Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives Input on 1996 Dodge Ram 1500?

Was thinking of buying one here locally. The asking price is $6500, which of course I'd hope to get for closer to $5500. It's a gas V8, not sure if it's the 318 or the 360, auto, 4x4, normal cab (not extended) and looks fairly decent.

Never owned a Dodge before, just Chevys, Fords, and Toyotas.

Anything special a guy should know about Dodges built around 1996?

Thanks

I have a '96 dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 with 360ci, 5 speed manual. I have only 72,000 miles on it.

I will spare you the many little things that have needed work, but the biggest things I have had go wrong are the manifold gasket at 49,000 miles. Then at around 57,000, I had a head gasket go bad. That means replacing both since you have the motor tore apart anyway. Not sure if this is a 360ci specific prob, but my guess is it stands to reason that the 318 would have simmilar probs due to the fact that Dodge engineers (big 3 for that matter) like to spec out cheap [bleep] parts in order to save a nickle. I have heard horor stories about the automatics from that year, but as I said, I have a manual.

I would say that these problems are to be expected with any of the American trucks. I have owned new Chevys too and they were worse. Good thing you didnt ask about GM or this reply would take me 4 hours to comprise....(grin )

Hope this post doesnt sound toooo pesemistic....but I once bought a brand new 379 Peterbilt, and never once did anything to it as far as corective maintanence. Change oil and pump diesel into it. 2 different trucks, I know, but the big three should be able to make a product that will go beyond 36,000 miles before falling apart.

Sounds like a decent price for the truck you are looking at, but then again Dodges do not hold their value very well. What is the milage on this thing?
Good luck B dub

Thanks for the quick reply!

If I decide to check it out, I'll pay close attention to the head gaskets. I'd have figured that the one part of the truck Dodge would have right, is the old push rod V8, but I guess that just isn't the case.

Not too many Peterbuilts for sale around here. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

BW, Buy a Ford!!! Or better yet, Buy my '03 Dodge 2500! And I'll buy myself another Ford.

I have a 95 1500 with the 318. It has almost 200,000 on it andthe tranny is just starting to slip a little. I had a valve job at around 150,000. I don't think either of these are out of line for the miles, as I don't take the best care of my trucks.

The Dodge 318 and 360 s are about as reliable as any gas v-8 s you can lay your hands on ; I'd say Peterbuilt just had some bad luck.

They do like to suck gas though..........

The 318 is bullet proof and the 360 is close... I have a 94 SWB 4x4 with the 360 and the hopped up engine controller.. I have beat the piss out of this truck, I mean BEAT, The engine is still strong as hell but the tranny let go at 115000.. Dodge did have trouble with the Autos for several years... That would be the only thing I would worry about... I wish I had some videos of our adventures!! 721

I had a 96 sport with the 360 had to replace the tranny at 55k . In todays world the only problem would be the price of gas . Mine was 2 wheeel drive and I got 15 mile per gallon up hill or down. It was a fun truck though . It had a lot of get up and go

Thanks again gents.

The truck seems to have disappeared. But if it resurfaces, I'll pay alot of attention to the transmission too.

Brand loyalty aside, I don't know that there's all that much difference in owning Ford, GM or Dodge trucks, quality-wise. All have their shortcomings, but in my experience over the past 35+ years, GM trucks typically return better fuel mileage. The only Dodge I've ever owned that combined decent performance with decent fuel mileage, was a '73 2WD with a 318 in it. Once owned an '84 Dodge 2WD with the old slant six, that got much worse highway fuel mileage than the '94 to '98 Chevy K1500s did with 350 V8s. Go figure, (the slant six was undoubtedly geared lower).

A neighbor's son went through three different 4x4 Dodges in the mid to late '90's, one of which was a Lemon Law replacement for a previous truck. All had failed trannies and other major driveline maladies. He went to an F250 4x4 diesel after the last Dodge, but toasted the tranny in that one too, so I suspect much of the problem was with him, not just the trucks.

I've leaned towards Chevies and GMCs for the past 15 years and have no plans to swap brands anytime soon. For an example, one bud's '99 F250 4x4 (gas) barely got 15mpg going to essentially the same part of the state on deer hunting trips as another bud's '99 K2500 (6L gas) Chevy, that got an honest 17mpg. Both were extended cab shortbeds.

