LiveOak

I don't think the synthetic oil hurt anything. I take it as a precaution, you have checked for oil in the coolant? Any remote possibility is the crank case vent tube but you should readily see an oily mess on the underside. Have you checked for blowby? Unless you can find a visible oil leak on the outside of the engine somewhere, Loosing that much oil is likely a possibility it's the turbo. Have you removed the downpipe from the hot side for a look. The other possibility is rings but you would be seeing noticable blue smoke.

I ordered a front drive shaft from Torque King today. The sell strap and bolt kits for this application. https://torqueking.com/product/40709/qu40709-universal-joint-strap-and-bolt-kit-for-spicer-1350-or-1410-yokes/?searchid=1393311&search_query=driveshaft+strap+and+bolt+kit

I am about to replace pretty much everything in the front end of the old girl. I can hear the front axle shaft universal joints groning and complaining. EVERYTHING in the front end is just as I purchase the truck new about 23 years ago and I think it is probably long past time to replace pretty much everything. I am using Dana/Spicer greasable universal joints, Timken wheel/hub bearings, and I think I am going to bite the bullet and get a set of EMF ball joints. Have not decided on control arms/bushings, and the steering linkage yet. Any suggestions?

Oh boy does that bring back some unpleasant, hot, and sweaty memories! My was doing the exact same thing a few years back, in 2023 I think. My truck still had the original factor pads on it from when I purchased the truck new and they were only about 20% worn, so I decided to just clean and lube everything up and use everything over again. That was a LOT of work and the brakes STILL hung up and over heated. I ended up replacing EVERYTHING, calipers, disks, pads, hoses, lines, fluid was double flushed. Hope you got things good enough to get back home without incident.

VERY nice looking work BFH. I will be taking a close look at my hood hinges in that area and may be placing an order. 👍

Has anyone tried the Motorad 7426190 fail safe thermostat it is 190 degree thermostat but depending upon the quality of it, I like the idea of a fail safe thermostat that fails in the open position.

I see you have a nice imprint of the bumper on your tail gate too from the crappy tail gate cables breaking. 😁

I went with an Eaton True Trac in the rear and a Yukon limited slip for the front axle. Both seem to be working great.

I would think the slightly higher temperatures the coolant runs at would aid in keeping the oil cleaner longer as well.

I am looking at the Spyntech Shorty Kit Dodge 00-15 Shorty Kit and the Yukon Gear & Axle (YA WU-04) Spin Free Locking Hub Conversion Kit Yukon Gear & Axle (YA WU-04) Spin Free Locking Hub Conversion Kit for Dodge SRW Dana 60 AAM Differential There are other kits but I don't know much about them and frankly don't know that much about the above kits. Eventually, I will have to replace the 22 year old wheel bearings in my fron axle. When I do get to that point, I would like to install one of the hub kits to eliminate the constant engagement of the front driveshaft driving on the road. I prefer manual locking hubs. I need to determine which is the best kit to go with and where I would be able to find a set of OEM style hub caps that have the hole in the middle for manual locking hubs. I suspect that someone must manufacture them. Just have not looked into it that deep yet and not fround any. I will be installing the kit on my 2002 Dodge Ram 4x4 SLT Quad Cab Cummins 5.9 HO. Thanks in advance for any advice, recommendations, or suggestions.

The old gal has been a great truck Mike. She has earned some well deserved TLC. Believe it or not, my truck which is pretty much identical to yours just turned over about 93,300 original miles since I purchased it new back in September of 2002. Still running great. Just had the ignition switch and clutch switch replaced as well as having a front axle driveshaft loop installed. I am looking at installing either a Spyntech or Yukon Gear front hubs so I can manually select 4WD.

How are your treatments coming along? Is it renal cancer that you are dealing with?

Have you check Rock Auto? Recently, they had a lot of clearance parts on sale at they did for my 2nd Gen truck.

Have you had an opportunity to diagnose the overboost condition yet?

So I can text you Biden & Harris memorabilia and your computer will pick it up and notify you? LOL!

Once I am done with a few project on the farm, I may give Linux another look. I would like to be done with Windows for sure. I guess I have been using Windows for so long, it is psychologically difficult to make that jump.

I would like to make that jump but the big problem is that the programs like Turbo Tax and others as far as I am aware are Windows only.

I initially copied the documents, picture, and video's, etc. to the SSD. Access was lightening fast. I went back and copied it to the HDD and deleted it from the SSD. The SSD is much slower but not so slow that I find it a problem. This computer is FAR over my head in it's capabilities vs. mine but I expect to gradually grow into it. As computers and the software continue to change and develop, it will last me awhile I hope. Many thanks for the advice and suggestions.

