RAM 1500 Service - Engine/Trans

From : ken

Q: 4 am geez you really like to sleep in huh how loud is the older diesel 98 cummins in the cab i know its pretty loud in the car next to the truck. amenthose are some of the reasons i drive one as well.when i ask my 5 year old grandson what sound does grampas truck makehe says grrrrrrr.besides its fun waking the neighbors up at 4am when i go salmon fishing. extra point for cummins for making their so quiet..... i take points away--i want it to rattle. one of the reasons i got mine in 99. its noisy smelly and obnoxious. ;^ .

Replies:

From : terra

ken wrote when changing the oil and filter 3-5k use only dodge filters. the dodge filters have a check valve that keeps oil pressure to the bearings to prolong engine life. i had a dakota before the ram and used fram filters. at 45k i started hearing bearing knock when starting on cold mornings. with the ram it has been mopar only and the motor is as tight as the day i brought it home. the filters only cost $6 and at the dealer i go to if you buy 3 you get 1 free. i dont think dodge filters are necessary just dont use fram. there are a couple oil filter study sites http//people.msoe.edu/yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html http//www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/oilfilterstudy/ that describe how various brands are constructed. heres a fram ...features cardboard end caps that are glued in place. the rubber anti-drainback valve seals the rough metal backplate to the cardboard end cap and easily leaks causing dirty oil to drain back into the pan. if you have a noisy valve train at startup this filter is likely the cause. .

From : nitpiktbone

its normal to have oil pressure change after that many miles on the car. if it picks up when you put your foot on the gas and returns to a normal pressure level i wouldnt worry about it. oil pumps used to be pretty easy to change ... drop the pan couple screws wham bam ... not sure about yours though. mobil-1 is 100% synthetic which has superior lubricating properties compared to the real stuff ... so i wouldnt be concerned. i am original owner of v6 with 120k miles. use 10w-30 mobile-1 since 200mile mark every 4k there after. oil pressure drops to left hash mark at idle after 30-40 minute warm-up. i thought sludge may be built-up using bilstein engine oil flush at jiffy lube did not help. guessing now the main bearings are going bad. anybody got some ideas for this dodge truck man .

From : tbone

i believe that your service manager is full of shit. it sounds like he just wants to sell more overpriced garbage filters. as long as the filter is within spec how can they void the warranty. they would need to both prove that it was the filter that caused the problem and show where it was clearly indicated that using a replacement filter voids the warranty. i doubt that they could do either one. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving all i know for sure was that the service manager at the dodge dealer told me that if the engine failed and they found an oil filter on the motor that was non mopar that it would void the warranty. this was several years ago and i heard that there had been some sort of legal action between fram and mopar since then but i am not taking any chances as most auto companies will use about any loop hole they can find to get out of paying for a new motor. if anyone knows for sure it would be interesting to find out before it was too late. kc terra cloudster@iname.com wrote in i dont think dodge filters are necessary just dont use fram. there are a couple oil filter study sites http//people.msoe.edu/yo

From : cbhvac

here is some information i thought i would pass on and maybe help someone avoid a problem or two. i have a 94 ram 318 w/ auto-trans. it has over 100k and runs as good as the day i bought it new. a friend of mine was the service manager for a dodge dealer and he gave me some real good advice that has turned out to be correct. lets see... first of all service the transmission according to the owners manual guidelines. in my case it was 800 mi. 30k mi. and 60k mi. they drain and replace the fluid replace the filter and adjust the bands. this is critical for long life. i know 3 people with rams that did not do the services and they all got to buy new trannies. this was not covered under the 7/70 because they did not do the recommended service. thats correct if and only if you can not prove the service was done and the service manager is a crook. when changing the oil and filter 3-5k use only dodge filters. the dodge filters have a check valve that keeps oil pressure to the bearings to prolong engine life. i had a dakota before the ram and used fram filters. at 45k i started hearing bearing knock when starting on cold mornings. with the ram it has been mopar only and the motor is as tight as the day i brought it home. the filters only cost $6 and at the dealer i go to if you buy 3 you get 1 free. lol..ok..you do know that fram is now suppling those filters thats a fact...wix supplies a few...but fram makes a ton of them...just so you know. do the recommended services things like repacking wheel bearings only take an hour or so and are a heck of a lot cheaper then replacing a wheel spindle. one last thing if you live in the west/southwest us there is a good place to get a reasonable paint job at a good price. they are called 1daypaint www.1daypaint.com. i have a long bed and the clear coat was pealing off all over the hood and roof. i got estimates ranging form $1800 to $4200. 1day did an unbelievable job and i got a 5 year warranty for $700 out the door including all the prep. their work is not show quality but it is a darn good paint job at a real good price. i talked to a guy in la who has had 5 cars painted by 1day and he swears by them. good luck .

From : redneck tookover hell

http//www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/oilfilterstudy/ that describe how various brands are constructed. heres a fram ...features cardboard end caps that are glued in place. the rubber anti-drainback valve seals the rough metal backplate to the cardboard end cap and easily leaks causing dirty oil to drain back into the pan. if you have a noisy valve train at startup this filter is likely the cause. . 222 266761 20030826144215.11428.00001106@mb-m04.aol.com oh please same bullshit different cow you dipshits ever get tired of posting the same bullshit over and over and over and over all i know for sure you are not even sure about that if the engine failed and they found an oil filter on the motor that was non mopar that it would void the warranty. then but i am not taking any chances as most auto companies will use about any loop hole they can find to get out of paying for a new motor. more bullshit chaos confusion and trouble!!!! my work here is almost done .

From : miles

cbhvac wrote thats correct if and only if you can not prove the service was done and the service manager is a crook. you do not necessarily need to prove service was done. the burden of proof is on the automaker to prove that the damage done was a result of improper or inadequate service. if a tranny blows but the damage was not caused by poor quality of fluid then it should still be covered under warranty. that said proof of proper servicing certainly does cut down chance of disputes. .