Mopar1973Man

Strange 472k miles I've never had a 5th gear nut issue. Now what I had problems with.... First off the factory gear lube 75w-85 synthetic is too thin especially when heated to above 220°F. It was causing wear of the gear hard face and cause the gear teeth to break. I've broke 5th gear (smaller one on the mainshaft). I've broke the input gear. Then had issues with syncros being I got two sets of defective brass syncros. This is why I'm using 50 SAE Transmission fluid which is the same stuff used in Eaton Fuller 10 speed transmission. Food for thought the 75w-85 is equal to 10w-30 engine oil for viscosity.

Well maybe, and nope. AlmaLinux 9 8 GB of RAM 160 GB Hard Drive 8 CPUs Intel Interworx Control Panel Cooking skills are rather poor but she is a great server. (Think restraunt server.)

I've got a lot done. Flooring is complete in the living room. I've got my computers back up. Both Michael and Server up and running. Now with the network built but not quite finished. This allows me to run the server for doing my backups of the website back home which I'm going to make sure everything is backed up here just in case. Being my other thread I've purchased the new server with the hosting company. Here you see my 28 port managed network switch and the little box is my gateway / router. I'm getting everything ready for the big move.

My TP-Link Gateway / Router (ER605v2) showed up today and was fairly easy to hook up and configure. Compared to the switch it's a tiny unit. I'm not feeling all that hot today, I'm worn out and didn't sleep too well last night. I figured I'd get the gateway/router hooked up and running so the network here continues. Amazing how much device traffic I have here and how well this system is handling all this. The little box on top of the larger switch is my gateway/router for the internal network.

Little delay here getting flooring laid down. Everything is a mess.

After doing some research on Starlink it is a rather secure Internet provider. I found out since they use CGNAT for addressing the internet it's nearly impossible to even address any device inside my network. Kind of a bummer for me I want to port forward several things off my home server so I could access from anywhere in the world. Nope CGNAT prevents this from happening. I've had several freak out about my use of Tiktok and how anyone can steal info from my phone. This is not possible while I'm at home since no device can be addressed from the outside world. How do I know this? Funny during my server set up I wanted to remote download all the website data and point it back to my home server. There is no response from my home server even calling out to my public IP address and even having port forwarding point that call to my server. Nope. No response. Now within my home network I can call my server and access the data I need. Yup I can access both machines from my phone at home but can't from the field.

The heater hose going to the head is the supply and should be the same temp as coolant. The other hose going to the steel tube is return and should be 50 to 70 degrees cooler than coolant temp while the fan on high and temp set to to full heat. If they are both equally hot then the heater would be plugged up possibly from debris in the block. Typically on my Quadzilla I range from 186 to 202 degrees. Running still a Napa thermostat. I flush coolants on a regulat schedule. Vent temperature I typically measure about 160 degrees out of the vents on full heat.

