Greenlee

That's with 2 batteries as well on the 1st Gen? My batteries were $268.00, found the receipt today. I have never owned any vehicle batteries that lasted more than 4 years, 3 years is probably more accurate. Must be more to it than the average person knows or deals with, I'm happy you can get such a long period. The 2 new batteries in my 12v are 4 months old and the set prior were brand new, had to put them in shortly after I bought it. On the new batteries one shorted out and the other had 1 or 2 bad cells(?), anyway in 3 years I have only put about 7K miles on this truck. It doesn't matter, I'm used to buying them every 3 or 4 years anyway.

You won't as long as you keep the 2 stroke added. I'm a novice and continually learning but the 2 stoke has kept mine going. Did you notice a change in the way your engine sounds, quieter?

What a set up MoparMan, I'm trying to find out what the CCA is for my 98 12v and 99 24v, just bought 2 new batteries from Advance Auto 4 months ago, some where around $380.00. I was looking online and some are saying 1025 CCA, that's kind of high isn't it? Don't know anyone as smart as you, walking Encyclopedia

I am positive beyond a doubt that I am not alone dealing with a broken up dash core frame from a wreck or break-in or the famous familiar quote I hate to hear “What Ever” , it explains everything. Something happened to cause your plastic Dash Frame Core Assembly to break. Age could be the biggest factor or a combination of age and all of the above. Hopefully somebody has done this and would share the how to results on the Forum. My 1998 12 valve Dash Frame Core Assembly is in pitiful shape. Cracked from door to door in several key places like the A/C controls that had screws or a screw in the bottom plate but the top plate was completely gone so the Bezel was holding it in place. With some luck I found the pieces laying in the dash and reassembled it adding an additional screw at the top since the other holes were gone. The head light switch had been wired or rigged in a way to try and hold it but it moved around. Bouncing around as I drove but I thought it was something I could tighten. Besides the headlight switch being all up in the air, the Bezel is shot too, very brittle, and broke in several places. I have removed many but this one was a joke. I decided to sell this truck but couldn’t pass this on to a new owner knowing there has to be a way to make it work and be cosmetic again. The following is what I did to make it look NORMAL again. I used Loctite 2-part epoxy plastic glue because in was thick and didn’t run down the Bezel like Gorilla 2-part epoxy plastic glue. You need to clean all surfaces being glued, If it’s a slick surface you might want to score it up some to give the glue something to bite into. I also used the Loctite to fill holes that were broke out. I predrilled with a small bit to attach screws again. I had several pictures of the broken or cracked areas but the hole where the headlight switch bolts in is the main issue so what I fixed and repaired on the rest worked out fine. I bought a used Bezel on eBay, best investment I made. Great shape and an exact match for the 12 volt accessory and air bag switch. I found some screen door clips and put them together so they would pinch the edge of the vent on the Bezel since there was nothing but a hole in the Dash Core. The entire time I had to constantly center the switch but with the first set of clips in place I could tack it in and set up on the next one. Repeating the process and then gluing it all to stay. This picture with the metal chair in the background shows what I mean by centering the switch so it sits correctly The screen door clips would pinch tight enough to hold the location. Once it did I always used to switch to hold it and flipped it over checking the front as expressed above. The Loctite set up fast, a few minutes and you could relax and load it up with some more. The glue running down from the clip is the Gorilla Glue. You can see once the switch and two points of contact are established the third and finial can be fitted. The last location I used washers to get the screw set at the right height to hold the clip as level as needed. I applied two layers of epoxy glue and double nutted it all which I didn't take any pictures of. Finished. It's rock solid. I made it a point not to over tighten, and no I don't have any torque numbers to throw out there. Bach in the truck and looking good, the entire dash looks new again. Pretty sad for a truck with this mileage Hope this will help somebody or get the wheels turning. It's a shame to pay so much for a Dash Core Frame Assembly and then almost half again for shipping. If I had the money and was restoring or had a truck that was perfect all the way around and the Core got damaged maybe I would buy one. This is the best I could do and by the looks of it I saved maybe $900.00. I can live with that. Thanks

I tried everything except the trash can. Let me try to correct I'd be happy to have a pay grade but it would be above mine too. Thanks for looking. I thought this would be the right place to put the additional repair or should I put it in a separate new topic on Possible Headlight Switch Attachment. ??????????? Is it too late to edit the main post?

Thank you Sir but can you help me? My computer screen froze and I had to turn it off and on to get back and recover the page I did. Now I have double photos, from the picture of the mileage down needs to be deleted and I have tried everything. Any ideas?

