It may not exactly be a “big rig” but it’s got big rig styling and big rig sound. My daily driver vehicle for over 12 years has been a 1994 Dodge RAM2500, rear wheel drive, with the 5.9L Cummins turbo-diesel. Two things prompted me to write about my truck on Curbside Classic: It just turned 20 years old, and the odometer is about to roll over 400,000km (250,000mi).
Autumn 2001: Proud new owner
I’ve owned four daily-driver vehicles, and they’ve all been diesel powered. In 2001 I was driving a 1984 GMC 3/4 ton fullsize passenger van with the 6.2L diesel. It had been a hand-me-down from my dad about three years prior, and before that it had been his DD since 1988. I had already put a lot of effort into giving it a second life, but things were breaking faster than I could keep up with them. Even if I spent the additional money and countless hours to repair everything, it would still look like a mongrel. I already had a “hobby” car (1966 Chrysler) and keeping the van roadworthy was taking a good chunk of my free time, so that autumn I decided it was time to find a new DD.
2005: Towing my brother’s Chrysler home from Ohio.
I spotted the Dodge at a Chrysler dealership while on my way home from test driving a ’97 Chevy RWD extended cab pickup with the 6.5L turbodiesel. I had not been impressed with the Chevy, and I was also concerned about the reliability of the 6.5L diesel. At the time, the Dodge had just under 200,000km on the odometer. I took it for a test drive and knew right away that I wanted it. I would have preferred an extended cab, but otherwise it was perfect. It had a couple issues, which the dealer repaired under warranty.
2005: Helping my inlaws move.
The Cummins 12-valve diesels have a nearly bulletproof reputation, especially the second generation (1994-98) versions with the P7100 injection pump. Compared to my van, the power of the Cummins was incredible too! The 47RH transmission is a known weak point, but this one still had quick, firm shifts so I decided it wasn’t going to be a problem anytime soon. It’s still fine, but can slip the torque converter lockup clutch if I push it too hard while going up a hill or towing.
October 2011: Towing one of my Chryslers
Shortly after buying the truck, I purchased a cap for the box and had the silver section on the lower body repainted to seal over some stone chips before they started to rust (I had the blue upper body repainted later). I added mud flaps to reduce future stone chips and installed some boost and exhaust temp gauges. It didn’t have a hitch installed when I bought it, so I added one of those as well.
Under the hood. Espar heater is below the air filter box.
Later I plumbed-in an Espar (Eberspacher) Hydronic diesel-fired coolant heater with a dashboard-mounted electronic timer (Eberspacher is the same German company that manufactured gas-fired auxiliary heaters for air-cooled Volkswagens). I have occasionally gotten stuck in a situation where it’s cold enough that I ought to plug in the block heater, but with nowhere to do so, but with the Espar heater I don’t have to worry about it. I also use it on really cold days to get the engine up to temperature much faster than it otherwise would so I can get some heat in the cab.
Recent pic of a rusty Dodge
I strive to keep my truck in good condition, both mechanically and visually. I’m a big proponent of oil spray application to keep the ravages of winter road salt at bay. I also devote a weekend every fall to paint touch-up. I pay attention to other Dodge pickups of similar vintage to see where they are rusting out, so I’ll know what areas to keep a close eye on. Here in the rustbelt, most of them are looking pretty shabby by now. I occasionally get compliments from other pickup truck owners. One in particular recognized mine as a 94-96 vintage Dodge based on the style of rear view mirrors and said he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen one so clean.
July 2009: Camping
When we were expecting our second kid in the fall of 2010, I briefly toyed with the idea of replacing my truck with something more family friendly. My requirements were the same as when I bought it, except that a crew cab would be mandatory. Based on my research, all the newer diesels at the time had poor reliability compared to my Cummins 12-valve. I told my wife that I was keeping my truck and we would replace her 2001 Honda Civic with something larger instead.
Feb 5, 2014: Current look with the brush guard
Last year I finally found a used brush guard for sale in the classifieds. These trucks are relatively fragile in the front compared to trucks of similar vintage from Ford and GM, requiring more expensive repairs for comparable front-end collisions, so I’ve always wanted some extra protection. This one is stainless steel, but the first owner had it powder-coated black. I wanted one that was just the center section, so I may decide to cut off the headlight loops later.
I still like my truck almost as much as I ever did. It does get stuck very easily, lacking 4WD and with the heavy Cummins up front, so winter driving can be an adventure. It’s also getting harder to live with now that we have two kids. I can fit them both across the bench seat, though it’s pretty cramped with their backpacks and winter gear. Still, if we all go somewhere as a family, we take my wife’s CR-V.