Well, I'm sure a lot of you are curious about what I've been up to in the background. What I've been doing lately to prepare for the server swap is creating my own network at home. This is not your typical network setup. I've got 2 indoor WiFi heads one for the main house and one for the shop. Then I've got an outdoor WiFi head as well. This is all tied back to my 28 port PoE (Power On Ethernet) managed switch. Here we go... Starlink is my provider for the Internet. So far I'm extremely pleased with my service and price per month. Starlink is my source of internet and I had to order the optional ethernet port so I could run a wired network as well. No problem it was easy to hook up and fairly cheap to purchase. Now coming off the Starlink to my TP-Link 28 Port Managed Network Switch. I've got 250 watts of power for any PoE-enabled device. PoE stands for Power On Ethernet so the network switch provides the power for like my cameras and WiFi heads. This makes the setup very very easy being I just have to run cable from the switch to the device. Why all this? Simple it gives me a way of managing internet usage and allows me to firewall my whole network from the outside. Well not quite yet. I'm missing a Gateway that I ordered tonight which allows firewalling, port forwarding, and other firewall tasks. I've got security cameras watching over the property and the customer's vehicles here in the yard. Then I'm providing WiFi and cell service (Verizon). Now this is where some security comes in. I've got so far 2 WiFi channels you could use. Currently, Mopar1973Man is my full-access WiFi currently no restrictions. Now then there is Mopar1973Man Guest I got the bandwidth restricted to 5 Mbits down and 2 Mbits Up. Now I'm downloading large amounts of data from Mopar1973Man.Com I can now do it securely and not worry much. I've taken @MoparMom computer formatted the hard drive and created my own home server that does the dirty work that I don't want on my machine. Like today I did another full server backup and was able to store it in my home server. My cameras are set up over an SSH connection (Secure SHell) and as soon as any motion is detected the camera creates a video file on my home server and writes the video clip to the hard drive. Now going even further. Another reason for all this is protection from EMP pulse. You have to remember all data is stored on magnetic hard drives or SSD (Solid State Disk). As a matter of fact, I use both. So even the current backups are not secure being one EMP pulse could wipe it out. Now I'm building up a way to take these massive backup files and convert them into chunks that I can burn to DVD DL (DVD Dual Layer) which is 8.6 GB per disk. Then if I get this all written to an optical disk then it won't matter about EMP. Even if my computers are destroyed I've still got everything I need to restart even a new computer and be up and running quickly. Hard to believe after 23 years of being here on the internet I've got close to 65 GB of data on this server. That is my other issue. My current server I'm on has run out of time. CentOS7 is considered obsolete. I've been busy test-driving software I can get ahold of and ensuring I'm not getting caught in a corner with software issues, The website will be leaving CentOS7 Linux and switching to AlmaLinux. I've downloaded AlmaLinux and it's also a Redhat Linux Family and seems to be a better operating system. What I did was install VirtualBox and installed AlmaLinux as a virtual machine. The only thing I've not really studied hard is the Interworx control panel for the server. It seems like a better environment over cPanel without the expensive license I pay monthly on cPanel. Anyone out there that wants to try Linux I'm more than willing to teach you and help you install the Linux to a PC and get you set up. Just keep in mind Linux world does not have viri issues or malware being all Linux software is open source meaning you can download the source code and review the code for weakness if you wish. The beautiful trick is Android and Linux are both in the same family of Linux. You can bind your cellphone to a PC and that way you can use cellphone functions without picking up your phone. Being all the servers I work with are all Linux there isn't any need for expensive conversion software like Windows uses to work with Linux networks. Always remember Linux software is FREE, no cost, no price.

Wait to Start light should always come on for a bulb check even if you don't need to wait to start. Could you check for error codes if there is a P0381 then it's a bulb or circuit issue between the ECM and the wait-to-start light. Harder starts typically I first think about the air in the fuel or air leak on the fuel system. Yeah, I know that the VP44 injection pump can also fail without codes. But typically there are other issues that come up where performance suffers like MPG's, or just running performance. Error codes just usually mean an electrical circuit or sensor is not working like it's supposed to.

Wednesday (Oct 17, 2023) we all headed out and got up to the west side of Florence ID and got to our old spot. Damn It! Our wood spot has been bone-picked. We moved to another spot on the mountain and found lots of wood but bigger-diameter trees. No biggy. So I started to back up the trailer to park it out of the way and the steering started to whine. I shut down instantly and got out and you can clearly see the fluid came out of the top cover of the steering box. Being Beast has all of Thor's tools I just simply got the right wrench. Now checking the top cover 2 bolts were loose. I snugged up the bolts and no what for fluid? DISCLAIMER: NOT A PERMANENT SOLUTION JUST A BAND-AID! I just happened to be lucky I had 5 quarts of ATF+4 in the truck and a transmission funnel. I poured ATF fluid till it ran over the top of the reservoir. It least filled with fluid. We continued our wood gathering and had no issues. Now an old man years ago told me, "Even the wrong fluid is better than no fluid!" In this case, I was lucky I had the ATF in the toolbox yet. Now I've got to go buy a gallon jug of power steering fluid and flush the ATF out of the system. Why 1989 to 2002 Was Power Steering Fluid vs. 2003 And Newer Are ATF+4 WARNING! - 1989 to 2002 Dodge Ram trucks all took power steering fluid. DO NOT use ATF+4 as a fluid substitute being the seals are not compatible with ATF or even ATF+4. This is why the 2003 and newer trucks run ATF+4 because Dodge did away with Sagnaw Steering Boxes and switched over to Ford Steering Boxes. This is why all 2003 and newer trucks have ATF+4 for power steering fluid. So shortly I'll be building a power steering flush article.

