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Truck Projects: Beast and Thor

Thor

Thor Gets New Headlights

Thor, my 2006 Dodge Ram 3500, is getting new headlights and LED bulbs. They're ordered, and I'll document the swap with photos. What's Coming I ordered [the headlight assemblies: brand or type] and [LED bulbs: which positions]. They're on the way, and I'll put them in as soon as they arrive. Why [What's wrong with the old ones: hazy, dim, cracked, or something else.] With winter coming and a plow possibly going on the truck, I want to see well on dark roads. What I'll Cover Before and after phot
Beast

VP44 Injection pump - 505,363 Miles - May 23, 2026

Our last trip down to Boise ID we were going to dry camp with the RV as @Tweety Bird had medical appointments. While down in Boise / Eagle area Beast just died and jumped back to life.I called it and was the VP44. Fast forward we get home and park Beast beside the RV. Fast forward again yesterday i went to start Beast and move.Nope no start. Bummed I was going to have to work out in the yard. This morning I figure to try starting Beast again. Long crank but it started. Quickly move over the gara
Thor

We return home!

We are still currently living in the RV as we start to unpack into the house again, @Tweety Bird and I enjoyed the dry camping we did up at Lost Valley Reservoir. We needed the break so badly that we never went fishing at all. We just enjoyed the quiet and lack of cell service. My phone had just 1 bar, which barely would work, and I was able to text a few friends and communicate with them. We had two days of a very cold and windy snowstorm. Even back home, I was able to catch the Mopar1973Man we
Thor

Gone - Weekend rest!

@Tweety Bird and I will be heading out to Lost Valley Reservoir. We are going to get away from the house to give us both a break. Time to go fishing! It's been a rough spring with weather issues and attempting to keep vehicles running. We are just both burned out. The new injection pump for Beast will be here on Monday. The owners of Mopar1973Man.Com are going to disappear to the lake. Take a weekend and rest and be free for a while.
Beast

Front Driveshaft U-joint replacement

I had a vibration starting on the truck that was noticeable by about 70 MPH. I have already crawled under once before to attempt greasing the joints and check for play, but the u-joints seemed good. This is why I always suggest a full removal of the shaft so it's not loaded by hanging / gear tension. Now it's been some time since I've really been a mechanic, due to my cancer (strength), but I need to keep up with my repairs on Beast. @Tweety Bird came out to document while I was working. Stran
Beast

Back to work for Beast!

As far as my wife and I are concerned, Beast is going to be retired to strictly trailer hauling. I'm in the process of getting the RV ready, and the same with Beast. @Tweety Bird has medical to deal with down in Boise, Idaho. To save on motel stays or just driving back and forth. We are hauling the RV down and going to start in an RV park, but eventually move to a random spot where we are not in an RV park. As for Beast, I need to look into a vibration in the driveline, which I'm pretty sure is
Beast

Nearly 10 years of service! Passenger side failed - Morimoto D2S HIDs

During my trip to Lewiston, Idaho, the passenger side headlight failed. I assume the bulb was blown. I attempted to get a replacement bulb in town. Not possible. We stayed to daylight travel to get home. I returned home and ordered a set of 55w ballast and 55w D2H bulbs as a set. As I was disconnecting wires, the passenger side power plug from the MotoControl had burned one of the power pins. I had to contact RetroShop to order the new MotoControl. I've just needed a good weather day to get th
Beast

On the road.

Wife and I took the RV and headed to Lewiston Idaho for shopping and a bit of down time. Ive had my first problem on my trip my passenger headlight finally blew the bulb. Come to find out Lewiston doesnt even have and D2H bulbs for HID headlights. Im going to order new ballast and bulbs for Beast from Amazon. https://a.co/d/0hjxRZNE Upgrading from 35w ballast to 55w ballast and changing from 5000k to 6000k bulbs. Finding a bulb with the right connector is tough.
Beast

Lewiston Idaho

After many little mistakes like me forgetting my ostomy supplies. Trip home. Then back to camp. The last blog was easy 48 miles. We left Whitebird Idaho and got into Lewiston Idaho. Climbing grades like Whitebird Grade 7%. Oil temperature barely touched 180°F even though EGTs 1,100 to 1,350°F as my set limit but touched 1,400°F once. Enging coolant stay 205 to 215°F most of the climb. As we can down grade the oil temp cooled of back to 172°F. Beast is doing good but tripped a P0341 but the light
Beast

Beast is falling apart!

Beast is falling apart completely. The plastics are failing left and right. I've got to pull the dash apart to fix a speaker problem. @Tweety Bird telling me just order the plastics and get them coming. I placed an order through LMC truck for the new plastics for the dash, and then found a smaller part supplier that has the rear quad door cables for a pair at $30. Cheap! Yesterday I was out and had enough dry weather to install the rear speakers and then move the rear camera to the rear bumper

Thor - Back in the system

With how the wintertime is going for us up here. I pulled Thor back online to see if I can get more done. @Tweety Bird and I ran Thor to Lewiston, Idaho, for our shopping trip for chow and supplies. Thor is actually running quite well when fully warmed up. Even with a weak set of rings yet, Thor fires up every cold morning with white smoke and offbeat idle till those rings warm up some. Thor has been a comfortable truck to run, but there is add ons I'm looking at doing. First, I'm going to look

Thor is getting battery terminals, and more info!

