Hey this looks like a pretty good site.
I just got a 96 Dodge Ram 1500 about 4 months ago (it has the 318 in it) and the truck seems to be in pretty good shape so I’m hoping to get maybe three years out of it before getting another one. I have started to notice noise when I really have to stand on the gas, sounds like the timing chain slapping so I’m thinking I should go ahead and replace the timing chain before this gets bad. So far the truck runs fine and I only get the noise if I really stand on it. What I’m wondering is how much trouble it is to change the timing chain. One nice thing about this truck is all the empty space under the hood. How much of the front of the motor has to come off in order to get to the timing chain? I had to replace the water pump about two months ago and that involved lifting the air conditioner compressor and bracket and the alternator out of the way. Does the water pump have to come completely off to get the cover to the timing chain off?
Another thing that has recently come up is when I start off from a stop at low speeds it seems to cut out or loose all power to the wheels. At first I was thinking it may be something like the vacuum advance on the transmission because the engine doesn’t seem to stall, it’s more like the tranny is slipping but it has occurred to me that it could be something like the fuel filter. It only seems to happen at low speeds like when first starting off from a stop or turning a corner. Once I take it up to normal driving speeds it runs fine and it starts fine. Any one have any thoughts on this?
After having been saddled with a few small cars I can’t tell you how good it is to have a V8 again and I have always been partial to Dodges.
I just got a 96 Dodge Ram 1500 about 4 months ago (it has the 318 in it) and the truck seems to be in pretty good shape so I’m hoping to get maybe three years out of it before getting another one. I have started to notice noise when I really have to stand on the gas, sounds like the timing chain slapping so I’m thinking I should go ahead and replace the timing chain before this gets bad. So far the truck runs fine and I only get the noise if I really stand on it. What I’m wondering is how much trouble it is to change the timing chain. One nice thing about this truck is all the empty space under the hood. How much of the front of the motor has to come off in order to get to the timing chain? I had to replace the water pump about two months ago and that involved lifting the air conditioner compressor and bracket and the alternator out of the way. Does the water pump have to come completely off to get the cover to the timing chain off?
Another thing that has recently come up is when I start off from a stop at low speeds it seems to cut out or loose all power to the wheels. At first I was thinking it may be something like the vacuum advance on the transmission because the engine doesn’t seem to stall, it’s more like the tranny is slipping but it has occurred to me that it could be something like the fuel filter. It only seems to happen at low speeds like when first starting off from a stop or turning a corner. Once I take it up to normal driving speeds it runs fine and it starts fine. Any one have any thoughts on this?
After having been saddled with a few small cars I can’t tell you how good it is to have a V8 again and I have always been partial to Dodges.