I was thinking about buying a gas engined Dodge at one time (didn't) and read somewhere re transmissions would tend to fail if they were not put into forward first - then into reverse. Something about a pump not engaging till they were put into forward gear - any truth to this ?
i've never heard of that one before. the biggest, and most common problems i see with their trannys, is that they don't go into any gear right away when cold. then when they do, they slip pretty badly. i've seen this on chrysler trannys with as low as 60k on them.
i'm fairly happy with the 318(5.2L) in my dakota. it's been ultra reliable to date, with 120k or so on the clock. it doesn't feel as powerful as the older carburetor 318's though.
i've got cutomers with 5.2's and 5.9's.....they're all happy with the engines......