1997 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport from North America - Comments

Only problem encountered was a rattle caused by a defective catalytic converter - that was replaced under warranty by the dealer.

A reliable truck that has excellent power. I use it to pull a car trailer regularly and get 13MPG towing a 3800 lb car on a 1700 lb trailer.

Best looking truck on the American market. Fords are a poor copy of Dodge styling and General Motor's products are just boring.

Has a large cab with excellent ergonomics. Air conditioning works great, fair sound system: (I should have gotten the upgraded sound system).

Paint is holding up very nicely. Interior is doing very nicely also.

I have a 1997 Ram 1500 with a 5.2 liter. It has been a real workhorse for me. I constantly haul heavy loads in it and allow my teenage daughter to commute to her school functions in it. At the time of this writing it has 91,000 miles on it and is now ready for its first water pump replacement. Other than this, it has been problem free except for a pitman arm replacement. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Dodge truck when the necessity arises.

Seems like most of the people having trouble are the ones with 5.9's, guess that should be an indication of what not to buy.

I purchased a Dodge dakota slt 4door, fully loaded with the tow pkg. It had about 10 miles on the odometer. Almost immediately I notice the paint would scratch with the lightest touch, it was burgandy so I let this ride. But at approx. 2K miles I heard a grinding going thru the drive thru. Next day back to dodge to find my brakes were basically gone. How I don't know I babied this truck,& NO I did not leave the emergency brake on. At about 4K miles the truck would CLUNK into GEAR. Back to dodge & was told "working as designed" I was not too happy with this, but was reassured its OK. On the freeway wind noise was pronounced. Thru the windshield & Driver side rear door. I weigh approx 170 & Butt of driver seat was already buckling. I spoke with others & looked online for reviews of this truck,& found I was not the only one. Brakes Transmissions, Wind noise, ETC ETC. For some who may have never owned what I would call a TOP NOTCH vehicle, they may accept this as the norm, for dodge maybe. I sold it at a grateful loss, everything disclosed. I will NEVER BUY a DODGE again.

I own a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2 4wd, it is now at 220,000 miles, yes two hundred twenty thousand miles. The only thing that has been replaced is the timing chain and water pump at 191,000 miles. I pull a 6000 pound boat every weekend with it and I have no complaints The truck still looks like new, except for a few scratches,and does not use 1 drop of oil.A\C is still ice cold and the dealer cannot believe how clean the motor is not one oil leak so. as for Dodge trucks, with the proper care they can outlast their diesel counter parts.

Bought a 1997 Dodge Ram Quad cab new, it has 89000 miles on it now. Not once has it been in the shop for repairs only oil changes. Pulls a three horse slant trailer loaded, but could use some more power for that one. Has had one set of brake pads put on since new. Just bought a new Dodge 2004 4x4 quad cab with the Hemi engine. Love them both. Thinking of trading the 1997 for a Dodge durango, but afraid to trade for fear of getting rid of an excellent truck.

I, Like may many of you also has a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 5.2 4X4. It just turned over to 105,000 miles and just yesterday the water pump went out. First problem I have had with it. Runs great, it's confortable, and reliable. Best truck I have ever owned. I would think twice about buying another Dodge when the need arises. But for now, I look forward too many more years with my current truck.

Andrew

Texas.

I own a 1997 Dodge Ram ext cab 5.9L with 115,000 miles and I love it. I've had a few problems with it: violent shaking when hitting bumps (virtually eliminated that problem with new shocks), replaced the water pump after the battery fell on the power steering pump pulley and sprayed battery acid all over the place (old pump was still good), rebuilt the transmission at about 90000 miles, replaced the TPS, replaced the cruise control servo, and that's about it. Nothing major. I do almost all my own mechanic work on this truck simply because I'm inclined enough to do it, and when you take it to a mechanic they only get to see the truck for a little bit as where I drive it all the time and know exactly what the truck does when. It's a good truck with the right care.

I also have a 97 1500 4X4 EXT. cab with the 5.2l under the hood. I have had problems with this truck. Track bar, hub bearing, transmission. I also replaced the intake gaskets cause it was sucking oil form the valley causing spark knock, I have not yet touched the ball joints or the tie rod ends yet. But they are all common with Dodge. I really cannot complain about this one. I bought it with 93,000 miles on it for $5500. That was almost a year ago. Now it has 131,000 miles. It is a true work horse. I am considering trading it for a dodge diesel. I would like more low end torque for what I haul. Last weekend I hauled a 6,000lbs round baler in a 2,000lbs trailer. I averaged 14mpg on the highway. Which is not bad for a V8.

We own a l996 3500 Dodge Ram Truck and it is used as a welding truck. We had never had any problems with it until recently and that is because the old goat has over 300,000 miles on it. We recently had to work the transmission because it was jumping out of gears and there was an oil leak coming from the rear seal. We got that fixed, but now it started to loose power. It will start after several cranks, it seems as if it doesn't prime the pump enough. It runs, but the max it picks up is maybe 55 per hour horsepower seems to be lost. We have checked the turbo. Do not really know what could be wrong, If there is anyone out there that maybe could give me an idea, I would really appreciate it. I want my old truck back, so I hope to get it running soon.

Yea fords are copies of dodges... sure...

I also own a 1997 dodge ram 1500 sport 4x4. I have owned it for two years and put 40k on it taking it to 120k. I have use it pull heavy loads and as a daily driver. The only big thing that went bad on it was the wheel bearing at 115k. The engine and trans. still run very good with only changing the oil and adding gas. Yes it likes it's gas, but what do you expect from a full size truck.

What I have noticed is with the people that buy a dodge, problems are shotgunned as to what they are. From what I can see, it's just luck of the draw. There aren't too many common problems with Dodge trucks, and Dodges except the transmission. My mother has a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan only at 94k miles, transmission shifts way too hard from 2nd to 3rd gear.

I own a 1997 Dodge truck. The transmission is junk. It will only go in reverse. 230 k on the beast.. have replaced fuel line brake lines... engine is tight and it drove good before the tranny went ouch.