2007 Ram: Replace the engine or replace the truck ?

[Kern Dog]

Ahh.... here I am again. It is similar to the year 2002. I had a beater Charger project and my daily driver was getting long in the tooth. I had an ‘84 Chevy with close to 400,000 miles on the body and while the engine was rebuilt, I still had to address various problems that cropped up through the workweek. I wanted to come home from work and mess with the CAR but I often had to work on the truck just to be able to drive it to work mon-fri. I ended up buying a new 2002 Ram 1500 and have driven newer trucks from that day forward.
2021. My 2007 Ram has 366,000 miles on it and is still reliable. No rust, no frame damage. Almost everything still works. It is using oil though and losing coolant. I would like to get in front of any potential problems before they leave me stranded. I’ve mentioned before the proposition of replacing the engine and transmission. That is still a possibility.
I started looking at clean used trucks last night....
Whoa.... what I like sure isn’t in great supply.
I don’t want a knob for a shifter.
I don’t want a 4 door truck.
I don’t like black, silver, gray or white.
Sometimes the universe gives you a sign....

 

[69 Sleeper Bee]

I heard used truck prices are thru the roof right now. Also my mechanic neighbor says they are also going to steering by wire with no direct steering shaft, its all electric servos which scare the hell out of me. Looks like my 2006 Chevy will become my next classic vehicle but I work from home and have for the last 11 years and it only has 118k miles on it.

 

[Billccm]

Now is not a good time to buy anything, especially homes and cars/trucks. I'd take your time looking. Friend of mine just bought a 2020 Toyota repo from the credit union for 44 and he claims that was a great deal. Sounds high to me, but I've never paid more that 26 for any car I own (my road runner is the most expensive car I've ever bought).
Anyhow call the credit union and see if they have any repo cars for sale.

 

[eldubb440]

keep it running and drive it till the wheels fall of........ I have the same plans for my durango

 

[Kern Dog]

I looked at 2011-2015 year model Rams.
The hard part is finding a good color. I can find trucks with under 90,000 miles for $19,000-25,000.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

We paid cash for my 2008 Ram quad cab, $15,000. It sounds like a lot but not really when a new on is +$60,000......It's in perfect condition with 134,000 miles. Everything works and i have done a few things to clean it up and protect it. Should last me till dirt nap time.

 

[pnora]

How much oil does it use? Coolant leak could be simple.

 

[Photon440]

Have you done a compression test? I'd find out what's up with the coolant issue, if it's something like a head gasket, just fix it. As for oil, how much? If it's going through oil but not smoking, then the cost of topping it up will be a lot less than getting a used engine. Actually, if the cylinder bores are still good, you could put on rebuilt cylinder heads and solve both problems. You mentioned transmission, is that acting up too?

 

[Ray70Chrg]

Remanufactured engine and transmissions. Find reputable company in your area and look into having them installed together, unless you think you can handle the job.

 

[451Mopar]

Still driving my 2005 Ram 3500. Just need to replace the broken front axle U-Joint. Looks like one part of the cross might have broken?

 

[zyzzyx]

Heard on CNBC today that the chip shortage for new vehicles will be lasting for at least another year.
Can't buy anything right now because the prices are stupid! I'm looking too, but can't do it.

 

[gtx6970]

Well, I was in a similar boat . Been driving a mini van for about 3 or 4 years now as my DD.

It was over 245k miles wise and was getting rusty in the rockers.
I had been casually shopping for a truck as its replacement. In the past year or so Ive been looking trucks have climb upwards, more so in the past 12 months it seems.
My prerequisites was 2wd , 4 door and Dodge only. Prefered not to be silver or white or an earthtone color truck if I could avoid it,,,,BUT I kept that open as a maybe if everything else popped my buttons. Miles were important to me as I plan to have this one a while. My prefered body style was a 2006 to 2008 Ram quadcab .BUT wouldnt rule out going older or newer . I actually would have considered a 98-01 ram quad cab if price, condition and miles were good.

Last weekend I decided to get serious on my hunt . And after looking at several around here , all were, either gone when I got there( even though the listings was fresh that day ) , were to many miles or A LOT better shape in the pictures than the truck actually was.
So ,,,I lined up a couple to ck out in Phoenix last Saturday.
The 1st one I looked at hit on all my wants( well except a sunroof ,,,but I knew that was hopeful at most to find on a truck )
Bright red, not hardly a scratch knick or ding on it anywhere . Interior was spotless . The Sport hood was almost mandatory for me to consider a 2009 or newer.
96K miles, tires were like new . It popped my buttons in person. And it has a shifter. as the dial knob thing was a huge no no deal breaker for me.
So , I bought it. $19,900 . or 21,400 all in with taxes, tags and driving home
More than my original planned budget but the truck was just to nice to pass up

Me happy is a huge understatement. Drove it all week and average MPG is high 18-19 MPG back and forth to work

 

[GrabberOrange69]

If the truck is in good mechanical and cosmetic shape, other than your identified issues, I’d keep it.

Find where the water is going, fix that, and keep going.

