1998 Ram

[Hopalong]

Hey all, I am looking at a new (to me) pickup.  Getting tired of taking two vehicles to Hope Depot (Me in the truck, family in the car).  I found a 1998 Ram 1500 quad cab locally.  It has 61,000 miles, 5.9 engine, autmatic, two wheel drive.  It's owned by an older man who took good care of it, real clean.  He has most of the service records and says that he has not had any problems with it all.  My question is:  What else should I look for that may show signs of problems?  Any one out there have one, and what have you had problems with?  He is asking $10,000, which seems a little high for a '98 to me, but maybe with the mileage factored in.  I looked it up on Kelly Blue Book, which came out to $8500 to $9100. 

[Rare_T_A]

I have a '98 4X4 and love it. The price sounds a little high but the milage is very low. I have just over 150,000 on mine and the only thing I had to do was a tranny at 120k. If you do buy it and it starts to use oil it is most likly the valley cover under the intake. The factory one is steel with an alum intake. They heat up at different rates and tend to brake the gasket. The aftermarket makes an alum pan cover that fixes the problem. It took me about 6 hrs to remove the intake and install the new cover. I went from using a quart of oil in 1,000 miles to NONE! I use Modil 1 syn and run it 4,000 to 5,000 miles and the truck uses NO oil.

[tactransman]

Sounds a little high to me but............................

sorry ,had to do it.

[JS27N0B]

Well you should have very good luck with it but the price is on the higher side.  I "may" have just sold my 98 2500 quad cab 4X4 with a     V-10 and only 65,000 miles for 16,500 CDN with a premium topper and 5th wheel hitch included.
The intake was the only real problem but there was some cracked cylinder heads, I have changed a few over the years in customers trucks.

If you need any help drop me a line. If you send me the last 9 digits of the VIN# I can see if there was any recent warranty work and also get you a list of the options.  Being a dealer has it's advantages.

[Hopalong]

Thanks guys!  I'll check on the VIN.  I am still trying to decide on if I should even buy it or not.  If I could talk the guy down enough, then maybe.  I would have to take out a loan to cover 3/4 of it.  Money to the bank means less money to car (although my wife would argue about that).  Think think think.

[heminut]

Sounds kind of high to me too. I bought a 99 1500 ext. cab 2 wheel drive for $3500, but talked the guy at the car lot down because the ABS warning light stayed on, the speedo didn't work until the truck hit about 35 mph, and the cruise control didn't work. A $30 speed sensor in the diff. fixed all the problems! Oh, had to put a new set of tires on it too!

[71bigblock]

Sounds kind of high to me too. I bought a 99 1500 ext. cab 2 wheel drive for $3500, but talked the guy at the car lot down because the ABS warning light stayed on, the speedo didn't work until the truck hit about 35 mph, and the cruise control didn't work. A $30 speed sensor in the diff. fixed all the problems! Oh, had to put a new set of tires on it too!

What a steal!  How many miles were on it?

[heminut]

What a steal!  How many miles were on it?

It was kind of high milage, around 120,000, but it doesn't use any oil to speak of and doesn't smoke or anything. It's the 5.2L Magnum and it drives great, gets about 17 mpg on the highway.

[Hopalong]

I still need to talk to the guy again.  You said 17 mpg on the highway?  That doesn't sound too bad all things considered.  I wonder what the 5.9 gets?

[71bigblock]

I wonder what the 5.9 gets?

Not sure but probably not good.  360's are hard on fuel, my grandpa's '98 single cab was anyways. 

[Travis72]

Yeah the mpg won't be that great.... probably 11 or 12 in the city and 15 to 17 on the freeway depending on which rear gears it has.  On the plus side the 5.9 motor is basically bullet proof, other than the intake valley pan mentioned above.

I agree with the others that the price does seem high especially for a 2 wheel drive.

Travis
72 Cuda