Local399

I looked at Carli and actually have the Carli regular short arms on the truck now...bad thing is they pushed the axle so far forward that the Mag diff cover hits the track bar mount...a little lift will likely cure that if I stay with these arms. The intent of the long arm kit was to get TONS of drop...I think DOR claims like 12 inches of travel. I like the Carli arms though...but much of their stuff for the 2nd Gens is just not available any more. I thought about E Lockers but was told the case is weaker than the air versions and that a 2500 diesel would likely run into issues...but I am open to the idea still. I would likely run a selectable locker on both ends since it is not that much more $$$ and I do put some city and road miles in to get to the good stuff. It has been years since I had a Detroit Locker in a truck and I can't remember how bad it is in city driving...again the truck is NOT a daily...but lots of road miles to anywhere even close to fun.

I am building my '99 2500 Shortbed 4x4 6 speed diesel into an Overland style rig. Not a crawler, but not a mellow desert truck either. I am looking at long arm kits, shackle flips, maybe going to 37s (on 35s now), need to regear and add lockers too. As far as suspension I am looking at DOR stuff...trying to get minimal lift with maximum travel and I think DOR has that covered between the long arms and the shackle flip. Eventually I might do the coilovers but for now I will likely jut respring the front and use my fairly new Bilsteins. I think I will do ARBs for the lockers...pretty darn pricey but it just seems to be the best strongest selectable lockers. I plan to put some road miles on this truck to get to e fun stuff so a selectable locker is kind of important...although an air locker up front and something more permanent in the rear might not be out of the question. I plan to add a compressor anyways, so there's that. I think the truck has 3.55s. It is a 6 speed and feels like it tachs out a bit high to me so I wonder if someone put 3.73s in it...but either way I am guessing that 4.10s will be perfect for 35s or 37s to allow me to still get decent RPM at hiway speeds. Of course most lockers have a split in part number at the 4.10 mark...so if I had to run a lower (4.55s) I would have to get a new locker as well...so I don't want to screw this up. So just kinda looking for any comments on my thoughts from the brain trust here. Thanks in advance.

I have used those VW chargers for years...I used to work for VW when they first came out those...they are great. So I guess I will look at the alternator and see if I can find any fault there...but diodes are tricky sometimes. I guess I should start looking for an ECU at a good price as well. My truck will start now...as long as the batteries have a charge which they have now for the last couple of weeks. Such a random, odd symptom that slow/no crank is...damn.

Thanks...I load tested both of them and they were fine. It has also been a couple of weeks with no symptoms of a slow or no crank. This morning I did the gauge test again...just kinda going through the motions at this point...and when the WTS light comes on during the very first part of the test I can hear the Fass prime itself...then during the later part of the test the WTS light never come on again. I never hear the pump prime when I start the truck normally...at least I don't think I do. I have heard that a WTS that fails to illuminate can be a sign of a bad ECU...can someone confirm?

Howdy...first post but long time lurker. Sadly I am in a pinch and need some smarter minds than I (which don't take much). Not too long ago my WTS (wait to start) light quit working...I was new-ish to the truck at the time and now living in So Cal I thought it was an ambient temp thing and the truck did not need the warmers. After looking into it it seems either the bub is bad OR the ECU, right? So, I did a gauge check (via holding the odo button and turning key to on) the WTS light came on at the VERY beginning of the test but did NOT illuminate at the end when all the other bulbs were getting checked per the procedure. So that is confusing to me...some part of the test must get a signal from somewhere different than the other part...or something. BUT I did see the light so I know the bulb is at least intermittently operable. The other ODD thing that happened was a very slow crank...low batts. The truck has brand new series 31s? They are slightly larger that the stock size. It sat for a week (but it has done that many times since I have owned it). So, I go to jump it and as soon as I connect the cables (key is off and sitting on dash) the Fass fuel pump buzzed to life...WTH? It gets it's signal from the ECU, right? I thought maybe there was a constant going to it and it somehow read the fuel pressure and decided to top up the pressure...then I though maybe the pump was what drained the batts via a fuel pressure leaking down and the pump constantly running. I used the Fass harnesses and wiring diagrams to hook it up and it looks like the only way it gets power is via the ECU and the relay. I put a new relay in just because I had one, but I doubt that is it. I also had a strange thing happening with my radio and amp cycling on and off...so I just pulled the fuse for both of those. The truck would only hold a charge for an hour even after I drove it around a long time. It did these symptoms for several days. So I take it to my buddies shop to get his opinion and guess what...started like a champ even after sitting a week. DAMNIT! So I bring it home and for the last two weeks it has been fine. However, with the lack of WTS light and the intermittent starting issue (at least in my eyes it is intermittent) maybe the ECU is freaking out and doing oddball stuff. Is there a way to really check the ECUs or just suck it up and get a new (reman) one? Any ideas or comments are very appreciated.