dorkweed

You're just a "puppy" yet!!!! I wish I were still only gonna turn 46!!! Happy Birthday in advance though!!!

Good news Mike!!!

Still have that Smarty...................

Stay strong Mike..................MM is gonna need it.

Prayers for a speedy recovery.

I'm praying you find an answer to this problem. I just recently "traded" my '04.5 Dodge/Cummins because of a recurrent/PITA APPS issue that I could never get a grip on!!! I'd still have "MightyWhitey" save for the APPS issue.

Finally got my "better gauge", and proceeded to adjust my air bags. New gauge is a 0-60psi dial gauge. Old one was just one of them "stick" gauges. Anyhow; what was 12psi on the old stick gauge was reading 18-19psi on the new one, so I lowered the pressure in the air bags to 15psi according to the new gauge. The leafs are just off the bottom over load with 85% of my normal gear loaded in the truck. Dropping my work trailer on puts the leafs onto the bottom overload springs now. Truck rides good.

Thanks guys. I hadn't considered any of those today working. There has to be BUKU info about this somewhere.

For years, I ran my Smarty on SW5 default settings.It was a great combination of added power and torque; and lower EGT's. I could've run SW7 with default settings, but the EGT's were a bit warmer than I was liking. I always tried to keep my EGT's under 1100*F on my Autometer gauges. My truck was a bit weird though.......................It would run cooler 65-70mph empty and towing vs. 55-60mph doing the same. There are some really long grades here in southern and NW Illinois...........6-7%............and once MightyWhitey got spooled up, 900* was about as hot as she'd get. I could LUG her and get 1200* quick, but EGT's with MightyWhitey were never a problem on the Interstates!!!

Why isn't the axle centered in the leaf spring pack??? It's always forward of center. Thought of this working today.............yeah; I was thinking again!!!!

In all honesty; I could never tell the difference between the "low end" and the "high end" bulbs!!!! And I had the truck for 12 years also!!! Just saying, not arguing!!!!!

Just replied to PM.............been in FL working.

Glad you found a spot where the Edge works for you. As I said prior; I've had both, and the Smarty is "night and day" better than the Edge product. Better low end "grunt" and much cooler EGT's. And you'll likely not need to monitor the EGT's so much with the Smarty. You can still use your Edge for gauges if'n you don't have any and get the Smarty.......................Just need to set the Edge back to "stock". As I posted prior....................I've got a Smarty for sale in the classifieds if'n you're interested.

Went on a day trip yesterday. 450 miles round trip. Me and a friend in front, and 3 dogs and some gear in the rear/bed. Left with 15psi in the bags. Truck rode great. Firm but great. On the trip home, lowered the bags to 12psi...............no discernible difference in ride. I do need a more "accurate" gauge though............my cheepie don't cut in guestimating below about 20psi. Updates to follow.

That's kinda what I figured Mike. Thanks.

Air bags arrived yesterday; and I installed them. The destructions said 1-2 hours................took me almost 3, as I was being very diligent about mounting the hardware. I've never installed these bad boys before. Got them installed, and aired up to 70psi to check for leaks. There were none.................A FIRST FOR ME!!!! What I noticed right off after testing the bags at 70psi, was that when I let all the air out of the bags, the STOCK suspension didn't return to it's LOW state like it was prior to inflation. This lead me to really believe, that I didn't need these things. But then I did a test..................holding the schader valve open and rocking the truck, these bags will breathe "in and out"........................which also leads me to believe that even if my air pressure gauge is reading 0, there is air held captive in there via the valve!!! I need a better air gauge also!!! So I worked today and tried 20psi empty.....................which lifts my truck up well off the bottom overload spring..........about 1" between the overload and the next spring measured at the end of the overload. My trailer settled it down nicely, but there was still space between the spring and overload. Loved the way the truck and trailer drove at 20psi.......................too much "rake" empty though. Gonna try 15psi empty next trailer haul. Question here..................If I'm at 20psi in the bags empty; does the psi increase in the bags when loaded via a trailer or load in the bed??? That's one thing I didn't check.

This^^^^^^^!!!

Dump the Edge, and get a Smarty. I've had both.....................Edge ran hotter. Check the classifieds.................I have a Smarty for sale................make an offer.............recently upgraded to PoD status by member AH64ID here.

Yup!! Yup, yup, for sure!!!

Whilst this new truck has more than enough power to tow my work trailer and boat; the suspension leaves a lot to be desired. A lot of porposing with my work trailer going thru dips and over bumps. And I don't have the bed of the truck set up yet for my dog training/hunting stuff yet................and that will add weight (which will still be in the bed) when my work trailer gets hitched up. This truck has just 2 leaves on top of a bottom overload leaf.................not much IMHO!!! I've just got a camper shell, a sheet of 3/4 OSB, 2 dog crates, and a Line-X bed liner in there empty now, and she's darn near on the bottom over-loads. I plan on having at least 500lbs. more in addition to the above all the time once I'm done!! Then that's gonna stay when my work and/or boat trailer get hitched up. That's why I opted for the bags. Went with the Firestone Ride Rites for my truck.

What he^^^^ said!!!! This is how I've always adjusted rear drums!!! Anti-seize is a must for drum brakes!!

JFYI, it's a LOG!!!

I have the 3.42 rear end. The MAX TOW PACKAGE would get you the 3.73.

Mike, this truck has the "oil life monitor" that I can click into on the dash display. Right now with just under 2000 miles on her, it says that I have 80% oil life left. Very pleased so far. I loved rowing the gears in both my '99 and '04.5, but this 6 speed auto is nice!! No idea on engine life.................it runs the full spectrum from less than 50,000 to well over 200,000 miles in the reading that I've done. So much depends on the owner/maintainer of the vehicle.

The "Range" AFM delete that I use is just a "MODULE" that plugs into the OBD port under the dash. All it does is "Modify" the signal into the ECM to keep the truck from going into V4 mod. Not detectible AFAIK. I've only used it for long highway jaunts. Don't use it around suburbia; as I don't need the 2nd overdrive, as most of my driving is 55mph and under!!!