2001 Dodge Ram 1500 - Any owners?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Feb 12, 2010
Messages
6
Location
CA
Hi all. First time posting up here. Been reading for a while before I decided to sign up here.

I just wanted to share my recent experiences with this truck as well as find other opinions.

I didn't buy the truck, my wife did back when it was new. Married for 4 years now. I recently decided that I want to keep this truck around as long as I could. Its our car, so I just felt like taking the reins of it and spend some money to keep it in great shape. Its a great engine to work on with lots of space to work in. Its been running on conventional oil since its first change. The only major issue the truck ever had was the drive shaft popping out on the freeway about 6 years ago. Dealership ended up fixing it.

Quick bits of information:
Its a manual (Never drove one before or knew how to until I met my wife and she taught me. Haha!)
Dual exhaust (My wife had it done long before we met)
~168000 miles

Anyway, yesterday I decided we're changing to full synthetic + quart of MMO. New Oil and Air Filter as well. I ended up doing it myself with my father in law's knowledge since I've never done it before. Anyway, was easy. Dirty, but easy.

I changed the Oil to Pennzoil Ultra 10w30 minus the 1 qt for the MMO, as well as change the filters. And I must say, I have never heard or felt this truck perform this well since I've driven it. Most noticeably the startup has been the shocker. It now purrs quietly and eager to move once I let the clutch go. I no longer experience any "ticking" with my gear shifting habits (1800-2200 RPMs for the 1st & 2nd gears, and 2200-3000 RPMs for the 3rd & 4th gears). In my perception, it "feels like new". I'm not trying to hype up a product or idea, but given the fact that all I did was change the oil and filters to superior products, I'm stumped as to why people haven't moved this direction with their cars and instead opt to go with a cheap quickie oil changes at Wal mart or whatnot. I spend about $60 and its the a huge noticeable improvement on this truck.

I topped it off this morning and gave the keys back to my wife. We'll see how this turns out this week and I'll give an update then.
 
Good for you. Next time just use the Pennzoil Ultra and a good filter(not Fram) and skip the MMO.
 
Two of my best friends, two brothers, have nearly identical 2001 Dodge Ram X-cab Offroad package trucks. They both have 318s and automatics. What great trucks!I congratulate you on your vehicle. Just run a good 10w30 (Rotella comes to mind) and maybe a PH8A sized filter.
 
I think you did good. But I think the MMO had more to do with the improved performance and better idle than the Pennzoil Ultra. Everytime I put the MMO in regardless of the oil type or brand, I get better fuel milelage and truck runs better. I think thats a Great combo. I have nothing aginst Pennzoil Ultra, I just dont think its the super oil everyone makes it out to be. Of course, I havent tried it yet either.
 
Sorry but you can't run the PH8-sized filter on a 3.9/5.2/5.9 engine. There just isn't enough room. You have to use the factory size filter on them. You CAN run the big filter on a 4.7 though.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom