2004 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT "Skye"

Specifications

Year: 2004

Make: Dodge

Model: Ram 1500 SLT

Miles: 217,000

Engine: 4.7l (287ci) Magnum V8 SOHC

Transmission: 5-speed automatic

Drive type: RWD

Fuel Economy: anywhere from 13.5mpg to 16mpg depending on driving conditions

Tires: 265/65R17 Toyo Open Country H/T II

This truck started out life as a commercial vehicle for a hospital's janitorial staff for hauling equipment trailers around between the different hospitals in their network around the Oklahoma City area, but it was actually owned by one of the managers, my grandpa, and it was also his personal truck for a while.

Because of needing to be essentially a work truck, it has barely any factory amenities. No power windows, no power locks, no remote locks, no overhead console, no rear defroster, no fog lights, cloth seats, no center console, black interior, and absolutely basic 17-inch steel wheels. The only upgrades from a bone stock model is it was upgraded to the 4.7l V8 instead over the 3.7l V6, cruise control, A/C (yes these trucks could come without A/C in this model), and the 5-speed automatic transmission.

This last option is where I have issues, but I'll get to that in a bit. For now, let's discuss the problems I had with it when I originally got it back in 2019.

It was 2018. The truck had been sitting in my grandpa's yard for 2 years without running at this point, as he had replaced it years ago, and he had no need for it anymore. My family and I were out in OKC visiting him, and I brought up that I'd need a newer vehicle soon (as my daily at the time was a 1994 Ford F-250, which wasn't the best at modern traffic anymore). My grandpa offered to take me out back and see his two vehicles he still had that he didn't need anymore. Outside his workshop was this truck, and a 2014 Nissan Versa. The Versa needed a new engine head and valvetrain, and the truck just needed, what I thought, was some new tires and and oil change, and it was ready to roll. I said I wanted the truck, no doubt about it.

Several months later and now in early 2019, my grandpa drove up my driveway in his Silverado towing the Dodge on his trailer. He dropped it off, we had a chat, and he went back home. The interior of the truck was in pristine condition. No rips or tears in the seats, no frayed or cracked vinyl on the center armrest, and best of all, the dash was in absolutely perfect condition. No cracks or anything. Except for the oxidized wheels and bald, dry-rotted tires and the moss on the bed and roof, it was in mint condition. Now all I had to do was wash it and give it a tune up.

Me and my dad spent the rest of that day washing the truck and cleaning the interior (which really didn't need to be cleaned all that much). My dad offered to get me some things for the truck that were necessary like wheels and tires. He bought me the wheels and tires it has on it now, and he also had a spray-in bedliner put in to cover up the scratches all over the bed. He also bought me a new head unit and all new speakers for the doors. I then later got new headlights, as the old ones were clouded and we couldn't get them clear again.

We also replaced just about every fluid and filter in the truck. Oil and oil filter, diff fluid, trans fluid and trans filter, coolant, and refrigerant. We also replaced the spark plugs. After that, it became my daily. No problems, just smooth sailing.

Until, I noticed a weird sound from the driveline. I couldn't pinpoint the sound, and I largely ignored it. Until one night I was driving about 80mph down I-44 near Vinita, OK when the sound got extremely loud and the speedometer dropped to 0mph, which killed the cruise. I was nearing the big McDonalds, so I slowed down to pull into it, but as I was getting onto the exit lane, the rear wheels locked up and the engine died. I then attempted to restart it, but as soon as I gave it any gas, it would lunge forward, then lock up and die again.

After getting it towed home, I pulled the rear axle and opened the differential to find all the gears welded together. My best guess as to what happened was the rear pinion seal on the differential was leaking oil out, and I didn't catch it before, and it was running without fluid for weeks. And apparently the speed sensor for the speedometer is mounted on the diff, not the transmission on these trucks, and that's what caused the speedometer to fail.

I acquired a rear axle from a junkyard and made sure to replace the pinion seal before installing it. The new diff was a slightly higher gear ratio (3.33 vs 3.50 I think. I'll have to check to confirm someday) and had a limited-slip differential.

The next issue that arose was the truck would stall whenever you came to a stop unless you shifted to neutral. I chased this problem down for months to no avail. I checked for vacuum leaks, I checked for trans fluid leaks, I replaced several sensors, I cleaned the throttle to near factory cleanliness, I replaced intake manifold and valve cover gaskets, etc. Nothing fixed it. Until I got my hands on a fancy shmancy Autel diagnostic tool. I hooked it up to the OBDII port and saw that the Throttle Position Sensor was always at 0.1V no matter how much throttle I applied. I replaced that sensor and presto, it ran perfectly again.

Next up on the list of problems, overheating. In the summer the truck would run hotter than you would think it should, but I assumed it was normal. You know, 100F degree weather, maybe it just is too hot and humid to cool it down that well. But it progressively got worse. Until one day the water temp gauge pegged out after 15 minutes of not very fast or hard driving. I managed to get it to the shop I was working at and I got it up on the lift. First thing I checked was the thermostat. It was completely gutted. there was no thermostat. So it was flowing coolant all the time, and it should have run colder than normal, but it didn't. So I checked if fluid would flow through the radiator, and sure enough, nothing did. It was clogged up completely. Replaced that, refilled coolant, and it was good to go once again.

The last little issue it's had was the check engine light kept coming on with a "very small EVAP leak detected" code. I ignored it for weeks, until I decided to just buy a new gas cap and that fixed it and no more problems since.

So that gets you up to the present. Now to talk about the future. What I want to do is to do a manual transmission swap to the truck. Early-00's Chrysler automatic transmissions are terrible, and everyone knows it. A manual transmission would be more reliable and more enjoyable for me.

"So what transmission will I use and where and how will I source it?" I hear you asking. Great question. I did some research on these 3rd-gen Ram trucks and the manual transmission options. Up until 2004 the manual transmission was the NV4500 5-speed. While this is a solid transmission, I want 6 gears if at all possible. So the 2005 and above 1500s had the Getrag G238 6-speed manual. What my plans are is to source a parts truck that is 2005my or newer with the manual and RWD, and get the transmission, trans bracket, shifter, pedals, slave cylinder, etc from it.

The hardest thing is going to be the ECU. I don't know how it will work with the transmission, and if it would need to be replaced at all or reprogrammed at the least. Hopefully I can find that out soon.