Been gone a little over a week, started this before I left. One thing I found out about the Dash Cores being sold is the shipping is crazy. Anywhere from $300 to $400 added on. I'm getting my 12v for sale but the dash is broken all the way across from door to door. I had glued several pieces of the Core back in but too many pieces missing to do a good job. Another screwing. This truck must have been in a head on, Air bag plastic, center dash plastic where the A/C controls screw in, dash cluster has several breaks, and last the head light switch has nothing to attach to. All good things come from above including all idea 3 pictures of what I am working with, didn't want to load a pile of pictures so I picked to one's that showed the basics. Next is the new Bezel I bought and a way to attach the Head Light Switch directly to it so would stay in place. Screen door parts and some #8x32 screws, nuts, and washer put together to lock in on the edge of the vent. I used the bolt pattern on the light switch to center it before tacking it in place with the glue. Enough glue to hold it in place and more added once it set up for about 10 minutes. All the glue running down the vent is from using the Gorilla 2 part glue. i used the screw to set the distance so it would touch the plastic Bezel holding the correct height. By no means am I saying do it like this, I felt blessed to have an idea that made it possible to have a functional light switch and not one hanging by the wire harness that took 2 hands to work. It's solid as a rock too. Installed back on the dash and it has a completely new look, NORMAL. I had to keep flipping it over to check the switch bezel (?), don't know what it's called, but with it in place the rest was easy and fell in place. I made sure I got plenty of glue on the hardware I needed to lock in place but didn't risk over tightening. Back in the truck at last. It looks NORMAL for a change and doesn't raise a lot of eyebrows. It's the best I can do and wanted to share it with the Forum in case others might be looking for a way to solve a similar issue. Thanks Picture of the 2 part glue.

I wonder if the Quadzilla Adr can indicate the timing it's set at during idle being it's advanced already? (I forgot where I posted this) I would be interested in the same thing as you MoparMan, longevity and MPG. Sounds like there are a multiple options for any situation. Point me in the right direction on the articles and I'll start to look them over. Thanks That's great, I've seen some of the conversation from other members discussing tunes and they do sound complicated. This is not canned tunes but more custom from what you are saying. Well I'm leaning in this direction and like you said there's a lot of support on this topic. Appreciate the advice.

Ok, I have an idea what you are saying. I need to build a platform to set on the door sill that I can lay on. That was a great idea. Oh, spray some WD40 on those old chains hanging in the same spot for all these years. lol

Great, I'm not the only one, good to hear

Well it is, You guys are smart and know your business on this Forum. It makes me realize that a lot of engineering goes into every aspect of what we do on a daily basis. Like most I thought tires are tires, you pick a size and throw them on and get on your way. I need a new set but as far as brand or size I don't know. The Firestones on it now lasted 50k which shocked me. I never got that kind of mileage out of a set of tires. My wife never got more that 30k out of any set we ever bought. She got over 57k out of the original Goodyear tires on her Buick. Things have changed and I haven't stayed up with any of it since I had to retire. "The Lost Years". Now I'm shocked how tires are better than ever. I want to find a set that are quite and will run a long time. A tire that handles the elements and makes it even safer to drive. I've got my homework to do. You have added a lot of experience to this Forum along with all the other members. Thanks

I can see how that would be a great way to go and I will try it if mine is clogged with debris. Smart way of doing things. I couldn't see the blower motor from the bottom in the past, went to YouTube, it's in the wide open. I'm going to make the rig JAG was talking about to lay down on so you can work from the floor board. I guess I will be able to see inside at the evaporator. I hope it's clean. Does the rest of the plastic housing all come down from the bottom in case I need to clean it out a little?

Didn't see this, I don't need 35s then with as much rain as we have here. I'm a little slow on the Differentials, I should know all of this but I can't relate to what your saying. It's alright, I'll do some reading on it all. Man, I think I could cause someone to start drinking at times.

That is too much, where in the world did you drive to get this kind of debris from one end to the other? Now that was a job to get all of that out just looking at the picture. I think you told me that the evaporator is tied into the A/C system and you have to salvage your Freon and then go through the vacuum process and adding the Freon back into the system. Any way a big job if I remember correctly.

I'm lost on this, sorry, the rear differential is one wheel pulling and the front is two wheel pulling? So in 4WD it's actually 3WD? This is another degree of education all by its self. Not dealing with ice or snow but possibly a 5th wheel way down the road would 35s be a good way for me to go with the manual 24 valve I plan on driving? I saw the thread on going from a 35 to another size tire, maybe I should stop and read what's going on to get a better understanding????? I plan on reading soon anyway