Ram3500 venting!?

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barbee6043

barbee6043

barbee 6043
FABO Gold Member
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just need someone to vent to!
1995 cummins ram 3500, 2wd, bought it new in '95. at 100,000 mi (2006) front wheel bearings bit the dust and ate up a spindle. ( . truck built in Mexico....
NOW. 172,000 mi.......
front tires are wearing on outside. take it to local "country" shop. needs front and lower ball joints. Price: Moog parts, installed, aligned, front wheel berarings checked. flip flop the 2 front tires. $775 with tax. owner does the work.
check another shop. built new building few years ago, labor does the work.... $1,100 same work and parts..... says 9 hrs job. first shop says 6 hrs. .......small town country shop....
I guess i'm lucky to have the truck in first place.....
I'm thankful , as so many people have so many problems in life, but................$775 for me is a lot of $$$$! LOL
and second shop ,,,that's $ 325 more for same job!!?????????????? pays to shop around.....
O K I feel better now!!!
 
Most people have to put that kind of money in a vehicle almost every year if they keep them. 19 years is a long haul and you are very lucky so far.
 
I'll tell ya whut. You got a LOT of miles out of that. Many of the old traditional pickups of the 60's would have eaten a front end clear up in (a lot less than ) 100K
 
this is why you shop around. These trucks aren't cheap to repair in certain areas, like most actually. Gotta remember that motor is taxing the weight limit of that frontend, even before you add any aftermarket stuff like bumpers and such.
 
you guys are right. what i'm probably doing is thinking back years back when I actually had a decent income!! of course 10- 20 years ago evertthing ya bought cost pennies on the dollar to what it costs now!???
but some of you guys were in diapers 20 years ago!?? LOL
I used to have 2-3 trucks, people bought things and spent money?? I would run a truck few years and it would get sold. this 95 was "wifes" truck. (X that is!).
I will say never had wheel bearings go out at 100,000 except sbp A bodies!?????
this truck is ALL highway miles. 1 ton truck has heavier components and last longer if good parts to begin with....
hey, I just needed assurance!!! LOL... I just remember the 95 ford ranger I sold last year at 335,000 miles.... last 150,000 mi. was only a water pump replacement!!! got 25 mpg .
i'm getting old and cranky!! I actually got irritated at Walmart other day, when I noticed they started putting ruset potatoes in 8 lb. bag instead of 10 lb bag! LOL
 
wait till the headight switch harness melts down on you while your Waaaayyyy out of town.......on the highway with a load.


'Happened to my fathers 95' Dually 3500.......3 TIMES!!!

"harness" is obsolete Now.

:protest:
 
I feel your pain barbee6043....kinda. My '01 3500 needs a tie rod, 1 shock, and left,upper and lower ball joints done for it to pass inspection. Well you know how it goes, if you go to replace one shock,you might as well replace ALL of them and the same thing for the ball joints....do both side at the same time, and well you might as well replace all the tie rods as well. So my whole front end will be pretty much completely rebuilt with some aftermarket items and my estimate is close to $3,000 for all the parts and labor. Hopefully I hate to spend the money as work is getting slow for me but this should hopefully be once and done for a long time.
 
Don't feel bad, you got a bunch of miles out of those parts. For what it' worth I just did a repair on a 2013 Ford Escape. 2 headlights, bulbs and 2 ballasts came to $4,000 for parts.
 
And if it makes you feel better, most high mileage repairs are cheaper than a New Car Payment too...
 
its an easy job on those, dont even need a spring compressor. just buy the loaded control arms from rock auto and tie rods, take about a day with a lift.
 
Mechanics have a right to make a living too. If it is too expensive to pay for car repairs maybe it's time to ride the bus. I have been a flat rate mechanic for the last 35 years+ and trust me I have not gotten rich doing it. Mind you there are some mechanics and shops that over charge for labor but the majority are just scraping by. Labor times guides have gotten to the point that there a joke. Tools cost more and more every year. Cars and trucks are becoming more and more sophisticated. Chemical exposure, carpel tunnel syndrome, bad knee's and back's. It pays to get an estimate and shop for the best price. Parts made in China are junk. I have seen ball joints wear out in 1 year.I think you will get my point Everything cost more. When I first started working( about 1974 ) Gas was 45 cents a gallon milk cost $1.29 bread was 6 for $1.00 and minimum wage was $2.10 per hour. I think the government hopes we all think it is too expensive to have a car and switch to riding the bus or subway.Please don't take this rant personally but also try to see it from the other side of the counter. Thanks for listening.

