School me on 2007 or 2008 Dodge Ram 1500

Status
Not open for further replies.
I know you live in Texas, but for those reading in the salty areas up north, the RAMs are one of the earliest vehicles to start rusting a lot up here. There are 2005s with massive blisters in the rear wheel well.
 
I have a 2007 Ram RC SB 4x4 with the 5.7L. Has almost 50k on it now. It is my daily driver.

The good:
Has been 100% problem free since I have owned it (had it since 25k miles).
MDS - seems to work fine for my driving style. On long highway trips using cruise control it will get 18-19MPG.
545RFE Trans - No problem with it so far and the shift points seem to match up with the hemi.
Tows 5000lb trailer with no problem.

The bad:
The seats are really uncomfortable on a long highway trip.
Fuel economy - In town/mixed driving gets 14-16MPG depending on how I drive it. Lower if towing, obviously.
I wish it had a 5 or 6 speed manual transmission. This is my personal preference.


Originally Posted By: cryption

I read on some Dodge forums that the Clutch pack retainer clips on the LSD (c-clip) tend to go out prematurely. Have you had any experience with this? From what I can tell it's limited to transmissions with a Limited slip, since it's part of the way it operates.


This seems to be less of a problem on 2007 and up Rams. I have the 9.25 with LSD and have not had any problems.

Originally Posted By: cryption

I've also read that the Rack & Pinion is known to have internal leakage, as well as ball joints and tie rods failing prematurely.

Have you had any experience with these issues? Should they be deal breakers? The known issues are what is keeping me from wanting a Dodge over a Ford (though they have known transmission issues).

I prefer how the Dodge looks.


No problems with any of those issues here.

Edited to add: Maintenance has been really easy on the hemi so far. Not sure why someone would say it is a maintenance nightmare.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: cryption
Hemi - you give me a lot to think about. I'm looking at this truck - and it's in the price range I want to spend. I just don't think I can afford a Hemi
frown.gif


Does the price of the truck I'm about to post offset the underpowered 4.7?

2007 Big Horn with just under 50k miles. I talked him down to $13,500 out the door.

17331973068.285271630.IM1.03.565x421_A.562x421.jpg


17331973066.285271630.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.562x421.jpg


Truth be told it's near the top of what I can spend. I'm doing this on a whim - and the only way I could convince the wife to trade the current car is if I have a lower payment. I am NOT upside down on my current car. I will have a small down payment after trading my Jetta.


It is your call but I would never buy any vehicle on a whim. Be sure before buying you will be happy with the purchase and understand it is expensive owning a truck. Gas, insurance, registration, and simple things like oil changes, tires, brakes, etc... cost a lot more - A LOT MORE - than they do on cars. Also be sure you will be ok with a vehicle that has an underpowered engine if you buy a 2007 4.7L Quad Cab or even worse the V6. It is a big deal when that happens and it makes you hate the vehicle real fast. It can end up costing you more in the long run if you have to sell it to go get what you should have in the 1st place even if that would have cost a little more initially.

I say go find and drive a QC 4.7L 07 & 08 Ram( even if it isn't the truck you want say it is and test drive it )and see the difference between the old 4.7L and the new 4.7L. Then to really see the difference a properly powered vehicle makes over one underpowered go drive an 07 or 08 HEMI Ram and then decide. I can already tell you what you will "want" to do after that even if you end up not doing it due to $$$ reasons.

I can only say I would not buy an 07 4.7L powered Ram. I had my 03 4.7L QC( think I said I had an 04 4.7L at one point above - sorry it was a typo - the 04 had the HEMI )which is going to be the same basic truck( a few cosmetic differences and 17's vs the 20's on that 07 ). It just didn't cut it for me as a DD, some work use( finish carpenter at the time ), and light towing( duck boat ). It just didn't have the stones even as a simple DD. The engine had to work too hard to get it up to speed and I drive very conservatively. I am no longer a hot rodder( now or then - I just like my stuff to look that way now ).

That 07 4.7L BH looks like a clean truck. $13,500 is an ok deal for it I would say. Not unreasonable as long as it doesn't need any work. I would be sure proper maintenance was done due to the sludge issues I talked of earlier and make sure the tires are in good shape though( it is $800-$1000 to replace the 20's with just halfway decent tires ). I would not personally buy an 07 Ram with the 4.7L and the 20" tire option however. That is going to make your power issues even more noticebale. It will have 3.92's which help some but that extra weight and increased rolling mass is a killer over the 17's even though they only come with 3.55's. My 08 is actually a BigHorn as well( nothing special about the BH package really - mostly trim items other than 20's and 3.92's )and came with the 3.92's and 20's and I hate it. I tried to find one with 17's but couldn't so I settled. My 04 Ram w/ 5.7L with 17's and 3.55's got better MPG and had more oomph with no MDS to boot.

