 sensor and the natural vacuum leak detecteor ran it for 5 miles and it came on again...now stalling sometimes took it back and they said it needs pcm driver circuit board which is the computer well they ordered it will be in on friday well we will see if it does the trick so keep me posted on how you make out good luck - just a heads up ...you are not alone :sick:

viperman1500

could someone please tell me how many sensors my dodge ram slt 1500,automatic with the 4.7 liter engine havs ...thanks

viperman1500

anyone give me the pros and cons to driving in overdrive or reg drive any input would be helpful ...thanx to all this site is great

Mr_Shiftright

Overdrive is an economy gear not a performance gear. I would suggest driving in regular drive in slow city traffic and switching to OD on the highway. Don't tow or carry very heavy loads in OD because your transmission will "hunt" and upshift/downshift a lot. OD doesn't like hills, loads or attempts for sudden acceleration.

jneal

That's like asking how many trees are in the forest.....

viperman1500

mr shift thanks for the info just curious thats what i thought but wanted a proffesional opinion thanks a lot

viperman1500

yeah i hear ya

wfuller

I have a vacuum leak somewhere and i have no clue where/how to find it nor when/if i do, how to fix it. My autotech teacher told me to rub down the vacuum hoses with WD40 or water so i did, but it still does it. you can hear it when the engine is running and when it turns off it lets off a sound like when you turn off an air hose, any suggestions?

wfuller

hey i came to you for help earlier this year but fixed the problem before i could ask my question, now i have a new question.. or such, a problem: I have a vacuum leak somewhere and i have no clue where/how to find it nor when/if i do, how to fix it. My autotech teacher told me to rub down the vacuum hoses with WD40 or water so i did, but it still does it. you can hear it when the engine is running and when it turns off it lets off a sound like when you turn off an air hose, any suggestions? and on a more recent note, when i start my truck after it's cooled back off, it'll start then shut off.. then i have to start it again, then i have to start it and give it gas at the same time but if i let back off the gas completely it stalls again, the only way to keep it running is to just slightly hold down the gas pedal until it warms up? my truck is killing me, thanks for any help you can offer (besides running it off a clif, i've thought about it)

jneal

Your autotech teacher has already answered your question for you. Perhaps you misunderstood him in that rubbing the lines with WD40 or water is not going to cure the problem but by spraying the lines with WD40 when you spray the bad area you should hear a change in the way the engine is running.
To find a problem of this sort requires a careful examination of each and every line for cracks, loose connections etc and repairing any and all suspect areas as quite often it isn't just one leak.
Since you say you can hear the leak it shouldn't be hard to locate the area the noise is coming from. First thing I usually suspect is the vaccum canister for the brakes.

viperman1500

hi all qwik question i have a broken vent on the right side of dash . is it hard to take out ....my concern is the passenger side air bag any sugg. would be helpful...i dont want the pieces of the vent screwing up the fan/blower thanx.