YeaImDylan

So for the noise, it's not as loud and obnoxious as the previous compressor was. Previous compressor clutch went out and we removed the assembly and had to head up the pulley to get it back on. Little too much heat caused it to be loud and high pitched. Put on the new compressor and other new A/C components and the truck sounded great, no high pitched squealing. Drove about 10mi, got food at drive thru, etc and ended up back on base. At idle the noise was present when I was going to park the truck. Was not as obnoxious like when the pulley was screeching on the previous unit but the tone would change when the clutch would lock and unlock, but was present the entire time. Screech continues no matter the RPM and is present at idle. Belt is only a few thousand miles old and is a Gates, same with tensioner (newer as well). I haven't gone through the other pulleys yet but will be doing so soon. I feel it would be a huge coincidence if another pulley decided to go 10miles after replacing the compressor and having no more squealing on the drive back... And there was a warning stating to make sure fan clutch was in working order

Hey all, So, I replaced AC components yesterday on my 01 24v which got rid of the compressor squealing from an out of round bearing. Sounded great and was cold as ice. Drove home and now it’s a high pitched (bearing squeal) noise again… Manual warned about a bad fan clutch hurting compressor and I disregarded that (oops). Anyone ever have this happen in such a short amount of time? Or do you think it's maybe another pulley and it's just coincidence a different one went right as everything sounded fine with the new compressor before driving home?

Yessir, I forgot to mention the axle u joints as well! Was planning to knock those out too. Thanks for the feedback in regards to the ball joints.

I’m about to order parts now and not sure what to go with for the ball joints. I’d love some ACDelco but can’t seem to find any specifically for the truck. Could I just buy some that work with whatever front axle I have? also with my leveling kit, I was told I’d be fine with stock arms and utilizing the caster adjuster on there. Friend had said you run into issues 3inches and above with the axle problems. Thinking of getting timken front wheel bearings since I found a set on eBay for like 180 which is cheaper and probably better as well than the moog.. I’ll buy a rock auto pitman arm and nut set as well and then a kit to replace the gasket for the steering box sector shaft. Ordered new power stop brake pads and rotors for the front as well. Planning to replace all at once. If someone can link me to control arms that are adjustable and won’t break the bank I’d love to put some on even tho the truck will not be going higher than the 2inch leveling kit. Also will be buying bilstein 5100s for the front right now too.

First off, thank you to both of you gentleman for providing some input! It's unfortunate to hear that with how I want my truck to look, I am going to suffer in terms of longevity to an extent.. I think I'll bite the bullet and get adjustable arms and an adjustable track bar. I don't believe the new track bar that was put on is adjustable to the areas needed to try and get back some geometrical integrity.. Debating on what adjustable ones to go with though as I don't want to spend 800.. As for ball joints, I may just go with MOOG or whatever since they probably won't be lasting 100k anyways. Also @Mopar1973Man, how did you get AC Delco ball joints for our Dodge? I was trying to look into some parts on their site and with them being GM, I can't select our make and model etc... Did you just cross reference a part number and do it that way to get one that will fit? @LorenS I will look into some NAPA parts! Especially for front hubs.. EDIT: Sorry for the delay in responding, life has been a bit busy lately.

Hello all! Back again and I am trying to get opinions on what brand ball joints to use. Was gonna try proforged, believe they have a good warranty although they are 60 bucks per... Also am scared for any ball joint I end up going with being loose in the knuckle due to it being 20 years old etc.. And I can't afford having the truck down at my friend's to pull one out and measure the diameter. Now for control arms, I've heard talk of getting adjustable so you can improve the geometry as best as possible. Currently I believe I have stockers as well as a leveling kit and I get creeks and noises when going over bumps. I was going to just replace the bushing and sleeve but my friend who owns multiples of these trucks says sometimes its best to just get new arms due to not spending a ton of time burning out the bushings if you can't get them out easily.. Also, I'm assuming a solid brand for front hubs would be Timken? May replace those as well. Trying to get the truck good by possibly November to go across the country back home. Was also planning to put Bilstein 5100's on as well as a steering brace and new pitman arm since I believe the previous shop didn't torque things right and it is now damaged and coming loose.