Today I'm going to get myself together and get out and do the battery terminals on Thor. Yeah, it's a cold start here this morning. It's going to be a warmer day heading into the mid 50's at least. I want to get the new battery terminal and copper lugs installed today. I figured I would check over the website. @yohon and his rebuild, and helping out where I can. Every day can be a battle for me. I love what I can do, but my body tells me all about it when I try too hard. This is the depressing p
Beast

Beast gets a new radiator!

Finally, I'm getting back to doing things with the trucks. Beast has been rolling on a blown radiator for 2 years with a 200℉ with zero pressure. Yeah, I bought time (too much) and just clipped off the vacuum breaker part of the radiator cap. Now I'm getting the radiator installed in Beast and have a 16 PSI pressure once again. First off I gotta show off my mini shop for now so I can keep our vehicles in working order. It's tiny but its dry space somewhat. We are still sorting out stuff and get
Thor

Fuel pressure!

I've been playing with Thor to see if I could fix the AirDog 150 to get closer to 15 PSI. I found a spring at my local hardware store, and it was way thicker, but after a bit of trimming work, I got the fuel pressure to settle at 22 to 25 PSI. Yeah, I know it's high, but I wanted to be sure the CP3 is loading fully and getting good, solid rail pressure. I'm struggling to understand the grid heater light, and it typically trips on deceleration. I'm doing more testing to figure out my issues. Toda
Beast

Whoa! Rear brakes are rusted.

Yeah, I just got done doing brakes on Beast. Both rear brake calipers had rusted pistons that were so jammed that I couldn't seat them. @Tweety Bird was telling me just get it repaired, we need the trucks to function properly. I most likely got a little tear in the rubber boots, and the road salt finally ate the calipers up before the pads were even worn out on the passenger side. The driver's side rear pads were nearly gone due to the rusted pistons. In my position, without a shop, it makes it
Thor

Thor might be fixed?

With Beast leaking oil out front and rear main seals, needing tires, and closing in on 500k miles. Beast needs work to keep him going. Mark suggested to try looking into Thor. Luckily my fuel pressure test gauge made it and was intact and undamaged. I checked the fuel pressure key on, engine off, barely 7 to 8 PSI of fuel pressure. Now start the engine, the fuel pressure drops to 2-3 PSI with WOT stab of the throttle. Ugh! Now I pulled the check ball and spring and did my typical spring mod bend
Beast

Shade tree mechanic back at it

Both @Tweety Bird and I gotta have a break from all this. I had to deal with rusted slide pins on the calipers front and rear axle. We managed to find enough of my tools to at least do a simple repair. Suzanna has been busy packing the RV so we can go take a break camping locally. I'm kind of amazed. Got the front brakes done with slide pins. Both side you had to beat the pins out of the boots. The last time I did brakes at 350k miles till now with 497k miles and rolling. Finished this project
Thor

Seats, trailer taillights and even electric brakes!

Got up today and hopped out after Thor to finish up the front seats. The driver's side repaired seat looks patched and actually appears correct in the roll of the foam. Being I've got 3 days plus of clear warm weather coming we need to get @Tweety Bird moved out of Nampa ID, promptly. The Big Tex trailer is all hitched up and tested, all tail light functions are present and even for short trip down the driveway and back up the side yard I had good brakes on the trailer and you can feel it tug ba
Thor

Thor dumped its fuel tank in a mere 2 miles

I was coming back from Lewiston, ID, a few days ago. I looked down at my fuel gauge in Riggins, ID and just above 3/4 of a tank. Within about 2 miles, it popped the elbow quick connect off the return line and started pumping fuel on the highway. I notice the fuel gauge rapidly dropping shut the key down. The AirDog pump stopped and pulled over, found the quick connect fitting blew off, and dumped $100 of fuel on the highway in under 2 miles. I'm in the process of hunting down the old steel JIC c
Thor

Clean Up Day and some Seat Repair

Today I bounced outside, and it was warm and sunny. I wanted to get busy trying to make Thor cleaner and comfortable. Yeah, grab the power washer and nearly a gallon of degreaser and give Thor a good washing down on the engine so I can hunt oil leaks and other things. Don't need a greasy engine. I sprayed down the door jams and hinges so I can lube them back up and get the creaky door hinges to stop. The driver seat was pretty bad I peeled the seat bases out of both sides. Not really hard, just
Thor

Nampa, ID here we come!

@Tweety Bird and I loaded up into Thor. I've got a medical visit here in Nampa to see about saving my right kidney. Thor is going be helping us relocate tweety bird to my nest. Yup, she is moving out and in with me. As for the trip down Thor ran great. Very smooth ride and good power till you build a little bit too much boost... P0234 code. Funny. Pull over erase the error code and continued down the road. Now comparing the previous MPG to now. 4 MPG gain. Still remember I've got blow by issues
Thor

Thor becoming part of the family

Yeah, Thor is in rough shape. The interior is well-worn and dirty from two years of my using it as a service truck. Now, Thor is becoming the next article truck for the website. I've got a Mopar1973Man banner already pulled out for the truck's rear window. Then, Thor's first task is going to be hauling a full load of scrap metal to Lewiston, Idaho. Thor is going to provide all the 3rd Generation articles we need. I'm currently writing an article for the AirDog 150 fuel system I'm installing. I'm

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