Mopar1973Man

Mine is odd... The tank band is under the carrier bearing bracket.

Like down at Lindy's shop he usually grabbed the Windex bottle because it would foam right up on a leaking fitting, seal or connection. I've seen sniffers used but never per say used one myself. I typically used UV dye with a black light and soap & water typically. I usually base my recharging on the fact if the system has pressure or not. If there is existing pressure then typically I would just top it off and let the customer go with the notice that the system is leaking and should be repair when fund and time are available. But if the system is dry without pressure I will not charge the system not knowing if we have a severe leak or what. Then I typically will ask the owner if they would want it fixed.

That's my problem. I would have to take the canopy off first. Then clear the bed out. The unhook all the wiring and tail lights. Then pull the bed. Dropping the two tank bands (I drop the carrier bearing because of the front band is under it.), 1 electrical connection, 3 hoses and 1 fill hose and vent. Tank is on the floor. Notes If you want to get it done easier. Invite friends over to drink beer and get him to drop the tank for you.

You might have to go into beekeeping as well. Between Hex0rz and LiveOak I'm sure you can get some good information on bee keeping.

I tend to agree with Bill (Wild & Free) slow leaks and detecting them is a PITA at times. I fought that battle too on my truck where the freon would last just long enough for a summer and be dead. But with some of the knowledge I've learned in the years there is way of improving detection. UV dyes, Freon sniffers, Soap & water, etc. Just have to having the patience to do the work and get it done. Like the Chevy Blazer above has had a slow leak for many years I find got the owner to buy a seal kit and allow me to re-seal it. After leaving it sit on a vacuum all night and seeing the gauge still where I left it last night I was happy to fill it back up in the morning with freon. In A/C work a job well done you shouldn't see the custom again.

I'm not saying it not possible to run taller tires but most people don't want to beef up the rest of the suspension and front end to handle the geometry changes. But thank you for the comment...

Well the original VP44 had several weak points. Brass timing piston sleeve, diaphragm issues, etc. With the 027 Rev pumps it should last a very long time.

Ok... Nothing you need a shop for. For tires just take your hands and run them over the face of the tread feeling for uneven tread face. Usually you can see cupping occur as a spot wore lower in one spot. Like my last set of tire were cupping on the inside edge some and visual you could see the little cups. For bearing just jack up each tire and the grab from the top and the bottom. Try rocking the tire. If the tire moves the bearings are wore. Should be zero movement. Driveshaft I suggest removal. Once removed and tension off the u-joints you can feel how loose the joints are. Also then you can check the driveshaft carrier bearing for issues as well. Rotors are easy too jack up a axle and stand a pointed object up with the point near the edge of the rotor. Now slowly rotate the tire and see if the rotor wanders in/out much. Also do it for the wheels to. If the wheels wander in and out you might check and see if the wheel was seated completely before tightening. I'll be doing all these as soon as I get rid of the Chevy Blazer in my shop today.

I sit here and read this thread and then think to myself about CajFlynn with his 1.3 Million mile Cummins that use just Chevron Delo 15W-40, Fleetguard oil filters and a BHAF. Never did any oil testing. Just changed oil every 20k miles. Day in and day out driven back and forth across the country. Personally speaking... If you you super worried and got deep pockets go for it. Pay the price and do the testing I will agree with AH64ID it best to get a test with TBN numbers. But if you like 99% of the people they just change oil and keep driving for well over 500k miles without much issues.

Like myself I pick up the tools because there is no one around to do A/C work. So now I make a bit of income from doing A/C work.

Sad part is you would be better off changing diff gears than increasing tire sizes but I know it's expensive. The problem is the front end is marginal at best for stock 31 inch tires. As you go up in tire diameter you changing the leverage forces on the front end. 285's is about as far as you want to go in tire size. Still problematic but if you get a set of 17" or 16" wheels stock would be best. It get worse with suspension lifts and other modifications. Buddy of mind showed up with a 1999 Dodge Ram with a 3 inch leveling kit and other suspension mods which are costing him another $2,800 to replace steering box, ball joints, tie rods, etc. Truck has barely 130k on the clock.

