Has anyone ever owned one of these vans and what problems did u have if any? sky
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Dodge Ram Van B3500 2002 year model
- Thread starter CourierDriver
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If its a 5.2 or 5.9 you should not see any major problems with those. We have an airbus courier in town and they go 7-800,000 kms before they retire those vans.
the engines are good the rest of it such as the trans and rears are not good
Indestructible vehicles- 5.2 or 5.9 engines run forever, the transmissions are A-518 variants which *also* run forever (the A-518s are the indestructible old A-727 3-speed with an electrically operated overdrive unit in the tail housing, plus an electronic governor). Rear axle is probably a corporate 9.25 or else a Dana (being a 3500 I suspect its a full-floater Dana unit). Either way its stout- the Dana will outlive the vehicle, the 9.25 is a little lighter duty but should still go well over 200k miles.
Given reasonable care and feeding it should provide LONG life. Its just not pretty, fast, or very modern compared to, say, a Sprinter.
Given reasonable care and feeding it should provide LONG life. Its just not pretty, fast, or very modern compared to, say, a Sprinter.
i have owned one dodge van for work, it got great fuel mileage compared to our fords and chevs.
but the hinge pins on the doors would snap off, a cheap repair but a pain.
In our part of the country rust would really eat them up.
I am 5' 10" tall and found the seating position to cramped and i had to lean forward to see out the windshield.
Our van didnt have a/c, but was very comfortable with the floor vents and wing windows that could be opened. It had wonderful heat also.
but the hinge pins on the doors would snap off, a cheap repair but a pain.
In our part of the country rust would really eat them up.
I am 5' 10" tall and found the seating position to cramped and i had to lean forward to see out the windshield.
Our van didnt have a/c, but was very comfortable with the floor vents and wing windows that could be opened. It had wonderful heat also.
I have worked on many of them, the AT is often a weak point.
Everything else is okay.
Everything else is okay.
If it has the 9.25 rear axle, watch out for pinion bearings. The 1-ton probably has the Dana 60, though.
Another thing to watch out for is the airbag module under the driver seat. Keep that area dry and don't store things there (there is a TSB about this). The airbag clockspring may also be a weak spot. Both of the airbag components are easy to repair, but are costly parts.
If you have short legs, the seat cushion may be too long. With my inner knees at the front seat edge, my back doesn't rest on the seatback. I had to cut a thick foam pad to put between my back and the seatback. I have a 30 inch inseam, in case you are wondering.
They're good vans. I love mine, but if I had more money, I would have bought a Ford. If I had even more money, I would have bought a GM.
Another thing to watch out for is the airbag module under the driver seat. Keep that area dry and don't store things there (there is a TSB about this). The airbag clockspring may also be a weak spot. Both of the airbag components are easy to repair, but are costly parts.
If you have short legs, the seat cushion may be too long. With my inner knees at the front seat edge, my back doesn't rest on the seatback. I had to cut a thick foam pad to put between my back and the seatback. I have a 30 inch inseam, in case you are wondering.
They're good vans. I love mine, but if I had more money, I would have bought a Ford. If I had even more money, I would have bought a GM.
CourierDriver
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Thanks for all the replies, they were very positive overall. I have only 2 problems, the computer died and the transmission quit shifiting, but that was an easy fix, was costly, but now all is well, I'll keep driving it tell whenever, i get 15 mpg on the highways at 62 mph, somedays almost 16 mpg ,,,sky
CourierDriver
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this ole bucket of bolts is still rolling, imagine that, amen
CourierDriver
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Well that dreaded moment has come and gone. My old bucket of bolts let go under load with over 300k miles and I really thought it would go 500 k at least, but my oilpump had other thoughts and boom, she was gone. So a create engine and 3700 bucks later, Im back out there.
I'm now running Pennzoil 10w30 for awhile ,non synthetic, then I will go back to M1. This was recommended by the guy that put my engine in.
I'm now running Pennzoil 10w30 for awhile ,non synthetic, then I will go back to M1. This was recommended by the guy that put my engine in.
My wife's uncle had a mid-1990's Dodge Ram with a 318, that he went through something like 4 or 5 engines with it.
In the larger vehicles, the 318 seems a bit over-worked, as I think you've found - mind you, 300k ain't nothing to sneeze at.
In the larger vehicles, the 318 seems a bit over-worked, as I think you've found - mind you, 300k ain't nothing to sneeze at.
CourierDriver - With the 318 and 360 Magnum engines (like you and I both have), keep an eye on the oil pressure. If it ever does anything questionable, make sure the pickup screen is clear, as they're pretty small, and it doesn't take much to clog one. Oil pumps eventually wear out, so past 250k or so, I'd expect to replace it just to be safe.
Great advice^^^
I've killed a lot of 318's in the old daze and the timing chain gears plastic teeth would clog the screen even if you maintained them well. They were always subject to going 'boom' anytime over 150k miles or more.
They were very cheap to rebuild, and rarely needed machine work to go another 100k miles.
I've killed a lot of 318's in the old daze and the timing chain gears plastic teeth would clog the screen even if you maintained them well. They were always subject to going 'boom' anytime over 150k miles or more.
They were very cheap to rebuild, and rarely needed machine work to go another 100k miles.
CourierDriver
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Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Great advice^^^
I've killed a lot of 318's in the old daze and the timing chain gears plastic teeth would clog the screen even if you maintained them well. They were always subject to going 'boom' anytime over 150k miles or more.
They were very cheap to rebuild, and rarely needed machine work to go another 100k miles.
I hope to get an updated cargo van by april 2012 and either give this one away or trade it or just keep it till the moon turns blue,lol
Great advice^^^
I've killed a lot of 318's in the old daze and the timing chain gears plastic teeth would clog the screen even if you maintained them well. They were always subject to going 'boom' anytime over 150k miles or more.
They were very cheap to rebuild, and rarely needed machine work to go another 100k miles.
I hope to get an updated cargo van by april 2012 and either give this one away or trade it or just keep it till the moon turns blue,lol
be sure it has a 8.2 or 9.2 rear end. UNDER NO case buy it if it has a 7.2 rear end. you can find places on the internet that show the shape of the rear cover, each one is different. remove 2 qts of trans fluid, put back in 2 qts of rear end grease. trust me. i have been doinging it for decades.
never mind what i just said. a 3500 should only have a dana 60, or dana 70
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