2nd Gen Ram Pickups

[srb08]

I forgot to add (the guy I worked with) his St Louis truck started making a real loud POPPING noise when it only had a few hundred miles on it, whenever you turned the wheel full left or full right, it would POP.

After two trips to the dealership, they found the upper & lower control arms on the front end were not tighten to spec.

An acquaintance of mine worked at the plant in St. Louis. I think he made more from selling drugs there than from working.

 

[maulhead]

It’s too bad trucks are worth stupid money right now. I 4 years ago I couldn’t find a rust free 2nd gen for less than $15k though - ended up finding mine with a little door rust on the bottom for $7k and high miles. I snagged it up.

Back in 2008 & 2009 when the economy was in the toilet.

I bought a one owner 1998.5 Ram 2500 CTD with 136k on it for $5,800

Few weeks later, I bought a one owner 2001 Ram 3500 CTD with 112K on it for $5,400

Both were 5 speeds. Both people were downsizing because of the crappy economy. Trucks were cheap back then.

You could find deals back then, all the time, for $5,000 to $6,000 with well under 150k on the clock for a 2nd gen cummins. It was not uncommon to find one with a little over 200k on it for $4,500 back in 2009 either.

I wish I would of snagged a few other deals back then, and parked them in my pole barn. I never thought they would be worth what they sell for these days. They were just 2nd gen dodges. Who knew they would bring good money later on?

My neighbor (who passed away in late 2021) had a 2000 Ram 2500 4x4, cummins 5 speed, SLT long bed, quad cab, he bought it brand new, it had 12,000 miles on it in 2021 when he passed. He only used it in the fall to pull his seed tender trailer when he was planting winter wheat, rest of the year it sat in his pole barn. His son liquidated the estate and got $32,000 for it.

I asked his son about buying it, he said he had two other guys who wanted it and they had both offered over 30 grand for it. I was like yeah I am out at that price.....

I know someone else local that recently sold a one owner, 1997 Ram 3500 4x4 cummins 5 speed, with 85k on it. He got $25,000 for it. He told me he had more then 3 people fighting to buy it at $25k.

It's ridiculous what the nice ones bring nowadays.....

 

[maulhead]

An acquaintance of mine worked at the plant in St. Louis. I think he made more from selling drugs there than from working.

Yep, brother in law told me, guys would be doing lines of coke in break room or bathroom, and shooters of jack.

He said almost no one there was sober. He got a DUI leaving work one night.

 

[FederalQ]

LOL! I can tell ya all, the 2 trucks I have are like they were made by two different manufacturers. I was just taken back test driving the red one. I had looked underneath beforehand and all the suspension minus the track bar is factory original. I thought this thing was going to wander all over the road. The thing drives like it’s a year old! Straight as an arrow and the steering is positive. Fit and finish is so much better too. I have owned the black one for 21 years. Bought it with 60,000 miles on it. I invested a ton in suspension to keep it from wandering. I remember saying I would never buy another one of these! Never say never, I guess.

 

[Loony661]

Back in high school, one of my underclassmen buddies had a 71 W100 Power Wagon with the 318 he acquired as a project… last I knew it was sitting in the weeds behind the barn. I asked him about it today and he ended up scrapping it about 12 years ago… he said the floors were rotted out and there wasn’t much left of the cab.. It’s a shame - I would have kept the frame and running gear and built that to my liking before looking for another set of sheet metal to set on it.

 

[jakethesnake]

I have a 05 2500 auto 148000mi daily driver and work truck
Banks bullet programer 4” exhaust k&n filter and lock out hubs average 22-24mpg

Hosky how you getting good fuel mileage? Diesel? I’ve got a 5.7 hemi gets about 12 13

04 50000 miles

 

[jakethesnake]

I’ve got a couple old 95-96 dodges one 4x4 one 2wd 2000 dodge service truck with 360 4x4
04 ram 4 door 4x4 hemi

 

[hoskvarna]

Hosky how you getting good fuel mileage? Diesel? I’ve got a 5.7 hemi gets about 12 13

04 50000 miles

Diesel with banks bullet programer
4” exhaust
Kn cold air intake
Lock out hubs

 

[jakethesnake]

Diesel with banks bullet programer
4” exhaust
Kn cold air intake
Lock out hubs

Thought you’d unlocked the hemi secret

 

[Loony661]

Thought you’d unlocked the hemi secret

Maybe try driving like a 90 year old who can’t see passed the end of the hood

 

[maulhead]

Maybe try driving like a 90 year old who can’t see passed the end of the hood

I have two 2500 hemi trucks I alternate as daily drivers. Ones a 2006, ones a 2007. Both are Power Wagons so they have 4:56 gears in them.

