old 300

So I was out tonight and I hear a funny noise coming from the front end as I was going through the twisty turns on our road. The noise I heard before but I couldn't think that it was the same noise as before. So when I get home I grab the front wheel and rock it in and out and sure enough it looks like play in the front bearing. That bearing lasted all of 20000 miles. I am getting a little tired of this truck failing all too often. I can't think for 1 minute that these trucks are as good as I thought and have been told. I put myself in debt, trying to get this dream truck. I have never driven this thing hard or hauled anything more than a couple times other than a Quad.
This truck has been pampered way too much, driven like an old man would.
I can't help but think that if you were to work one of these trucks you would be in the poor house. I know its 10 years old, but with 67000 miles on it, its far from worn out.
I have spent about $10,000 on repairs alone ( not counting regular service ) in the last 6 years. I know for a fact that any truck, 1/2 ton Ford, Chev, Toy, etc would be way tougher that this thing.
My wife drove the truck about a month ago and when she got home she told me that the truck should not be allowed on the road. She said it was horrible to steer. I told her that it was normal... She said that if that was normal then all Dodge trucks should be taken off the road.
I am at my last straw with this thing...If I could afford to trade it I would. I wouldn't have the heart to sell it to someone because I wouldn't like to sucker them in.
I'm sorry all you Dodge Ram people but really should these trucks be this junky? I haven't had this much trouble with all the vehicles I have owned since I started to drive 30 something years ago. It is a never ending story, spend money to keep this thing on the road. Just installed 2 new batteries tonight, thought " Well its been a month or 2 since I spent any money on it."
This piece of JUNK has to go. I will never own another Dodge again and that is a promise. I think a little car and a small trailer is looking mighty good in my future. At least when I had a Toyota Celica and a trailer it did the job and I never had 1 repair in the few years I had it.
I look at this truck as heavy and well built it appears and shake my head in disgust. I can't believe people really go out and spend their hard earned money on such garbage. That truck was about $50,000 new, someone should have hit me in the head with a bat when I talked about bringing this thing home.

gorms

Big trucks, big bucks as they say. If you don't need one, get a car or a light duty pickup. This "garbage" brings my home heat, water, and all the other accomidations of life. If it doesn't do that for you, time to get something else. My 96 Dakota has probably the least troublesome vehicle I've ever owned, its a 2wd V6, 5 speed, and just needed ball joints on one side a few weeks ago. Most of the time I can get away with just that for hauling stuff around, only paid 1800 for it, and now it's my dad's. But, when it comes to plowing every year, hauling 6-10k, and then being able to rip up a variety of new trucks at the track my truck is tough to beat, for me. On average, between maitenance and repairs on the Cummins I am well below the payment of a new truck, any brand, and I have confidence that the motor is the last thing to worry about. All the other stuff is .... cosmetic. Kinda! Good luck.


BTW, 10k in repairs?! Could always save a few grand by picking up a manual and doing it yourself.

mini14

if u want to play be prepared to pay, these trucks will nickle and dime you into submission every so often you kinda get used to it. If u can accept that fact you will be one step ahead of the frustration, ive been there quite a few times luckily I do 99% of my own repairs....but the parts along $$$. I have a friend with a ford 6.0 who is selling his truck right now its has had 4 trannys, 2 motors, 1 ficm, 1 alternater, unit bearings, has left him stranded a few times...now that its out of warranty he must get rid of it.

johnh

you cannot satisfy every body, but i'm happy with mine at 248000 miles

Russ Roth

I have 157,000 on mine and I would say it has been as good as about any other rig I've had. Better than some. I have had to do the track bar a couple times and a cam sensor but that's about it.

infidel

Every auto manufacturer produces a few lemons, sorry you may have gotten one.
I guarantee you not all Rams are junk.
You also need to consider it's a ten year old truck.

But you are right, if you don't need a heavy duty pickup then you should sell or trade it.

Robert Rausch

My 15 year old Dodge Ram 2500 2-WD has only made me walk once in 270,000 miles. Considering all repairs, it's by far the least expensive mileage I've ever gotten out of any vehicle. I've owned 3 Chevy trucks (1/2 ton, 3/4 ton and 1&1/2 ton) and 1 Ford truck (1-ton) and this Dodge has got them all beat.

torquefan

I agree with this. My 96 has almost 200k miles on it and has never left me stranded. Many parts are still original such as alternator, starter, water pump, wheel bearings, clutch. I too have had all three makes of truck and have to say that buying my Dodge was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Robert Rausch

My wheel bearings are original too. At 190,000 miles I had new ball joints put on, and 7,000 miles after that I noticed that I had some vibration, and found the right front wheel bearing was loose--it had not been tightened enough by the front end guy. I cleaned it up, and it looked find, so I packed and re-installed it. It's still working just fine. But had I not caught it, and tightened it up, I bet it would have destructed. Also, I wonder if old 300 got ahold of some Chinese wheel bearings.

rstl99

Sorry to hear about the problems with your '01.

