flagmanruss

I love that we can bring our latest & greatest here... & find out what;s really in the stuff!Russ

I'm not familiar with the connector you are talking about. I DO have experience with marine electronics & landmobile communications equipment. We were able to remove some contacts intact from plugs (so the cable could be snaked through a hole) and the reassembled. There were various tools that would slide down over the pin, compressing the little locking tab (tooth) that would hold it in the connector. If you can exhamine the plug with a bright light & a magnifier you may be able to see the lock & make shift a devise to release it.Russ

Yes, OEM Michelin's are the LTX 265/75R16... This truck is an contradiction... extended cab, long bed, long wheelbase just loves the open road but the 410 gearing does not. I got no complaint with the OEM Michelin... for what it is... got close to 50k miles on 'em & are still very useable. But I want to go to that snow tire... In my experience, the low sidewalls are more prone to damage... I've run 70 series lots of miles & others I know have run 60s but that was on High Performance cars. I'd be happy to stay with the 75s size... I just searched Hankook but there are no dealers in the North East, so I guess that's not an option.Russ

Hi Guys, I've noticed the rubber on my OEM Michelin's is getting down... admittedly I don't go off road except on the grass but occasionally the roads will have a crap load of snow on them. I am really NOT sold on the current trend to low sidewall tires on trucks. So what's decent snow rubber, that won't break the bank... Russ

I got one of those torpedo type heaters hanging around the barn... no building to use it in now. Last time I used it was to thaw the backhoe... Covered the JD with tarps & set it between the wheels. We used to use it at my work. The marina had a pole barn large enough to drive the Travel Lift in... we enclosed one bay with plastic & heated it when we had work to do in the winter. One hint: use clear kerosene. The fumes are much less... and you will breathe them. We should have plugged it in a thermostat but just plugged & unplugged it... as in we'd run it til we were working in overalls... then as the place cooled off we'd put sweat shirts & coats on... til someone plugged it in again. I always planned to build a shop in my barn before I got MS... Russ

I'm still lookin for some "disguise" containers... I've still got (2) 1 quart 2 stroke oil containers in the door pocket. I can't remember the amount of oil... I figured it out once... I fill at the same approx fuel level each time. An almost full quart does it. (1 oz / gallon) There is enough of a spout on the container to get it in the tank then add fuel. I refill the quart containers (from my gallon at home) to my mark with a funnel... there's a viewing strip on one side. After refilling I squeeze some of the air out so it fits better in the door. Wipe off any drips with a paper napkin from The Middle of Nowhere Diner. Russ

OK, we're waiting on the pictures... LOL... Seriously though, even an aproximate fit is gonna be better than cardboard stuck in the wrong place. Being an only recently converted gasser man, I never thought about intercoolers & other stuff that was blocked by the cardboard. Russ

I like the boltless look. Slick!As I posted, mine are made of fairly thin plastic that was left over from another project... use what you have! I tried to disassemble the grill to do a tracing but quit when I cracked the first mounting foot... & that was after soaking it with penitrating oil... I'm too impatient, I did it "cut & try" without a template. I measured & worked directly with the plastic. I tried jig saws, tin snips finially HD shop sissors worked best on the thin plastic... then several trips from the bench sander to the truck. The right way would be to cut a cardboard template, trim with sissors right there, and THEN work with the finish materials. I reached around behind, traced the bird cage onto the back & punched the holes. The holes are not exactly symetric & are a bit unsightly since they do show. Functionally, all the precision fitting probably does not amount to much since the hood has other gaps... Russ

OK, I finally got the wife to take a pict of my home made thin plastic cold fronts... now on their second season. I like the blacked out look. I used 1/4-20 SS bolts, except for one that I dropped & lost. Next year, I'm going to replace the pan head bolts with phillips, oval heads & finishing washers (all SS)... then I can use a screw gun to run it up on the SS nylocks & fender washers. The flexible plastic requires 2 bolts per pannel.

the link to the picture no longer works.Russ

Depending on materials availability & how much you value your time... it might be cheaper to just buy winter front panels.Russ

Wow, Amslube, that's really interesting. I'm still running the stock lift pump on my low mileage 01. A quality replacement pump would be really welcome.Russ

I found a site that details the history "first generation" of Chrysler, Dodge, Desoto hemis of the 1950's, the origin of the 300, etc. http://www.allpar.com/mopar/hemi/chrysler-hemi.html

Had to fire the CTD up today... wife moved my Cirrus & the plugged in Sat Nav drained the battery overnight. Just a run to the diner & back... stone cold start. Sensor for overhead must be under the hood. Read 30 degrees... Loafing along ran up to 39. The motor warmed up to normal operating temp within 5 miles. One of these days I'm gonna stick a probe into the air box.