Summer 2012: hauling firewood
Here are some things I’ve learned about these trucks through personal experience:
- It’s very difficult to remove the nuts attaching the plastic grille to the hood without damaging the grille.
- Chrysler OEM stereos from this era are all junk. I went through three of four different ones before finally installing a name-brand aftermarket stereo.
- The throttle position sensors (TPS) are especially failure-prone, but they only control shifting into 4th gear and locking the torque converter. If the torque converter intermittently locks and unlocks while driving on the highway, a shop will tell you that you need a transmission overhaul, but you really just need a new TPS for about $120. However, if you’re good with a multimeter and a soldering iron, you can fabricate a “noise filter” circuit on the TPS wiring for less than a dollar in parts.
- After greasing the outer tie rod ends, use a rag to wipe off any grease that oozes out around the boot. It’s close enough to the brake disc that the grease WILL get deposited onto the disc as you drive and cause the brakes to be grabby.
- Slit a piece of rubber hose and slip it over one of the two steel transmission cooler lines that run behind the oil pan. Otherwise they rub together and one or both will eventually spring a leak.
- The Kelsey-Hayes rear wheel ABS system used on these trucks is less than useless in icy conditions. Adjusting the engine idle speed lower than the factory setting helps to stop the truck from pushing forward after the ABS system disengages the rear brakes.
- If oil starts dripping out of the end of the dipstick tube onto the injection pump, the crankcase is becoming pressurized. The crankcase vent is plugged, probably the screen in the oil separator on the side of the engine block. The injection pump must be removed to access the oil separator to clean it. Instead, go to the local CASE or New Holland tractor dealer and buy a replacement valve cover with built-in breather and oil separator and plumb a new vent tube beside the old one.
Summer 2011: freshly washed and waxed
Great looking truck. I can’t believe that design is now 20 years old. That makes me feel ancient.
A very good point.
Didn’t they say that the Kenworth T2000 was some sort of supersized Dodge Ram ?
If anything Chrysler was stealing PACCARs design language. Many truck drivers and enthusiasts didn’t like the T2000, aka the T-too-ugly.
Let’s say it looked unconventional compared with other trucks from that era, I certainly don’t think it’s ugly. Just like the Kenworth “Anteater” T600 from the eighties. That must have been some shock ! Now every truckmaker has aerodynamic conventionals.
I have long considered this to be perhaps the best looking pickup of the “modern era”. No subsequent Dodge has captured the combination of strength and finesse that these had. I am also impressed at how nice you have kept yours. These are usually looking pretty ratty in the midwestern US as well.
I was a lot more impressed when I thought your pickup had racked up 400K miles. The 400K kilometers makes more sense. However, there are some guys on Allpar with crazy miles on these, one of which is a million miler with the Cummins engine.
My BIL, a farmer, bought one of the later models of this generation, a 4wd club cab with the Cummins. He kept if for awhile, but was a Ford truck guy at heart. He said that the main reason he sold it was that the cab heater was always weak compared to his F250s, and he got tired of being cold. I drove it once, and it certainly had a lot of pull.
Love the styling, although I slightly prefer the Dakota that followed this one, copying the same style on a slightly smaller vehicle. Which made it a bit more attractive in my eyes.
First, thanks to everyone for the great comments. 🙂
I also think that my generation of Dodge looked the best, and the later ones weren’t as nice. I do really like the new ones though; they’ve finally returned to a look that I like. When it does come time to replace my truck, I’m hopeful that the diesel now available in the RAM1500 is a good engine.
A couple years ago I was checking out a Dodge/Cummins about the same age as mine. His odometer was just about to roll over 1 million kilometers (620,000mi). He said that the engine was pretty tired, but had never needed any internal work and still got him down the road.
Takes forever for my truck to heat up in the winter. I think it’s worse now. About 5 years ago I had the A/C fixed and the shop had to pull the heater box out from the dashboard and disassemble it. I asked them to replace the 15YO heater core at the same time. I don’t think the replacement that they put in works as well, or else they didn’t reinstall a baffle correctly so some cold air always goes around the core instead of through it.
Something worth noting: Nowadays, the vast majority of pickups are extended or crew cabs, so the whole HVAC system is considerably larger to compensate. But it’s the same system regardless of cab size (since very few models have vents anywhere besides the dashboard). Our regular cab ’08 F-350 (which is what replaced the Dodge as the farm truck) can heat up to “uncomfortably toasty” and cool down to “uncomfortably chilly” in less than 5 minutes in all but the most extreme outside temperatures.
I’ve seen this truck, and can vouch that it’s nice.
