1997 Dodge Ram Van 1500

300,000 AND STILL GOING STRONG

By DODGE CARGO (OCEAN CTY. N.J.) on Tuesday, July 17, 2007

"I PURCHASED THIS CARGO VAN NEW, USED IT FOR SERVICE WORK WITH ABOUT 750LBS. IN IT AT ALL TIMES.AT THE SERVICES THE TRUCK WOULD BE IDELING SOMETIMES FOR 2 OR MORE HRS.OIL CHANGED EVERY 3K UNTIL I SWITCHED TO SYNTHETIC AT 150K.THEN EVERY 5K. I DID REPLACE THE REAR AXLE BEARINGS AT 250K AND THE TIMING CHAIN,BEFORE IT WENT, AT 200K. I ALWAYS USED PREM. FUEL AND NEVER HAD ANY ISSUES WITH THE ENGINE.THE TRUCK IS GREAT AND STILL STARTS EVERY TIME WITHOUT NOISE OR SMOKE."

9 people out of 9 found this review helpful

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It was a good vehicle.

By Nick (MI) on Sunday, February 05, 2012

I owned and sold this car
Reason: Idler arm seperated from frame. - My approximate mileage is 166,236

Pros: "Comfortable, descent gas mileage, roomy."

Cons: "Heat and A/C never did that well, and frame rust."

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 8

"I got it from my mom at 161000 miles, put a little over 5000 miles on it before I had a major issue, the frame rusts overtime and eventually the idler arm rips right out of the frame, which could be deadly luckily I was stopped when it happened. If you want to get one check to see how much its rusted before you purchase it, and the a/c drain drips right on to the frame, ingenious idea by dodge."

7 people out of 7 found this review helpful

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Gets it done

By R B (pennsylvania) on Sunday, November 23, 2008

"great work truck in my opinion ive owned several of these Vans and if it wasn't for the disappearing body panels (rust) you could rum this truck forever, there cheaper to buy then ford or chevy"

7 people out of 7 found this review helpful

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Maybe yes .... maybe no

By mary (Corpus Christi, TX) on Sunday, August 29, 2010

"We purchased this vehicle new. Although, I had to replace the water pump about every 3 to 4 years other than that it has been a good vehicle. I have at least than 150,000 miles on it and for the past 3 month I have put over $1,000 on repairs. Now only to have the transmission going out. This has really been fustrating to me. Everytime I got my van back from the mechanic, somthing else went bad. I have heard that when a dodge starts going bad everything goes bad. How true"

4 people out of 4 found this review helpful

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Get one!!!

By rutroshaggy (Charlotte,NC) on Thursday, October 15, 2009

"Buy a k&n filter. It will pay 4 itself.I average 17-18mpg. You can buy these vans for a song and the parts and everything are cheap. I will always own a conversion van. I have 180,000 miles and going strong and I beat this thing like a rented mule... For even better mpg, add a magnaflow muffler, supposed to get up to another 3+ mpg out of it. That would be nice, I'm adding one soon. Oh, keep the roof channels clean or they will rust. I had a spot and caught it before it got bad."

4 people out of 4 found this review helpful

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