ode to the D50 RAM..and..what do I buy now?

From : ivan

Q: what do i buy now after 390000 kilometers im putting to rest my 1989 d50 ram. i bought it brand new in 1989 for $12000 canadian incl taxes. that was the best money i ever spent. the 5 speed manual transmission never gave me any grief the whole time replaced the brakes pads/shoes twice. shocks once alternator once water pump once @ 390000km tune up twice a minor front suspension repair at 300000 km windshield once the body is in amazing condition with only minor rust on the rear panels end gate is perfect. i hauled rocks dirt lumber hay and furniture. often i was well over the recommended payload. it took a beating over gravel roads with washboards on old pavement with potholes and then cruised effortlessly on a smooth highway at 120kph like a car. i drove long and hard in plus 40 to minus 45 celsius. ive coaxed it to start in minus 40 temperatures without being plugged in. towards the end it had started to burn coolant and leak oil from the front bearing but it still started and ran like a brand new engine. so i was driving home from work on the highway and noticed it starting to power down a little but i assumed it was because of the heavy winter wind. then it balked and lost allot of power and i noticed the heat gauge was way up...looked in the mirror and noticed steam and smoke behind me. i knew right away what was happening. i know the head on the 2.6l has a tendency to warp quickly if it overheats. i decided to go out thelma and louis style. i rode it out until the truck came to a stop then let it idle for a few seconds and turned it off. i patted the dash board and thanked it for a good run. now im looking for another truck. im looking at rangers and dakotas 1995 to 2003. but after reading allot of horror stories in forums im wondering if they still makeem like my d50 !! i like to keep my vehicles as long as i can. what do you recommend .

Replies:

From : rachel easson

i second that. stick with your old tried and true. you may want to check out this article on the mistsubishi 2.6 http//www.allpar.com/fix/26.html -- it even has some canadian truck model remarks seems it was available in loads of vehicles so you may not even have to buy a rebuild happy hunting rach billy wrote drop another engine in it and drive! what do i buy now after 390000 kilometers im putting to rest my 1989 d50 ram. i bought it brand new in 1989 for $12000 canadian incl taxes. that was the best money i ever spent. the 5 speed manual transmission never gave me any grief the whole time replaced the brakes pads/shoes twice. shocks once alternator once water pump once @ 390000km tune up twice a minor front suspension repair at 300000 km windshield once the body is in amazing condition with only minor rust on the rear panels end gate is perfect. i hauled rocks dirt lumber hay and furniture. often i was well over the recommended payload. it took a beating over gravel roads with washboards on old pavement with potholes and then cruised effortlessly on a smooth highway at 120kph like a car. i drove long and hard in plus 40 to minus 45 celsius. ive coaxed it to start in minus 40 temperatures without being plugged in. towards the end it had started to burn coolant and leak oil from the front bearing but it still started and ran like a brand new engine. so i was driving home from work on the highway and noticed it starting to power down a little but i assumed it was because of the heavy winter wind. then it balked and lost allot of power and i noticed the heat gauge was way up...looked in the mirror and noticed steam and smoke behind me. i knew right away what was happening. i know the head on the 2.6l has a tendency to warp quickly if it overheats. i decided to go out thelma and louis style. i rode it out until the truck came to a stop then let it idle for a few seconds and turned it off. i patted the dash board and thanked it for a good run. now im looking for another truck. im looking at rangers and dakotas 1995 to 2003. but after reading allot of horror stories in forums im wondering if they still makeem like my d50 !! i like to keep my vehicles as long as i can. what do you recommend .

