Three problems related to engine and engine cooling have been reported for the 1996 Dodge Ram 1500. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500. When the engine was started, the rear of the vehicle emitted a fuel odor and fuel leaked from the fuel tank. The contact stated that the vehicle shook while the engine was running. The contact received a recall notice for the fuel tank rollover valve. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who stated that the vehicle already received the recall repair; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage and NHTSA campaign number were unknown.
The contact owns a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact was driving 65 mph and noticed a loss of power in the vehicle. The contact then noticed smoke and flames shooting from under the hood. The contact safely merged off the roadway and exited the burning vehicle. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an impound lot. The vehicle remains were not inspected to determine the cause of the fire. The manufacturer was not notified of the incident. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 123,000.
Sludge build up in engine stopping up the oil pan pick up,causing truck to loose oil pressure. Now at 121000 miles the transmission blew. The truck has been losing oil pressure from the sludge since I bought it new in 1996, I was told several times by the dealer,this was caused by the lacquer that the engine builder used to ship the engine to the USA, 318cui built in japan. The dealer cleaned the engine several times, the last time was in July 2003 costing about $1000 to me. I have been getting the run around from Dodge and the dealer, since the truck was under warranty when this first started and now at 121000 miles the transmission blew up. The sludge build up has happened 4 times over the past years, seems like about every 30000 miles, instead of fixing truck all they did was cleanup the mess afterward. When the transmission blew the motor lost oil pressure again, so this make 5 times the truck has done this, this has been reported to Dodge several times but no help from them, they don,t want to stand by their truck and it don,t look like I can do anything about it. Thanks james c. Rose.