Among all the truck brands in my circle of acquaintances over the past 20 years, Chevy/GMC seems to consistantly get the best fuel mileage, followed by Fords and Dodges. Quality and incidence of repairs seems about the same among all of them, with Chevy/GMC typicially having the edge on price, as new.

My 2002 S-10 ZR2 got about 19mpg highway (sometimes), with 4.3L V6 and a 5 spd. tranny. The new K1500 GMC already gets better local fuel mileage than the S-10 did, expect it will match or better the highway mileage too. Both are rated 15/19mpg.

That a much heavier truck with a 310HP V8 can match or outperform (fuel-wise) a smaller truck with a 190HP V6 and manual tranny, is amazing to some. Noting that the new K1500 churns up a mere 1800RPMs at 70MPH, vs the 2600RPMs at the same speed for the small truck, may explain it.

BW,
I had a 97 Dodge ram 1500. W/318 5 speed.
Had the same problems with intake manifold gaskets. The first time it was covered on warrenty...You gussed it! next time was AFTER the warrenty expired!
Got 13.5 MPG around town, and 19 on the open road.
I just sold it with 110,000 on it
Other than gaskets, it was great! (Got a Toyota Tacoma now, better mileage)
Virgil B.

I have a "99" Dodge Ram. The problem with the intake manifold is the steel cover on the under side of the intake manifold. It expands at a different rate than the aluminum manifold and the gasket fails. I replaced the steel cover with an aluminum cover and have had no problems since. My son and I did this in a day and a couple of six packs. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
757

It showed back up, so I took it for a test drive. Didn't notice any tranny troubles, seemed to shift fine.

The actual owner will be back this weekend, he's out fishing. I'll make an offer, and we'll see what happens.

Oh, it's the 318, not the 360.

My 96 4X4 went 150k without any tranny or engine issues, except for a waterpump & an oil pressure switch. Had to rebuild the rear differential, darn Spicer (same as Chevy & some Ford 1/2 ton diffs of that era) limited slip circlips came loose & chewed up the bearings. Also had to replace the transfer case seal a few times until I found a decent aftermarket seal that fixed the problem. Good truck overall, fuel mileage 14-15 in town, about 17-18 on the highway...

badger

My son has a 96 1500 short bed regular cab with a 318 and auto tranny that he bought new in late 95. To date he has put more than 300,000 miles on it and has replaced the water pump and the starter. Other than that just normal maint. items like brakes and hoses. He hasn't babied it and it looks like 9 miles of bad road but still runs like it was new. Doesn't burn any oil or smoke, no lifter noise or nothing. It's really been an amazing truck.


I have a 2000 1500 Quad cab 4x4 offroad with the 360 and an auto. I've got over 195,000 miles on it and haven't had any issues other than a bent drive shaft and that was my fault and not the trucks. It does like the gas though.

Both have been excellent trucks.

DT

I had a 1995 Dodge 2500 Diesel that I used as a ranch truck. My observations:

Problem areas: Brakes and front end. Ive heard this from many other users as well. I put 3 front ends into it and 2 sets of brakes over 2 years. The bodies are very light on these trucks and mine, even as a 2500, had a hard time on our dirt roads, bouncing everywhere. The 4x4 absolutely sucked in snow and ice. My 5K pound Range Rover far outshined the Dodge in bad weather, well it outperforms any truck in bad weather... I would not purchase another used Dodge truck, sorry.

Strange how experiences with these trucks can vary so much. My 97 Dodge diesel has been run for 231000 miles of farm and ranch work , and I have yet to see a major repair . I have put in one set of brakes in the last 50000 miles . The truck gets used off road near every day , yet the body is still nice and tight . I've also found it to be very good at punching thru snow drifts , and believe me , we do get those in these parts . It's got to be one of the best vehicles I've ever been in for tracking straight going down icy and snow packed wind swept highways ; I think the extra weight of the diesel up front is helping on that score .
I do need a couple of ball joints worked on finally , but the truck has been real good to me .

So good , I wouldn't even look at another brand at this point........