i may be picking up a cheap 97 1500 ram van with the v6, 3.9L right?
anybody own of these or have owned have any positive or negative comments on them? whats the typical issues with them?
thanks in advance.
i may be picking up a cheap 97 1500 ram van with the v6, 3.9L right?
anybody own of these or have owned have any positive or negative comments on them? whats the typical issues with them?
thanks in advance.
I had a 90 and 96 as work vans and I loved them.. Got the 83 conversion van kicked tail!
Not sure on the 6 banger but why not? There's a reason why that truck barely changed over thirty years..
That V6 might be a little underpowered, but maybe not ?
our 79 3/4 ton (going to the crusher soon) rode better than our 02 Ram. wind noise can be annoying though.
does the 3.9 get better mileage then any possible v8 versions?
The V6 Van is limited with its 3 speed automatic.Originally Posted by Ondonti
Last edited by 135sohc; 02-16-2009 at 08:22 PM.
Not sure about the ram, but my dad loves his v6 97 dakota w/ 4wd. It makes better mpg than my 93 dakota that I had, mine was 2wd with the 5.2. To me a v6 in a full size might be under powered.
wow ok how bout some experience talking. PREPARE YOURSELVES!
97ish v6 1500 ram will have the 3.9 magnum v6 and the a500 4spd overdrive auto.
its rated around 175hp/225tq from the factory. If its a single cab shortbed 2wd with nothing in it, its completely liveable. Dont expect much, especially when its loaded or if you put stupid big tires on it.
The motor will last forever. my dad has a 96 3.9 with 221k on it and it runs great and has never needed any serious work. The only things ive changed has been water pumps and oil and spark plugs. They do have one minor issue: The timing chain will slap the cover and make noise. It doesnt hurt anything, and it wont wear through the cover. It just makes noise. sometimes it can sound like pinging. Replacing the timing set wont fix it, it will just start again in a short time. If it really bothers you you can buy a tensioner from the dealer for $50.
The a500 auto is also very reliable. Its basically just a smaller version of the a518. Think old 900 vs 727. The one in my dads 3.9 dakota made it to 204k before we got tired of old seals causing cold-onlu issues so i went through it. norhing was on the verge of breaking even then. We'd towed trailers up to about 10k lbs with it too (scary and slow). Ive used it to tow pretty much every car ive ever owned on my dolley so figure its pulled 5k lbs on a REGULAR basis for 200k miles.
The truck will get about 20mpg on the highway, 16-17 in town.
I think they're fantastic if you dont plan on working it TOO hard.
I actually just helped a friend buy a 94 single cab short bed 1500 3.9/auto 2wd for 1400 with only 115k miles. You can get them cheap.
The 3.9 trucks get within 1-2mpg of the same truck with a 5.2. My parents had a 96 Dak(last year of the old, boxy style) with the 3.9. It was a smooth running truck but the engine was sludged up bad. I guess the previous owner(old fart) did not do regular oil changes and just drove lots of straight trips. I hear the magnum engines are prone to this if not maintained properly. Take off the oil filler cap on the valve cover and feel around with your finger underneath. If it's just oily, you're probably fine. If you feel a caked on, flaky crap underneath, stay away. Because you can guess who got to deal with the task of cleaning the sludge out of that 3.9.
If it's an auto, it's a 4sp overdrive with lockup. I think the 3.9/5.2 got the 44re but the 5.9 got the 46re if memory serves. It's a decent trans, pretty much a 904 or a 727 with an overdrive tacked on the end. Heavy trans though, weighs about 75lbs more than a comparable 904 or 727.
Those transmissions have one annoying quirk. They have a transmission temp sensor, and when it's cold outside they won't let the trans go into overdrive gear until the fluid gets warmed up. I'll tell you on -25c and lower days, the fluid never really warms up enough for the overdrive to kick in. Chrysler knew about this and for a while offered a bypass kit to bypass the atf around the trans cooler to help it warm up faster, I don't know if it worked at all but I think they discontinued the kit.
Overall a decent truck, but I would not bother with a 3.9L one again unless it was a steal of a deal.
Chrysler did things differently with the Vans.A 3.9-liter V6 is standard for 1500s. A 5.2 V8 is optional for 1500s, standard on 2500s and 3500s. Available for 1500 Cargo and 2500/3500s is a 5.9 V8. The V6 teams only with three-speed automatic transmission, the V8s with a four-speed unit. Rear-wheel ABS is standard, 4-wheel ABS optional.
yeh, trust me, ALL magnum 3.9s in dakotas and rams got the 500. ALL 5.2/5.9 got the 518. 518 is a catchall of sorts because they bolted the same basic tranny to the 5.2/5.9, the v10, and the cummins, and they all have some differences.
but 3.9 goes with a500. 100%
I just bought a 94 van with v6. It's got a factory installed 3spd. 904 trans. I want an od. trans. and realize that I can convert it with some headaches dealing with the od. and lockup switching. It was a deal I couldn't say no to. Van has mint body. Maybe switch it to v8 with od. someday. Tag states some business about Canada Post so maybe it was special order.
As stated the vans had some funny stuff. Im pretty sure you could get a 3/4 ton van with a 3.9 even, which is pretty ridiculous.
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