It always gives me cause for concern (having just bought a 96 2500 with only 60,000 miles), when I hear of unfortunate experiences like yours. With my truck I was able to get the last 2-3 years of service receipts, and they total over $10,000 (!). Including a lift pump and INJECTION PUMP replacement last year. I tell myself (1) well, with all the repairs done, I should be ok for a while, but I hope it doesn't mean that (2) this truck is also a lemon. Time will tell. The PO was an older man who knew nothing about service and was totally at the mercy of the independent shop he trusted and took his truck to (I think he was shafted many times, looking over the receipts for expensive and often repetitive repairs).

Anyway, it's nice to hear that some of you have had very good success with your trucks, and this gives me hope that mine will be as reliable as I need it to be (want to head up North and out West on lengthy road/camping trips, with a slide-in camper on the back).

I'm a big believer in PM, and do as much of my own maintenance as I can, so I hope to stay on top of it. We'll see how it goes.

Nick02Ram

Sorry to hear of all your troubles. My 02 has about 145k miles on it now, and just replaced the factory VP, lost a wheel bearing about a year and ahalf ago, but thats really been the only major problems i have had with mine, other than the usual pm stuff like the occasional u-joint, brakes, and such. In fact, I did a brake job for the first time a couple months ago, and they werent even all that bad yet (I do a lot of downshifting).I've owned it over 4 years now, and bought it with 85k miles. I also run bigger tires, which puts strain on stuff, and I installed my Edge before joining this forum, so I knew nothing abt VP problems...So both breakdowns have been my own fault. So other than the cracked dash, I have nothing wrong with the truck currently. I also do all my own maintenance, keep fresh fluids and grease in her as much as possible, and always crawlin under her looking for any issues.

DragonSlayer

My truck has 172xxx miles on it, far from trouble-free. It should've been totaled when the PO let a gooseneck trl come around and wipeout the left side, got a user bed and replaced the left door, good to go! I've replaced the radiator and adjusted the tranny, that's about it. This is no way the most problem free truck I've had, but it's paid for and runs everyday, so far I've had it a year, and ain't left me walking yet! Even with maint. It's cheaper than payments. Sorry to hear about your problems, if you ditch the Dodge, good luck with your next truck.

Purplezr2

Honestly the fact that your trucks sits so much or is driven short trips may be part of the issue, is hard on stuff not to get up to temp and be run out. Also what type of bearing did you use 20k ago. I have had my truck for 4 year, I bought it salvage, in that 4 years I have put about 1200 in to the truck for an injection pump, a ujoint, vaccum seal kit and balljoints. Trucks has 200k on it. Runs like a top.

old 300

Just an update. I jacked her up today and sure enough the front right bearing is toast. I went a short distance to my mechanic to book an appointment and on the way back home the bearing failed. What a noise and she started to steer a bit crazy. I parked her and later slowly drove her back to the shop. From the time I heard the noise and felt the roughness it was only 30 miles tops.
Hopefully tomorrow it will be back on the road, and I will be happy to get it back. I was tired last night and cranky when I posted this and I'm sorry to diss the Ram trucks but it gets to be an old story about the $$$$$. I know that it is low miles and the truck sits alot but that is what I do. I take it out for a good run on the highway every few days to clean her out.
This truck has had so much grease and filters and oil changes and undercoatings , and time that I spend washing and waxing and babying it just makes me a bit crazy.
The bearings that were installed last time I have no idea as to what they were. The mechanic did the job, but I do know they were about $400 bucks each + install.
My biggest worry about owning this truck is that I'm just an average person with lots of bills and if something big fails I will never be able to get it fixed. I have done all my own work except the ball joints, u-joints, bearings. That saved me lots of money in labour but what if the tranny, injection pump, etc. The truck isn't worth the cost of the repair.. Thats what I keep thinking about.
Maybe if the truck was on the road everyday and was flexing her mussels it might be better but I don't have that kind of job, for that I drive my Freightliner which is a newer model with the DPF and that is a DIFFERENT STORY..

infidel

The auto parts stores started selling $125 junk Chinese bearings a couple years ago that many people found broken new out of the box or lasted only 10k miles.
Just because your mechanic says he used $400 bearings it doesn't mean he really did. Most mechanics jack up to the customer what they really pay for parts.
Make sure he uses good ones this time, auto parts charge around $200 each for OEM quality bearings.