Good points on the corrosion protection, I’ve long suspected that big rust spots start out as little rust spots, and I do the Krown routine yearly.
That’s quite a 2-wheel dolly system to haul around full size Chryslers, it isn’t a U-haul is it?
My cousin made the dolly. For awhile he was working for himself welding together box trailers and stuff like this. This particular dolly was his prototype. It’s pretty solidly built, and the bed that the front of the car sits on swivels to help with turning.
Ah the joys of a 12 valve…had three, two got stolen, all had better than 450k kilometres when I last saw them. A great engine in an ok truck, well…ok mine were all ’91 series, so with the coil fronts in the ’94s at least the front end rode better, but to this day, nothing I have had truck wise has had the same feel or grunt. There is a speed just around 100 k/ hr that these things feel like they will run forever, and probably will. Never got 30 mpg out of mine, but came close. The autos gave about 925 km to a tank, the stick pushed 1000km, but I liked the auto better for most driving, quicker, and way easier to back a trailer up a hill without hucking it into low range. Loved them so much I bought a bigger 8.3 cummins in the motorhome, and it just as good…lots of great memories, of the TPS….not so much…oh BTW, I still think that the cummins engine is the only reason these trucks wail….just try to find one from the same vintage in gas…especially the older ’91’s like I had…they are all diesel
Very sharp Ram! A friend’s dad has a 94 W2500 with the 360 in it, he’s owned it since new and it has somewhere around 350,000 miles on it. The two major problem areas he’s had with his are the automatic transmission (he’s on his 4th or 5th in it now) and the front end. Lower ball joints are a constant problem for his, and the steering box went out on it as well. All in all, it’s a very capable, roomy truck that has served him well, though he has often lamented that the 360 is underpowered in this application, though durable.
I have often been lured by Cummins powered Dodges, they hold their resale value phenomenally well here in Michigan, especially the Gen 1 89-93s. It’s good to know that the 94-98 12 valves hold up well in service also; I’ve often wondered, as they are generally a fair bit cheaper than the Gen 1 here. Since I put less than 3000 miles a year on my truck (99 Sierra K1500, my 4th rclb GM pickup) lately, I figure the benefit of better mileage would not offset the added costs of a diesel for me, though.
Everything you’ve said seems typical of this model Ram. Transmissions (autos especially) are known to be the weakest link here; and the 360/5.9 is a great durable truck engine, just a little small for a 3/4 ton application.
We had a ’96 very much like the one like BigOldChrysler’s, 2WD regular cab 5.9 auto, as our farm truck from ’05-’10. Never a problem with it, except its usefulness was limited in winter due to all the weight being over a non-powered axle and being, well, a diesel.
Very nice looking truck. I previously owned a 2006 Dodge Power Ram 3500 crew cab dually with the 5.9 Cummins 4×4. Sold it, and I miss it terribly. Tow a 14,000 lb gvw trailer with it, loaded. On the hunt for another of the same..dually of course.
For those that own or are thinking of owning a Dodge diesel, a real good resource is a quarterly publication called the TDR or Turbo Diesel Register, a must have if you run Cummins.
The 5.9’s are also easily modified…..free up the intake and throw on larger exhaust, and next step would be to bump up the fuel with chip ( power programmer ) and 400 + hp easily attained and the 5.9’s are bullet proof for over 500+.
I can vouch for the bullit proof part. My brothers 05 2500 has over 550 HP and well over 700k km, has been tuned since 115k and has had one clutch a few water pumps, u joints, ball joints and the actuator for the 4wd. This truck tows a 12 000 lb 36 foot trailer everyday and hasn’t left us stranded once. Now for the actual truck the news isn’t as good, headlight switches, radios, the wiring for the tail lights that pulls itself tight and breaks frequently. Seats that where shot before he bought it (he replace the drivers seat three times), if they just built the dodge part half as good as the Cummins, the trucks would be indestructible.
The truck also runs 20″ bro truck wheels and stacks. The 20’s add huge amounts of stability for towing because of their small sidewall and they (hancook dynapro) are surprisingly long lasting. The stacks keep diesel soot well above the towed trailer and load making washing the gear much easier.
Your needs and your answers bring back memories albeit with smaller trucks that were gas powered. Especially the picture with the tow dollies. Moved a lot of vehicles and still have the dolly.
You can probably join the million km club if you keep after this. I recently capitulated and bought an SUV. The back seat became more important than the bed. Good story. As handy as you appear to be, I suspect there are more.
I did a write-up on one of my Chryslers before. I’m working on one for my gold Chrysler (pictured above) presently.
Nice piece on an attractive truck. My compliments to your stewardship of it.
