craneop

If truck does not dogwalk, could problem be bad steering stabalizer?

No broken springs. No movement in the rivets. The smaller left and right parts of the swaybar system have movement to them. I'm not sure how mus is OK, but the larger part of the swaybar that goes to each side underneath the differential seems pretty solid. The end bushings at the springs seem OK, but I really wouldn't know just by looking unless there was somthing really obvious. Is there a test I can do to check the bushings? - - - Updated - - - What will I have to do to check for a sheared alignment pin? - - - Updated - - - By the way guys, thanks for all the input and suggestions. I'm sure one of them is going to be the culprit. Sure is a pain right now though. My backend often feels like its going to come around to the left when I'm on icy roads, especially if in a slight right hand turn. Its not me either cause I have other pickups and they dont handle the same way. Brand new tires too!

Its winter here in Alaska right now so the wetting down the driveway won't work for right now. The tech at the frontend shop told me that basically, YES, the truck is dog walking, though I've never looked at it myself. He said the way the rear axle was positioned, that the backend was steering to the left, forcing the truck to steer to the right. No broken springs that I can tell, and they don't appear to be soft either. both sides seem equal. The axle seems to be centered, equal tire sticking out both sides. Truck has never been in a wreck so framerail damage seems to be eliminated. How can I check the alignment pin? Where is it at? Can I check it without taking everything apart?

My truck is a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500, Cummins Diesel, 4x4.I am having an issue with truck wanting to steer to the right. Replaced all the front end components (Big $$$) and then had the front-end aligned at a local shop. The tech there told me everything was perfect in the front end, however the rear axle is 1/4" front-to-rear out of alignment and that he is not allowed to do anything to the rear axle because its non-adjustable. He asked me if the truck had been in a wreck (no), and if I had done much pulling (yes). I have pulled sevral trailers cross country with this truck.So I drove the truck home, looked at it real good, I can't see anything wrong or broken. Is it possible the axle has shifted 1/4" by itself from pulling or hitting a pothole or something? Is there a procedure, measurments, etc to go by to fix this problem, or some surefire way to reconize damaged parts that might be causing this issue? I don't really want to start taking stuff apart back there till I'm sure I have an idea what I'm doing.Any help or sugestions appreciated. I'm stumped!

True, lots of different things can cause TCL issues, bad grounds, bad electrical connections and bad battries being just a few. However, when TCL Issues are being caused by a severely damaged alternator (above .1 VAC), you can clean all the grounds, electrical connetions and tin foil all the wires you want to, but it won't cure the problem. Beeen there done that, Mopar1973Man was right about this one. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Read my post in this thread #94 on 11/17/2012. Was explained to me and I found to be true, to measure your AC voltage on the vehicle with everything hooked up due to the fact that the voltage regulator is external at the ECM. Unless you have the right kind of equipment (scope), a bench test will pick up all kinds of AC noise from the testing machine itself, flouresant lights and you name it. Read my post. It explains the dilema I went through before my problem was resolved. Still reading 0.0VAC on my 2001 Dodge Cummins. I highly recomend staying away from Remanufactured Alternator. Go New and you will have a lot less trouble. New from the dealer $217.00 with no core charge. I paid $239.00 for mine from an Auto-Electric Shop because I didn't want to wait a week to get one in from the dealer. I can't tell you how many hours of frustration I put into sanding grounds, running wires and wrapping with tin foil and such before I bit the bullet and bought a new alternator. Of course that was before I ran across this thread and Mopar1973Man! Thank God I did, or I would probably still be chasing my tail!!!

Thanks guys! I will install mine the same way and placew also. Again much thanks!

@ dripley/ was your GS fuel guage for VP or was it for lift pump pressure? Was just wondering about what you are saying about an isolator. My sender will be going between the stock 12 Volt lift pump and the VP. I will be using a 30 PSI gauge to read lift pump output preassure. Will I need an isolator for my setup? Thanks to everyone who responded. I'm feeling better about the GlowShift!

Hello All. Have a 2001 2500 w/5.9 Automatic Trans, HY35 Turbo. Everything is just stock, but I would kind of like to know whats going on with my engine while I'm driving down the road. Was checking out gauges on the site I've linked below. They have a three gauge cluster which replaces my drivers side corner post trim that seems like it might work for me. The company's name is "GlowShift". They also have lots of options on what three gauges to choose from. http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/00-05-dodge-neon-and-srt-4-custom-gauge-package.aspx Does anybody know anything about this company, their product, and any recomendations on what three gauges I should put together should I decide to go this way? I was kind of leaning towards fuel pressure, boost, and EGT. Sugestions are more than welcome! Thanks!

