well, after 291,000 miles the starter went out in my 97 ram.  i called the
dealer that i purchased it from and they said it was no longer in warranty.
now i am upset and had to change it out myself.  ;-)

i hope i get another 291k out of this one.  i bought a factory replacement
since the first did so well.

also i have a subject i have been pondering that someone may be able to
enlighten me on.  with this same truck, i started it out with castrol 20/50
syntec after its second oil change.  at about a quarter million miles it had
begun to burn a full quart every 2,000 miles.  there were no leaks, it was
just disappearing.  one day, about three oil changes ago i dropped the oil
for a change and realized i didn't have any of the syntec in the shop.  i
did have a case of royal purple 20/50 that i use in my harleys and my
hotrod.  i figured what the heck, how can i kill this truck by using a
different oil.

afterwards i opened the hood after 2k to pour in the required quart and
noticed that it had not used enough to warrent topping off.  in fact, it
made it 5k and only needed a 1/2 quart.  the oil consumption went down by
way more than half just from a brand change.  i now know the castrol syntec
is a "highly refined" oil and not a true synthetic but it is still a decent
product.  what is up with the change in oil consumption?
michael