SOhappy

Saw a gold (Light Almond) colored 3rd gen on I-15 a couple of weeks ago. Had "Integrity Auto" Delearship plates on it. Someone must have been test driving it, or it was in transit for some other reason. Anyway, the V10 badges did look strange!

Mcmopar

Why pointless?? I had a friend with a V-10 gasser and it would outrun the stock diesel I had at the time. It towed very nicely, but the downside was the mileage.

nirion

I believe you could only get the v10 in the 03 & earlier HD Rams. Most of the V8s I see are on commercial trucks with utility boxes and such that need the GVW of a dually.

Nick

XLR8R

I agree with McMopar - my '98 2500 HD QC 4WD V10 Ram was quite a bit stronger than the 2nd gen CTD, and after I modded it - 12mpg in town & 15mpg/hwy were normal - and that's at @10K# GVW
Of course, my 2005 CTD is lot's better; definitely stronger & even better mileage: I love me a turbo diesel in front of a clutch!
Check out my pics...

wexman

I had a 97 V10, a great truck with a great engine. Don't laugh at the V10 - it had loads of power. 9 mpg, but loads of power.

The early 3rd Gens WERE available with the V10, production stopped in Dec 02, if I recall. So, there are only a few, and IMO, will be collectible someday.

Mcmopar

Which Fog lights are those? I love the brown-see my gallery.

XLR8R

Which foglights on what?
That's a sweet coronet you're pullin... main reason I like CTDs is 'cause I fell in love with musclecars first. I use the homebuilt gooseneck you see in my pics to haul my '65 GTO I've owned since 1981.

triplenickle

Yeah, it's scary they used to put a 360 in the 3/4 and 1 ton models. My 98 half ton couldn't pull its own shadow, and still only got 13 MPG on a good day. I dont necessarily mind poor MPG, but jeez, at least give me the power that comes with a gas hog! And my thumbs up to the old school 8.0 L V10 , that is a MONSTER of a motor. I remember when they rolled that out in 94, it turned the industry upside down.

RustyJC

My 1996 V-10/47RE 3500 dragged our 5th wheel RVs in the Midwest, Southeast and Texas for 6 years. It never let us down. Was it thirsty? Yep. With the 3.54 gears, was it the optimum setup for hill-climbing? Nope. It certainly was a great truck for long-distance Interstate towing, though.

Rusty

XLR8R

Yeah - the reason I bought my first Ram was for the V10; it was pretty good stock (when empty, had to be real easy on the go pedal to keep it pointed in the right direction - just like my '65 GTO ), then I installed SS high-ratio rockers, SS tube headers w/open SS exhaust (no cat ) and ram-air intake. Those ten cylinders make for the most distinctive-sounding engine I've ever heard - no car alarm was safe!
225K miles & still strong as ever - when it's rebuild time, my son & I will slap a Paxton on there (I think he wants to race me )

wexman

DO NOT do that, under any circumstances. I did that, and that POS Paxton turned what had been a bone reliable truck into one that couldn't be driven over 100 miles without something breaking. You don't even want to know how much money I wasted on that POS.

It's why I got rid of my 97 V10 truck. And mine was professionally installed by a shop which specialized in supercharger installation.

NO customer support from Paxon, no answered letters or phone calls.

Again - don't do it. Chewed belts, overheating, bearings - DON'T DO it.

XLR8R

Yeah, the cobwebs are starting to clear now Back when I was modding the '98, I seem to recall the guys in Florida at KRC performance had done that on request for a customer and had those very problems
it scared me off of doing it then, but what a shame - that engine has a perfect spot to mount it, and the compression ratio & short block are well-suited to a blower. That'd make for a gnarly beast in front of the 49RE
If Dodge still sold V10s, I'd engineer a blower package that would reliably produce 500+ HP and 650 ft-lb of torque in a nice fat band. I remember Vortech promised me they'd work with us to burn the fuel map into the brain.

wexman

Smart man. Keep that V10 - it will be a future collectable muscle truck. I'd still have mine as a second (or third) vehicle if I hadn't gone and screwed it up by putting on that Paxton.