OK! Problem solved! Yippee!!! Took the recently purchased Alternator back to O'Reilly's where I got it from, had them test it on their tester. They told me they run the test 3 times and if they get a PASS all three times, its a good alternator. When I asked about measuring AC Voltage, they looked dumbfounded, so I asked them if I could hook my multi-meter up to the alternator while they tested? They agreed! So now this alternator is reading .35 Volts AC as the first test PASS'S, they run the second test and we get a FAIL, the guy gives me a funny look, checks his wires and runs the third test and we get another FAIL. So the guy now rells me guess we have a bad alternator but they don't have another one on the shelf and I will need to wait till tomorrow to bring one in from the other store. I say, I'm OK with that, but that I've learned my lesson and we are going to have to test the next alternator as well before I leave the store with it. The next morning (yesterday) they call me and let me know the alternator is in and I can come down and pick it up. We do the test like before, and this time we get a PASS, PASS, PASS, however my multi-meter is reading 0.3 Volts AC, and then I also notice that on their machine there is a box at the top that says Diodes and across from that box on the screen says N/A. So I ask the guy about it and he says their machine has no way of testing the diodes, it only test for overall condition of the alternator. Unhappy with what I'm hearing and looking at, I request my money back which they had no problem with at all, however the core I earlier took in was no longer in the store so the gave me cash in the amount of $215.00 (their core charge on that alternator $36.00 along with the full purchace price of $179.00.) By this time I have no core, only to find out all the other auto parts stores around town are charging a $70 - $80 core charge for this alterrnator, and a lot of the places have no tester. Starting to get a bit frustrated, I decided to quit messing around and go to the most reliable place in town I know of, a small family owned auto electric and mechanical shop (Auto Electric, Anchorage, Alaska). I was hoping that maybe they had heard of this isuue I am having with the TCL and get fixed up with a good alternator. They rebuild all kinds of auto electrical parts right there in house as well a run a full service auto mechanic shop. Well,,,,I explained my problem to them and showed them a printed copy of the troubleshooting procedure I got from the Mopa1973Man website, to which they said...never heard of this before. However these guys are real pro's and they didn't blow me off. They took my concerns seriously, brought two techs in out of the shop to talk with me about this, as I explainded to them the 0.1 Volt AC upper limit thing. They genuinly got concerned and were pulling down alternators, checking them on the bench and checking outputs at vehicles in the shop. In all, I was in there for about two hours while they tested and discussed and in the end the shop found me a NEW alternator and gave me a heck of a deal @ $239.00 w/no core charge. The NEW alternator was putting out 0.22 Volts AC on their alternator bench vise, and that concerned me cause I was looking for something under 0.1 VAC. However in further discussion, the techs I was working with concluded, (and BTW they turned out to be right), that the test machine itself was putting off AC Noise and that the Fluke Meter was picking up that AC Noise during the test, and that since the Voltage Regulator is on either the PCM or ECM, the only way to accuratly read out the AC output on this alternator was to put it on the vehicle and measure it at that time. So,,,I took the alternator home, hooked it all up, and WALLA... measured at the battries -0.01 Volts AC @idle, and 0.00 Volts AC @2000 RPM. Feeling pretty good at this point I take it for a test drive. Runs and shifts perfectly. NO MORE PROBLEMS!!! Cory, I believe he's the manger or maybe owner, at Auto Electric said though he's heard and dealt with a lot of Dodge Cummins issues like this before, had never heard of this shifting problem being linked to + 0.10 VAC output on the alternator. He asked me to check back in with him to let him know how all this worked out. I will do that on Monday, as well as express my thanks for all the personal attention, efforts and concerns Auto Electric gave to me to adress my problem. In the meantime, my utmost gratitude to Mopar1973Man for sharing your knoweledge and wisdom on this issue. I had tried all the bandaid tricks only to have them each work for anywhere to a couple hours to a couple days or so and then reappear. I believe what was happening was that as I fixed a ground or foiled a wire, it masked the problem just long enough for the diodes on the alternator to get a little worse and then BOOM, the problem is back! Very good information Mopar1973Man!!! Happy Holidays!!!

