flagmanruss

The 1/4 tank out of fuel issue is simple to understand. The tank pickup installs have several options... and problems.1 If the removed tank sits on it's bottom in the shop, the bottom can flex enough to throw the pick up tube measurement off. 2 The OEM basket was designed for lower flow rates. If you plumb an after market high volume pump into the basket, leave the basket strainers in place, and plumb the return line outside the basket, it is possible to empty the basket of fuel & starve the engine even though there is plenty of fuel in the tank (1/4 tank). With more fuel, it just comes in over the top. You can mod the basket by removing the strainers or plumb the return into the basket. 3 You can install a new pickup line outside the basket & return into the basket (using the old pickup fitting... commonly done). The basket includes the gas gauge so needs to be reinstalled even if the pickup is not used.4 Yes, even the failure prone OEM lift pump does better mounted low on the frame nearer the tank & easily serviceable. The Dodge retro-fit intank pump is a pain to service & not much better as far as fuel pressure.

Take care. We need you back in one piece.

http://www.vulcanperformance.com/JIC-AN-adapters-s/187.htm

What is that pump? I've never seen one before! If one went with a mechanical pump... might something like this be used for priming?

Even with same size, identical tires, I can't drive on hard surfaces & turn. I once was on a soft lawn, had 4WD engaged, so as to not tear up the Town Green. Pulled onto paved lot & started to turn... couldn't get it out of 4HI. The truck hopped like a bunny trying to releave the pressure. I had a battle before I got it disengaged.

The retrofit lift pump basics: If you are staying pretty stock, you could use a 100 gph lift pump (remember a lot of fuel is returned to the tank) and leave the tank alone. If you go to 150 gph the stock pickup will not flow that much & you need a bigger suction pickup which requires dropping the tank or lifting the bed.

Praise the Lord that you checked! Right now you still have a running truck. A new lift pump set up & you are good to go. Rather that wait until the crappy OEM lift pump causes the VP44 to FAIL. That said, I am running the TCW3 Outboard oil supplement. The VP44 was designed for LSD (Low Sulfer Diesel) not ULSD we're forced to use now. ULSD has less lubricosity & the small amount of TCW3 oil helps to restore it... and burns clean.

I replaced my exhaust because the OEM rusted out. First the tail pipe devoluped lots of small holes, then disconnected near the back of the muffler... I removed it because it was bashing the axle & the bed... only a matter of time before it damaged something. I figured I didn't need the tail pipe as the back of the muffler was well aft of the cab & passengers, so I ran another year like that. Eventually the whole rear of the muffler can fell off. (Note the OEM head & front pipe are larger... I think mine might have been 3 1/2"... than the tailpipe... maybe 3" on my truck)I decided I wasn't going to replace it ever again. I bought Stainless. It was 4". The "muffler" was a straight through short "glass pack" style. It sounded nice running empty but was pretty loud towing heavy... wife wore ear plugs... I feel it was a waste of money. I ended up adding an additional SS 36" FTE swirl resonator as far forward as I could get it. It's not restrictive & does help kill the drone towing. If I was starting from scratch, I might just go with the FTE & omit the muffler which would offset the cost.Russ

Living with family is not ideal but these economic times are beyond belief. I go by strip malls with 1 unit occupied & 6 empty... they were all occupied... employing workers... 4 years ago. I say ok to live with family BUT save your money... make plans to improve your situation. I was bankrupt & out of cash when I moved out of my ex's place. She & that place had not only wiped me out emotionally but sucked every dime I had. It was doubly devistating. I never got money from my parents & I lived in a concrete room in the basement, under the garage for a year. If I was hungry there were meals on the table. A year later, I bought a very used 5th wheel camper & moved into it. By then I'd gotten over the worst of the emotional trauma, settled my bills & my divorce was pending the final decree. And I had a job & had some money coming in. Being wiped out like this, starting over is d*mn discouraging. I was 38. Accidents and injuries can happen, but in your situation would be catastrophic... and you don't have benifits, i might add... so you must always be on the side of caution & protecting yourself. You are young & strong & smart... you will find opportunties to better yourself.

