Tractorman

Congratulations!!! Are you feeling euphoric? I have been waiting for you post. Now that your truck has thoroughly tested you and you won, the truck should behave itself for the rest of its life under your ownership. John

Good to have another source for ECM repairs. Also, glad to hear that your truck is running well. Just for clarification, the ECM does run the lift pump for about 1/4 second when the ignition switch is turned on. If the starter is bumped and then the key is released, the lift pump will run for approx 25 seconds. From the FSM (2002): The transfer pump is self-priming: When the key is first turned on (without cranking engine), the pump will operate for approximately 1/4 second and then shut off. The pump will also operate for up to 25 seconds after the starter is engaged, and then disengaged and the engine is not running. The pump shuts off immediately if the key is on and the engine stops running. John

I think you have found the issue. I also strongly think that the noise that you have been hearing is mechanical. I think the noise faded away when you disabled one cylinder and when you ran the engine with the ECM out of the loop because you changed the cadence or resonance of the engine in motion, thus changing the movement behavior of the loose tone ring piece. This would also explain why no code was set for the crankshaft sensor and why the engine performed as it should - not a timing issue. I think your perseverance has paid off. Great job on your part! Post a photo the tone ring. John

Good to hear back from you. I am hoping that you are on the right path and that you have finally found a solution to your forever lasting symptoms. Of course, you know that when this is fixed, you will constantly be hearing random phantom ticking noises for at least six months - then you can finally relax. John

I mounted mine on the lower part of the factory air filter housing right next to the battery. My guess is that you probably don't have a factory air filter housing. John

I won't be able to offer any help - I am responding because you haven't received a response yet and I didn't want you to think you were being ignored. From reading your post it seems that you have been very thorough in trying to get your issue resolved. You have checked everything that I can think of that needs to be checked. Maybe @Mopar1973Man will respond now that I have flagged him. He is knowledgeable in this area. John

Correction - This moves ECM, VP and grid heater relay grounds from the right battery to the left battery. From W-T: John

The photo below shows a 250 amp fuse and fuse holder similar to the style of fuse that I used. My fuse is 150 amp and has been reliable for over 3 years and over 30,000 miles. John

The 140 amp fuse is not there to protect the alternator. It is there for safety reasons in case the alternator or alternator output wiring shorted directly to ground. A fire could easily be started from the large amount of stored energy available from two large batteries that would have a direct path to ground if the alternator output circuit was not fused. By adding a non-fused second output wire, you are contributing to the potential for a fire. Personally, I would remove the old alternator output wire to the 140 amp fuse. I would run a single wire of the correct diameter through a suitable 250 amp fuse to the passenger side battery. The W-T Ground Reference mod wires the alternator output to the passenger side battery as part of the rewiring procedure. John

Then fill your radiator 50/50 (water/oil) so the o-ring will stay well lubed! .... just kidding! I do understand that you are trying to make something better. John

My radiator drain plugs are and have been the threaded plug style, too - I just incorrectly called it a petcock. What I have observed is that antifreeze does not make dynamic o-ring seals slippery like oil does, in fact antifreeze is kind of grippy. This is one of the reasons why water pumps use mechanical face seals. Years ago I took one of my drain plugs apart and cleaned it and after reassembly it didn't perform any better. I never really worried about the difficulty turning the drain plug because 99.9999% of its life is spent as a static seal and it never leaks. John

The radiator drain plug can be removed, but I probably would not do it. There a thick o-ring seal inside that the plastic petcock shaft fits through. The o-ring elongates because of friction while turning the petcock which in turn makes the petcock difficult to rotate. I find that if I rotate the petcock a little bit in each direction while opening or closing, it performs a little better. I have never broken one, but my brother-in-law has broken two. To my knowledge, there is no drain plug on the engine block. John

From Geno's Delphi Series 680 description: The Heavy Duty replacement steering box is a 16:1 ratio. The benefit to you: effectively 3.5 turns from lock-to-lock compared to 4.5 turns. I purchased and installed an new (not rebuilt) Delpi 680 series steering gearbox (part# BO800120) in 2015. It is a good steering box, but the ratio wasn't as advertised - the one I received was exactly 4 turns, stop to stop (my old one was 4 1/4 turns). The strange part was that the steering felt much quicker than the old box - not just a little quicker. I contacted Borgeson company and was eventually able to talk to an engineer. After explaining what I was experiencing, the engineer commented that it was strange as there is only one part number for all the second generation trucks that it was used on. She said that she wanted to look into it and would call be back. Here is what I wrote in my maintenance log: New steering gearbox - 4 turns from lock to lock (expecting 3 1/2 turns). Contacted Borgeson - engineer representative Barbara said that there are two boxes made for this era of Dodge trucks. She said that one is a 14:1 ratio and the other is a variable ratio with the highest ratio in the center of steering. She said that both of the steering boxes are sold under the same part number and that the customer has no say in which steering box the customer receives. I told the engineer that I have no issue with the steering gearbox that I received and thanked her for explaining the differences. So, I got the variable ratio one and I do like the steering gearbox. So anyway, I don't think that you would be disappointed with that steering gearbox, but I just wanted to let you know that you may get something slightly different than advertised. I have currently logged 186,000 miles on the Series 680 steering gearbox and I am still pleased with its performance. John

Steps 1 through 3 are good. When checking battery cables, make sure there is no corrosion creeping into the cable under the wire insulation. This corrosion is difficult to see and it commonly happens with aged crossover cables. There a wiring modification called the "W-T Ground Reference" mod. If you have not done that, it is a good thing to do. It takes care of some potential ground issues on the driver side of the engine. This will not likely correct your issue but it is a prudent modification to do as quality ground circuits are necessary for reliable computerized engine control components. This could be a beneficial test for diagnosing. What you accidentally did is called a "wiggle test" in the automotive industry. Perform this test in various locations with a helper watching the dash while the ignition key is turned on, or while the engine is running. You just may quickly find your issue. John

Thank you for that information and the quick response. There should be some very helpful wiring diagrams in the manual. When you are checking connectors, be sure to inspect that there are no pins pushed partially back into the connector body. This sometimes happens and it is easily overlooked. Not sure of what work you are doing inside the cab, but there are a couple of locations for ground connections for dash components. You will want to find those grounds (shown in the manual) and ensure there is good electrical connection at those locations. You also should do a thorough inspection of all the main battery cables and connections, including the positive crossover cable. The alternator charges the driver side battery, but senses voltage (state of charge) from the passenger side battery. John