What do I buy now?
After 390,000 kilometers I'm putting to rest my 1989 D50 RAM. I bought it brand new in 1989 for $12,000 Canadian incl taxes. That was the best money I ever spent. The 5 speed manual transmission never gave me any grief the whole time Replaced the brakes pads/shoes twice. Shocks once Alternator once Water pump once @ 390,000km Tune up twice A minor front suspension repair at 300,000 km Windshield once The body is in amazing condition with only minor rust on the rear panels, end gate is perfect.
I hauled rocks, dirt, lumber, hay, and furniture. Often I was well over the recommended payload. It took a beating over gravel roads with washboards, on old pavement with potholes, and then cruised effortlessly on a smooth highway at 120kph like a car. I drove long and hard in plus 40 to minus 45 Celsius. I've coaxed it to start in minus 40 temperatures without being plugged in. Towards the end it had started to burn coolant and leak oil from the front bearing, but it still started and ran like a brand new engine. So I was driving home from work on the highway and noticed it starting to power down a little, but I assumed it was because of the heavy winter wind. Then it balked and lost allot of power and I noticed the heat gauge was way up...looked in the mirror and noticed steam and smoke behind me. I knew right away what was happening. I know the head on the 2.6L has a tendency to warp quickly if it overheats. I decided to go out "Thelma and Louis" style. I rode it out until the truck came to a stop, then let it idle for a few seconds and turned it off. I patted the dash board and thanked it for a good run.
Now I'm looking for another truck. I'm looking at Rangers and Dakotas 1995 to 2003. But after reading allot of horror stories in forums I'm wondering if they still make'em like my D50 !! I like to keep my vehicles as long as I can. What do you recommend?