That Guy

I just wish I had access to the cool weather and fancy shop with the lift and tools there at Mopar's. There just happens to be several days drive between us. We were supposed to have built a new barn this summer, complete with shop and lift, but life got in the way. Maybe this winter...

Gents, this is good stuff. I genuinely appreciate the insight of people in different positions than myself. Politically, I'm happy to live in states that are about 50-70% red. Any drastic change in american consumption is going to require a massive change in the ideology and culture similar to the Great Depression. A government cannot simply mandate people be more frugal with money. And I would be willing to bet that the entire argument against taxing things so people consume less is (back in the 70's as you said) was that it was one of the reasons the US exists in its current form. Taxation will absolutely decrease the demand for some items, not other. Fuel is short term price inelastic, so huge tax wouldn't affect demand in the short term, but would have drastic consequences in the long term. I have been rather fortunate to live in places with some of the cheapest fuel prices in the country. It's a shame California is so beautiful in places, and yet so very invasive upon freedoms. I don't believe in another "new deal". That was a one time shot to stabilize the economy indefinitely, and it very much has. We haven't gone into recessions and depressions of the same severity or frequency as before (every 4-7 years). I believe that people shouldn't be allowed to dump oil and antifreeze down a storm drain and that litter is horrible, but not some of the hypocrisy prevalent in CA. A guy got fined because he removed his grass to save the scarce water, he put brick in for his 1/8th acre of grass and was fined like $2000 and told to put the grass back. Took the city to court and lost. If these people seriously think that climate change is a huge problem...... we need some clouds to reflect that heat. Put sulfur back into diesel fuel. Damn a little bit of acid rain, better than drought. I personally never cared about Trump being rich..... or even clean. You would have a very hard time finding anyone in the capitol who is neither of the two. He has done what I think he would have done and at a rate that I expected. Circling back around, we are far from what we once were. It's a good thing we don't get the full government that we pay for, that would be hell.

There was a time when both parties didn't have quite such a wide spread, they shared the same goal of upholding the constitution. So, as someone who actually lived through the times in which I believe was a time of great change in politics, what do you think? My research seems to point to it starting around Nixon or Ford and was a slow progression to the point we are now. Politics has always been politics, but at one point we were all americans. On the note of Trump, I have a friend who is in his 70's, high society type. He is was very much for Trump and against Pelosi, Clinton, and Obama. He claims he won't vote Trump a second term, but he also won't vote Biden. He isn't alone among staunch republicans that I know. I find that interesting no matter how you slice it. I did like the idea of Trump, in practice, I'm not sold. I consider myself to be moderate mostly. But damn..... can we not get a presidential candidate who actually appeals to more that 51% of voters? Afterall, "the republic for which we stand" is supposed to mean that the simple majority cannot overthrow the rights of the minority. In a democracy, simple majority rules. I like the republican ideals of free enterprise and small government(seem to have forgotten the latter). And social security and medicare and such are huge drains on the budget. There are examples of it working properly, such as railroad retirement board, who actually helped fund WWII. There does seem to be a lot of incompetence within the government, that isn't aimed at anyone in particular, the US government is the single largest employer on the planet at 9.1 million. Walmart has 2.1 million world wide by comparison.

Just stab it in a few times..... they go in at a slight angle. It will be roughly centering in the hole in the head and be able to touch all the way around. One that isn't in the tappet will be off to one side and won't be as free moving. rotating the engine should not be required.

I don't believe those are SKF. Napa usually has the SKF listed as they are proud of them. But the BRG N4070 is the only one showing for the diesels. The other one is for the V10 i think. Only way to tell is to see if it is etched into the bearing somewhere.

A banjo bolt is one of the largest restrictions to flow. It's not only the orifice size, it is drastic change in direction. The standard coefficient for calculating the restriction of a banjo fitting is like 0.7..... where 1 would be no flow and 0 would be full unrestricted flow.