I have a “Patriot Blue” 2002 Durango SLT 4.7 AWD that I bought new. The color appears to be very similar to your truck.
Like you, I’ve been conscious of rust protection with some success – and know the problem areas on my truck and have kept up with them pretty well. The weld edge (proper term?) on the inside of the tailgate door is a major problem area, and keeping mine clean and waxing that point twice a year has helped – but damage is beginning. The undercarriage is starting to look a bit rough.
What is this “oil” that you do, and do you apply it underneath? Areas like the leaf springs? What about painted body parts?
My rear anti-locks are also not very good. Last model year for drums, when the brake pads wear down about 20%, they “let loose” abruptly and momentarily at the end of a hard stop, giving a terrifying feeling that you will fly into an intersection. This started at a couple of years old, and every shop including the dealer said everything was fine, even after they duplicated the problem. The solution has been to get the rear brakes done even if the wear does not indicate the need to get them done. A fairly cheap solution, worth the piece of mind.
Is your “brake disengagement” similar to what I’m experiencing?
I get my truck oil sprayed every fall at Krown. I think they’re only in Canada, but I looked before because I’ve been asked several times on here, and there are places in the US that also do this. Here’s their website with more info:
http://www.krown.com/
My truck has the Kelsey-Hayes rear wheel ABS system, which was standard in 1994. Four wheel ABS was optional. There’s some good info on it here.
http://www.aa1car.com/library/abs_kelseyhayes_rwal.htm
It is a rudimentary system. When it detects rear wheel lock-up, it isolates the rear brake circuit from the brake pedal, then dumps the line pressure to an accumulator. You lose your rear brakes until you release the brake pedal so the system can reset!
A couple of times I was going down a hill under slippery conditions towards a stoplight. The rear brakes disengaged and the engine had enough torque at idle to push the truck ahead with the front wheels locked-up. If I hadn’t shifted into neutral I would’ve hit another car.
Another problem with this system is that there is no minimum speed at which it does NOT engage. Also, there is only one speed sensor, in the differential, not one on each wheel. A couple times, I had pulled into my driveway and came to a stop. Unbeknownst to me, the ABS had kicked in. One of my rear wheels was spinning on a patch of ice. I didn’t notice that my speedometer was not reading zero. I put the truck into Park and BANG! as the parking pawl engaged.
After those experiences I decided to investigate this wonky system. I put the back wheels up on jackstands, started the engine, put the truck into gear, then hit the brakes. The rear wheels STOPPED, then the ABS engaged and released the brakes, so they started spinning again. After a few seconds it cycled the line pressure solenoid to try to stop them again. It decided they were still skidding, so it gave-up. (I presume that the accumulator only has enough capacity to store line pressure from two braking attempts.) The rear brakes would not re-engage until I released the brake pedal.
I would’ve expected your 2002 Durango to have a more modern ABS system than this. If you only have rear wheel ABS like mine, I would suggest pulling the ABS fuse to disable it, then try stopping (where safe to do so) to see if the effect is the same or different. (Legal disclaimer: I’m not responsible if you get in an accident trying this.)
Wanted to get in a timely thank you for your comments. Completely understand the disclaimer!
I’ve actually wondered about whether the rear only anti lock is worth it on my car. Chrysler replaced some sensors and other parts under warranty back in the day – the car came with a lot of warranty and the Durango just turned 80,000 miles this year – so the warranty lasted a long time. I asked about just doing the brakes several times, and was always told no. At about 50% pad life, I said do it, and the problem was gone for about three years. When the disengagement happened again, I had had the brakes done again and problem solved again.
It may be a different ABS then yours, but then again the Gen 1 Durango ran from 1997 – 2003. I believe the Dakota / Durango / Ram share a number of parts. The brakes on the Gen 1 Durango were always noted as not the best, and a problem area for service.
I’ll study your notes more closely soon. Thanks again!
Sometimes the fuse blows and the abs display bulb also burns out.
One thing I found pretty notable when we had a ’96 model: When these came out in ’94, I’m pretty sure they had the biggest regular cabs of any full-sized pickup at the time. Ford lengthened theirs in ’97, but for three years these were the only ones that, when pulled all the way back, the recline of the seat would be comparable to that of a charter bus or airplane (not much, but enough) and when pulled all the way forward (enough legroom for a teenager) had as much recline as a minivan seat.
Just had another look at your winter time picture.
Are you running summer or all season tires on that 2 wheel drive Dodge?
Not sure where you live or what your snow time season is, but I would think a quad set of grips would stand you in better stead than those spinners..no?
Where I live in the great white north we have a solid 6 months of white stuff, ground grips are pretty much ‘accoutrements du jour’.
