1995 Dodge Ram Pickup SLT 5.9 Cummins turbo diesel
Summary:
Great performance and quality for the price!
Faults:
Primer pump started leaking fuel.
Rear sliding window latch broke - probably from me using it too much.
Air bag light comes on when it's below 55 degrees.
General Comments:
I bought this truck because I was looking for a diesel pickup - I tell people I didn't buy it because it is a Dodge, but because it was a Cummins.
The Cummins engine is a fantastic engine - easy to work on, low maintenance and a ton of torque. 0-60 was roughly 9.5 seconds, which isn't bad for a mid 90's truck. This truck would go up any hill with any load at pretty much any speed up to 80. Around 80mph the governor starts to cut the fuel. You can buy a couple new springs for around $150 and go faster, but I never had the need.
I checked my fuel economy every tank of fuel and averaged between 18 - 25 mpg. If you have a truck and actually check your economy, you will know this is amazing. I got 25 once on a road trip with no load. Just driving around normal with a loaded tool box, I averaged 20mpg. You get the fuel economy of a little truck with the power and hauling space of a big truck.
The owner before me took great care of the truck, and modified the exhaust so there was no muffler, which only helped with the power.
I could put the transmission in 5th gear on a hill at around 40 miles an hour and accelerate no problem. No lugging up hills with this truck. I towed a car trailer with vehicle on it and had no problem maintaining the posted speed limit even on steep grades.
The 5 speed transmission held up great and shifted smooth. The clutch wasn't too heavy feeling. Although I did feel like I had to push in the pedal a little sooner than you would normally on most cars. Not sure why - but that made for smoother shifts.
Interior was comfortable, but nothing outstanding - it is just a truck. Cruise control was a nice feature. Sound system was a 6 speaker Infinity system that worked great. I did notice a little speaker rattle out of one of the tweeters - probably 13 years of playing music too loud took its toll on that speaker.
The only problem I had with the truck was that the ABS light would come on when it was colder outside. According to the owners manual, this means that the airbags are deactivated. So I never worried about it or had it looked at.
The primer pump started leaking a little so I replaced it with an aftermarket pump ($80) and then you have your basic maintenance including valve adjustments. But if you stay in top of that, there are few if any problems.
The truck ran great, performed great, towed great, and made some great noise out the exhaust.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 4th November, 2009
20th Jul 2023, 21:31
The engine in the newer Ram trucks is a "B" series 6.7 Cummins (introduced in '03) based on the same ISB architecture of the 5.9 ISB engine introduced in the middle of 1998. Prior to that, the 12-valve we know and love (no computer necessary to run it) was simply the 6 BT. The 6.7 had an increase of bore and stroke, plus variable geometry turbo. The more they do to these engines, the more detriment they're actually doing to them. My 1997 12-valve had better emissions numbers than my 2014 6.7 on my last inspection, despite having 190k more miles and no "def" fluid. Progress, go figure!
5th Nov 2009, 17:43
I agree, that 6-cyl Cummins they were putting in the RAM pickups is an amazing engine, the Ford Powerstroke and Chevy Duramax don't even compare! A Cummins Ram will take hundreds and hundreds of thousand miles of hard use (with maintenance of course). It's a dang shame they quit putting that motor in the newest RAMs and changed it for a different (non-Cummins) diesel. Oh well, best to find an older RAM with low miles and hang onto that sucker!