I'll start by saying that I'm a bit divided between elephants, donkeys, and porcupines(libertarians). At one point, voting for a democrat or republican wasn't based on religion, guns, or even immigration. At least they hadn't been boiled down into yes/no objects that started as incredibly complex issues. I was given my first shotgun when I was about 4 years old. I have never had an issue with guns, and fully back the second amendment. I also believe there are a lot of people out there who probably shouldn't have guns. I won't say much, but I will say that I have a widow maker in the center console/sunglass holder/in between the seats of all my vehicles. I don't flaunt it, and occasionally it ends up in my back pocket when going certain places. I'm not concealed carry certified, and as far as I'm concerned, if I ever have to use it, it won't matter. I doubt someone who wishes me harm is going to give me much concession. I was taught that a gun is not a deterrent, it is a last resort, you better be willing to use it and shoot to kill because arms/legs are considered torture. I say that to say that I do not support either the Dems or GOP with how they desire to slowly erode the ability to own weapons. The flip side, It is completely legal for me to own suppressor equipt fully automatic belt fed heavy machine guns. I can even own opperable artillery and tank destroyers. But only if I pay a $200 fee and go through a 6 month background check. I'm clean, so no worries. On religion, I do not understand the desire for it to be taught in schools or why Republicans push so hard for it. I know that Reagan pretty much destroyed the gentlemen's' agreement to not bring religion into a presidential race. Up till then, it didn't matter. I don't understand religion in schools because, look at how bad the education system is at large.... is that where we want our children to get their morals? Isn't that what sunday school and church is for? My family taught me morals and the bible, though I have my own opinions about it, I also do not agree with forcing evangelical (what most seem to push for) ideas upon protestants or catholics. I don't even want to get into the hebrew/christian/muslim mess and thats ignoring a lot. But really, we lost our way on that one. Religion should not be entangled with fiscal policy or national defence. Immigration, well, that's a bit more complex. Yes we are primarily a nation of past immigrants. I believe our immigration system is very broken. Years back the Republicans pushed for a family based system with a set number of vouchers to each country of origin. (If I remember correctly, there are currently 550,000 vouchers divided among the 190ish countries every year. Most go to european countries.)The idea being that they would keep families together. This was in opposition to the Democrats who wanted a heavily merit based system. The republicans of the time (pre civil rights) feared that this would mean that a massive number of non whites would immigrate here because of merit. Ultimately, it kind of backfired upon the republicans because if you get one family member hear, it puts the other on an express route. I think the democrats are very wrong with their want to open borders and basically open the flood gates. The republicans are wrong in their belief that all immigrants are democrats. I know several middle eastern and mexican immigrants that are hard core republicans on most issues. In fact, most of the middle easterners who renounced their foreign citizenship are very republican on most things. These people are professors, engineers, and doctors. To kind of sum it up, The republicans are the party that freed the slaves, built the panama canal and the interstate system, and opened the world to globalization. The democrats pulled us out of the great depression and dropped both atomic bombs......... It truly worries me how far both parties have fallen from what they were. The thing that scares me the most though, there seem to be a lot of democrats and republicans who would be totally okay with a single party state with the way they vehemently oppose one another ....... and we spent almost all of the 20th century fighting places that had single parties and monarchies.

If It was me, I would go SFK. That said, National seems to be a decent company. I have seen some of their stuff in railroad equipment, but the same thing can be said for Timken and their smaller bearings are not what they once were.

E doesn't ring a bell. I read through a thread where SB mentioned trying SKF's, but I'm unsure what became of it. National, I think is made in India, take that as you wish.

Welcome! I envy your 110* days with negligible humidity.

Put a Raptor 100 on mine about 6 years ago.... albeit a 12 Valve. No issues to speak of.

Spin and feel doesn't do much if they don't have a reasonable load, won't feel the grittiness. Things can still fail prematurely. I wonder who their supplier is..... Can I add myself to the unanimous list of bad throwout bearing? Don't sit at a light with clutch pedal depressed, wears the throwout and the pilot. I have heard drivers (semis) speak of being told to keep it in gear and clutch depressed so they can maneuver to avoid an accident. Seems like that would get expensive in a hurry with a fleet of trucks, not to mention, how quickly do they think 80k and 70 feet is going to move? None of them actually did that though, all sat in neutral.

When I worked at Tank Town USA, there was a NAPA in Blue Ridge, GA I was in all the time. Built in the 50's...... my living room has as much square footage as the customer area of the store. Tight doesn't describe it. The redeeming quality was that it had a machine shop that I got to use on occasion. We (Tank Town) were good friends and easily one of the biggest customers. Awesome store with very knowledgeable people. In the machine shop......... were most weren't allowed..... the walls were covered in revealing girly calendars. As an aside, I found a pic of me aiming at my Chevy.

