Ilikeoldfords

I just did the adjustments on my 01 a few weeks ago. It had about 60k on it since the last time it was done and the difference was very noticible. Most of the valves were about 4-6 thousanths loose!! Maybe it is just because its a noisy 24 valve, but just the sound difference was huge for me. On this note, does anyone have the valve specs for a 1992 era chevy 305CID motor? I am getting ready to change the valve cover gaskets and with over 260k on it, it is probably time!!

Just a side question here. On my 01 I have been having a pretty distinct vibration issue starting out in 1st and 2nd gears. Does this sound like the carrier bearing is on its way out? I havent had the time to try and track down the issue.

Whenever I do rear end bearings, I always pack them with grease when going back together. That will keep them lubed up until the rear diff fluid gets to them. I have never had a problem with the grease mixing with the oil either. Sorry you had this problem though. No fun at all!!

Thats a good point. I told him that exact thing for when he looks at injectors but I didnt think about doing the turbo that way.

Sorry for the wait guys, been busy with work. He ended up buying a fresh rebuilt motor from a diesel shop in Anchorage. I am not sure what the name of it is though. They should be finished building it by this coming week. They are doing everything but the injectors and turbo. I am steering him towards OE new bosch injectors or the BBI's but as for the turbo, I dont know where to start. At the moment he would like to stay OE on everything. Where would be a good source for a turbo that is not super expensive? He has found a couple on ebay with good warranties but we all know how ebay can go....

Apart from the fuel line, I think you would have a hard time damaging this thing. I will admit though that I have not checked the laws concerning where fuel needs to be drawn from. My truck doesnt see much off road apart from a couple logging roads a year so I am not too worried about damaging mine. It was an easy installation and it works flawlessly as far as im concerned.

I am sorry, I didnt mean a stabilizer shock. I was referring to a steering box brace. This one to be exact. The stabilizer shock is still original.

I run 35x12.50's on my truck without to much issue. Only had to replace track bar and the ball joints are getting a bit worn out. I will admit the steering stabilizer helped tighten things up a ton with I would assume is because of the larger tires.

I am kind of surprised the shaft wore that much!! Usually the seal would give up before that would happen.

The other option to all of this nonsense is just go to a tank sump and call it a day This is the one that I got. Didnt take me a half hour to install. The most time consuming part was draining the tank.

I am right up there with Mike at 240,000 miles on my '01. I also have a company truck now so hopefully the old cummins can get a break for a while.

I agree with checking the cables. Either you have some serious corrosion issues going on, or you have a bad/no connection between the batteries and/or grounds. Get them checked quick. If all the connections are good, both batteries will be the same voltage. The other thing I might do, load test each battery on its own (disconnected completely from truck). This will just make sure both batteries are in good shape. I have had more than one brand new battery that would not come close to passing a load test right out of the box.

Bring it on!! We love having visitors! Otherwise we would love to make a trip out your way, or meet in the middle and have a weekend at a campground.

I think I am close enough to join up with everyone too, being I am in Missoula. I think a get together would be great!

Holy replies!!!! Well I can tell you this. My friend does not haul/tow much if at all. He does have an edge CTS programmer in it though. He said at the time this happened, he was just was cruising down the highway nice and easy. He purchased the truck about 10k miles ago so it is still relatively new to him. It only has about 120k miles on it overall. He did not know the original owner at all. Wait, hang on a sec..... I just learned that the original owner had this engine rebuilt already once for overheating it multiple times. I guess that might have something to do with the EGT's then? If there was anyway to find out who rebuilt it last time.... I will get him to start working on that.

Here are a couple pictures. Pretty nasty.

So my friend has an issue. He has a 2006 ram 3500 cummins with a 6 speed transmission. While driving down the highway last week all he started getting a really bad miss, then a bunch of loud clanging from the engine. He got the truck into a local shop up in Wasilla that night. They pulled the valve cover off and found a valve spring missing. It's just gone. The valve dropped into the cylinder and got gobbled up by the mighty cummins. So at this point, it would appear he needs a rebuild at the very least. Shop said the head is past rebuild able. The piston is toast as well as the turbo. Very bad deal all around. If he were to find another motor, what should he look for? Some shops have told him he has to find a motor specifically for a truck with a manual transmission. Is this true? Thanks for any info!!! I have some pictures I will post up of the damage a little later.

I think LMC would probably have them as well. I have not looked to be sure though.

Bill is right about western MT. Missoula is up there at about 60k people now I think and Kalispell is not far behind anymore. Lots of people and lots of cars. That being said, there are a lot of places in western MT that are still pretty quiet. I get to see almost all of western MT on my sales route. Eureka, Libby, Noxon, Troy, St. Ignatius, these are all still real quiet and easy going. Much like where Mike lives actually. Even with how busy Missoula is, it beats the living heck out of living in Yakima, WA. Hex0rz can account for that as well I think

Being as the issues are almost identical with the new transmission as they were with the old, I would almost say you can rule it out. I would definitely be looking at the PCM, and wiring in the truck. Just a quick question, what does your AC voltage look like coming out of the alternator? If it is high enough it could be messing with the computers and such. Just something else to look at.

I sell a lot of different brands of LED lighting for over the road trucks. I wont mention brands unless in a PM but I will say this. Look for a brand of LED that has a good warranty. I have one brand that I can replace at no cost to the customer even if one LED goes out for any reason. (I havent had to replace more than a handful over the last 5 years). LED's are a great product and they are getting better everyday. There are a lot of companies making LED's but a lot of them arent very good quality. A lot of LED's still have pretty weak circuit board internally and will cause problems such as individual LED's going out, parts of the light not working, etc.

I replaced my OE with a HD belt last year with no problems so far. I have about 20k miles on it and its still nice and quiet. I got it for a good price at the auto parts store I worked at, otherwise I would have just used an OE style belt. That being said, I dont think you would have any problems with one or the other.

Just future reference, there should be plastic bushings that the pedals ride on. They do wear out over time and if not replaced then you will get the problem of it wearing into the aluminum.

So I have a couple 1000 miles trips on the truck since I installed the steering box brace. All I can say is WOW!! It made all the difference for me on the freeway actually. Now when I hit a bridge approach at 70 the steering wheel doesnt jump out of my hands and almost put us into the wall. Very nice improvement overall. This is the one I went with, not a name brand but still seems like a good quality product. And its all made here in the US of A too! http://www.dodgeramsteeringstabilizer.com/

Oh man! Ya now that you mention it, mine came off of a 2011 Ram. Well what about on the topper right before the windows? I just am not sure they would look any better on the doors than where they are now.