1997 Dodge Ram Pickup 1500 Ext Cab review from North America

Transmission or Differential made slight noise at 30,000 miles.

Transmission blew at 53,000 miles doing major damage.

After the truck made the first transmission/differential noise I was told it was the differential and to put an additive into it. I did and the noise went away for about a year and a half. Last week at 53,000 miles I started the truck and drove into the driveway to hook up my boat. As I left the driveway there was a loud mechanical noise. I started to back up and there was no reverse. I had the truck towed to the local Dodge dealer. After it was evaluated, he told me the transmission had broken and dumped metal particles into the cooler and all the lines. Estimated bill is around $4000. I am truly amazed that a heavy half ton extended cab truck can have such a major problem. I have had several Chevrolet and Ford trucks with nothing ever going wrong with them. In fact the 1970 Chevy truck had an 11 1/2 long cabover camper on it for over 10 years with no problems. The Dodge was only driven on the highway empty for over 50,000 miles. I have been a part time mechanic for years and this amazes me. I also have been reading a lot of internet sites and it sounds like Dodge has a real problem.