In the end it is your call. I can only say once again that the 5.7L is the best option for the Ram 1500. Fuel economy is as good or better than the other offerings and you will want the extra power. Lots of guys settle for the 4.7L and say I can modify it to equal the HEMI for less. That is untrue as well. By the time they do their CAI, exhuast upgrades, buy a tuner, add a cam, and all the other goodies they do they have spent way more than just buying a HEMI to begin with.

Do yourself a favor and as I said above test drive an 07 and 08 4.7L Ram. Then drive an 07 or 08 Ram w/ 5.7L before deciding. If you decide that the 07 4.7L is enough then go for it. I know it is not for me based on owning 3 of these trucks with both engines.

Good luck and let us know what you go with.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum


Whether MDS on the 5.7 works or not depends a lot on who you talk to. It seems to really work well with some peoples' driving styles, not at all with others. Its useless in city driving, you have to be cruising for it to work. I know people who do a couple mpg better in their 08 5.7s than we do with the 4.7. But lets face it- when you're talking about a vehicle that large, it is NOT a small difference in engine efficiency that you notice. Mileage is totally dominated by weight and aerodynamics. You could put the most efficient engine on the planet in there, and it would still get about the same mileage (our 4.7 knocks down a solid 15.5 to 16 in commuter driving- some freeway, a mostly creep-and-crawl on a congested freeway, and a few blocks of street driving.)

FWIW, If you don't like MDS... it takes a couple of minutes connected to a Diablo engine tuner to get rid of it permanently
wink.gif




I am not spending $300-$500 for a tuner just to turn MDS off nor would I mess with my warranty using a tuner. MDS actually turns off if you engage the Tow/Haul button. I do that around town. Out on the highway crusing along it isn't as noticeable( noise )so I use MDS for the tiny help it gives.

I actually drive pretty conservative. I am not a lead foot. Even so MDS has not helped my 08 get even close to the mileage my 04 got without it( that stunk too though to be fair ). MDS actually comes on really easy in my truck( when/how easy it comes on has changed since it 1st appeared in 06 ). MDS will kick in on my truck as low as 20 MPH. All depends on how heavy you are with that right foot and how soon you start cruising along steady( as you said ).

My 04 had 17's and 3.55's. The 08 has 20's and 3.92's. I expected MDS to at least compensate for the large tires and lower gear ratio which kill MPG and at least make the MPG equal. It failed.

Best I have done with the 08 is 18.6 MPG highway( 100% )on a trip to NY from NH. Best I saw out of the 04 all highway was 20.2 MPG on a shorter NH to MA trip( was over 200 miles round trip though - still might have done a little better on a longer trip like the trip to NY ).
 
Last edited:
I wouldnt say that. I live in Maine and the only trucks I see that rust are the Tacos or the 3/4 scale Tundras and the older Frontiers, import stuff.

The domestics might rust but they are usually 15 years old before anything significant starts. I have a 2000 Durango with Oct 99 build and no rust at all.



Originally Posted By: ffracer
I know you live in Texas, but for those reading in the salty areas up north, the RAMs are one of the earliest vehicles to start rusting a lot up here. There are 2005s with massive blisters in the rear wheel well.
 
Last edited:
I drove an 07 4.7L and a V6 so far. I'm going to drive an 08 and a Hemi before I make a decision.

I really liked that Big Horn, but the sticker Price was 20k and the lowest they would go was 14,500 + TTL. The truck was nice, but I just got a bad feeling from that dealership.

The hunt continues! I'm taking your advice and I'm going to drive all the engine options first.

My impressions of the 07 4.7L are different then yours - but it's the only Ram V8 I've driven. I thought it was pretty peppy. Definitely had more get up and go then my Frontier had. It's been a while since I've driven my friend's V6 Ram, but I know I want a V8.

A buddy came with me who has a 4.6L F-150 and he liked the Dodge. We were both surprised at how far they have come in the quality department. It feels much better then my 2500 work truck (2000). He said that 4.7L is a little quicker then his 4.6L Ford.

Thanks for all your help and responses! I'm still on the prowl.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: cryption
Ah typo on my part. I mean the 2 different 4.7 engines. If it's pulling 65 horses out of the same block - something has to give.

My bad on the typo.

Actually its 75 more! That was a typo on my part.