Brian
 
I hear ya!!!! BUS!?? I live out in the sticks and wouldn't trade it for livin in city. that's my choice. i'll just suck it up and quit being a girly guy.
 
That's why I went to Chevy trucks, I bought my first one at 200 k on it and drove it for a while, then sold it to a guy who plowed snow with it, fixed it up a little, then sold it a few years later with 250 k for $5 k....

So I now have a 98 Chevy with only 110 k on it.

I got sick of my Chrysler vehicles "blowing up" by or after 100 k. It seems that they hid 100 k and everything starts to go bad....
 
So had the wheel bearings ever been repacked in the 100,000 miles or had the pads just been replaced?

They should be repacked at least every time the pads are replaced
 
krazykuda said:
That's why I went to Chevy trucks, I bought my first one at 200 k on it and drove it for a while, then sold it to a guy who plowed snow with it, fixed it up a little, then sold it a few years later with 250 k for $5 k....

So I now have a 98 Chevy with only 110 k on it.

I got sick of my Chrysler vehicles "blowing up" by or after 100 k. It seems that they hid 100 k and everything starts to go bad....
Click to expand...

Are you really going to sell that BS about Chevy's I just replaced a Dura max 6.6 @135 k miles to the tune of 10,500.00 for a used engine. Replaced a injector pump on another one and 3 injectors, injector harness @ 3800.00. And this is nothing compared to the Ford 6.0 and 6.4 work our shop turns out. Make has little to do with a good truck or bad truck. I comes down to weather it is a good design and how you take care of then. Oh I did have to replace the tappet cover on a 97 Dodge 3500 4x4. I had a bad oil leak and it only had 484K miles on it.
 
its a fact we buy the dodge diesel truck foer the cummins diesel!!!!
at 100,000 the wheel bearings had not been ever packed. all highway miles. mechanic said all dodge trucks of that vintage the front wheel bearings went south at 100,000 just like clockwork. but still I have had little issues with this truck.
at 120,000 the fuel shut off solenoid went out, called dodge dealer, new one was like $475. best they could do. no aftermarket. called cummins place off internet in mobile ala. sent me one for $100. ( then again it is a $25 solenoid!????)
had a 92 3500 diesel, had the 5 speed Getrag. it went soutt in about '98 with like 200,000 mi. dodge dealer installed rebuilt one for bout $1200 back then.
if something major went wrong like injection system, I would have to take out mortgage to pay for it. yes really.....
 
+1 on that headlight switch!
carry a extra in the glove box and some strippers and but connecctors.

It WILL fail at the WORST time...
 
krazykuda said:
That's why I went to Chevy trucks, I bought my first one at 200 k on it and drove it for a while, then sold it to a guy who plowed snow with it, fixed it up a little, then sold it a few years later with 250 k for $5 k....

So I now have a 98 Chevy with only 110 k on it.

I got sick of my Chrysler vehicles "blowing up" by or after 100 k. It seems that they hid 100 k and everything starts to go bad....
Click to expand...

Really?

Wanna a list of suspension parts that usually go bad on Chevy pick ups? Not one rolls into the shop that doesn't need an idler or pitman (or both). Replaced a lot of ball joints and wheel bearings well before the 100K mark.

And that's just suspension. We won't get into cracked flywheels, blown rears, crap transmissions, bad transfer cases.

Can't sugarcoat it. They all have weak points. There's no denying it. But to make the claim that one in particular doesn't have this or that issues is to not actually work on 'em for a living.
 
The way I look at it these days is they are all just machines and they will all break at some point. Just have to hope for the best.
 
Well you ain't gonna fix the front end on a 30K plus truck for 50 dollars. Although I admit, even 775 seems high.
 
sgbarracuda said:
are you really going to sell that bs about chevy's i just replaced a dura max 6.6 @135 k miles to the tune of 10,500.00 for a used engine. Replaced a injector pump on another one and 3 injectors, injector harness @ 3800.00. And this is nothing compared to the ford 6.0 and 6.4 work our shop turns out. Make has little to do with a good truck or bad truck. I comes down to weather it is a good design and how you take care of then. Oh i did have to replace the tappet cover on a 97 dodge 3500 4x4. I had a bad oil leak and it only had 484k miles on it.
Click to expand...
amen !!!
 
My '99 Durango with the 318 just turned 186,*** and counting daily. Only repairs thus far are to front wheel assemblies (did it myself in 45 minutes and 85 bucks apiece) and a water pump (did it myself in 3 hours and 65 bucks). Happy with the service from my mopar!
 
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