LiveOak

Totally agree MoparMom. You can NEVER be too careful or observant.

Cool! I can imagine that you get to meet some interesting people and go all over the country. I can certainly think of a LOT worse jobs. Nothing like driving your office around with you everywhere you go.

I hate to be the party pooper who pee's on the camp fire but you all should enjoy your freedom while it lasts.......your days are numbered. In case you have not noticed, there is a flood of refugees fleeing Californian and other Progressive Marxist states. These people nearly ALWAYS bring their "horray for me and ____ on you" Progressive Marxist voting patterns and ideas. Currently Wyoming is the fastest growing state due to migration. The wife and I have been considering moving to Wyoming but are having some serious concerns over the flood of idiots moving to Wyoming. The same thing happened to Montana and is currently happening to Idaho. Definitely NOT a good situation.

Here is a good piece on compound turbo's. Twins are a great way to go but are NOT wallet friendly. http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/1302dp_compounding_turbo_crash_course/

Here is an article I recently read in my subscription to Diesel Power. Maybe it may help you decide. http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/dodge/1209dp_the_worlds_biggest_turbo_test/

Have you tried a really heavy duty zip tie?

Thanks W&F. I am looking forward to getting these installed, especially on the wife's truck. Her truck makes an awful growling almost grinding noise at low rpm in 1st gear. I am hoping this damper will help lessen that. I called my local Dodge dealer and they will have new bolts for me by the end of the week. They are $5.75 each. That is cheap insurance, so I will install the dampers with new bolts.

Due to various distractors around the farm and me being a professional procrastinator, I still have not gotten around to installing my fluid dampers just yet. By chance, has anyone on this forum installed one? If so, I have a few questions:1. Replace damper bolts with new bolts or not?2. Locktite damper bolts or not? I am reading a mixed review on the internet so far. So far, the best recommendation I have come across is anti-seize, torque to 30 ft./lbs., followed up by a 60 degree wrench arc turn of the damper bolts for proper torque and bolt stretch. 3. I am reading and getting conflicting stories on whether the serpentine belt can be replaced WITHOUT removing the fluid damper. I would think it WOULD be possible to do so buy have not first hand experience with it. As a precaution, I will replace the serpentine belt since it is the original OEM belt that came on the truck when I bought it new and is over 11 years old. A friend who installed one on his truck told me the belt can be changed without removing the damper. 4. A friend who installed one on his 99 Dodge told me he did not have to remove the fan shroud. Anyone here do it this way. I have the engine barring tool so hold the crank in place while removing and installing the fluid damper. Does anyone have any other suggestions or points to consider? Thanks!

Last Summer the rear universal joint went bad on the wife's truck. I removed the entire driveshaft assembly and took it to a local driveshaft shop and had ALL Spicer universal joints (non greasable type since they are MUCH stronger) and hanger bearing. The original OEM universal joint that failed was a Spicer universal joint that lasted nearly 150,000 miles. In my opinion, you won't go wrong with Spicer.

I finally got busy and installed both sets of balancers. Bottom line is that they DO make a HUGE difference. I think in my case since I have a larger than typical tire, they make a big improvement to the ride. The gear shift just sits still and the ride is REAL smooth. You can sense a moderate vibration up to about 30 mph and then it just disappears and gets smooth above that when the balancers start working. The balancers would work up to 85 mph with these tires (I also had them balanced with wheel weights before I installed the balancers.) and above that, a slight vibrations will again begin to occur. I think that is pretty good. It is after all a truck.....NOT a race car. A couple of things to be aware of is the need to be using spacer shims. The balancer kit comes with 2 A balancers, 2 B balancers, and 2 .080 thick aluminum shims. Each truck may be slightly different and require a different number of shims. In some cases such as with my truck, it required the use of 2 .080 thick shims on each hub prior to mounting the balancer. I used the B balancer in the front and the A balancers on the rear axle. I tried the method many have used in grinding away the iron casting seams on the front brake calipers on my truck but just could NOT get enough clearance betweeen the B balancer disk and the brake caliper. After about a dozen iterations of trial and error & removing the wheel and tire assembly, I finally called Centermatic. After a lengthy discussion of what issues I was encountering, it was determined that I needed 2 more shims and the B balancer disks I was using had excessive lateral run out. (even though the disk was flush against the hub and properly torqued, it would rub the caliper in a small area. I initially spoke with Jessie who was a wealth of information and got the new B balancers and shims sent to me FAST at no charge. The owner/manager Jerry, later called me back to ensure all was well and no problems. Once I installed the second shim on each hub and the new B balancer disk, everything went together just right. The rear axle is a piece of cake. On the wife's truck, hers may require only 1 shim on each front hub. I currently have 2 but will road test it and check the clearance of the balancer. What you are looking for is clearance between the balancer disk and the brake caliper AND the wheel on the other side. You will have to experiment with shims to verify what will work in your case. Again each truck can be different. Overall, I am VERY happy with these balancers and made a huge improvement to the ride quality of my truck and I am sure the substantially reduced vibration will result is much less wear and tear. I HIGHLY recommend them and found the Centermatic's tech/customer support is EXCELLENT.