No worries there- the necessary things were strengthened (rods, crankshaft), and it was already a very bulletproof lower end anyway, being cast iron and having a cast iron block girdle instead of conventional bearing caps. Chrysler has always (except for the 2.7, which was requested by the Daimler management) built bulletproof engines, even when they were having huge problems in other areas.
 
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI

Best I have done with the 08 is 18.6 MPG highway( 100% )on a trip to NY from NH. Best I saw out of the 04 all highway was 20.2 MPG on a shorter NH to MA trip( was over 200 miles round trip though - still might have done a little better on a longer trip like the trip to NY ).


See, that bolsters my belief that the Hemi does better than the 4.7, because the best we've ever done is just a tick under 17 on a 100% highway trip. I'm planning to take that truck on another trip in a few weeks, so I'll track it closely again.

Quote:
I am not spending $300-$500 for a tuner just to turn MDS off nor would I mess with my warranty using a tuner.


Oh, I wouldn't spend for one either. Around here there are a bunch of LX enthusiasts who have a tuner and share it around for a small fee until its paid for. I'm not sure what I'd do about warranty, because I think one of the coolest things about the Hemi is how easy it is to customize the performance with one of those tuners. Don't like MDS? Turn it off. Don't like torque management? Turn it off. Want another 40 horsepower with NO bolt-ons at all? Can do. Have a teenager that wants to drive your old Magnum and you want to pull AWAY about 40 horsepower and drop the rev limit down? No problem! (yes, that's a true story from someone I know). Having that flexibility might just be worth giving up warranty coverage for me. But I sure understand not wanting to give the coverage up, too.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Chrysler has always (except for the 2.7, which was requested by the Daimler management) built bulletproof engines, even when they were having huge problems in other areas.


I'm not sure I'd agree that Chrysler set out ot design a failure-prone engine, at anyone's request. The 2.7L V-6 engine was awfully advanced for its time, and produced more hp/liter than any of Chrysler's V engines (74 hp/liter). Even the current Hemi compares at only 61 hp/liter, which is not much different really from the 3.8L in my Town & Country (57 hp/liter).

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/V6/27.html

Besides, the engine came out in '98, which means it was in development for years prior. Didn't the Daimler management move in in '98?
 
I'm aware that i'm totally useless in this discussion, as I've never owned or even driven a truck much, but - my FIL has a 4.8 powered quad-cab Siverado 2WD. That engine puts out 295HP.

It has always suprised me just how well that truck gets up and goes, when you consider just how big it is.

I know, I know, completely different truck/engine, but I just wanted to agree that it would seem that about 300 HP is what you need in a truck this size, if you want 'good' performance.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
See, that bolsters my belief that the Hemi does better than the 4.7, because the best we've ever done is just a tick under 17 on a 100% highway trip. I'm planning to take that truck on another trip in a few weeks, so I'll track it closely again.


My 03 was IDENTICAL down to every single option and RPO code, other than color and the engine, to my 04. They were both Quad Cab 1500 SLT 4WD models with 3.55's and 245 17's( both had the exact same Michelin LTX M+S too ). I swapped the tires over to some large AT's on the 04 before I sold it that hurt the MPG a little but that 20.2 MPG came on the same tires as the 03 had.

My 03 with the 4.7L averaged mid 16's to low 17's all highway in the year + I had it. I don't recall the exact figure but the best it ever did all highway was in the high 17's to the best of my ability to remember.

The 04 w/ 5.7L easily did 18-19 routinely highway and as said broke 20 once. My 08 did that 18.6 MPG all highway on that NH - NY trip I took. It did an 18.2 MPG as well on that trip. Other than those two decent results it has basically been mid 17's on the highway( 85-90% highway average ). I would bet if I had 17's and the 3.55's on the 08 as I did the 03 & 04 it would do a good MPG+ better with ease. I HATE the 20's and 3.92's!!!!! It also only had about 3000 miles on at the time of the trip and I didn't have my hard tonneau so I might have hit 19+ with it if done now?

These are the trucks I am talking about.

2003 1500 QC SLT 4WD 3.55's 245/70R-17 4.7L:
03Ram.jpg

03Ram002.jpg


2004 1500 QC SLT 4WD 3.55's 245/70R-17 5.7L HEMI:
04Ram8.jpg

100_16822.jpg


2008 1500 QC SLT BigHorn 4WD 3.92's 275/60R-20 5.7L HEMI w/ MDS:
IMG_1162.jpg

IMG_1165.jpg
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
2008 1500 QC SLT BigHorn 4WD 3.92's 275/60R-20 5.7L HEMI w/ MDS:
IMG_1162.jpg



Truck looks sharp! The white letter tires really work here.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top