diesel4life

There is a screen on the inlet line of most power steering pumps, (actually in the body of the pump so you would have to remove the hose and look into the pump) I wonder if the Dodges have them? I've been fortunate and never had to remove mine for service so I'm not sure. I have seen them pretty clogged up before though, which will cause a decrease in power assist and often a groan as well.

It does almost sound like you've got air trapped somewhere. Did you turn the wheel lock to lock with the cap off when you were bleeding? It takes alot to bleed a system, probably 30 turns or so. Also I would change your fluid. Dodge specs actual power steering fluid for the 2nd gens, not ATF.I know people will say they are the same, but I've also had experienced mechanics tell me it's not good to substitute one for the other. Reason tells me that if ATF was compatable for the pumps they would have just specd it as the fluid to begin with like they did with certain other Chrysler vehicles. I just play it safe and use whatever the manufacture recomends.

One of the symptoms of a bad ecm/pcm is not being able to connect to it with a scanner (no communication error). I went through the same issue, started experiencing odd/no shift patterns so I took it to a known and trusted trans repair shop and he couldn't even connect to the truck with his snap on scanner. After eliminating a few other possibilities he came to the conclusion my pcm was toast. I was a little skeptical but he told me he would keep the pcm if it didn't resolve my issues so I let him do the work, and the new pcm fixed it. Where are you located? You may be near somebody that could either help out or know of a reputable shop you could reach out to for some advice.

I clipped a small doe 2 weeks ago on Stanhope. She came out of the woods on a full sprint, cleared the ditch, and landed right in front of me. I barely had time to lift before I hit her and sent her back across the ditch. Firts time I've ever hit a deer that didn't crush the front end of my vehicle like a pop can. I would say the investment I put into my bumper paid for itself right there. The wifes sister loaned her new car out to a good friend while her car was in the shop. She was 2 miles from home when a deer popped out in front of her. She swerved to miss it, went through the ditch, hit a big tree head on and rolled the car. She was very lucky to walk away with a few cuts and bruises. Sister in law wasn't so lucky, she doesn't have a car at the moment.

If you are tight for money and another engine is not an option, I would still say try the Lock n Stitch. Those guys have been around a long time and their products have successfully repaired thousands of cracks. I have never personally seen them applied but did see an engine block out of a 1 ton that had been stitched. The truck had over 300k miles, I don't know how many of those miles was with the repair, but the crack was not the source of the engine failure. I would clean it up, verify the size and length of it, and give those guys a call and see what they have to say. This is not the best option, but sometimes money dictates what we have to do. Remember your engine is not going to mysteriously come apart just because it is cracked. I worked with a guy who drove his truck with a cracked block for close to a year and just kept adding water. I would not recomend you do that because you may potentially spread the crack, but it isn't necessarily the end of the world just yet. There are no gaurantees, but the process is fairly straight forward and they offer several tutorials on dvd to educate you before you attempt the repair.

Has that leak been patched before? Hard to tell by the picture, but it almost looks like some kind of goop on the block... If any attempt at a repair is made I would try the Lock n Stitch. Welding cast is tricky, it has to be very clean and preheated to several hundred degrees to be done properly, unless you know someone who is fluent in welding cast (not just welding in general) I would not attempt it.

Smarty does boost fooling. I can easily peg 30 psi on my HX with no elbow, I believe the OP probably has an HY.

Generally with 4-5 gallons remaining, or 1/8 of a tank. I never let mine get below 1/4 to 3/8 personally.

If your going to trust a shop to work on your truck I suggest looking around for a diesel repair shop. Your typical automotive repair place thats used to wrenching on Civics and Grand Caravans will not have alot if any experience working on much of anything on these trucks, particularly the engine.

I like to pop the cover for inspection purposes if nothing else. I jack the axle up I'm servicing and rotate the ring and pinion slowly and look for any signs of heat discoloration, cracks or chips in the gear set. A sharp scraper and a hammer works great for seperating the cover. Just tap the scraper in between the axle and cover until the seal breaks and work your way around.

Or perhaps unimportant. There is a thread over on TDR that has been running for several years, and it's about 50/50 as to the guys that run stock lp vs aftermarket. Quite a few guys running on the original VP with the stock Carter pumps. Things that make you go hmm.

Mike you need some sleep LOL. The cam I was referring to was the same cam you were talking about, as in the engine cam. I was simply marvelling that the bearings in the VP can survive off of being lubricated by fuell at X rpm for hundreds of thousands of miles in some cases.

Yes, and that cam and all associated parts are lubricated with oil, not fuel. That amazes me.

I would love to have a 4 cyl diesel in a yota. The 4bts are pretty popular in the mud trucks, yota bodies with big lifts/tires and half ton axles.

I figured it had to be, it's amazing a bearing could survive in liquid spinning high rpms for long periods of time! Good pics Mike, thanks for taking the time.

How can you tell they were running offroad fuel? I can't tell you how many hundreds of gallons I ran through my former 00, but that was before ULSD.

She was definitely seized. How is that big bearing in the pump body lubricated?

No problem guys, although Im sure you all would have done the same. I acquired the pump for free, I stumbled across it in a scrap pile at a friends house. When I asked him if I could have it, you should have seen the look on his face. He said no problem but what you gonna do with it because it sure isnt usable! I'm sure Mike will attest to the condition of the nose, I don't know the history but all I can say is the fella changing that pump didn't know what he was doing. I'm guessing he must of tried prying the gear off of the shaft because it's chewed up pretty bad to the point it was rejected as a core, and my friend who scraps on the side acquired it through one of the buisinisses he buys from. So long story short, the only thing it cost me was shipping, which I nearly coughed a lung when they put it on the scale and rang up the charges, but it's all in the name of education!

You will have to send your VP in as a core but you will get someone elses reman pump in return. Generally the way it works is you pay for the reman pump, they send it to you, and you box your pump up and return it. Some comapnies charge you for a core and some dont.

With those kind of temps I would use synthetic hands down.

Here I is! LOL I was actually going to PM you tonight to see if you got it, they said 7 days but its been closer to 10 now.

Yep, Ive seen several CR engines as well. We actually have 2 shuttlewagons at work with CP3s, and our baby crane, an 03 or 04 Grove looks to be a 12 valve (has seperate valve covers) with a p7100. I've ran a few track hoes with 24 valve engines and a P7100. I'm not saying there is nothing out there with a VP44, I've just never seen anything. I always assumed they were only in Dodge trucks and the UPS vans.

The VP44 came into existence for emissions reasons....I am not aware of anything they are on in an industrial application? I have seen construction equipment as new as 05 with a P7100 on it, along with a mechanical lift pump at the back of the block.

I'm sure being a salesman is no easy job. They tend to be the fall guy whenever something goes wrong, and most times it's something that is beyond their control. I have seen lots of threads on this site and others with people asking "can I haul this" or "is this a good buy"? Advice from others is great but should only be that...advice. Ultimately the end user needs to do the leg work and know what they are getting into before they get into it. I do understand that big flashy 5th wheel may be enticing, but is it more than I need and is that smaller TT more along the scope of what fits my usage and what I can safely handle? This is where an honest and knowledgeable salesman will be worth his weight in gold.

Nice write up! This is on the to do list this spring. My starter has given me 15 years of trouble free service but I know it's likely on borrowed time.