I will Google the mod and look for it being done on the truck! I do want to clean all grounds as well when doing the new cables and getting the second battery in. Honestly worried to where the passenger battery grounds got grounded to when the guy removed it.. I have DAP 150, pretty sure VCO and they’d be 7x.010. I’ve heard they’ll haze and be a bit dirty which I’m fine with but I’m also not able to see what these people’s haze looks like compared to mine. I’ve heard one guy tell me his looks bad and it’s a brand new engine. It’s just the fact they’re big injectors. I’ve done the key trick and I do have some codes, not with the scanner tho to see stored codes. I need to do that. Doing the key trick a few months ago some of the codes had some weird things with low voltage to some sensors. Could possibly mess with my idle if it had to do with the MAP or other sensors having to do with the engine. Could these issues be caused by bad grounds?

Hey all, back again for some advice. Truck when cold upon startup seems to run the best and once she's up to temp, I seem to get more vibration than I should. Truck isn't stock and I've been told it won't run AS smooth as a stock truck would since she has bigger injectors and a different pump. I noticed today and the other day that I was getting a lot of vibration when driving, like the engine was running rough. Yesterday she ran a lot better but only recently have I noticed the roughness and it's at random. Sometime last week I remember pulling in to park her after going out in town and I was like damn, she's pretty smooth (up to temp too etc) and it'll randomly change. I do know I have somewhat bad battery cables, especially a shitty ground... Can bad electrical connections on these trucks cause them to intermittently run rough? Currently only have one battery and I have a new set of cables (hoping I ordered enough feet for the crossover ) but need a passenger battery tray so I can install everything all at once and have a full electrical system... Somewhat skeptical one what to do with grounds that should be on that side where the battery was removed... Maybe previous owner did the W-T Ground mod or something similar? Also, anyone with DAP 150's have a lot of haze even when hot? In the right light I feel it's bad and it scares me... Honestly I hope its just the hotrod vp going out and that's what's causing it. Injectors are only maybe 6mo old.. No blue tint it seems to the haze so I don't think my new turbo has seals that are already going.. Just starting to be at a dead end with the truck and it worries me lol

Thank you for this! I will definitely check it again. Would the best way to check if its backed off at all to set a torque wrench to 200ftlbs and then start wrenching and see if she turns at all before clicking? Also, the main reason why I am now focused on this specific part of the box setup is due to this actually fixing the problem for an extended period of time and then noticing it is now leaking from there more than likely (wiped it down the other day and will check that area tomorrow). I know you said yours would go away for 1000+ miles and this is the first time I've actually gotten it to go away... The only component not replaced down there for the most part is the ball joints but I feel those wouldn't have stopped making noise after torqueing the pitman arm nut... especially since it was so loose. I know in your case it was the shaft, I need to figure out what all could be effected by tightening that nut. The pop definitely comes from the steering box area. I'm just at a loss since the noise came back and don't know where to start troubleshooting again and actually check items off the list that aren't the problem.

Hello all, I am back again with of course, more problems with my rig I'll try to explain straight to the point and give the quick backstory... Popping noise when turning, thought steering box was bad. Got it replaced along with tie rod ends, end links, etc with a brand new redhead. Drive it home and it happens again and the box is leaking out the top. Take it back to the shop I had the work done at and they replace the redhead with another redhead. No more leaking but the pop came back again literally on the drive home. I go back again and they say the frame is cracked (cracked around the driver hole for front sway bar). They repair it and send me on the way a few days later. Popping ensues and I take matters into my own hands. Only does it when loaded (no popping or feeling in front end at the box when on jacks). We check torque for all steering box bolts and then go to do the pitman arm nut. OEM is like 200ftlbs and aftermarket is 40ftlbs with a 90degree turn after (puts it around the 200 mark). We do the 40ftlbs and it turns a bit and then clicks... Meaning they hadn't been torqueing this nut down! Do the 90 degrees and with no jack stands turn the wheels... Popping is gone. Well it's been about a a month or two and the shaft seems to be leaking power steering fluid. The popping has also come back. I'm at a loss of what to do, do I contact the shop and tell them I found the real issue and now the nut seems to be backing off over time and the redhead is leaking again but at a new area? Do I contact redhead and give them the rundown? I'm just wanting a solid truck to make it back across country in 18 months when I eas and selling it is not an option currently. I can do the repairs myself, next step is maybe replacing pitman arm and maybe even the seal while I'm at it... If I don't talk to Redhead before... I'm pretty sure I had a new arm put in but I'll look at the receipt as this arm looks worn and banged up from the years (definitely doesn't look less than a year old). ANY input is very much appreciated. Let me know if I need to elaborate on anything else.

