flagmanruss

I tried getting into a CJ type... think it was a Wrangler model... The entry height is too high & door opening too narrow (same problem on wife's Subaru). Grandson came over yesterday. I'd had the block heater pluged in on the JD410 (backhoe/loader with tire chains)... I testyed the starter & danged if it didn't light right off! I rocked it to free it from the snow bank... but my weak left leg was not able to get on the industrial clutch. I let the grandson do it. He enjoyed pushing the snow banks back... WAY back!! I like the way he was using my machine... respectful, I would say. Maybe we can plan to use ATV to open up initially then get get help to push banks back. Wifee sees ok with plowing with ATV.I still am thinking on a DD replacement... Cirus is getting old.Russ

I'm thinking of swapping my faithful Cirus for something 4X4 or AWD. Must have easy entry because of my disability. Must be automatic, same reason. With all the problem pushing snow... even considering something with a plow. I'm thinking budget used... So far I've spotted 1990 Mitsubishi Montero, 1989 Dodge Raider (which I believe is the same rebranded vehicle)... an older CJ7 but I'm concerned about the entry... Years ago I had a Dodge (rebranded Mitsubishi) Challenger which was a very nice vehicle in it's own right, if you could get over the reuse of the nameplate. What would you look at? Russ

Hmmm. I was initially thinking to notch the rear of a guage pod to match the trim bezel... It's tough working without spare components to use as a form. My grandfather was a millwrite & a cabinette maker (his tools are still in the family), my father was an inventor with many patents... I'm constantly tinkering to create, customize or improve items. Unfortunately nothing to make me "rich". I was a partner & head mechanic in a boat marina (17 years) & later worked custom installing marine equipment & fleet, Police, Fire & EMS electronics. When one starts cutting holes in someone elses expensive toy, you'd better have thought of everything.I have some manual machine knowledge... I took it in school back in the dark ages. I own a unimat & a small South Bend lathe. Thinking... (and you though that smell was a tire burning)Russ

Hey, bullet, CNC? How about offering the unfinished pod shells? 1 guage. Let the guys decide how many to line up & epoxie. Just having the blank would be a great service.Russ

Sorry in advance for 100 questions. I see from your post, you used fiberglass... mat? cloth? putty? Did you use a form(s)? How are the guages held in? It doesn't appear to have access or at least not much access from the rear. I've had my dash bezel out recenly so I know that part pretty much snaps out with care.

Very slick! I like it... love to have one like it!

I'm very glad that you'll have a good block to work with & not something that you'll never know if it's going to split (again). Sorry it's so expensive but at least you'll only do the job once.

A friend had a business... I helped him run it from several outbuildings... Place was over run with mice. He added new Decon as it disappeared about daily. Mice sign still all over. Eventually, we moved a big machine... discovered the base was packed with Decon. The problem was the mice could get in & out... had a food supply so they never ATE the Decon. But thought it was food & stored it in case of need.The house is a historic colonial... mice can occasionally get into the walls. If they die there, they stink for quite some time. Either they can not have another food source, or prevented from getting in & out. I had a red squirrel in the attic... He avoided the traps until I closed the hole in the louver screen. Then I got him in a big rat trap. (I wired a peanut to the trip.) I also have had rat traps disappear & after that use a length of wire or small chain to secure them to something.

I can't imagine starting out with a cracked block. Way too much work to have a less than best core component. Easy for me to say, it's not my money... I'd be going nuts looking but there must be a good block out there you can afford.Best Wishes,Russ

I posted some links on the other thread... I think you're right. Pricy devils!! They got you over a barrel & they know it.

Back in the old days... sorry guys... a lot of heavy duty/high performance engines were reliable solid lifters. As they would wear in, they would tick as the valve lash got slightly out of spec. Sometimes this would go away as the engine was thoughly warmed up & all parts expanded. There were still a smattering of Marine engines built on these HD platforms when I left in 1986. I'd warm it up good... put a load on it & see if it quiets down. If so, it's in spec... barely.

Thanks bugman,I'm also 8800 gvw so sounds like pretty identical suspensions. I'd like to just bump to 285s/75R16's, if they'll fit. I like the look of a off-road tread but really don't go off-road. What I need is an open enough tire to do well in snow & slush.

Tires may be easily changed but are the final component of the gear ratio. In my limited experience there can be too tall a ratio but also too low. In my experience 4.10 is too low for what I do, with the tires which came on it. I think a larger circumference tire, will raise the effective gear ratio moving it in the direction I want to go. I think that rather than decreasing MPGs it might improve it, at cruising speed, where I'm reving higher than I'd like. The stock 3.55 ratio or even 3.73 would be better than this. (I did not know enough about diesels & the truck salesman sold me what was on the lot... I've learned a lot since then.)

The Original Mich LTX 265/75R16 (with 55K on them) appears a bit under 16" radius. With my plow & camper packages, the truck pretty much sits up there. There is ~4" of static clearance with the wheel turned towards the fender.Russ

OK, I'm going to go measure my clearances with OEM tires (which are a factory up-size... I presume, with one of the packages the truck is equipped with). I'm confused by why your MPG suffer with larger tires. My MPG isn't great & a highway speeds (with my 4:10 gears) I'm reving higher than I want... unless I kick in the OD on the Level or Down-hill (issue is towing)... I'm thinking the larger tire will cut the final ratio, moving me by some small percentage toward standard ratio like 3:55.

