Perrysburg Dodgeboy

Note if you use the GM governor solenoid there are two groves unlike the Mopar that only has one. Line the solenoid ends up and note where the OE solenoid grove lines up. If you put it in the wrong grove the trans will not shift without letting up on the throttle. It is the last grove or the one that seats the GS the deepest!!! Line the ends up to see which grove to use. Trust me if you don't you will be pulling the pan to reset it, I found out the hard way :banghead:.Don

OK going to get the converter swapped, out what stall speed do you guys recommend. 1600 RPM or 1800 RPM. Truck gets dropped off tonight I know sort notice but any help would be appreciated.Don

Had the new two piece drive-shaft installed Monday Striped the heads off the CB bolts and I don't have a torch so I had the dealer pop it in for me. They only charged me $48.00 ! Shout Out to Al Smith Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep in Bowling-Green, Ohio just a great bunch of guys and girls there!!! Anyway she is as sold as a rock now. BTW after inspecting the rear shaft we found a dent in it so the POS GM spear tire I hit on the highway 3 months ago did damage it. That is most likely what took the CB and front u-joint on the rear shaft out ! Now I have a reason to hate GM's .Next thing on the to do list is install the brake assemblies I received for the TT then we will be ready for the Outer Banks trip .

Well went to pick up the drive shaft today and it is a two piece drive shaft . Looks like there is no sold drive shaft for the 160" wheelbase trucks. Will find out more Monday when I go to the dealership.

Jerred would love to have some info on how you added the diamond plate to the front of your TT. I would like to do that to my TT also. Mine is fiberglass and was thinking about using construction adhesive to hold it to the trailer. If you could post some pics of your install it would be greatly appreciated. thanks Don

OK the last two tanks I dropped both in cars, one a 300m and the other a Dodge Stratus. Both had a drain plug to remove the fuel. Do they not put a drain plug on the tanks in our trucks :think:I have to say pulling the bed is not a big deal if you have a way to lift it on and off. A chain fall and some rope tied off to the cleats inside the bed would work. Not everyone has a front end loader:wink:Don

If you have not found what axel is in the truck you should find the info inside the glovebox. Open it and look on the inside of the front cover and you will find the information there.Don

I'm not sure that number is a good number for my truck. I have the 160" WB and have not been able to find a one piece for a LWB quad cab auto 2WD. All the ones for my truck are two piece shafts. Will call my dealer tomorrow and find out what is available. Don - - - Updated - - - Ordered the one piece shaft from my dealer at the cost of $611.25 with a list price of $897 :spend:but at the rate of changing a CB every 70,000 miles it makes more since to replace the drive shaft from what I have been readed in other forums. So looks like more OT for me coming down the pike. Don

if we where talking about high pressures then yes I would worry about that. A guy in the department I work is going to bring in his stock air horn so I can see how I can remove without having an issue. The only thing it needs to support is it's own weight right? Maybe weld in a boss on the outside to extend the bolt, say .500"? After I can lay hands on one I can get an idea as to how much marital can be removed.Don

Was not offended and I agree with you I hate to waste money. The kids do that for me with Momma's help too . Not sure why I didn't think about the driveline because now that I think back it is acting the same way before we left for the Florida trip three years ago. :banghead:After talking to Dave I drove her onto the ramps grabbed the front and rear shaft and was able to move them about a quarter of an inch in any direction. So now I'm looking to see if there is an upgrade to the OEM carrier bearing or if I'm stuck with the factory one. Last time there was no upgrade, will most likely replace the joints at the same time. However they are tight so I'll pull a cap off the rear joint and see how the bearing surface looks.Most likely will end up with $150 if just the CB TO $300 if the joints need replacing too.Don

From the pic of the stock air horn you posted it looks like you can remove at least .375 from each side of the opening to the intake. As for the roughness of the sides I don't think that would be any issue. A die grinder with a carbide burr followed by a buzzer band to smoth things out and I bet you would notice a change. Don

Well, the money thing has to do with not wanting to waste it. The truck and trailer are paid off. But that does not mean I have money to burn. I take it by you sig you are a Mopar Tech? The reason I was looking at torque converter was because it is the weak link according to the test garage manager at the Chrysler plant I work at. We build torque converters at this plant, just not the one for the diesels, or I would have the stock one replaced there. I also was told by a performance re-builder, one that has rebuilt 48re transmissions that I should replace the TC first. I have replaced both solenoids last spring as the trans seemed to not be shifting correctly. Also I had a shift kit installed and the bands adjusted last fall. Don - - - Updated - - - BTW with One in College, one in tech school and one going in college next year you might now get the empty pocket thing. You did notice that my truck is a 2004 and the trailer is a 2005 right? Don - - - Updated - - - OK I talked with Dave at Goerend Transmission and he directed me to power break the truck and see if I feel the shudder. If there is none it is not the trans, sure enough no shudder. He gave me a TSB 03-003-04 http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2004/03-003-04.htm Vehicles equipped with a two piece driveshaft are designed to minimize reaction forces which result from the universal joint transmitting torque at an angle. These forces can not be eliminated entirely because of the necessity to compromise joint angle selection between curb and design loading conditions. When subjected to this vibration, the vehicle experiences a shudder type disturbance, generally occurring less than 25 mph. This disturbance will increase as the suspension moves further from its design load (typically two front passengers). The forces are also torque sensitive, which means the disturbance, will be highest under wide open throttle. U-joint angles change depending upon the amount of weight applied to the vehicle bed, therefore u-joint angle readings may need to be taken with different vehicle loads in order to obtain a satisfactory compromise. The vehicle should be evaluated under the loaded condition that produces the objectionable disturbance. There is a one piece drive shift part number 52123161AA or you can shim the carrier bearing using part numbers 04778851, 8852, 8853 1/8" 1/4" and 1/2". I had replaced the u-joints and C/B at about 70K miles but did not know about the shims. So here we are at almost the same mileage and it needs a new C/B. the u-joints seem to be OK but there is definitely why to much movement in the C/B. So I'm going to get a new one then make up a SS 1/4" shim and hopefully be done with it this BS. Don