Larger wheels and tires does change the geometry of the front end putting more stress on steering parts and suspension parts. I would just get a quality set of tie rod ends and replace them. As for me and running under sized tire and wheels I'm still running OEM tie rod ends yet. Still tight. I've only changed ball joint and a track bar.

I like to hold a vacuum on a system for extended period of time to allow all moisture to boil out to a vapor and allow the vacuum pump to vent it out. That's why I don't really like the compressed air type because most air compressors could keep up for over 15-20 minutes of solid pumping. Where a electric pump can withstand 15-20 minutes without even slowing down.

Wild.... How that one piston got hot and rolled over like it did. That is wild. Like how feed a turbo a hose clamp will do damage... How another member allowed his Cummins to run out of oil. #6 was pounding again the valves.

I've pull my fuel tank 2 times already and it really easy to just drop the tank. I pump the tank dry into 5 gallon buckets. Then loosen the bands till nearly ready to drop. At that point I unscrew the sender collar and let the sender stand up out of the tank so when I drop the tank the sender is coming out. Now you can remove the fuel lines without breaking the fuel lines or clip which are nearly impossible to release when packed with mud and dirt in confined space between the bed.

http://m.harborfreight.com/25-cfm-vacuum-pump-61245.html I've got the very same vacuum pump but by a different name.

Yes. Take notice to the CAN Bus pins in the OBDII socket. (6 & 14) ISO 9141-2 protocol. (7) Then CCD Network. (3 & 11).

No better than most of the videos posted by guys trying to drive around and show you tachometer readings.

This is not my OEM original VP44 it failed at 48k with a P0216 code and was replaced at 50k miles. Since then I've now got 196k on this pump and going for 200k mark.

Ummm... If I ripping out the ceiling I'm ripping out a roof too. Still wouldn't be tall enough. If I do actually get that much going I would pour a concrete pad and put the lift in the yard. That's day dreamin' right now and I got to start small and simple.

Ever since I quit my job down at Lindy's shop I've come home and kind of had a slow week then JAG1 (Michael) shows up and I do a Injection pump for him. I send him on his way. Then my business kicked off. I've managed to have a car in the shop every day of the week so far. Kind of nice. Oxygen sensor on a Dodge Dakota. Then flip over and chase a freon leak on a Subaru. Then this morning friend calls me to tell me his Chevy truck failed at the gas station in New Meadows. Then get home and tear a Chevy Blazer apart to get the blend door motor out of the dash and then re-seal (o-ring) the A/C system. Been nice...

Most all vehicles today have a label under the specifying weight of freon. Also most vehicles that are 1996 and newer are R134a freon systems and all run the same pressure range for the most part. 30-40 PSI on the lo side. The whole trick is getting enough freon to keeping the compressor locked and not cycling without over doing. Too little will cause compressor clutch damage with constant cycling in and out. Then over charging will decrease performance of the A/C because higher the lo side the warmer the air will become. Like back in the day R12 for refrigerator was 2-5 on the lo side A/C was 35-40 on the lo side.

Either way your going have to pull the compressor to do the clutch work. I really doubt you'll have the room to pull it.

Here I am studying how to hack CAN bus and read the data the computers have in our trucks. Trust me there is a big business in behind keeping this hidden. More I keep learning the more it shocks me. Like if you learn how to analyze CAN bus messages you can start dipping in and taking control of different functions from engine, transmission or even as simple as stereo. I was reading a article about getting deeper and if done right you can change anything right down to the odometer if you wished. But the trick with that is there is a key that is based on a seed number the ECM / PCM produces and you would have to calculate against the seed with algorithm to get the key. Then the article went into detail on how to brute force the lock. Wow!!! Right now I'm just wanting to get the other data inside the computers like Transmission temperature, Fuel temperature and maybe injection timing if possible. I've been reading articles about CAN bus reading and what not and it just seems like the rabbit hole keeps getting deeper and deeper. Sorry Dodge, Chrysler, EPA, and other agencies... I paid $35,000 to buy my truck and I've now owned it for 13 years if I desire to reverse engineer, read the CAN bus or modify my truck. I'll do it.

I got one that is shimmy in a different speed range like 60-70 MPH. So I'm going to digging at my truck like other have said check all things that rotate. Driveshafts, axle bearings, rotors, etc.