Tampering or Altering the odometer to decieve is illegal. Changing guage clusters as a repair is not. It would be nice if you documented the repair & stated the mileage on the original odometer & the beginning mileage for the used odometer... and engine swap... I have replaced gauges on vehicles before. The original odometer on my C30 was metric.If you later transfer / sell them there's a check box for mileage is incorrect.

Mike has a good point. This is probably due to corrosion which means Antifreeze corrosion inhibitor is worn out. I'd certainly do a drain & flush refill with fresh, unless you know for a fact this was done recently. Not enough attention is paid to this. I'm not made of money so I'd notreplace the radiator until it fails but monitor it for sure. On the other hand, the oil cooler failure can be a bigger issue internal failure can cause a big problem. Changing out the oil cooler proactively might be a good idea.

It's got to be the heater core. I gotta do in my car soon... running the defroster fogs the windshield. It's the about only way Antifreeze comes into the cab.

I don't have one for sale but a used Quadzilla XZT would be a nice starter for your truck. It just plugs in electrically. I know it is limited but the limits are what makes it safe for stock automatic transmissions (though I swear it shifts firmer with the XZT). The whole 24 valve / VP44 set up was an attempt to smog the Cummins 5.9. Power wise it was (like most smog programs) a step down in power capability... especially compared to the mechanical P2100 of the 12 v. Essencially, the XZT is a fooler... alters the data to give more power... and economy... All Chips / Programers / etc which don't tap the wire to the VP44 have the same 65-70 hp limit. XZT+ can be bought NEW for $269.

Going to college isn't for everyone... A young man in our family went to college for a couple of uninspired years. Had to come home as the Fla college was hurrican damaged (a few years ago).A family friend took him to work him in HVAC. He liked it. The company sent him to Technical College, he got licensed. Stayed with that firm for a number of years & was well thought of, finding creative solutions when others had given up on jobs. Another family member offered him a partnership in his HVAC business & they are doing very well.A cautionary story... a inlaw of mine went to work for an electrical contractor as an apprentiss. He worked there 2 years. Did complete jobs, wired complete houses. Went to apply for his Electrician's License. The guy he'd been working for had too many apprentice's... HE was listed as a "laborer". His 2 years apprenticship didn't count... there was an investigation but the guy had covered his tracks well. Last I heard, inlaw was working at Home Depot. Another fellow we know was laid off... set himself up as a handiman. He got a catchy name. He took all the little jobs / projects that were too difficult for women & homeowners. Garages, decks, kitchen & bath repairs... He grew, took on other trades people with specific skills. He's had steady work... he works hard... is a good thinker... always hustling.

It's air flow that controls the Exhaust temps. I think 5" is overkill. Don't forget the air filter, air has to get in, before it can come out.

I found several variations of this water separator type filters... http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_350494_350494 My inclination would be to put a less restrictive basic filter before the lift pump. A separator... and the OEM is a small one... I would put downstream from the lift pump.

My 01.5 has the CAD (Center Axle Disconnect)... It also has the rear disc brakes. Believe it was mid year intro. My truck was bought new in 2002.

I have the XZT+. I am happy with it. I've never tried any other. The max power is +65 hp. No matter what you do, you can't exceed stock fueling because you have not tapped the IP wire nor is there and provision to do so. You can download various +65 tunes which offer different features & more aggressive fueling, even a non-published "3000 tune" which several people have circulating as a download. The lowest setting is stock. The middle setting is +35 which is a nice everyday tune and gives the best fuel economy (+1 for me, I was already into feather touch driving... except when merging, where I believe in getting up to speed quickly and getting the truck to shift up.)I like the shift on the fly capability... escpecially when towing, you can hit a hilly section & flick the dash switch up... on level ground it might not been needed, back to +35. I have the switch in my knee panel. I run this in conjunction with my MPG/IAT fooler switch... useful in colder weather. A simple jumper harness couples to a fixed resistor to "fool" the sensors that the truck is warmed up & switches to lean burn mode, saving another +1 mpg. I like to start with this off, so my grid heaters will run... switch off after starting. I have this switch in my knee panel also.