After doing some surfing looks like the only way I can hit my price range is to stay stock.

I have noticed that when towing I'm getting launch shudder when towing or under heavy acceleration. Since we are tow the TT to the Outer Banks this summer I'm going to replace the TC. Would like to spend no more then $500 if possible. Don

I was under the impression that the ram was running a full time four wheel drive transfer case.Don

Question, how can locking "hubs" keep your front axle from spinning? The hub only unlocks the "hub" not the axle right? You are still driving the drive shaft, diff and axles. Yes it might pick you up one maybe two MPG but at the cost you can buy a whole lot of fuel! Dad tried this wwwwaaaayyyyy back in 1982 on his K-5 Blazer and only picked up one to two MPG. We have had a couple of guys at the plant try this with the same results. Don

Form what I read on his face book page they only do mechanical injectors not common rail injectors. The cost difference from a mechanical to CR is $80 verses $355 each. Big time difference. I have shopped all over looking for a decent price on injectors and so for Superior has some of the best pricing around. They are not the cheapest but they are not the most expensive ether. The plus is they are with in 60 miles of me.Don

Well it looks like I'm going to pull my injectors and send them to Superior Turbo and Injector in Detroit. They are going to test the injectors, clean, calibrate the coils, replace the brass cap and o-ring for $165. If it turns out that any fall outside of the specs or can't be brought back into spec they will replace them with their in house (Bosch certified) rebuilt injectors for $265 each. If I want Bosch factory rebuilt injectors they are $332 each.I was told that it is a good idea to replace the fuel tubes at the same time @ a cost of $35 each. What do you guys think about replacing the tubes? At 35 dollars it's not a big expense, but if they don't need to be replaced then why do it right?Don

OK I have burned thru three tanks a fuel all hand calculated and using the overhead. All three are combined city highway. H = hand calculated O = overheadTank one: H = 17.9 O = 19.1Tank two: H = 18.7 O = 19.7Tank three : H = 19.9 O = 19.7So I looks like not only is my overhead no longer accurate it is not off by the same amount! :cookoo:Don

Wow what is up with the guys in both of those videos? Just a heads up on removing a caliper (any caliper). use a large heavy flat blade screw driver, placed between the pad and the rotor and push the caliper piston back about 1/8" and the caliper will pull right off WITHOUT BEATING ON IT WITH A HAMMER!!! again :clap:Don

Just an update, I have not been able to check the hubs at work at this time. We have several new product launches going on and tons of new gages that need to be calibrated. When things slow down I will check them out.Don

So what wheel do you have? This is what is in my 2004 built in November 2004

Not sure why the 03 (the start of the third gen HD) would have that wheel. My truck has the newer wheel as does the guys 03 truck from work. My truck was built in November of 04 and Ken's truck was one of the last 03's built before the model year change over.Maybe Damn-Lire had too many of that wheel in stock and wanted to run them out? Don

John I have the airdog-100 and when I installed it I used the 17 psi spring. On the why home tonight I punched it to get through a light. Then two lights later I had stop and the truck idled very poorly. Idle dropped down to 600 and was very rough. Next light it did the same thing but when I put it in neutral the idle smoothed out. So when I got her on I-75 I opened her up to blow the cob webs out, no heavy smoke (none really) ran it up to 100 for about two miles then back to 65. Got off the e-way stopped on the on ramp and she idled smooth again. The truck is stock no controller, stock injectors after market 4" and a AEM Brute Force intake. I plan on doing a lifter adjustment this week end. Anything to worry about or do you think it was a fluke?Don

Not sure why some of the 03 trucks would have a different steering wheel, they should not. When the 3rd gen HD trucks came out the column changed at the same time! We build the columns at the plant I work at and part of the change over was a new steering wheel. The same one that is in the 04 should be in the 03. Can you take a pic of our wheel I would like to see what it looks like. Now if you do not have cruise control then no you won't be able to do this. But again cruise was standard on all the trucks except the ST base model if memory serves me.Don