I'm not happy with the stock rims... they're corroding under the center caps... but I seem to have a lot of room. I haven't raised or leveled & in fact, that would likely be a problem as I have trouble getting up on my step as it it. (MS has screwed my legs up pretty much.) BUT I have plow pkg & camper pkg so that may boost the height from normal.Hmmm.Anybody have advise?

Thinking of jumping size on replacement.

Is there a rear air vent (exit) on the trucks? I know my Cirus has one in the trunk (driver's side behind the side carpet). There's a flapper valve on it. If you bring in outside air, it has to go somewhere or the cab would be pressurized. The flapper could be damaged. http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/13527-dodge-ram-install-thread.html They are mentioned in this electronics install thread. To exclude the critters, EVERY entrance must be screened.

Not to discourage keeping your truck clean but in my experience it is rarely about a food source in vehicles... My neighbor's car, we were screening the cabin air (New car, dealer refused to warentee rodent damage when the heater motor burned up on his New Saturn. Motor jammed, then fried.) I suggested we check the air cleaner box while we were there... which was 3/4 full of acorns. I used some maleable gutter guard to form a intake screen & a couple of self tapping screws to secure it.I'm finding acorns under my hood, in fact. I wish I could keep them out from my vehicles entirely but I live in the woods. In my experience, mice are looking for a warm protected nesting spot. I have found that blocking entrance is the only way. Mice can chew things you don't want chewed. I had a friend started up his motorhome one spring & it caught fire. Mice had chewed the wires behind the dash.My Cirus... the hood insulation (now removed in the Cirus & CTD) was splendid mouse habitat)... the mice chewed through the windshield washer hose.

Before I started screening... I got my old tow vehicle (C30, built 454, camper special) fired up for our Spring Rendezvous Camp. I drove it around, gassed it up, checked fluids.Departure day, I was all hooked up, loaded the cooler & horses. Our road is a steep downhill, across a brook & up the other side (about a 45 degree angle). Half way up, it was blowing black smoke but no power. It had a manual choke but it was just like it wasn't getting air. I checked the choke, cable was fine, put the air cleaner back on. Tried again. Third try (third time checking) I found a few bits of paper town in the filter. I pulled the corrigated hose & there was a whole roll in there... mouse nest. I was pretty disgusted & throw the junk on the ground, just as the neighbor whose house I was in front of, came out. He was understanding, I picked up the paper off the ground. I have used moth balls in a camper... place in dixie cups so when they shrink, they can be collected. I've heard dryer sheets work well. But smell does not keep them out, just gets them to leave. No help for open air like under the hood. On a couple of vehicles I've done... the intake was under a plastic shield in the cowel area & I was able to screen. On your earlier Dodge... try pouring some water in the cowel & see where it drains out... screen or steel wool the opening.

The dash top guage cluster being made is an ABS injection molded part, being made in batches of 20-30 from the test tooling. But I have to ask, why? It seems to me that the designer is setting up to mass produce these, getting support from the Cummins commumity... which is fine. #1 these only fit 06 + trucks. Since Second Gen are no longer being built, would anybody invest $10,000 in tooling for earlier models?#2 from the pictures, it seems the top is unnecessarily bulkie with a hook, which raises the profile. I think it can be done better. Looking over dashboards & instruments, I am seeing a design to block windshield reflections.#3 for short runs, why not use fiberglass? Simple molds, don't need complicated equipment. Go low tech. Yes, it is hand work. It would need painting after.

Hi,I live in the woods and we have mice problems in all our vehicles, equipment & stuff stored outside.I use hardware cloth or expanded metal gutter guard to screen air filter entrances on several vehicles... but could not find a place for the cabin air in the Dodge. I had mice in my cab. The mice come in through the outside air inlet which is through the cowel vent. The cowel area has drains... you can't see them but they are behind the hood hinges. I used a chunk of SS pot scrubber (SS Steel Wool) to pack behind the hinges. Water still drains adequately but mice can not get in.

Went out in the cold, cleaned the 18" of snow off the Cirus... NO start. Ump & click, click, click!! The battery goes in from underneath!? I charged it overnight & took it back to Sears for another Diehard. Not on sale this time but I need to be sure. So I pass the time by eyeballing the tire display.The CTD is due for inspection... The Michelins will pass this time but ought to be replaced next fall. I love the looks of knobies but I don't go more than a few feet off road. I do get all sorts of on road conditions... some rain & really snow is the worst of it. I'd like to get a good open All Season tread, maybe a M & S. Or mild AT. No complaint with my OEM tires (265/75R16) upgrade sizewise. My speedometer is dead nuts on now... otherwise might be tempted to bump the tire size. My 4:10 gears are very noisy on the highway. What do you think?

Being that I've worked on boats, I've used fiberglass a time or 2.

Expense asside (also this custom small run piece not fitted to Sec Gen trucks) I like the idea if instruments right in front of me but my impression is that the top lip is bulky and the unit sits higher than it needs to. I'd like to build something to fit my 01... maybe something out of fiberglass.A pillar guages are wrong focal length for my tired eyes.