blake

Well, heres what I ended up with. --- Update to the previous post... I have a question for anybody in the know. These wheels allegedly came off a 3/4 ton Dodge van. Would the somehow be different from the truck steel wheels? Is there any worry about the weight capacity or anything?

The 235/85/16 is the standard dually tire size and used to be the standard 3/4 ton SRW tire too. Most of them are E rated and fine for towing heavy.Check out individual weight ratings for each tire you're looking at though. I bought a set of 285/75/16 Yokos in load range D and they were very close to the weight rating of a standard 235 in E.I took them back though because the sidewalls were way too soft and felt like driving on ice all the time. I looked hard at the 255/85/16E before settling on a 265/75/16E. I really like the tall/skinny concept but they're just so hard to find and I didn't want to buy another spare tire and didn't want to be stranded somewhere with a blowout or two and no 255/85s in stock anywhere.

I don't have the high idle flash so I just crank up, let idle for about 30 seconds, and drive off taking it easy. Unfortunately there's an interstate on ramp that I take that's about 3 miles from the house, 45mph all the way to it, and then onto the ramp.When it's below about 30F outside my auto transmission really does not want to shift into over drive getting on the interstate. If traffic is light I can take it easy and feather the throttle to get it to lock up and then load it a bit to get up to 55 or 60mph. If traffic is heavy sometimes it wants to just sit at 45mph, 2k rpm, and not shift until it hits about 2200rpm. It does not sound good on a cold truck.

Score! I've been dinking around on craigslist and I found a set of 5 2nd gen "ST" steelies with lugs, centercaps, and some worn out 245/75/16s on them. Super cheap too! Hopefully I can pick them up tomorrow and have my current (very new) Michelins swapped over. If these work out I'll probably try to sell the chrome wheels on craigslist too to break even. There should be no issue mounting my 265s I imagine since they look exactly like my spare tire with the factory 265 spare.

My 2001 has the fancy chrome wheels and unfortunately every one has a case of the corrosion cancer that I guess is separating the chrome or clearcoat from the wheel metal. It looks horrible and is flaking off pretty badly. I can deal with this issue on the body paint, but not the wheels too! :lol:I have never liked these wheels anyway - have always preferred a more utilitarian look like the old white steelies on older trucks. My question is this - does anyone run 4 steel "spare" wheels on a 2nd gen? Is there anything different about them in terms of load or anything? My factory steel spare came with a Michelin LTX MS 265/75/16E mounted on it so I would guess the answer is no.Any ideas on where I would get 3 more spares? Are there any other good stock-size options out there for relatively cheap?

Well, last night I got home after dark and got under the hood and unscrewed the threaded top of the the lever to pull out the plunger. I didn't realize beforehand that you have to pull the whole assembly off the filter bowl to get that one piece off. So, I fiddled with it and got it threaded back on and in place. I went and cranked the truck and watched for drips and didn't see any after watching for a full minute or so. :shrug:Maybe the o-ring wasn't seating or something, who knows. I'm going hunting this weekend so I'll be driving about 2.5-3hrs each way. I was thinking of spraying brake cleaner all over that side of the engine so that I would be able to see new drips if there are any.Anything to worry about with spraying brake cleaner on the block, fender, filter bowl, etc.?

North Georgia. I found a download for the factory service manual for 2001 Trucks here: http://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen-ram-faqs/236110-factory-service-manual-for-2nd-gen-rams.html We'll see if it has a schematic for that drain assembly. It's a big ol' file to download. --- Update to the previous post... Ok, the manual does not break down the drain valve in a schematic. I'll take it apart tonight and see about the o-ring. If that doesn't work I'll buy the whole assembly and replace. :banghead:

Do any of y'all have a link to an online version of that manual?

No I noticed the leak after I changed my fuel filter about 1000 miles ago. Generally I make a mess and it takes a week for the diesel smell to evaporate, but it hung around too long and now I know why.I'll probably take it apart tonight and see what I find. I'm not too keen on buying the $32 assembly just for an o-ring. I wish I knew what kind of o-ring to buy so that I don't have to immobilize my one vehicle and then try to figure a way to the parts store to try to find a match. My other thought is that I wonder if it's really worth messing with. It's not a big enough leak to worry about the cost of wasted fuel, but it is making a mess. Luckily my engine bay is covered with old oil from the crank case vent and leaky transmission lines so I don't notice .I was thinking of just buying some new fuel line and running it down to axle level and just letting the thing drip for now until I have a better way to chase down the o-ring, or decide to buy the assembly.

I don't have a Freightliner dealer anywhere close. Does anybody know if I need a special kind of o-ring since it's going in a fuel system? Also, what about the drain line/hose out of the valve? Mine fell off a long time ago and I wouldn't mind running a couple of feet of it and securing at axle height. That way if it keeps dripping a drop every 10-15 seconds it won't be coating the engine compartment.

Dealer says it's part number 5015580AB for the whole plastic valve assembly, and is $32. I am going to unscrew the threaded part and see if I can find a little o-ring for the plunger end and see if that stops the leak.

I tried out a set of Yokohama Geolandars in 285/75/16D and they rubbed hard on the control arms when turning sharp left. Stock everything else.

My fuel filter bowl drain has a constant drip leak out of the drain valve. I have monkeyed with it but can't get it to stop. It was doing about one drip per second but now I have it down to about one drip every 10 seconds. It is still leaking straight on to the engine mount and there is a fuel sheen on everything on that side of the block, and the truck stinks like a diesel leak.Is this common at all? It seems that just the plastic valve for emptying the fuel bowl is what is leaking, or rather, won't close back up completely. Can I buy a new plastic valve or anything to fix this? Some O-ring in there to replace?Thanks in advance

In my experience the Michelin LTX MS and the new MS2 is the best tire out there, period, for a truck that spends more than half of it's life on pavement. They're pricey at first but you get more miles per dollar when it's all said and done.