Tractorman

The first 106,000 miles was OEM coolant. Coolant was replaced with whatever Oil Can Henry's was using. The second coolant change was at 216,000 miles (Napa Long Life). Third coolant change was at 283,000 miles (Napa Long Life). Currently running that coolant at 363,000 miles. At 283,000 miles I installed a coolant filter. When I replaced the water pump at 216,000, I only did it as a preventative maintenance procedure - it was working fine. Personally, I think the quality of the water pump's bearing and seal diminished significantly in the early third generation trucks which led to failures of what had previously been a bullet proof product. I don't think the water pump failures were due to coolant change intervals. - John

Highly unlikely. Unfortunately, when the third generation trucks came out, quality control on some parts went down the tube - water pumps was one of those parts. I have three relatives that bought 03 and 04 trucks new. The OEM water pump failed (bearing failure) at just over 30,000 miles on one truck and well under 100,000 miles on the other two trucks - all bearing and seal failures on OEM water pumps. Sad. After-market replacement water pump quality is a gamble, as well. The second generation trucks never seemed to have that problem. I replaced my OEM water at 216,000 miles with a Geno's Gates water pump in 2014. The OEM water pump was still working fine - I just thought it was time. It is now my spare. The Gates water pump has logged just under 150,000 miles and is working fine. - John

Two days ago, I was thinking about mowing the grass. Baker City, Oregon - John

I agree. At least not on dry pavement. - John

How long did you run the engine? Sometimes it takes a couple of minutes to remove the remaining air from the rest of the injector lines while it is running. Before I would pull any injectors or perform any time consuming work, I would remove the valve cover and start the engine. Don't worry, it will not make a mess. I would then observe every intake valve and every exhaust valve for full travel of operation. If any valve is not opening or only partially opening then you have narrowed down the problem. If everything is normal in the valve train, then I would crack each injector line individually while the engine is idling. If the engine rpm does not drop when an injector line is cracked, then that cylinder is not performing its share of the work. Test all six cylinders in this manner. Note which cylinders are not performing. This will not tell you exactly what the problem is, but it will tell you which cylinders are affected. This will save you some troubleshooting time and narrow down the cause of the problem. Sometimes the art of troubleshooting is not picking something that could be the problem and jumping into it, but instead, it is to methodically eliminate potential sources of the problem that are easy to perform with results that are conclusive. - John

Now, that's funny!

So I guess, "Don't fix it, if it ain't broke." approach? - John

I am still running the OEM muffler on my '02. Just wondering when and if it should be replaced. It has logged 363,000 miles and has been in operation for over 20 years. It still seems to perform fine, but maybe it is one of those things that can slowly deteriorate internally and cause increasing back pressure without knowing it. Should I just keep running it or replace it as a maintenance item? Any thoughts? - John

Good, you answered all of the questions well. It is likely that the refrigerant charge is low. A rapidly cycling compressor would match the symptoms shown in your video. There is nothing wrong with recharging your AC system yourself. But, if you have never done this before, take time to watch lots of videos to get your best understanding of filling the system and the safety precautions to observe when doing so. Wear gloves. Liquid refrigerant vaporizes at atmospheric pressure at around 20° below zero F. It instantly extracts the heat from of whatever it touches. Also, understand that you do not know how much refrigerant or oil is currently in the system , Since you do not know that, it means that you do not know how much to add. The proper way to charge an AC system is to recover the refrigerant in the system, pull a strong vacuum on the system for a determined amount of time, and then check for leaks. If all is well, then the proper weight of refrigerant with the proper amount oil will be added to fill the system. I only mention this because when a person decides to add refrigerant themselves, that person assumes all of the risks associated with it. Before recharging, I would inspect the all of the components of the AC system that are visible for any oil residue surrounding them A particular candidate is the AC compressor dynamic seal. Let us know what you decide. - John

