Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and pretty clueless when it comes to the technical aspect of trucks and towing. I would greatly appreciate some advice on my current situation.

I have a 98 Dodge Ram 1500 5.9L 2WD pickup. I bought it six years ago with 60K miles. The first four years, I used it very regularly to haul a fully loaded 2H BP Slant all over the place. Other than a single steep grade gravel hill incident, this truck has been a champ when it comes to towing my horses.

The truck now has 155K miles and is exhibiting a serious decline in power and shifting competence. It's been a gradual change, and I'm sure my transmission is on its last leg.

I love this truck. It's been very reliable since the day I purchased it, and it's been pretty stressful considering all my options in a possible replacement. If I purchase another truck, I'm planning to spend about $20K.

Do I really need a new truck? Would having the transmission rebuilt solve most of my problem? The truck is no where near in excellent condition, but it's still reliable and small dings/scratches don't really matter to me. However, it has developed a small oil leak over the past year that has me concerned.

At 155K miles, what all do I need to know and be concerned about? Thanks so much for the consideration!

Congratulations on getting great service from your truck.

While you say the transmission is most of the problem, it could be the engine is losing power too. I would have a competant mechanic check the engine. A compression test or such will indicate relative wear of the internal engine. It could be a simple valve job or something more involved. The oil leak can also be traced at that time.

Remember, while the engine and tranmission is rebuilt, the rest of the truck is still worn. The once reliable truck could turn into a constant drip of small repairs.

Thanks very much for the reply! Basically, are you saying unless I just REALLY want to keep THIS truck for some reason, it's probably time to let it go?

Even if I put money into it to bring some power back, I have no intention of keeping it more than maybe 2-3 more years. By then I'll be moving onto something bigger to haul more.

This may be a silly question, but how does one go about finding a truly competant mechanic? I don't know anyone off the top of my head I would trust to suggest one over another.

I took the truck for its regular oil change a few months ago when the issue of the oil leak came up. The mechanic "evaluated" the truck as well and sent me to a transmission specialist. The specialist didn't charge me to look at the truck, but told me to take it to a dealership to get the computer re-flashed. That actually corrected the shifting problems I was having, but now I'm questioning the competance of the original mechanic that spoke to me about my oil leak as he was all "re-build, re-build, re-build" and blamed the oil leak mostly on the transmission problems. I mean, the tranny acts old, but the re-flashing fixed every major issue I was having at the time.

I HATE being a girl that knows nothing about cars......