I do like it, Mike. Makes the things we need easier to find. Russ

I'm sure others will respond with thoughts on the codes... but I think 100:1 is what most of us run. Russ

We've been colorized... It always takes me a little while to get used to new things... It certainly wakes the place up.Russ

Hi,I participate in Rev War & Fur Trade Era events. Locally, most sites are Rev War, which is the Era the flag display covers.I belong to the Quoketaug Rangers Historical Reenactment Club based in nearby Ct. Our big annual event is the "Original NorthEast Primitive Rendezvous" which moves locations through out North East... is a 10-12 day encampment. Covers 1750-1840. My MS has really shut down my ability to do physical activity lately.

The size of the quart oil bottle is just right to fit in the door pocket of my 01. I ussually carry 2, refilled about 3/4 off a gallon jug. So it doesn't splash out. The bottle has to be squeezed a touch & I do so before screwing the cap down. I have to turn the neck back on the front bottle to the rear so it doesn't bump the power seat control. Lucky for me, I have oversize alum steps... With my leg problems, I'd not be able to get in the truck without them & it still isn't easy... but running the seat back that last 1" really helps. The reason I bring this up is, once I'm in I have to reach that seat button to reach the GO pedal!Until I come up with something better, I'm just gonna magic marker the bottles I have "deisel treat" or some other BS.Russ

The emission issue with running any fuel supplement is I expect the powers that be pronounced a prohibition of ANY additive that has not been tested & proved to not put the emmisions out of limits. There's no way a 2 cycle refiner is going to spend the cash for this... so we're on our own. That does not mean it will worsen emmisions... just that it's untested. That being the case, I'm thinking of shutting up about what I put in the tank. I've had pump jockies eye ball me & even question it. If I had a container from a known additive, no one would blink an eye. Maybe I'll just magac marker the outboard marked container or find a motor oil quart. (I keep one in the door pocket, handy to reach.)

I can't even tell where that bracket belonged, how it was secured. I could probably order new the parts to join the second (passenger's side) cable, but if I find them in a junk yard, I can probably get all the pieces. I expect these are common parts across the truck line. I'd like to have a printable picture of what's supposed to be there.This is not a good time of year to be looking for used parts. I have realitives in the used cores business... not sure if they have an in.Russ

I'm normally on road only... no mud. We have tons of road salt in winter but this truck (now) is hardly driven summer or winter. I'm taking it to town to excersise it & warm it up once a week or so. Mostly it's parked outdoors on gravel. New England is very humid. Tools in the barn rust as soon as you put them down.I've thought of getting underneath with the stuff antique restorers use... supposedly converts "rust" to a non-deteriorating solid form. A local restorer uses it on the stripped frames. Leaves them black. I know it'll not replace what's gone but might arrest the deterioration. No, I'm not thinking of stripping CTD to the frame. (Did that on a 79 Chevy C30/454... )

Hi All, The broken E brake... I brought up in my General Topics post viewtopic.php?f=23&t=382 I can see the front cable is moving in & out with the pedal. There's no resistance. I dragged a hunk of cardboard out & took a quick look under the truck. On the drivers side, outside the frame rail the front is connected to the drivers side rear. There's a thin rusted bracket attached to the rear cable but it's adrift. The attachment for the passengers side is there but not attached to anything. A push / pull cable requires the cover to be anchored at both ends. I imagine the rusty bracket was welded to something. The truck is very rusty underneath. Nuts have turned into rust blobs. Anything that requires work is gonna require parts replacement. Russ

My Progressive Multiple Sclerosis has reached a point where I can only be on my feet a few minutes at a time. I'm forced to have others do everying on my vehicles... The prices are outrageous... and either the work isn't done right or they cause another problem... Today, I paid to have batteries put in the truck... I could hear the truck rev a few times while the stupid paper jockey figured out to wiggle the shifter slightly (automatic). So I get the truck back & the BRAKES light is now on. I had noticed the E brake had been put on... I never use it... I had to raise the petal by hand. I had the Mgr, 2 mechanics out there... Actually, I really think the paper jockey did it when he moved the truck, so don't want to hang the mechanics... The Head Mechanic violently shakes the mechanism & the warning light goes out... he says I should have it checked. So I leave butI'm certain the I now have a stuck cable & probably dragging E brakes. In as much as I drove the truck before with seized brakes... the only symptom was piss poor mpg... So now I have to find somewhere to take it. Basically the truck hasn't been 100 miles since the brakes were done (& redone, I took it back when the truck would thump when the pedal was applied, AFTER the First brake job.) I don't plan to go back there & expect they don't want to see me either. Russ

I just filled up today... $2.59. "Lukoil" took over Getty stations here. Nice new style pumps, was hoping for pay at the pump. The guy was nice about turning the pump on but had to go in to pay. (Fuel rebate on my CC only works for pay at the pump.)Local truck stop is advertizing 5% Bio for $2.59 but can't use a credit card at their pump either... It's a long hike for me to the fuel desk (bum leg & cane).