OK! Problem solved! Yippee!!! Took the recently purchased Alternator back to O'Reilly's where I got it from, had them test it on their tester. They told me they run the test 3 times and if they get a PASS all three times, its a good alternator. When I asked about measuring AC Voltage, they looked dumbfounded, so I asked them if I could hook my multi-meter up to the alternator while they tested? They agreed! So now this alternator is reading .35 Volts AC as the first test PASS'S, they run the second test and we get a FAIL, the guy gives me a funny look, checks his wires and runs the third test and we get another FAIL. So the guy now rells me guess we have a bad alternator but they don't have another one on the shelf and I will need to wait till tomorrow to bring one in from the other store. I say, I'm OK with that, but that I've learned my lesson and we are going to have to test the next alternator as well before I leave the store with it. The next morning (yesterday) they call me and let me know the alternator is in and I can come down and pick it up. We do the test like before, and this time we get a PASS, PASS, PASS, however my multi-meter is reading 0.3 Volts AC, and then I also notice that on their machine there is a box at the top that says Diodes and across from that box on the screen says N/A. So I ask the guy about it and he says their machine has no way of testing the diodes, it only test for overall condition of the alternator. Unhappy with what I'm hearing and looking at, I request my money back which they had no problem with at all, however the core I earlier took in was no longer in the store so the gave me cash in the amount of $215.00 (their core charge on that alternator $36.00 along with the full purchace price of $179.00.) By this time I have no core, only to find out all the other auto parts stores around town are charging a $70 - $80 core charge for this alterrnator, and a lot of the places have no tester. Starting to get a bit frustrated, I decided to quit messing around and go to the most reliable place in town I know of, a small family owned auto electric and mechanical shop (Auto Electric, Anchorage, Alaska). I was hoping that maybe they had heard of this isuue I am having with the TCL and get fixed up with a good alternator. They rebuild all kinds of auto electrical parts right there in house as well a run a full service auto mechanic shop. Well,,,,I explained my problem to them and showed them a printed copy of the troubleshooting procedure I got from the Mopa1973Man website, to which they said...never heard of this before. However these guys are real pro's and they didn't blow me off. They took my concerns seriously, brought two techs in out of the shop to talk with me about this, as I explainded to them the 0.1 Volt AC upper limit thing. They genuinly got concerned and were pulling down alternators, checking them on the bench and checking outputs at vehicles in the shop. In all, I was in there for about two hours while they tested and discussed and in the end the shop found me a NEW alternator and gave me a heck of a deal @ $239.00 w/no core charge. The NEW alternator was putting out 0.22 Volts AC on their alternator bench vise, and that concerned me cause I was looking for something under 0.1 VAC. However in further discussion, the techs I was working with concluded, (and BTW they turned out to be right), that the test machine itself was putting off AC Noise and that the Fluke Meter was picking up that AC Noise during the test, and that since the Voltage Regulator is on either the PCM or ECM, the only way to accuratly read out the AC output on this alternator was to put it on the vehicle and measure it at that time. So,,,I took the alternator home, hooked it all up, and WALLA... measured at the battries -0.01 Volts AC @idle, and 0.00 Volts AC @2000 RPM. Feeling pretty good at this point I take it for a test drive. Runs and shifts perfectly. NO MORE PROBLEMS!!! Cory, I believe he's the manger or maybe owner, at Auto Electric said though he's heard and dealt with a lot of Dodge Cummins issues like this before, had never heard of this shifting problem being linked to + 0.10 VAC output on the alternator. He asked me to check back in with him to let him know how all this worked out. I will do that on Monday, as well as express my thanks for all the personal attention, efforts and concerns Auto Electric gave to me to adress my problem. In the meantime, my utmost gratitude to Mopar1973Man for sharing your knoweledge and wisdom on this issue. I had tried all the bandaid tricks only to have them each work for anywhere to a couple hours to a couple days or so and then reappear. I believe what was happening was that as I fixed a ground or foiled a wire, it masked the problem just long enough for the diodes on the alternator to get a little worse and then BOOM, the problem is back! Very good information Mopar1973Man!!! Happy Holidays!!!

OK! Disconected the alternator fuse, truck drove and shifted with no more problems. Also found your article at http://articles.mopar1973man.com/2nd-generation-24v-dodge-cummins/28-transmission-systems/260-torque-converter-lock-unlock-issues I put the fuse back in and did the AC test with voltmeter and was reading anywhere from 0.0 - 0.24 Volts AC @ 1500 RPM. The new alternator must be the problem. I will take it back tomorrow and have them find a good one for me. I guess you should always have a new alternator bench tested before it leaves the store. Lesson learned. Thanks for the great advice and information. This problem has been driving me nuts for at least a week now! BTW I cleared the p500 code and it hasnt come back yet, so maybe it was just tire spin or something like that. I will let you know the end result when I get the new alternator on the truck. Thanks again!

Hi. New to the forum. Im having the same issue, exept my truck is setting off these two codes while I am in 4 wheel drive. ODB Scanner tool says Transmission P0500 Vehicle Speed Sensor A. Prior to this, I have been getting erratic torque converter lockup issues, i.e., shift hunting. I have read lots of threads, cleaned all my grounds, battry terminals, done the tin foil trick around the ground wire near the alternator, replaced the alternator, and just yesterday replaced the brake switch. I was not getting any codes until I switched the brake switch. May just be a coincidence, but I still have the shift hunting problem going on and now I am getting the P0500 Code. What might be the issue here? Anyone with any idea's? Thanks!