Top 5 Problems Dodge Ram Truck 3rd Generation 2002-08

Here we have a third-generation Dodge Ram. We're gonna be going over the top five problems for this vehicle.

Now there's nothing wrong with this vehicle. There's nothing wrong with owning one or buying one. These are the top five problems that we have found. Every car has their problems.

Number one, cylinder misfires, or P0300 codes. Now it's always a good idea to replace your spark plugs and your wires, and even your coils if those coils go bad. And sometimes you have fuel injector issues. But more common than those is there's actual carbon buildup on the inside of the engine. What you need to do is a decarbon procedure where you add chemicals into the intake while the engine is running, let the engine do its thing, clear all that out and then the engine is gonna run better and you shouldn't have any more misfires.

So you could always do a fuel injection clean, where you actually clean the injectors and you go into this port with that specific tool. But sometimes with that same tool, they actually have a system where you can go into the intake itself. And that's going to clean more of the intake. It'll clean off the throttle body and some of the intake and intake gaskets itself. Get all that carbon out of there.

Now, if you don't have that professional tool, there's always aerosol cans of different types of engine cleaners they can use. You just have to follow the directions on the can and use a straw, get underneath this intake tube. And you're gonna have to have someone activating the accelerator pedal, probably to increase the RPMs or the engine speed to keep it up to a certain amount. Whatever it says on the can, that's what you want to do.

Now, it may not fix the problem, but it may help prevent it if you add some fuel injector or fuel system cleaner that's meant specifically for the gas tank.

Number two, no heat. So normally what happens is the heater core actually plugs up and that's where you get your heat. It's right here, back against the firewall. There's two hoses. Now, if the coolant has some sediment in it or some contaminants, it will eventually plug up and stop the flow of coolant and you're not gonna get heat that way.

Now what you could do is come over here, and there's two hoses right here. Those come off the water pump area. You could take those hoses off and take a garden hose and flush the heater core out. Try to get some of that sediment out of there. Make sure you change the entire coolant in the system, because if the heater core is plugged up, the rest of the system isn't doing so good.

So do that. Put it back together and see if you have heat. You might get by with doing that for a little while. It's probably not gonna be a permanent fix, but it'll get you by for a little bit. The permanent fix would be replaced in the heater core, but then again, also make sure your cooling system's up to par.

Number three, the EVAP system. Whenever you have an EVAP code that you've checked with a scan tool, first thing you want to do is always check the gas cap. Just grab it, just make sure it's not loose. And then you can always check the ratchet, take it off. Just take a look at that seal, if you see any dry rot or cracking in that seal, you need a new gas cap. The same with the ratchet part, if it feels really loose, it's not tightening it down good enough and you always need to replace that. It's normally the first cause but double-check that.

Or you could have a problem with the EVAP purge valve, which on this vehicle is located right here underneath this fuse box. Now they're not all located here, but most of the time they are attached to the engine. You just need to look for the vacuum lines and the lines that go to the back of the vehicle. But these purge valves will get stuck, open or leak, and those need to be replaced. Pretty easy job to do.

Number four, vehicle stalling issues. So this is similar to problem number one with carbon buildup, but this is specifically carbon buildup on the throttle body itself. What you can do is take the throttle body off, clean the throttle blade right there. You never want to take those screws out. Those are calibrated in there properly. When you put this back on, you are gonna have to do an idle learn. Now there's a specific procedure for this.

To do the idle relearn procedure on this vehicle, you're gonna need to disconnect the battery for at least 90 seconds. Let everything power down, then you reconnect the battery, then you turn the key on without starting the vehicle and let that go for at least 10 seconds. I would leave it a little bit longer than that. And then you should be able to shut everything down and you should be good to go.

Number five, transmission solenoid packs. Just because you have a transmission issue, if it feels like it's shifting funny or slipping, or even you have a check engine light with a transmission code, doesn't always mean you need a transmission. You could have a transmission solenoid that is starting to get weak. It just needs to be replaced.

It's always a good idea to keep up on your transmission services and check your fluid level regularly. You want to make sure it's a nice red color and make sure you double-check your owner's manual how to check the fluid. And there is a hot mark right here in a cold month. So you're gonna want to run the vehicle and while the vehicle is running, check that fluid level. Make sure it's up to par and make sure you change it regularly.

Now underneath the vehicle, your transmission is located right here and underneath this transmission pan is where those solenoid packs are. You'd have to remove the pan to access those solenoids.

So those are our top five problems for this Dodge Ram. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you subscribe to our channel, ring that bell, turn on all notifications so you don't miss any of our videos.