Mopar1973Man

I don't suggest wiring the pump the battery. Best to wire to the PDC box and get your own body ground connection.

Like this year I'm behind on few maintenance thing like bleeding the brakes, and tending to few oil leaks. Still monitoring the trucks closely. Like 1996 finally killed a battery a bit early this fall.

For what i know Most people don't see any gains from an intake till like above 500 HP then small gains might be seen.

Ok. Remember my 1996 Dodge I'm at least the second owner. Still with 160k so odd miles I've still got all original front end and steering gear.

All I'm noting here is that there is nothing wrong with an OEM steering box for most daily driver applications. I will admit if you have a lift kit and/or oversized tires then an upgraded box might be required.

She is still down in Boise, ID. Still doing dialysis yet. Still doing well I talked to her yesterday.

Most people don't see any gains with aftermarket intake horns. Might see gains in high horse power setups.

How about the few of us that still have our OEM steering box and power steering pump at nearly 300k miles and still tight...

That's about it. There is 4 nuts holding the power steering pump to the vacuum pump. Slide it out. Disconnect the oil line on the bottom of the vacuum pump. Then remove the 2 bolts holding the vacuum pump to the gear case. Slide it out and do the rebuild. Way less mess this way being you not disturbing the power steering system. Then proceed to doing the seal kit. Re-assemble in the reverse order. The only catch on reassembly is make sure the power steering pump seats fully on its own before tightening any nuts. If it won't seat then you haven't clocked the pump shaft correctly. Do NOT force or use the nuts to force the pump in damage will occur.

I've gotten pretty good about slamming a seal kit in vacuum pumps now. I can do it about 1 hour without pull the power steering pump.

Blue smoke is typically oil getting into the cylinder. Now is the blue smoke only at startup? Or... Is it even after being warmed up? Blue smoke on start up that points to valve seal typically. I would inspect air tubing for oil coming from the turbo.

Just upgraded @Taz 2006 Dodge from a dual mass to single mass. Stock grade clutch and pressure plate. No noise issues. Grabs good and strong. He's got the G56 transmission no noise issues from it...

Remember suction leaks do not leak outwards. They leak inwards so never will you see a wet fuel line or fuel leaking out. Like the suction lines on the Raptor will never be wet but still leak air in while your driving or while you are parked. Air molecule is smaller than a fuel molecule so easier for air to leak in than fuel leak out. Another way it to run the truck to ensure the fuel lines are loaded with fuel quickly pressurize the fuel tank by using compressed air blow gun and rag at the filler neck. Have a buddy look the fuel lines over and see if the pressure is pushing fuel out any fittings. You might have to use baby powder to see small leaks.

Alternator is failing. Time to replace. The battery voltage is meaningless only the alternator BATT terminal is the one you want.

In respect to @dripley I ran a Edge Comp 120 HP tuner and it lasted about 150k miles before breaking the hub of the clutch friction disc. The stock disc barely held the Edge Comp on 5x5. I know the one time I tried the Smarty and Edge Comp stack the clutch slipped very easily.

Outside the truck is one thing... Yes they are loud. Inside my truck in my current configuration it rather very quiet. I get lots of comments of how quiet my truck is compared to other trucks. Totally stock interior and no sound deading material used.

Need to be able to export your tunes to memory of your device. It kind of suxs to have to rebuild if there is software crash requiring to uninstall and reinstall. Like changing vehicles wipes out your EGT limits and cool down settings as well as your fuel settings. It would be nice to reimport your settings back without having to rebuild.

Personally the ECM is damaged most likely from excessive AC noise from the alternator. If you do replace the ECM make sure to test that alternator for excessive AC noise before starting the engine with the new ECM.

Be aware too much timing can degrade your MPG numbers. I'm backed down the tow tune to 6 degrees from 8 degrees and jumped up 2 MPGs. Now working on my empty truck tune. Really powerful smoke free so far. My MPG logs are... 11.5, 11.87, 11.30, 12.14, 11.21, 15.05, 11.81, 13.38... This was all towing the RV the 15 was some tow and empty. Also scaled the truck. 2 passengers and 1 dog. Full tank of fuel. Front axle: 4,520 Rear axle: 2,920 Total: 7,440

I'm not impressed with the quick connections on the AirDog / Raptor series at all. Lots of issues with sealing and air leak issues. Most of the time its resolved with using Parker Push Loc JIC fittings and resolves most of the air issues. The other rare Raptor issue is the pump seal gives up and it starts leaking fuel into the pump motor or air leak that drains the pump out.

I would look at a good upgraded single disc clutch like Southbend or Valair.

http://www.andersenhitches.com/catalog/ultimate-5th-wheel-connection.aspx Nice...

Remember fuel differences as seasons change will change the noise level of the truck too. Higher cetane will typically make it louder. As cetane falls it will get quieter. Like adding 2 cycle oil has been proven to reduce engine noise by 10-20 db's IIRC. Fuel chemistry and ECT and IAT temperatures will change the noise levels too. As temperatures are lower the rattle is more pronounced because of the advanced timing. Warmer temperatures will typically retard timing back.

Most people on this site are in a cell phone area of some sort. So there is no need to worry about carrying parts and tools too much unless you running long distances across the country then things are a bit different. Again for the majority of people on the site and daily driving yeah cell phone and connection to friends and services will do just find. I'm an exception to the rule being I'm remote and no cell service and travel a lot of dirt roads and back country. The biggest thing is taking the time to just inspect your vehicle once in awhile and ensure everything is in working order. You won't find everything wrong or spot every issue but just taking the time to look it over it going to help a bunch.

I don't bother with too much stuff. I carry more to keep me alive than the truck. I've got day pack with MRE, water, first aid, and other miscellaneous clothing. I would rather walk out and get my vehicle towed home than worrying about carrying all the extra parts, tools for installing said parts, etc. All the parts and tools are heavy compared to a small day pack that weighs less than 20 pounds. What happens if your truck failure isn't one of the parts your carrying and/or your not carrying the tools for said repair? For example when my mainshaft failed in my transmission. Are you going to be able to sustain your own life while you get to help? For me there is no cell service and I might be several miles back in the back country like the photo below being over 30 miles from a town.