That is EXACTLY & PRECISELY why I purchase my truck. I had a POS 1993 Chevy Suburban 2500 4 x 4 that was a gas toilet, the engine developed a rod knock at about 18,000 miles, the dealer did NOT replace it with a new crate engine but did a half assed short block rebuild/replacement that was never right. Even with a Mag Hi Tech deep transmission oil pan and additions HD transmission oil cooler, the transmission would over heat and puke. The side view mirrors fell apart and were replaced under warranty, the AC sucked even with the rear AC on full blast. And it was SLOW and had NO POWER. When I saw Dodge was changing over to a new body style and common rail diesel engines, I traded the Suburban TURD in with 38,000 miles on my current truck. I STILL own and love this truck. I liked it so much I bought one for the wife and she loves hers too. Just a bit of unsolicited but hopefully helpful advice. If you are not changing out your engine coolant every 2 years religiously, I would STRONGLY recommend that you flush and replace your engine coolant with Shell Rotella Extended Life ELC Nitrate Free coolant and at each or every other oil change (depending upon how much you drive it) suck out a gallon of coolant and replace it with new. https://rotella.shell.com/en_us/products/lubricants-heavy-duty-products/antifreeze-coolant.html Same with power steering fluid if you are not doing a complete flush. I suck the fluid out of the PS reservoir and replace with new every oil change. Same goes for both axles, transmission, and transfer case. I messed up on the wife's truck and forgot to regularly replace the coolant and it I believe this was a primary contributor to the failure of the head gasket. I believe if you do the above, you should be able to get at least 500k out of your truck excluding if you drive it in salt conditions. Hang on to her and take care of her as these trucks are becoming nearly impossible to find for sale in good condition.

I think there are more than a few computer savy folks on this forum. I recently purchased this computer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WDSGD1J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is the first time I have used/own an SSD & HDD equipped computer. My question is, what is the best way to used/manage the data on this computer. I am transferring my documents and other files from the other computer to the new one. I have been searching the internet looking for information on this topic and for the most part I am find recommendations to store "data" on the HDD and programs as well as frequently used games, etc. on the SDD. I guess my question is, should I store my word and other documents on the SDD or the HDD? I transferred all of the documents from the other computer to a 512 GB sd care and transferred them to the document directory that was already on the new computer. These went onto the SDD. I am pretty sure the intent/idea is NOT to load up the SDD with files that you don't frequently use to take advantage of it's superior speed and store files that you infrequently use on the HDD which has much slower access but is just fine for storage of infrequently used files. I'm looking for advice on the best way to manage both the SDD & HDD on the new computer as it is lightning fast compare to the other computer that used only a HDD. Thanks! Best wishes to all for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! P.S. If I posted this in the wrong place, moderators please move it to where it should be to get the best viewing. Thanks!

This might help. 5 Ways to Get Better Fuel Mileage You may want to check and clean or replace the IAT sensor as well.

I looked at East Coast Gear and missed those shafts. Thanks! I will keep them in mind. To make that upgrade would cost me about $3500 for the parts plus installation cost. That is just a LOT more than I want to spend on a truck that aside from my wanting a TruTrac, does not really need all of that upgrade. If the Yukon Dura Grip does not work out, I may take another look at East Coat though. Great catch.

My concern on this type of upgrade is that it appears that few to nobody has done it. This is probably for very good reason. Just far more hassle and cost than I want to dive into.

Replacing the axle was NEVER an option for me as that is just FAR too much money to throw at something that does not get regular and essential use. If off roading gets that bad, I have a Kubota RTVX 1100 C with a 2 inch lift kit and 28 inch tall tires equipped with a winch to get me out of sloppy messes which I take great pains to avoid.

Talking with Joey Sanchez @ 4WDFACTORY.com tells me that I can install the guts/axles from a 99 or earlier CAD front Dana 60 in theory which are 35 spline axles but there is not CAD mount on my axle nor the vaccum tubing and asscociated brackets & hardware. The axles would cost about $700. The caveat is that they have NEVER done this axle upgrade in their shop and I am pretty confident neither has any other reputable shop that I am aware of. Just too much unknown and complication. Hence elected to go with the Yukon Dura Grip. The 32 spline axles are strong enough for what I can throw at them and Yukon tells me that others use the Dura Grip in their front Dana 60's for pulling trucks and other competition use with good results.