I tend to like NAPA. Most of their locations seem to cater almost exclusively to commercial customers, or at least people who have at least a vague understanding of what their car is/does. Never heard of the part "furool pump" until I stepped into an autozone.....

@Mopar1973Man Is there a brand of parts you recommend? Or just rebuild them my self, Summit Racing has rebuild kits and they are only ~3 hours from here and sell thm.

Little update on the truck, that brake pedal that goes all the way to the floor....... there was hardly any fluid in the reservoir. The dark color that I assumed to be the fluid was in fact just gunk from very nasty and very over due for a change fluid. I'm suspecting that the wheel seals are not the only thing that is bad on the rear axle. How are you guys liking the 1 ton GM wheel cylinders? Looks like I may be in the market for calipers too, crossing that bridge once the front comes apart for balljoints. I have new rubber brake lines sitting on the shelf waiting to go on. Most things are back together under the hood now, so at least there is some progress.

Is there a way to make my Cummins sound like a Ford? No? Oh well....... I guess it will have to continue sounding like a B52.

If you want something you will never have to worry about, a Eaton can be had for the price of a built nv4500 and will take one hell of a beating. If that's a bit rich for your blood, I have heard good things about High Gear, but take that with a grain of salt as I have yet to destroy a NV4500. https://nv4500transmission.com/ Based out of Memphis, TN.

I see duallys typically a bit cheaper. I'm guessing either people are afraid of the width or as Elon Musk thinks, the American pickup truck is aimed mostly at people who just want to drive a tank, and dual wheels scare them..... Not a huge fan of the Diamler Chrysler years, but they did get quad cabs right for the first time in 20 years.. (1983-2003 there was nothing) Seems like a good list. Should have a "What to watch for" section. The 5.9L CR's don't seem to be quite as hungry for injectors as the 6.7L, but will still set you back a few grand.

Considering doing Kelderman air ride on the 2012 in the next year or so. I also want a useable onboard air. Good write up and pics. This will make life a bit easier than dragging out the inverter and air compressor every time I come across a trailer or tractor with a flat. Also, what happened to the battery blanket? It looks like it was mauled by a bear.

To kinda echo what has been said previously. Companies can't make obscene profit off something that can't be patented. Can't patent something that occurs naturally. Not to mention it grows virtually anywhere between the arctic/antarctic circles. My mother will be very unlikely to have cancer....... She wants to start farming hemp/cannabis now that she is retired, early on disability from the railroad. Louisiana law was passed last year allowing medicinal. It's on the docket in november to allow recreational and private growth.

Kinda bumping this old thread....... But, my grandmother was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer in Dec 2018. She lived in Phoenix. All of the doctors said the same thing, chemo and tons of cannabis. She had smoked recreationally back in the 60's and 70's, but stopped. We reckon, and the doctors agree, she had very frequent heartburn but never fully treated it. She never wanted to take Prilosec or something to actually give her esophagus the time to heal completely. Went on for at least a decade like that. The doctors had her on both CBD oil and smoking cannabis. It really made it liveable in her last several months. She was actually starting to make a very good recovery, then the chemo killed her. Caused her to have a massive heart attack. She was very healthy and only 78. Her father was 85 and mother was 97, same story through several generations, even a few centenarians. On the lighter note, I have enjoyed a bit of cannabis from time to time, used to a lot more than now. I rarely do now, turn it down most times these days. I enjoyed my fair share when I tore the tendons in my ankle. It can definitely zap your want to do things for the day. Something to enjoy in the evening for sure. Made a lot of pipes and bongs back in the day. Favorite was the little smuckers jelly jar as a bong..... less likely to spill. Multi chambered next, hot water in the first (it cleans better), then ice water in the successive ones to smooth it out.

I didn't realize that this is something that exists.....I just added it to my shopping cart.

Friend has a 2013 Longhorn..... I thought that heated seats were pretty cool, no. Cooled seats are life altering and worth every penny.

It would be highly unlikely that all of that would go wrong in such a short time period..... think winning lottery and then struck by lightning while getting in your truck. Before throwing parts at it, check connections and grounds. Usually if a tons of electrical components start showing problems in short succession, it's a loose or corroded junction. Injectors are due for a change, and it would be wise to do all of them sooner rather than later.