diesel4life

I wouldnt say its too much work but the price will vary greatly depending on where you get a transmission from. If somebody had a parts truck laying around with a 6 speed manual it would be a no brainer to swap out. If you have to buy a transmission and all the hydros, pedals, etc individually the cost will be up there with rebuilding an automatic. The difference being the automatic will have brand new parts and be ready to go vs a manual transmission with X number of miles. Thats not including the cost of a new clutch and slave, by the time you figure that in you could potentially have as much invested for a used manual as a fresh auto. It just depends on what kind of deals you come across. I can tell you Ive personally been looking for an NV5600 for quite some time in my area and they are selling for a premium, even with high miles on them.JR

When you have a couple of inches of mud and frozen snow hanging off of them, you will see what they do and don't protect. Its like a mudflap that encompasses the entire wheel well not just one strip of rubber hanging from the bottom. A set of mud flaps along with fender flares would probably be a best case scenario for protection. May look a little goofy tho. One thing about them is you do have to take them off and clean them at least anually IMO. I do it twice a year just to see what's going on in there and wax the paint.JR

Thanks! I picked it up over the summer. Traded a guy a set of 30k mile tires straight up for it. I think I got the better end of the deal, lol JR

Are you talking about along the top of the fender flare? I bought mine new and there was never anything in the install instructions but they may have changed by now.... JR

We see that every time you post! JR

I live in the heart of the rust belt (high humidity and lots of salt) and in 3 yrs haven't had any problems yet. I take them off in the spring and fall and wash and wax behind them. The flares do great for keeping road debris and stone chips to a minimum.JR

Which flares do you have? My fender flares actually screw into the inner fender wells. Then there are clips that snap onto the bottom of the rockers on both ends of each flare and than screw into them as well. Unless your talking something totally different then I've got, I don't think double sided tape alone would hold them flares at highway speeds. Here's a shot of my Bushwhackers. JR

In the sticks (AKA around here) people are generally courteous and give me the space I need. People are used to sharing the road with farm equipment so a truck and trailer is no big deal. I have to adjust my driving whenever I'm travelling through a big city. The wife's family lives in Fairless Hills which is in between Philly and Trenton NJ. I think they are some of the most aggressive drivers I've dealt with, but that's not saying much.JR

At nearly 200,000 miles I'm guessing your trans has seen its better days. A valve body and torque converter would be the minimum I would do if I was going to put any money into it, otherwise your probably better off just driving it until it gives up its ghost. The only thing a Smarty is going to do for that tired ol dog is help you find that ghost, lol. JR

Remember there is a chunk of hose on the original breather. Mine looked good after 15 years. Your right, you just have to use the correct hose.JR

The 10 to 12° drop is not realistic. Again, it may take a little longer to get up to temp with more volume, but eventually it will get there. Aluminum will flex more than steel any day of the week. JR

Pictures! I'm doing 10k intervals on synthetic alone (may go longer based on the next oil analysis) but will be adding a bypass system soon.JR

JR

I bought my B&M drain plug for less than 10 bucks. The guy that built my trans slapped my old pan back on. We were on the conversation of aluminum vs steel and his opinion was aluminum allows the trans to flex too much (remember the pan is a structural member of the trans) Dean may not know everything but he is very sharp when it comes to the mechanical aspect of a transmission. He even builds his own converters so if there was any real advantage to adding a deep pan (other than lining ones pockets, lol) I'm confident he would be adding them. It just seems to me like a cooler would be more efficient at cooling fluid, but that's only my opinion I don't have anything to back it up.JR

Gray is generally CPVC which is rated for higher temps/pressures than standard PVC and the black is generally designated for chit pipe. JR

I just can't see how adding a few quarts could do anything for cooling? It may take a little longer to get hot, but if your system is going to overheat 2 or 3 quarts is not going to make a difference. An additional cooler would do more for cooling than simply adding fluid to the system. I'm not trying to ruffle anybody's feathers, I just have yet to see any valid tests where adding a deep pan really does anything for lowering operating temps. (Other than manufacturers claims)JR

I have always made a habit of giving plenty of distance between myself and the vehicle in front of me but in heavy traffic it's not always possible. The second you back off of someone and create an opening someone in a hurry is bound to fill that void, and now your right on someone's back bumper. I actually prefer to tail a semi over most cars, they are more predictable. Less likely to drastically change lanes, jam on the brakes, etc. JR

Pesky snap on wheel covers! I'll never forget driving on I 80 through Chicago about 100 feet behind a semi when it blew the rear outer dual....it came spitting out from under that truck and went instantly airborne. For a second it looked as if it were going to land right on our vehicle, but we had nowhere to go so all I could do was brake and pray. Luckily it went off into the median, but was still airborne when we went by it. I had to check my shorts at the next stop....JR

Whats strange to me is that your getting a little bit of fuel at the injector. If the ecm is bad I would have thought you would get no fuel at all.... If you have cranked the engine sufficently with an injector(s) cracked and are not getting steady bursts of fuel, along with the 1689 code, you could very well have gotten a bad ecm. Only way I know to test is either swap ecm with a running truck or take the truck in to a competent diesel shop.JR

Somebodys trunk would be meeting my Ranch Hand bumper in short order if I ever saw anyone swerving at my pooch! JR

Personally I don't think the extra few quarts will do enough to justify the cost. If your having cooling issues another cooler would be more effective. As for a drain plug, they make a bulk head type fitting you can install on your factory pan for a few bucks. Take the pan off, mark the position, drill the hole, and install the plug with sealing washer and nut on the back side. You have to pay attention to where your installing it because it sticks up in the pan 1/4"-3/8" and may interfere with the filter. I got mine through Genos. The only way I would weld a plug in place is if your good at TIG welding, otherwise you will likely blow through the pan or possibly warp it.JR

A 285/75 is about 1/2" taller, it's just not going to fit between the frame rails. I'm on the fence about doing what I had mentioned in my 1st post or just finding a used 285/70/17 for a spare. They are much more common but if I ever got a flat on the rear I would have to swap a good one to the rear then put the spare on the front. I would much rather have a matching spare if at all possible.JR

Unless he hasn't cranked it enough to get the air out.... But with the 1689 coming up it does point to ECM related issue, hopefully whoever you bought it from will work with you if that's the case. Would be nice to be able to install it on a running truck to know if that's the problem JR

How long did you try cranking it for? If there is a lot of air in the lines it can take a few minutes worth of cranking. (20 seconds with a minute or so in between) Do you know anyone with a 98.5-02 truck? You could use them as a guinea pig to see if your new ecm worksJR

Are you lugging it at 45 mph? That could be causing the slightly higher egt's... As far as the lap pressure you might want to check into that a little further, 30 psi can blow the seal on the VP44 and cause fuel to dump into the gear case (engine oil). On my AD100 I was experiencing fluctuating pressures last week so I pulled the spring and the ball had jammed itself into the spring. You may have a restriction or something similar causing that intermittent high pressure.... JR