Alright... Finally, I got the server here finished. I now offloaded all this background stuff to MoparMom's old computer. Uninstalled the network software and all the camera footage moved to the new Server here at home. Now we are going to be looking into doing the server swap very very soon. I'm looking at maybe sometime this next week if things go right. Personally me right now I'm kind of struggling with my lower back and my hips from chasing firewood.

Just was showing off your photos to my friend of your Cummins Quad Cab.

Remove the push rod and roll it on a piece of glass or flat steel table. If it wobbles when rolled it's bent. You can purchase a new rocker arm set from @dieselautopower which I've done for one of my clients that #1 exhaust did the same thing. I ordered just one rocker arm set and did valve lash on the single set and was done.

Update for tonight. I started building up my server machine. Got my security cameras all swapped over to the new home server. Then during my Ubuntu 22.04.3 install I opted for partitioning the drive up. I've got 2 TB in that machine. Root - 20 GB Home - 250 GB Camera - 820 GB Website Backup - 820 GB Why? So when I'm in process of doing the server swap I'm going to have a full copy of the server before and after. Then thinking ahead if EMP happen to be used in the future I'll have another copy here. Then I'll burn all the website data into DVDs which are not magnetic but optical so for a good copy will be saved. I'm planning on the home server to capture a weekly backup here at home. No matter what I'm doing everything in my powers to be double sure nothing is lost. I'm done for the night.

Dang... The Thumb Drive I've got is barely 8.1 GB empty and AlmaLinux 9 is just too big to fit. It's 9.2 GB for the ISO file. I tried the minimal version which has all the graphical parts totally stripped out. Welp. I'm going to head back to my tried and true Ubuntu 22.04.3 load that up on that machine and get rolling. Either way, I'll be still good here. I wanted it for a learning experience and a bench to work on the website. I'm currently creating the boot USB stick so I can get this machine up and running. Ubuntu is much smaller at 4.3 GB which will fit on this thumb drive.

Ok. So I went out to VirtualBox and AlmaLinux and downloaded and installed VirtualBox then within VirtualBox installed AlmaLinux so I could test drive the Linux. Again I'm still running Ubuntu Linux as a base. After a quick install and playing with AlmaLinux, it is from the ReHat family. This is good and should not pose any issues in running the website software. Screencast above is terminal and I called out LiSt -Long Human readable. That is what the ls -lh means. If you look my Ubuntu 22.04 menu is on the far left side. AlmaLinux 9.2 running in the window. Operating System - Checked and good to go. There is another reason I did this test run. Being I've still got @MoparMom computer here I'm going to make use of this machine and AlmaLinux and set up a home network and server using her machine with AlmaLinux. This way all my security camera footage will be saved on its own drive and then this machine takes the network load of the house releasing my machine for work and not wasting my CPU power on the network tasks.

I've been fighting a blend door issue where if you turned the temperature up to warm up the cab and later want to turn it to a cooler setting the door wouldn't move. You had to turn it up hotter and then quickly down lower and it would start to cool down. Now Being I've never done a heater treater yet I was thinking the shaft broke and hanging it up. I grabbed Mark and asked him for an offset Phillips driver. With little patience, I managed to remove the two Phillips screws and removed the stepper motor for the blend door. I was shocked my shaft coupler was still going strong. Then I popped open the steeper motor lubed the gears with some fresh grease and then pulled the brass contacts out a bit for the motor to rest against for power. Closed it up and just plugged in the stepper motor without installing it. Turn the key on and the HVAC controls to like Vent. Now rotate the temperature control to hot and cold to check movement. I found that the plug was not quite getting it and gave it a good squeeze and Presto! the problem is now fixed. I did go ahead and take a razor knife and cut the foam pad back to give my fat fingers a spot to get the back Phillips screw back in. After installing I did the same thing again and made sure the door swung both directions without hanging up. Sometimes you just gotta give that sticky wheel a bit of clean up and grease.