If you drive them slower than a granny would, never let the tach go over 2200 rpm (when taking off and getting up to speed) use cruise control keep it at 55-56 mph, they will get 18-19 mpg, it's super boring, it feels like it takes all day to get anywhere, but it is possible to get gooder mileage with a hemi, if you drive slower then grandma.

Beating on them like a red headed step child, 8-9 mpg, drive reasonably normal 13-14 mpg is what I average.

They make a fine daily driver work beater trucks, I don't miss my CTD trucks much at all. I sold my big gooseneck, cost of parts and repairs on a cummins is just too much money, unless you are working it and it's making you money.

I'm happy with my gasser for several reasons, cost of parts, and cost of gas vs diesel at the pump, among other things.

 

[karrl]

I got 15-16 mpg no matter what in my 24v Single Cab Dually with a tight auto. In my 2500 QcSb with the 360 mag and auto I got between 9-12 mpg.

It’s funny, 24v Cummins have a reputation as being money pits but all the newer models cost twice as much to fix anyway. A 1200 dollar injection pump is cheaper and easier than redoing a whole fuel system. Not to mention 400 dollar injectors.

The 2nd gen front end deserves the reputation it gets, it’s fine with a V8 but 1100 lbs of Cummins was too much. Should have kept the leaf springs longer.

 

[Loony661]

I get 15-19 mpg with my 24v CTD depending on driving conditions and time of year. As a logger I off road a lot, and also let it idle to warm up in the winter at lunchtime. I’ve seen 20+ while interstate driving for long stretches/road trips. Everything is stock on mine except I added a 4” turbo back exhaust as soon as I got it. NV4500 5 speed so she’s turning some rpm at highway speeds.

 

[maulhead]

I get 15-19 mpg with my 24v CTD depending on driving conditions and time of year. As a logger I off road a lot, and also let it idle to warm up in the winter at lunchtime. I’ve seen 20+ while interstate driving for long stretches/road trips. Everything is stock on mine except I added a 4” turbo back exhaust as soon as I got it. NV4500 5 speed so she’s turning some rpm at highway speeds.

4:10's or 3:54's? All of my 2nd gens were 5 spd's, my 1st gens were 5 spd's also. I did have two 2nd gens with autos briefly, but bought them to sell, so did not keep them long enough to test anything. Manual is the way to go for towing IMO.

3:54's equals about 2100 rpm at 70-ish mph.

4:10 was right around 2400 rpm at 70-ish mph.

I liked my 4:10 trucks best for pulling, I did not care much about mpg, 4:10 truck will run circles around a 3:54 truck when GVW was 30k plus.

 

[karrl]

I know the dually was a 3.54, with the tight torque converter it was a nice daily dually. Definitely sucked with a good load on the 30 ft gooseneck behind it. Hay wagons were easy cruisin though

 

[karrl]

On that note. If anyone has a 2wd NV4500, full swap or parts truck that they’d like to sell, I’m looking for something to put behind a 12v project. I’ll have parts to trade axles, 47rh, other stuff from my donor truck and I can add cash if the deal is right. Just pm me please, I know everyone would also like a nice transmission for a Cummins.

 

[Loony661]

4:10's or 3:54's? All of my 2nd gens were 5 spd's, my 1st gens were 5 spd's also. I did have two 2nd gens with autos briefly, but bought them to sell, so did not keep them long enough to test anything. Manual is the way to go for towing IMO.

3:54's equals about 2100 rpm at 70-ish mph.

4:10 was right around 2400 rpm at 70-ish mph.

I liked my 4:10 trucks best for pulling, I did not care much about mpg, 4:10 truck will run circles around a 3:54 truck when GVW was 30k plus.

Unfortunately mine has the 3.54’s.. I would like 4.10’s.

 

[jakethesnake]

 

[maulhead]

On that note. If anyone has a 2wd NV4500, full swap or parts truck that they’d like to sell, I’m looking for something to put behind a 12v project. I’ll have parts to trade axles, 47rh, other stuff from my donor truck and I can add cash if the deal is right. Just pm me please, I know everyone would also like a nice transmission for a Cummins.

Have you tried this website? You can search for parts in junkyards. Without calling & driving around. I found parts here before using it.

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

There used to be a yard in arkansas or oklahoma on there that sold a complete auto to manual trans conversion kit for 2x4 or 4x4. I thought about buying one, but ended up just selling the truck instead of swapping.

 

[karrl]

I’m going to search for a full rusted or wrecked donor for a while. That’s always the best option if you have patience and luck. I got lucky on my 12v donor truck and I’m not in a rush yet.

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That’s eBay prices, but for 4 grand I’ll wait. Either that or trade my 4wd47re for a 2wd and get it built. I’d rather have the manual setup but I’m open for whatever comes my way if it makes sense.