Dodge vans

[Louis]

So I just got a 1997 Dodge vanb3500 with 46k on it. My GMC died from pto use. This was a city owned van so It's clean. It doesn't run and shift as smooth as my GMC but it runs and and it was only $3500.

I have never owned a dodge before. so what am I in for. I hear the transmissions are crap. Is this true and do they cost more than the van is worth to fix?

 

[Lee Stockwell]

NOW you ask...

 

[Louis]

It was this or a trailer and buy a truck. I think the next van will be a ford. I see them all over with almost 300K. My neighbor has a f-250 with 400k. another cleaner has a ford with 260k and it has never been in the shop for a repair.

 

[The Great Oz]

Best trucks we've ever had in our fleet. We ordered them with tow packages so they were fitted with transmission and power steering coolers and never had transmission trouble, so putting coolers on might be worth the investment if your van doesn't have them.

Run synthetic oil and a Dodge van will be hard to kill.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Oz how long have you been running the Dodges? We had them in the 80's and were disappointed in them back then and moved on to Fords and now Chevy's. They all seem to POS at times, can't say I like one brand a huge difference over another. We buy the Chevy's simply because our lease agent can save us a couple of grand over the Ford's.

 

[Jimmy L]

A 1997 dodge should go for around $10

Had a couple dodges and RUST and transmission problems were the issue.

 

[Desk Jockey]

A 1997 dodge should go for around $10

Had a couple dodges and RUST and transmission problems were the issue.

+2

 

[Clean Response]

I got a 97 I run a cds on it and it burn up coils. I carry extra ones so I can change them out and keep cleaning. Other than the coils it is and ok van. I never had a trany problem. I can not fill it up all the way as the fluid does boil out when it get hot so a tr5anny cooler might not be a bad idea.

 

[Desk Jockey]

My dad loved Dodges and was always taken in by the we got the tranny problems fixed.

He had 3-4 Minivan's and had tranny trouble with each, replaced under warrany but he was without his car for weeks on end. Frustrated he bought an Intrepid which also eventually also had tranny problems.
He even had a K-car station wagon prior to the mini's that had tranny trouble.

With much reluctance he bought a Toyota, he wanted to buy american but the tranny's finally got him and he never looked back. He drove an Avalon up until he passed, my sister drives it now.

I like the looks of the Dodge's but what's up with their tranny's? That Intrepid was a cool car.

 

[The Great Oz]

When I started here we had Fords, Dodges and Chevys. The Fords had lots of odd little problems, the Dodges (Carter carbs) didn't like to start when cold, the Chevys were the nicest to drive, but their windows fell into the doors and they rusted like crazy. We went all Ford for about fifteen years, until they started building engines that failed at 35k and didn't see anything wrong with that.

In 1994 we chose Dodge mainly because GM was selling a 20 year old design and promising to "bring out the new one next year" every year, and the Dodge was a brand new design. Comparing repair records with others in those days we were always glad we had Dodges. Transmission failures at 25 to 40k were so common with GM at the time that when Dodge went to Sprinters we actually investigated buying Fords again.

 

[rhino1]

tranny and rust problems, I have a 98 with a 360ci and it ate coils also, haven't had that problem since I took out the pto and installed a slide in
while putting a hole in the floor I learned the sheetmetal a Dodge is made from is only slightly harder to drill than cardboard

 

[steve g]

I bet you one thing a dodge transmission of that vintage is one heck of a lot better than anything GM. I think in 98 dodge switched to the newer style dash those vans seemed to have more problems than the old style dash vans. I ran a few 94-97 dodge vans back in the day and while they are ugly. I thought they were decent vans we didn't really have any major problems out of them. I think the brakes are small on them. that was back in the days of the GM 700 R4 never personally seen or heard of anyone making it much past 70k be it truck of van.

 

[Louis]

So It sounds like I should just put a new coil in now. The trans mission shifts fine if you drive it kinda fast. I you drive slow it feels weird but im used to a gm. Doesn't slip just feels like a sulgish shift. The brakes are crap compared to gm. I only drove it less than 200 miles last week. I need this van to last at least a year before I put anything like a tranny in it.

 

[Shane T]

Sounds like the coil was only a problem with those who ran a CDS. Doubt you'll have a problem with it. Have the transmission fluid and filter changed right now and install a trans cooler.

 

[Doug Cox]

I've had 2 Dodge vans and feel they are no better or worse than the 2 or 3 chevys I had previous. It seems they all rust about the same. In the n30 years I've been doing this I think I've replaced 2 trans. My current Dodge has over 125k miles and hauls over 8k lbs arounds every day and is still going. It's all about maintenance.

 

[Louis]

Well the good thing is I don't have to worry about rust here. Going to line x it after Christmas. It does not like to start in the morning. After that it's fine.