My dad has an ‘89 Chevy (I know) C2500 350/auto he bought new. The odometer broke at 435,000 miles 10 years ago, and he kept driving it, so I don’t know exactly how many miles are on it. He’s been through 3 new radiators (they only last ~100k on this truck), 2 intakes (warped), and 1 valve job (burned valve). 1 flattened cam. 2 timing chains. He has an AAMCO lifetime trans he put in it at 180,000 miles. He has gotten his money out of that deal many times over. He rebuilt the differential at around 300,000. It’s parked now because the engine water jackets are so full of rust and scale it heats real easy.

My point is merely that your Dodge likely has many miles and years ahead of it. Fix it and run it!

 

[GrabberOrange69]

Well, I was in a similar boat . Been driving a mini van for about 3 or 4 years now as my DD.

It was over 245k miles wise and was getting rusty in the rockers.
I had been casually shopping for a truck as its replacement. In the past year or so Ive been looking trucks have climb upwards, more so in the past 12 months it seems.
My prerequisites was 2wd , 4 door and Dodge only. Prefered not to be silver or white or an earthtone color truck if I could avoid it,,,,BUT I kept that open as a maybe if everything else popped my buttons. Miles were important to me as I plan to have this one a while. My prefered body style was a 2006 to 2008 Ram quadcab .BUT wouldnt rule out going older or newer . I actually would have considered a 98-01 ram quad cab if price, condition and miles were good.

Last weekend I decided to get serious on my hunt . And after looking at several around here , all were, either gone when I got there( even though the listings was fresh that day ) , were to many miles or A LOT better shape in the pictures than the truck actually was.
So ,,,I lined up a couple to ck out in Phoenix last Saturday.
The 1st one I looked at hit on all my wants( well except a sunroof ,,,but I knew that was hopeful at most to find on a truck )
Bright red, not hardly a scratch knick or ding on it anywhere . Interior was spotless . The Sport hood was almost mandatory for me to consider a 2009 or newer.
96K miles, tires were like new . It popped my buttons in person. And it has a shifter. as the dial knob thing was a huge no no deal breaker for me.
So , I bought it. $19,900 . or 21,400 all in with taxes, tags and driving home
More than my original planned budget but the truck was just to nice to pass up

Me happy is a huge understatement. Drove it all week and average MPG is high 18-19 MPG back and forth to work

View attachment 1155120 View attachment 1155121 View attachment 1155122

Nice truck!

 

[R413]

Fix that one you have now. Or buy a newer good one in the wrong color and paint it yourself. Sand it down, buy hight quality paint so the sun won’t destroy it.

 

[Mike67]

I was in the same boat back in Jan, my 02 Ram is long in the tooth, cosmetically its almost perfect but have been starting to worry about little things.
I set a budget of $15k for another near truck. But everything in that range was ragged out and sketchy.
Now I'm not a car guy as far as a daily, being from TX and all, but I've always wanted a Mercedes. I have no idea where this longing comes from, possibly from growing up dirt poor. I always told myself that one day I hoped to make enough to afford on. Anyway, I started looking at used MBs , they are/were dirt cheap at the time, most were low mileage and in excellent cosmetic condition. I refuse to pay these new car prices! I found a 2013 E350 under 100k that was beautiful, only issue was a split seam on drivers seat. A known problem with that year. Got it for $12k, A new OEM seat cover was $120 that I replaced myself.
It drives like a charm, gets 23mpg on the Hwy @ 80mph. Has every bell and whistle I wanted except remote start. The original sticker was in the car and its MSRP was almost $60k.
I feel like I got the best possible deal put there for the money. I know you are a carpenter so a Benz probably won't suit your needs.
But rebuild it ,make it bigger faster ,stronger!

 

[DeltaV]

Ahh.... here I am again. It is similar to the year 2002. I had a beater Charger project and my daily driver was getting long in the tooth. I had an ‘84 Chevy with close to 400,000 miles on the body and while the engine was rebuilt, I still had to address various problems that cropped up through the workweek. I wanted to come home from work and mess with the CAR but I often had to work on the truck just to be able to drive it to work mon-fri. I ended up buying a new 2002 Ram 1500 and have driven newer trucks from that day forward.
2021. My 2007 Ram has 366,000 miles on it and is still reliable. No rust, no frame damage. Almost everything still works. It is using oil though and losing coolant. I would like to get in front of any potential problems before they leave me stranded. I’ve mentioned before the proposition of replacing the engine and transmission. That is still a possibility.
I started looking at clean used trucks last night....
Whoa.... what I like sure isn’t in great supply.
I don’t want a knob for a shifter.
I don’t want a 4 door truck.
I don’t like black, silver, gray or white.
Sometimes the universe gives you a sign....

Which colors do you prefer?

 

[moparwacko]

Similar situation ((kinf of) Kern, my 2500 crew cab is now 10 yrs old, and had fleeting thoughts about a new truck. It recently needed the front axle u joints replaced as one was almost seized. Simple job.......except that turned into wheel hubs(bearing)- why not? which turned into all 4 ball joints, then why not do the brakes and rotors? Good thing I have all the tools, it was $1500 in parts for quality stuff, $0 labor.
I however won't be looking for a new truck, the Cummins is just starting to get broken in at 53K.

 

[zyzzyx]

Living in the rust belt, I envy all of you in climates that don't eat away all of the
sheet metal! You can replace all of the major components and not worry about
the body falling down around you!

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I'd look around & see if I could find a lower mileage unit.... I prefer a factory built engine over most reman units.... Not sure if a newer Hemi will swap easily.... In so lower mileage engines are available for less $$$