Yeah I’ll make sure to clean both ends and then check the pipe before the intercooler and see if it’s pooling there at all. That would for sure show that the turbo is leaking!

Thank you for the ease of mind on the turbo part, I’ve seen mixed opinions on a boost leak causing the turbo to over spin or ruin a seal (or both). I’ll get down there sometime soon and check out the piping. There’s been residue in there before but that was after changing from the first set. I feel it would be hard to tell unless I scrub everything and then place it back on and then drive to see if this turbo is having any issues. no blue haze, just a grey haze that really shows in the right sunlight.. I also have 150hp injectors in it and a hotrod pump. I’ve been told I’m fine with it hazing. The only time I had blueish haze was when I had fuel in my oil and it was very thin and probably getting burned a bit, that issue is fixed though.

Hey all, sadly back again Noticed a little bit of oil was coming out around that gasket on the intake horn and the bolt there. Backstory, previous turbos I had a year ago ended up both going (P/O had a homemade budget compound setup). I swapped setups with a guy and the turbos no **** blew and were gushing oil when they went on his truck. I had a haze at idle and told him I didn't know condition etc and he still wanted them for the piping at the least. I'm assuming there was a good amount of oil in my intake system (intercooler etc). Is it possibly it's finally making it's way up? I have a brand new GT turbo with maybe 2k miles on it. Other backstory, if any of you remember my post about my head issue, I have a missing bolt on my intake plenum (ear is broken off) making a major boost leak. I'm scared this may have damaged my seal on my turbo? I've read that can happen because it's potentially over spinning but I rarely go WOT and when I have, I'm only making 28lbs of boost. Turbo also has a wastegate so I feel that would save it form this possibility. I'm just worried that this turbo seal went prematurely due to me not being able to afford a head yet and have a fully sealed and functional system. I'm at the point of wanting to find a solid lower mileage engine for a solid price and just swap that in and keep my injectors, tuner, turbo, etc... I worry that the engine is going to fail me one day as I truly don't trust the P/O when he rebuilt it. There are signs it was rebuilt due to the top of the block being polished and whatnot. I feel if he didn't torque something down in the engine, she would've blown by now.. as I've had her for 2 years now. Also saw a little vapor coming out of the puke tube which just starts making me worry again about it all. I've been checking oil levels and she sits at the same level the last few weeks (since I noticed the oil on the intake). I'm just at a loss and am worried I'll end up breaking the bank even more and I still have a loan out on this truck.

Yes, 1/2's and cars hahaha. Did you check the pinion gear with a dial indicating torque wrench at all? Or is that not required either due to a preload not being set? I've heard of having to do that as well and you back it off until it moves at a certain ft-lb on the indicator wrench. Also, I'm planning to do the rear wheel seal(s) on the truck tomorrow. I've seen guys just torque the lock nut back to x amount of lbs and I've seen guys torque it down and then back it off an 1/8 (one video had that). I'm having issues trying to figure out what procedure to use because I can't afford to have something burn up after work is complete. Truck already costs me enough! hahaha. Also, would you say it's fine to re use that locking nut?

Thanks for the input! Yeah... I've heard they're a pain to get off! Sounds like you didn't burn up a diff from taking the nut off and lash getting messed up at all... I'm thinking these diffs are a bit different than my dad has owned. He hasn't owned a bigger axled vehicle like this and he's going off his knowledge and experience. I told him I was gonna do the rear wheel bearing seal and he thought I had to have the diff cover open to take a clip out etc lol

Hey all, planning/wanting to do the rear pinion seal on my truck and while talking to my dad about it on the phone, he warned about having to re lash the diff after taking that big nut off (the one torqued to 450+ ft/lbs). Is this the case? Truck I'm almost certain has a Dana 80 due to it having the 6sp from factory. Any knowledge or tips or suggestions are appreciated! Thank you all.

Sorry to go off topic a bit on this post but Mopar Man, I'm curious to what brands for filters for these trucks you recommend? I'd like recommendations for Oil, Fuel, and water separator for my Air Dog if possible! Part numbers that work would be the best so I can plan accordingly.