Put an actual test guage on the fuel system to verify actual fuel pressure first and to eliminate the possibility of a bad or out of adjustment fuel isolator (if you are using one). How old is the fuel filter? I have never actually had to replace a fuel filter on my Air Dog 150 due to a pressure drop/contamination, they last a LONG time. I replaced one due to getting rusty. If your fuel pressure reading is low and your fuel filter is good, I agree with the above troubleshooting steps. On the wife's truck, I have to replace the fuel filter (OEM fuel cannister filter with Baldwin PF7977) about every 4,000 to 5,000 miles due to fuel pressure gradually dropping down to 12 psi.

Great find! You are right. Vulcan has really raised the price on their filter. I was playing around with some other part#'s and found the Donaldson B105006 for $37.69. http://www.everythingtruckparts.com/donaldson-b105006-air-filter/ Here is the Wix 42790: http://www.everythingtruckparts.com/wix-42790-air-filter/ Thanks for the tip!

Nice Work!

I have 1/2 inch big line kits on both of our trucks. I realize they are probably a bit of overkill on my truck and massive overkill on her truck but for the reasons that AH64ID mentions about VP-44 cooling and to a minor degree, these bigger lines behave like a massive flexible fuel manifold that can help a small amount with fuel delivery under extreme load. The price difference is not that much between the 3/8" and 1/2" line. I would go with 1/2" everytime. It will work just fine with a stock engine and leaves you the option to go as big on hp as you want within reason. Just my

I haven't put them on just yet. The weather has been pretty crappy. I will get to it this week. I have already had the tires balanced with weights but they shake a bit above 60 mph. I will be sure to post my findings once I get them installed and used them a bit.

Just a follow up. I ordered the balancers. He gave me a great deal on them. $169 for a set of 4. I ordered 2 sets, so it came to $338.00 plus $30.67 shipping which I think was pretty reasonable. $368.67 total.

I am getting ready to order a set of 4 for each of our trucks. I found a guy on eBay who will give me a deal on them for $174.50 plus $27.22 shipping. If you are interested. I just installed new tires and went up a bit in size to the BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO radial in 315/75-16 on the stock OEM aluminum wheels.

If anyone is interested, I am talking to a guy on eBay who is will to sell me 2 sets at $174.50 each plus $22.27 shipping. Perhaps if I can arrange a large enough order, he may agree to free shipping? Anyone else interested?

OK. I just got a brand new set of BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO 315/75R-16 tires on my 2002. I am considering a set of the Centramic Tire Balancer disks to minimize vibration and tire wear. So far, it appears that the correct Centramic Tire balancer disk is part # 300-308 and a set of spacers for the fronts for clearance of the brake caliper and balancer ring against the wheel. I am running the OEM factory aluminum Dodge wheels. Is anyone using these balancers on their truck in the same configuration as mine? If so, what is your appaisal of these balancers and what if any problems or fitment issues did you have. Thanks!

My previous reply was far too long. After watching the political freak show circus put on at the Sandy Hook Auditorium. I think we are screwed beyond what the imagination can conjure. IF you had ideas of buying any kind of a firearm before, you better get one NOW. You may not get a chance in the future. Same goes for magazines and ammunition.

K&N air filters don't do much for piston ring longevity either. Mike's NADA price is what I would give for it top dollar. I would be worried about ball joints, steering link, VP44, heater core, how often he changed the coolant, if it is a 53 block (remotedly possible but unlikely), and what if any codes are in the PCM/ECM.

Have you tried a Baldwin BD7317, Fleetguard LF9028 or a Carrier 30-00463-00? I use the Baldwin BD7317. It keeps the oil clean much longer than the standard LF3894 or Baldwin BT7349 but after several 100 miles it starts to turn black and eventually really black.

Not at all. I have a BHAF but I installed an aluminum heat shield to protect it from the turbo heat. Then I installed an Outerwears prefilter on the BHAF and bungee'd it down to the A/C line. Eric over at Vulcan Performance has both: http://www.vulcanperformance.com/Big-Honkin-Air-Filter-BHAF-p/bhaf.htm The Outerwears prefilter makes the BHAF last a LOT longer and looks good to boot.

Ron Paul was my candidate too. I was very disappointed that he was shut out like he was. Although I disagree with him on a few issues, we still have Gary Johnson to vote for. In my state, Romney is a lock for carrying the vote so I voted for Gary Johnson. If he can get at least 5% of the vote this time around, he will benefit greatly in the next election. If TN was a "battle ground" state, I might have to hold my nose, put on by gag/barf bag, insert ear plugs, strap on the Depends diapers, and cover my eyes and vote for Mittens. Unfortunately we STILL have a 2 party system.........the Democrat/Republican party and the independents that compose the rest of the other parties. By all means, I agree with the OP. Get out and vote.

Here is a very good resource in my "unbiasd" opinion. '' http://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/ You are NOT the ONLY one who feels this way.