lol...I haven't even looked at a Ford. I filter them out when looking for vehicles. I refuse to buy a Ford, I'll take the bus first.

Thanks Curtis. Good to see you back. You hadn't been around in a long time when I last came on the forum, so good to hear from you. I'm not sure what I'm doing with the Blazer yet. Safe to say I'll probably hold onto it for a while though. I have a long driveway in my new place, so I definitely don't have to worry about storage space. I really dont think I'll part it out though. I don't want to have to go through the hassle of stripping it down and selling each piece, even if it will net me the most $$. I'm thinking I'm going to try and sell it as a hole and see if I get any bites. If not, then I'll probably scrap it.

Thanks Matt...I just replied.


And since I've gotten multiple requests for them so far, let me just clear it up now:

MY TAIL LIGHT GUARDS ARE SPOKEN FOR.
My buddy has dibbs on them, so they'll be going to him. Sorry all, thanks for the interest though.

 

Scavengers... the blood isn't even dry and people have dibs on the best cuts? LMFAO!

 

 

Alex, have a trany shop/mechanic that you trust check out that Ram. i notice the guy mentioned it needs a servo (? i think that's what he said in the listing. hey, it's 4:10 in the morning OK!?!). and going by the mileage, it's right around the complete rebuild marker.

by BF bought a '95 that had just over 150K, and 12K later.....it went to my trany guy for acomplete rebuild.

just trying to keep you up on what can be expected with those Rams.

i luv 'em (soooooo want one) but they are known for trans issues in that era.

GL. we'll be waiting for pic's later.

 

I'm on the fence about the tranny. I've heard arguments both way. I know someone who worked at a dodge dealer for a couple years and they said they rarely saw a Ram come in from that era with a tranny issue, but always saw Caravans. I've also heard people who say stay away because they're known for tranny issues. I've been reading online and haven't found much info to back this up though. There doesn't seem to be a lot of complaints about the transmissions, so I really don't know what to believe.
As far as I know it just needs a shift solenoid, which is a fairly easy part to install from what I gather, although it's probably $200-300 for the part alone. The fuel injector was the only other thing wrong with it, which isn't a big deal either.

 

Sorry to hear about your misfortune Alex, but I am glad to hear that you are ok!

My wife had a '97 Ram when we got married. It was a decent truck, but you have to watch the transmissions as well as the exhaust manifolds. I had a b**** of a time changing the plugs on it because the exhaust manifolds rusted so bad it collapsed the heat shields in so much that a regular deep socket wouldn't fit. I ended up replacing the manifolds not too long after that because they started to leak.

The transmission never really went out on it, but did have some problems with cold morning starts where you would have to wait for the torque converter to fill back up due to a leaking check valve. Some lucas trans fix helped the problem, but didn't fully cure it.

Also, the transfer case had a nasty habit of having the shifter bushing right inside the transfer case seize up. It's bad when a manually engaged transfer case seizes up! I replaced it twice with mopar parts...

Besides those problems, I liked the truck. If you can swing a '98 or newer extended cab, do it. We sold ours because it didn't have the rear doors.

 

Family friend had one... Gas mileage was his biggest complaint, and his was a 2wd RCLB... It made my Blazer look like a Prius.

 

Thanks for the tips Kyle. I've been told by just about everyone to watch out for the transmissions, but I've done a fair amount of research and haven't down any documentation to back this up. Good to hear you've had one and experienced the problems and they weren't that bad. I did read about the manifold...they are listed as a common problem. The one I'm looking at tomorrow is an extended cab...or as they refer it a "club cab"

And everyone has also told me this Pat....but again, no documentation to support it. They're rated for 12-16mpg (obviously new...) which puts it right on par with the Blazer. I was only getting 10mpg in my Blazer (too many things wrong with it) so I'll be breaking even hopefully if not doing a bit better. Funny thing is the V10 magnum engine they had in Ram's from that era is actually the most fuel effecient engine in its class from that era, so I don't get why everyone says they're terrible on gas. From what I've read Ford's are wayy worse then Ram's. Of course the one I'm looking at has a V8, not a V10, so it will be a bit different. Either way I've done my research and feel comfortable about the MPG's..

 

Its all in who toy talk to aswell. One guy blows his tranny doing brake stands and tells his buddies. They are gonna say trannys are bad in those trucks. Its the same with when I got my Jimmy. One kid at school sent me numerous web addresses to show the complaints about the trannys. I have yet to have an issue and how many threads to we see about tranny problems?

Like Chris said, get it checked out and if its good then keep the maintenance up and it will last you!

Good luck with whatever you buy!

 

yeah, my buddy was getting about 15 MPG (city) in his '95 2WD CCLB. his had the 5.2 (318) Magnum. was actually pretty good on power & economy considering his truck always had about 800 to 1000 lbs of tools in it. plus a full cap.

so really not that bad @ all. but a big-*** tank in it, i think it was 120L. not quite as big as my 'Burb's, but still a hit in the pocket when you're filling up.


what tranny problems?

you've seen how my Blazer gets driven Brad, you'd think if these were notorious for having crap trannys, i'd have found it by now!


hell, for years my brother & bf were saying i should go to AM General, and tell them to give me a H1 for a year to prove how strong they were. if i couldn't break it doing what i normally do, then i'd pay for it.

problem is........i could just see them making me pay for a broken H1!