From : clare at snyder on ca

on fri 14 apr 2006 064323 -0400 rachel easson rske@sympatico.ca wrote i second that. stick with your old tried and true. you may want to check out this article on the mistsubishi 2.6 http//www.allpar.com/fix/26.html -- it even has some canadian truck model remarks seems it was available in loads of vehicles so you may not even have to buy a rebuild happy hunting rach billy wrote drop another engine in it and drive! what do i buy now after 390000 kilometers im putting to rest my 1989 d50 ram. i bought it brand new in 1989 for $12000 canadian incl taxes. that was the best money i ever spent. the 5 speed manual transmission never gave me any grief the whole time replaced the brakes pads/shoes twice. shocks once alternator once water pump once @ 390000km tune up twice a minor front suspension repair at 300000 km windshield once the body is in amazing condition with only minor rust on the rear panels end gate is perfect. i hauled rocks dirt lumber hay and furniture. often i was well over the recommended payload. it took a beating over gravel roads with washboards on old pavement with potholes and then cruised effortlessly on a smooth highway at 120kph like a car. i drove long and hard in plus 40 to minus 45 celsius. ive coaxed it to start in minus 40 temperatures without being plugged in. towards the end it had started to burn coolant and leak oil from the front bearing but it still started and ran like a brand new engine. so i was driving home from work on the highway and noticed it starting to power down a little but i assumed it was because of the heavy winter wind. then it balked and lost allot of power and i noticed the heat gauge was way up...looked in the mirror and noticed steam and smoke behind me. i knew right away what was happening. i know the head on the 2.6l has a tendency to warp quickly if it overheats. i decided to go out thelma and louis style. i rode it out until the truck came to a stop then let it idle for a few seconds and turned it off. i patted the dash board and thanked it for a good run. now im looking for another truck. im looking at rangers and dakotas 1995 to 2003. but after reading allot of horror stories in forums im wondering if they still makeem like my d50 !! i like to keep my vehicles as long as i can. what do you recommend the chances of getting the service you got out of a 2.6 mitsu are not very good. you seem to be lucky with vehicles. a 3 liter ranger mazda generally out-lives the mitsu with less problems - and costs less most places in canada than the mazda does. im partial to toyotas but ive had 2 aerostars - and had good luck with both of them. the mechanicals are virtually the same as the ranger. i have not had any experience with the dakota but my general experience with real mopars has been good- with the exception of their definite tendancy to shed small parts like trim over the years. *** posted via a free usenet account from http//www.tera.com *** .

From : advocate

now im looking for another truck. im looking at rangers and dakotas 1995 to 2003. but after reading allot of horror stories in forums im wondering if they still makeem like my d50 !! i like to keep my vehicles as long as i can. what do you recommend wasnt your d50 a rebadged isuzu thats something to consider. the toyota tacoma is an excellent truck i dont think any manufacturer makes a more dependable vehicle. whats nice about the toyota is that there is a very loyal following that arent afraid to purchase one with 250000 miles...and pay top dollar if it was well taken care of. a friend of mine sold a tacoma 4x4 with 285000 miles for $4000. the truck was run 200 highway miles a day back and forth to work...no rust really nice condition. im afraid most other vehicles would have gone for $800 under similar circumstances. if i were going small pickup the toyota would be my first choice. id get it with a 4 cylinder too...its a tough as nails and economical. .

From : ivan

actually it was made by mitsubishi. as far as i know they dont make trucks anymore. now im looking for another truck. im looking at rangers and dakotas 1995 to 2003. but after reading allot of horror stories in forums im wondering if they still makeem like my d50 !! i like to keep my vehicles as long as i can. what do you recommend wasnt your d50 a rebadged isuzu thats something to consider. the toyota tacoma is an excellent truck i dont think any manufacturer makes a more dependable vehicle. whats nice about the toyota is that there is a very loyal following that arent afraid to purchase one with 250000 miles...and pay top dollar if it was well taken care of. a friend of mine sold a tacoma 4x4 with 285000 miles for $4000. the truck was run 200 highway miles a day back and forth to work...no rust really nice condition. im afraid most other vehicles would have gone for $800 under similar circumstances. if i were going small pickup the toyota would be my first choice. id get it with a 4 cylinder too...its a tough as nails and economical. .

From : billy

drop another engine in it and drive! what do i buy now after 390000 kilometers im putting to rest my 1989 d50 ram. i bought it brand new in 1989 for $12000 canadian incl taxes. that was the best money i ever spent. the 5 speed manual transmission never gave me any grief the whole time replaced the brakes pads/shoes twice. shocks once alternator once water pump once @ 390000km tune up twice a minor front suspension repair at 300000 km windshield once the body is in amazing condition with only minor rust on the rear panels end gate is perfect. i hauled rocks dirt lumber hay and furniture. often i was well over the recommended payload. it took a beating over gravel roads with washboards on old pavement with potholes and then cruised effortlessly on a smooth highway at 120kph like a car. i drove long and hard in plus 40 to minus 45 celsius. ive coaxed it to start in minus 40 temperatures without being plugged in. towards the end it had started to burn coolant and leak oil from the front bearing but it still started and ran like a brand new engine. so i was driving home from work on the highway and noticed it starting to power down a little but i assumed it was because of the heavy winter wind. then it balked and lost allot of power and i noticed the heat gauge was way up...looked in the mirror and noticed steam and smoke behind me. i knew right away what was happening. i know the head on the 2.6l has a tendency to warp quickly if it overheats. i decided to go out thelma and louis style. i rode it out until the truck came to a stop then let it idle for a few seconds and turned it off. i patted the dash board and thanked it for a good run. now im looking for another truck. im looking at rangers and dakotas 1995 to 2003. but after reading allot of horror stories in forums im wondering if they still makeem like my d50 !! i like to keep my vehicles as long as i can. what do you recommend .