Might look quiet on this end. But... I've been doing my research for the new server that will be running the Mopar1973Man.Com website. First off the current operating system I'm running is CentOS and will be moving over to AlmaLinux. Now I'm currently loading up a virtualbox of AlmaLinux to get a feel for what I'm getting into. Just the little bit of reading I've done so far AlmaLinux is a better operating system than CentOS. Performance is unknown but the reviews I'm seeing most are moving in that direction. The next problem is the web server interface I'm used to using cPanel and WHM. I've been using this for years now throw that all out and now move over to Interworx. Now as for information, I did find a full user manual for Interworx but I've got my reservations on it as of yet. Most say it's a better environment but again it's all a learning curve at this point. What is so tough about all this? I'm right now have excellent server response performance which keeps us at the top with Google searches. My problem is when I make the swap how much of my tuning work goes out the window? How much slower will the site become? How hard is it to tune the software and bring it back to the same level or better? Unknown at this point. I've already contacted the hosting company and had a rather long discussion about the move and so far I can say it shouldn't take too long but could run into snags or issues. The tech advised me it could be up to 5 days worst case to make the swap. The hosting company is willing to move everything for me and convert from cPanel / CentOS to the new Interworx / AlmaLinux. Even after clean up of unneeded files I'm at 56 GB of data on our current server. Yup, there is that much stored on this server. I'm also going to get a full backup copy of the site here shortly and burn it to dual-layer DVDs which are 8.6 GB a piece. At least if there are any EMPs then I don't have to worry about losing my data. I've even got a remote backup server that is in a totally different location from the server states away. Yeah I've been busy!

Food for thought... Beast my 2002 Dodge is roughly 500 HP with +150HP injectors (7 x 0.010 popped at 320 bar) and still running a HX35W turbo (54/60/12). My last haul I did was pulling my 31-foot RV back from Parma ID and I would just set the cruise and go for it. Even climbing 7% grades on Highway 95 I was hard-pressed to even get over 1,100*F. I'm also running 3.55 gears but after changing from 265/75 R16 (31.6 inch tire) to 245/75 R16 (30.5 inch tire) decreased EGT's and improved torque. The biggest thing that will improve EGT's is timing, I'm currently running 24.5 degrees of timing at 2k RPMs which now burns most of the fuel in the cylinder making more power to the wheels and little expanding gases to the turbo hence why my boost is near zero empty. Now towing once my engine load rises above 20% then my timing retards to about 15 to 17 degrees and now I making boost and more power because the timing is retarded so more expanding gases are sent to the turbo. The other thing is my engine oil temperature is 30*F cooler than coolant temperatures so if my coolant is 195*F my oil temp floats 165*F so little heat energy is being wasted on my oil from excessive flame exposure to the piston top and cylinder walls. (Summer of 2023 Parma ID) Now Thor (2006 Dodge 3500) in the picture above was one of the worst towing vehicles I own. EGT's are through the roof with a HE351 turbo which is (60/60/9) then the factory tune is heavily retarded and made for a poor towing of my RV to get to Parma ID. Coolant temperatures rise sharply climbing, EGT's are high even on flat ground towing at 55 to 65 MPH. Beast on the other hand just set the cruise and go towing the same 8,000 pound RV. Thor has +50 HP DAP injectors, no tuner, 3.73 gear ratio on 265/70 R17 tires. The final ratio of 3.73 as well. 6-speed transmission which does not help at all being the top two gears is the very same as a 5-speed. The best I can tow over a 7% grade with my RV is roughly 30 to 35 MPH with the EGT's banging at 1,200 to 1,400*F. Would a tuner help this absolutely. This is a 325 HP Common Rail Cummins being out done by a 2nd Gen at this point that is 500 HP. I feel that people are needlessly adding bigger turbos and then finding out that the spool point is higher in the RPM span and not getting the launch abilities. I've seen several people with improper setups and end up struggling to gain back the efficiency of the engine because of excessively large turbos, oversized tires that degrade the final ratio, then EGT's are excessively high. Even my other turbo the HX35/40 hybrid spooled later being it was only a (60/60/12). Boost was even lower at cruise state which with my tune typically sat like 0 to 2 PSI at 65 MPH. (Fall of 2023 Florence ID at 6,500 feet) Another example I've been doing is firewood runs up to 6,500 feet elevation on the west side of Florence ID. Climbing 9% to 10% grades. Even in high altitude still zero issues with EGT's because of the final ratio being 3.69 from the 245/75 R16 tires. Even loaded with 2 cords of lodge pole trees cut into 12-foot poles. No issues for back-country travels. Just for info my tallest local peak (Heavens Gate) is right near 9,000 feet you can drive to from Riggins ID. Economy wise I just made a trip to Lewiston for food. I filled up in Lewiston ID which is roughly 125 miles from me and barely burned a 1/8 tank to get back home 2.5 hours away. Still keeping good MPGs. Quadzilla Adrenline Tuner (Custom tune) HX35W stock turbo (54/60/12) +150 HP DAP VCO Injectors (7 x 0.010) custom popped to 320 bar 4 inch exhaust BHAF (no cold air intake) 245/75 R16 tires NV4500 transmission with Valair Dual Disc Clutch AirDog 165 55 MPH - boost 0 PSI and EGT's 450 to 500*F 65 MPH - boost is 2 to 3 PSI EGT's 550 to 600*F