You need to be a bit more specific than "No AC" For example: * Does the ventilation fan work properly on all selected speeds? * Is the air coming out of the vents, but just not cold air? * Or, is the air coming from somewhere else (such as defroster vents) and is cold? * Is the AC compressor cycling. The vacuum supply to the HVAC selector operates various ventilation door positions to direct airflow to either the floor vents, dash vents, or defroster vents. If the vacuum supply is removed, the default ventilation door selection will send airflow to the defroster vents only, regardless of the position of the HVAC control selector. The vacuum supply has no input as to whether or not the AC compressor runs. So, if the AC system is working properly and if the vacuum supply was disconnected, the result would be cold air coming from the defroster vents. So, check out the system and report back. - John

Here you go..., - John

We know you want the rear seal for the NV5600, but your signature does show which transmission you have, nor does it show whether your truck is 2WD or 4WD. I bought a rear seal from Napa (CR 19211) for my 4WD truck, NV5600 rear seal. - John

Mine was extremely tight. I broke 3/4" drive sockets trying to get the nut off. Finally had to take it to a repair shop. The fellow said come back around noon and your truck will ready. I showed at 5:00 pm and all the mechanics had gone home. I found the owner in the shop working on my truck. I asked how it was going. He said he was still working on getting the nut off. We worked on it together for another hour and finally got it off with some rigging and the use of a 1" impact gun. I paid the guy a little extra for his perseverance. Be sure to check the axle vent tube for blockage as well. Sometimes a plugged vent will force oil by a seal. - John

My neighbor has a 2011 Dodge Cummins truck. I would like to perform battery load tests using the starter for the electrical load. Is there a way to easily disable the engine from starting so I can perform the test? Has anyone done this test using their truck? - John

Quite possible, however on the other hand, I am still running my OEM Bosch alternator with two brush kits and one set of bearings that I installed myself. Currently the alternator has logged 362,000 miles. Still on the original diodes. - John

@Silverwolf2691, if you are the original owner of the truck and if you know that the equalizer adjuster along the frame rail has never been adjusted, then you are good to go with @Mopar1973Man's instructions. However, if you do not know the history of that adjustment, then I recommend to back off equalizer adjuster a fair amount before adjusting the brake shoes. This will ensure that the brake shoes seat on the anchor pin when retracted for proper adjustment. Then follow up with the equalizer adjustment. - John

Probably. But, you should find out the total wattage and divide that number by 13 volts to get the amperage draw. I say 13 volts because it will never be higher than that at the bulb. The LED bulbs may already have the amperage draw written on them. - John I am guessing that there is a problem in that circuit. Those relays should last just about forever, especially with such a low duty cycle. - John

That's what I did. - John

There are eight positions on the ventilation switch. @jlweldingneeds to give more information about the ventilation settings and where the airflow was going before the sudden change occurred, otherwise we are shooting in the dark trying to help him. - John

What was your ventilation setting before the air started coming out of the vents? If you lose your main vacuum supply, then all the air flow will default to the defrosters, so it sounds like you have something else going on. Possibly a vacuum line came off of the mode door for directing air to the floor, dash, or defrosters. - John It won't cool the cab as fast as the recirculation mode, but the AC system should easily keep your cab cool, even bringing in outside air.

I think that you are probably okay with the installation. As long as the anti-sway bar fits snugly, it should perform fine. If there is too much squeeze pressure on the bushing, then the bushing would just distort. If, after some driving miles, should you see some play, it looks like you could easily add a flat shim to take up any looseness. - John

You say there is a large gab. Can you post a measurement of the gap. Can't look at a photo and know what the gap is. Does the bracket that fits around the bushing slip over the bushing easily, or is it a struggle to get it over the bushing? If it is the latter, then the gap will probably close. It's kind of like piston rings - you can't judge the end gap when the rings are removed from the cylinder. - John

Good Job!

This is how @Mopar1973Mankeeps his final drive ratio low. He turns his 245/75R16 tires into 245/70R16 tires by letting the smoke out. - John

When the transmission shifts from 3rd to overdrive, the converter should unlock just before the shift and then relock shortly after the shift. Is this occurring? If the converter remains locked during the shift, the shift will be harsh. - John