2005 1 ton Ram diesel
In 2005 my husband & I went fulltime with a large 5th wheel & our new from the factory Ram. We fulltimed for almost 8 years. The truck now has 160,000 miles on it. It seems to run great. Have had ...
Forum Discussion
The OP should spend some money on the truck doing "out of the ordinary" maintenance. Brakes. They may not be worn out, but Rams like many vehicles, have brake calipers with phenolic pistons in them, and about 150K or so is the point where they will begin seizing up. Co-worker has a '04 3500 Ram CTD. He had one rear caliper begin seizing, we replaced it and bled all of the brakes till we had fresh fluid throughout. A couple of weeks later, heading for Florida he calls me (he was between his house and mine and I was closer) and sure enough, the other rear caliper was starting to seize. I went and got a caliper, and when I got home he had it jacked up and the rear wheels off that side. We installed the new caliper and again bled the rear. (the front calipers on my little '91 Ranger do this seizing up bit at about 100K, had it happen twice now, yes, its a problem)
Where I am going with this is for the OP to go ahead and replace all of the calipers and have the system thoroughly bled with fresh fluid coming out at all four corners, including the ABS pump)
Rear axle calls for routine fluid replacement and many people do not do this, use a good synthetic fluid such as Mobil 1 or Amsoil 75W-90
Have the suspension looked over good. I'll bet the upstop bumpers (if a 2wd) on the front are totally missing. They are not rubber, but a dense foam material that ages and crumbles ($33 each from Dodge or Genos). There is a real good chance the front ball joints (again if 2wd) are shot, and I'm betting all of the shocks are done for too. (front suspension has always been Dodge truck's weak point since the 1960's)
Unless the OP's husband was super attentive to maintenance, and I mean real overzealous, I'm willing to bet at least some of the above mentioned items are in need of doing.
Charles
Where I am going with this is for the OP to go ahead and replace all of the calipers and have the system thoroughly bled with fresh fluid coming out at all four corners, including the ABS pump)
Rear axle calls for routine fluid replacement and many people do not do this, use a good synthetic fluid such as Mobil 1 or Amsoil 75W-90
Have the suspension looked over good. I'll bet the upstop bumpers (if a 2wd) on the front are totally missing. They are not rubber, but a dense foam material that ages and crumbles ($33 each from Dodge or Genos). There is a real good chance the front ball joints (again if 2wd) are shot, and I'm betting all of the shocks are done for too. (front suspension has always been Dodge truck's weak point since the 1960's)
Unless the OP's husband was super attentive to maintenance, and I mean real overzealous, I'm willing to bet at least some of the above mentioned items are in need of doing.
Charles