Just sayin.
Yes they are Michelin all-seasons on it. I usually do run winter tires. Two years ago I needed to replace my all-seasons and my winter tires too. We had had a couple of mild winters before that and I figured I could get-by with just the brand new all-seasons with good tread. This winter has been awful though. I’ll look for a sale on winter tires at the end of the season so I have them for next winter.
Great looking rig, BOC!! Amazing that you’ve kept that truck in pristine condition even with yearly brining in the road salt. Even 20 years later, these 2nd gen Rams still look great on the road, the design has held up very well. I love my ’05 but everytime I see a nice one of this vintage I still kinda want one of those too. Man, if I were you Id keep it till it quits. You said its not very family friendly but you only have 1 family so 1 family car is plenty! haha!
A very classic and classy pickup. This generation of Dodge is a highpoint in Dodge pickup history.
Your efforts in keeping it in shape are to be commended – and I hope the dashboard is still in good shape!
Both my father and father-in-law have this generation of Dodge pickup (a ’98 regular cab and a ’99 extended cab, respectively), albeit in the 1500 series and both 2wd. Both are good driving pickups that have aged very well.
May you have many more happy and carefree miles.
Thanks Jason. The dashboard just started to crack above the instrument cluster last summer. It probably lasted longer than is typical because I throw a sunshade in the front window in the warmer months.
Interesting, the yachts I [help] build have an optional diesel fired Espar heater to heat the cabin and pilothouse. But the Accupoint heater that uses the heat of the engine coolant is more popular.
Nice truck. Shows real pride of ownership. I had a 93 1 ton dually auto for about a year. Dad bought it from the original owner at his retirement home. He liked to drive, even though his driving days were long over. Lucky for me, the seller called me, worried he may try to drive it. “He bought it for his son LOL”. The phone call and a dead battery saved the day. It came with all the paperwork including the 25k window sticker. It was an extended cab. It had 237k, was on it’s 3rd transmission and 4th torque converter and 2nd overdrive unit. It was fully loaded and everything worked. A good deal at 2500.00. I sold it as I have a Nissan Titan with 12k (miles) on it. New paint was all it needed to look perfect. I would have kept it had I not recently bought the Titan.
I remember how much I enjoyed my test drive in a then-nearly-new 2004 short wide box pickup. I had a hard time getting used to the way it looked from the driver’s seat with the rounded shape of the hood falling away at the sides. This was mainly because the truck I had at the time was a modified 71 Dodge whose hood was not only flat but had slightly raised edges. Also it sat lower than the stock-height 2004.
To my disappointment when the time came to get a newer truck there just weren’t any Dodges available in the short-box regular-cab configuration that I like, and I ended up with the 2003 Chevrolet that I still have.
Great looking truck! At 250K, its still breaking in!
I had the identical truck except it was a green ’95 and I traded it in on a new 2004 Hemi 4X4 1500, which I still have. I just didn’t need the diesel and I needed an extended cab since my wife was pregnant with our second child at the time, but I do miss it, even with the 2V, it pulled like a freight train.
My 1996 1500 with the 5.2 liter is just getting broken in at 150k miles. No squeaks, no oil leaks after a lot of heavy towing. But the plastic dash is fragile, and the body panels dent very easily. I can drive it all day without getting uncomfortable, the seats are that good.
I quite like these though it could be that its Cummins powered thats the attraction having a half baked ABS system would put me off though that sounds lethal for towing on steep highways or can exhaust brakes be retrofitted? Nice truck.
The one I had (1st gen) had a 4″ exhaust with a exhaust brake installed with a controller next to the electric trailer brake controller. The previous owner used it to tow a 31 ft Airstream. I sold it with the paperwork and don’t remember the brand name of the unit.
I’m amazed that the original owner ordered a diesel without a trailer hitch!
Sir, I want to thank you for the tips. I inherited my Dad’s 94 Dodge Cummins in 2002. He bought it new when they first came out. It has 343,500 miles on it now. I only drive it in the summer after the rain washes the salt off the roads. The body is not rusty but the paint is coming off. The dash plastic is cracked and headliner is falling apart. I’d like to restore it in the next year or two. I also have trouble with the torque converter lockup at highway speeds. My tachometer will jump up maybe 200 rpm for a while then back to normal every so often. VERY annoying! Transmission shops and garages have been no help offering expensive ideas with no promise of fixing it. I did not know I could just change the TPS to fix this! Some have told me I would have to drop the transmission to replace sensors inside it. I’m so glad I found your site I will order a TPS and hope that does the trick. I would like to know more about the filter you mentioned. I can use a multimeter and am pretty good at soldering. Thank you!