I'm permantly disabled & haven't worked in a while. (MS sucks). I was a supervisor in a previous life & I've seen bosses micro manage & over-rule their foremen. If a boss deligates the job, he needs to let the foreman do his job & the workers should do their job & answer to the foreman. (Chain of command) Pulling workers off the job to lecture them wastes time & distracts their minds from the work they are doing because they are now expending energy to figure out the owner. You need the work, so keep working. Try to learn the right way to do the work as it's always most effecient to not have to redo! You are not screwing off, so don't fret about that. If you do need a ____ break, do it & get right back in the lift. The owner is not doing himself any favors. Employees who feel threatened, will have their eyes open for their next job instead of building loyality. I don't think you can do anything about it. If you have a good foreman or anyone else who would be a referance in the future... who appreciates your work, try to keep his contact info as a referance... because this job is not forever. As for the new guy who's always on the phone & screwing off... well, there's something fishy going on there. But it's not your call. The owner chooses to ignore it so recognize it as a mine field. A agree with not running on a construction site... I was once hurrying at a jog from one portion ofthe job site to another... stepped on a rock smaller than a golf ball, rolled my ankle & plowed up the ground with my face. The ankle was fractured & I had to crawl out of the way of the machinery. Fortunately, we had job security & benifits. Running on a job site is dangerous. Walk fast. Try to be organized to not have to retrace steps for tools or supplies. Advise: During working hours. Be on time. Work hard. Do a good job. After hours, keep watch of the job market. Expand your network, after hours. I don't see a carreer with this company.

I found this link http://www.blackclouddiesel.com/HydroFuel/HydroFuel1.htm I just don't see that it can make a significant difference. If it was that good, we'd have heard of it by now... and OEM would be fighting over it.

I've got wedges between the overhead & the headliner. I don't see how the overheadC can move back to unhood without dropping down more in front to clear the plastic latches. I guess I'm going to try to pry it down more... I don't know how much pressure the plastic can take.

My ex-bro-in-law... kind of a Redneck sort of guy... a problem with dogs getting into his garbage. Several 55 gallon drums behind his garage. Johnny laid some old aircraft landing mats (WW2 CBs) on the ground and put the barrels up on old tires, wired them to 110v. I personally saw this set up... The dogs didn't tip the barrels over ever again. Unfortunately Johnny had to get a new trash guy as the trash man beat Johnny to the garage one morning & got lit up pretty good.I had a problem with a mini-horse stallion who would not stay in his enclosure... He had gotten out at his previous owners & bred the mares much to the owners surprise... he was only 30" tall... with the attitude of a Clydesdale! I put 4 strands of wire around him & used a battery operated fence charger. Intended to run on a throw away 6 volt dry cell, I wired it up to a rechargeable 12 volt car battery. It drew a pretty yellow spark about 1/2" long. The little guy walked right up & tested it... and was knocked on his ___. 3 times, he tried it. Same result each time. He stayed where he was put after that, but remained a nippy little guy. Now I don't know if modern car tires are good enough insulators to wire it... Sure might be fun, clip lead to the underbody.

I don't know how difficult rekeying is. The 02 is an automatic. I believe there is a jumper when the starter disconnect would be, The start in gear protection. It's an easy place to install a kill switch.

I do think the GPS makers should have a button for RV... to avoid routes which are not RV friendly. It should be a simple as a button on the menu.

I'm impressed with GSP7's clever fixture set. I'm assuming a plate for each side. Enlarge the picture, you'll see both tape measures. The difference in measurements is your toe in.