Hey all, thought I would update everyone because I have hopefully fixed the issue… Friend and I were messing with the truck trying to find the pop noise. Noise stopped when the box had no stress on it (tie rod disconnected on ground and connected while on jack stands, no noise) so we unbolted the box and re torqued everything as well as some of the tie rods to make sure everything was tight. I looked up the specs for the big nut on the pitman arm and it was 40 ft lbs and then a 90 degree turn (roughly equal to 200-225 ft lbs). We did it to 40 (might have been 45 as the lowest setting on that wrench) and it turned a bit and then the wrench snapped… so it wasn’t even torqued much at all! Did the 90 degree rotation after hitting torque spec and the popping noise is gone! For now… drove it home last night and it’s still not doing it. Usually it comes back a day or 2 after I’d have work on the box done so we shall see.

Gotcha, wasn't aware of that. If I had been doing the work myself and had an appropriate place to work on the truck, I would've been more inclined to go through him for sure. Once I'm out of the military and have a house to work on my vehicles I will definitely be doing more repairs by myself lol and hopefully will have a spare vehicle to use while possibly waiting for a part to be rebuilt like in this case.

Yes I have a video of it. I can also get it to make the noise with the truck off and a video of that as well. Easier to hear with the truck off By trailing arms are you referring to the control arms?

Thank you for the input @Tractorman! I will look into this. You say it was subtle in your case which mine isn’t… it’s pretty loud from outside the truck and I can feel it in the wheel. Obviously it’s more subtle there but feeling on the actual steering equipment underneath… not subtle by any means. Was this the case for you?

Sorry for the delay gents. @Tractorman Truck has 300k. I'll list below what I had the shop replace Steering box (w/ a redhead) Left Inner tie rod Left Outer tie rod Right outer tie rod Pitman Arm tie rod 2 tie rod adjustment sleeves Both sway bar end links Track bar Steering Stabilizer Track bar bolt and nut The popping noise had been occurring before I took it to the shop the first time to have the above parts replaced. Steering was sloppy and I figured these items may have been original. Previous owner had replaced ball joints but with cheap ones.. I plan on replacing those in the future but alignment shop said they weren't terrible. The pop seems to happen more when turning the wheel to the left and then coming back to the right in that same spot, doesn't do it again until I am turning it back to the left. Steering also seems pretty stiff and doesn't like to turn easily all the way to lock. I felt my friend's steering with an OEM box and 35's and it turned flawlessly all the way to lock. I thought it was the steering box having issues with the bearings and whatnot inside causing the popping sound. The old steering box was also stripped on one of the holes. Got the truck back the first time and drove it home with no more popping. The next day or so, the snap/pop returned. Truck went down for a few weeks due to fuel in oil and then once that was situated, I took it back to the shop because it was still popping and also the redhead was leaking when turning a lot to say back into a space. They replace the redhead and then said the frame was cracked at the I believe sway bar area (I can post a picture of before and after the welds). Truck stopped popping after that and then I get it back to the barracks and low and behold... It's making the same popping again. I don't think its the frame nor was the frame even though it was cracked in that area. There's no way the frame was moving enough to make popping noises. A creak noise.. maybe but that was not the case. Steering shaft has not ever been replaced I'm assuming. When I put a screwdriver up to the box, I feel the pop more towards the top. Maybe it is just the shaft and when they would install the boxes and move it around, it would fix itself for a few miles before falling back to its weakened point where there's weak points from wear? @Mopar1973ManI was wanting a blue top but at the time I was getting the repairs done, they were out of stock for my year sadly. I was wanting to save the money and get the same quality part as a red head but it didn't work out that way. I hope this write up can paint a better picture and hopefully we can figure out what's making this popping noise!

Hey all, back with more problems. So, got most of the friend end rebuilt at a shop and got a red head installed. The popping noise when turning went away for a day or two and then was back. Truck was down for awhile for fuel in oil and I brought it back to the shop under warranty. They replace the redhead because it was also leaking when turning. They then told me it was still popping after the replacement and they think it was the frame being cracked in that area. They welded it and I bit the bullet on that price tag. Drive the truck back with no popping when turning and the next day its back again... I don't think it was the frame causing the noise. It was cracked but I think it's something with the box. I can feel the pop with a screw driver and its felt better near the top of the box rather than on the frame where the repair was made.. I'm at a loss and this truck has been nothing but problems lol I'm planning to call redhead and ask about this all because I have seen posts about the boxes coming too tight from them but man, 2 in a row?!

Great people to work with! They were full of helpful knowledge when I bought my injectors and tubes from them. Even got a military discount and free 24v shirt!

How do I find if I have a Dana 80 or 70? Would it be stamped on the pumpkin?