Personally don't drive till the injectors are replaced. Injectors should be replaced every 100k - 150k miles. You are playing with fire. Head will develop what's called head curl typically around 300k to 350k miles this could be stopped if you ditched the stock head bolts and installed ARP suds. Remember Cummins head gaskets are not made by Cummins but by BLK out of China. Replace the gasket but do it right and remove the VP44 so as to get the cover out and in without making a mess of the gasket and being able to clean the block face well. No sealants! No Silicone! The oil Pan gasket is super easy and takes me about 2 hours to do. It is required to lift the engine and also jack up the truck so the front axle hangs. The oil pan can slip right out without any problems. Why? I'm still running my HX35W with +150 HP injectors and no issues with EGT's or MPG's at all. Tuning will allow you to go much farther with the stock turbo keeping spool up times short. Vacuum pump rebuild kits are super cheap and can be purchased through Cummins. Takes about an hour to replace the seals in the vacuum pump. I've got articles for most of this work just check out the article database.

It's the weight of the pitman arm and linkage. Now take a rubber hammer or dead blow and punch it back up so to give that slack you need. The only other way to do it is remove the entire box from the truck and use a small hammer to tap the output shaft back inward. Then you can get your slack. I can typically do this with it all in the truck. 1. Loosen jamb nut 2. Run the adjusting stud all the way in till it stops. 3. Then start counting turns back out you need at least 2 turns back out. 3a. If it can't be reached then tap the output shaft back up because the adjusting stud does not have the ability to lift that weight. 4. After adjustment start the truck and check for binding in the straight position and how much free play left to right. 4a. If the center is binding you need to add more slack. 4b. If the free play is excessive you need to tighten up the adjustment bolt to take free play out of the gears.

Yes. It was a multifuel and we typically just used diesel fuel. Gasoline Diesel JET-A fuel Kerosene

I would just jump the two pins below the seat.

I've tried calling @dripley this morning just to check his phone is still active but the voicemail box is full.

Oh before I forget those engines can and will start up and run backwards. If it does you'll have 1 forward gear and 5 reverse gears and might have a burnt or melted air filter. Also the engine oil pressure will not rise so be aware.