Philo Beddoe

Thanks everyone, I was a little tighter and am now @ 120 lbs.

Question - Do you lube your lug nuts or not? If so, what do you torque them too? I have always used anti-seize and torqued them to 135ft lbs. But last weekend I was going down the highway and my front right tire decided to pass me up. All 8 lugs were ripped out, and it looks like I had over torqued them. I realize wet the torque should be reduced, but never had a problem until last weekend. I have a 2007 2500 megacab and the hubs are ~6 months old with ~5k on them. Any suggestions? Thanks, Philo

Thanks, I will most likely go with MOOG parts, sell my 18's and go back to the stock 16's and get some taller tires. I think my ball joints are still good as well as my track bar. Mike - I like your forum and thanks for the advice.

Thanks Mike, I think I might sell these rims and go back to my stock rims. I don't want to have suspension issues. What size / type tires do you reccomend? I have 4.10's, so I would like to go with something taller. What manufactor tie rods would you go with? seems lots of people like moog. Philo

On my 1998.5, I recently upgraded from the stock wheels to some 2014 take offs (275 70 R18's) and added 2" spacers. I have put about 3k on them and yesterday noticed some front end noise. The tie rods feel very sloppy now. Few questions: Will luke's links fix this problem? or Should I rebuild with moog parts? Do you think the larger rims, tires, and spacers caused my front end issues? Thanks, Philo

They are doing fine, no issues so far. About 1k miles. Recommend - too early to tell - I like the rims and the larger tires. But the spacers were very expensive. handling & ride quality - both are good. I like the larger tires. Have no issues turning. I bought them from Wheeladapter.com out of Southern Califonria. I found much cheaper adapters on ebay, but I have small kids and don't want any issues. http://www.wheeladapter.com/index.php From what 440Rat posted above, I am concerned about my front wheel bearings. Hopes this helps. Good luck.

The 2" spacers were to offset the new rims. I bought 2" spacers, but I think 1.75" may have fit. The tires are the Firestone takeoffs 275 70 R18's They fit pretty good and this was a much needed improvement. I don't feel like I am driving a mini-truck any longer.

Received the wheel spacers tonight and installed them. Will take it for a ride on Tuesday and then re-torque them. The stock bald tires and steel rims weighed 69 lbs each and the 2014 alloys and tires weigh 82 lbs ea. I like the rims and the rear fit well, but the front look like they stick out a little.

440Rat - I am not sure about the wheel bearings. I thought with the offset of the rims, the adapters would put the rims where they need to be to clear the front suspension. Anyone else have issues with front adapters / wheel spacers and wheel bearings?

yes - exactly what Tom said. I will let you know what happens as soon as I receive the adapters.

Jep - Cowboy is correct the cap on the wheels hits the studs. So I measured it the rims / studs and it appears I need about an inch spacer to make them work. Then I thought about it, and 1" spacers would mean I would have to cut the studs to make the spacers work. Cutting 32 studs doesn't sound fun. So I measured again and it appears 1.5" would work and I wouldn't have to cut the studs. So 2 1.5" spacers in the rear should make this work, but I am not sure what kind of havoc this would rain on my turning. The back spacing on the 2014 rims is ~ 2" deeper....so I ordered 4 2" spacers. I am not a fan of spacers, but I like the rims (18 alloy take off's with 3k on them) and got a good deal. The spacers should be here on Friday - I will let you guys know if this works, or if I just ordered some very expensive paper weights.

I bought a set of 2014 18" take off alloy rims w/tires off craigs list. I thought they would be a nice upgrade from my steel wheels with bald tires. I understand the lugs wouldn't fit, but thought the rims would. To make the rear fit, they need to be spaced out for the rims to clear in the rear. Anyone have any advice on the size of the spacers I need and where to buy them? Thanks again, Philo

I haven't see a cap that fits tight, hence I just replaced my dash with one from LMC. The fit is good, and I replaced mine when I did my heater core. The little bolts holding vents in took some time - but the rest was easy.

Update: I took the lines off and put them back on. Drove until it was hot and it appears to be dry now. Thanks again, Philo

Thanks for all the advice, I definately won't stick my hand in there when its running. Its wet underneath and will drip in various places if I am stopped for more than a minute. I had loosened up the #1 line 8mm injector line hold downs and tried to get a better seat...but it didn't work. I will take off the injector lines tonight and get a good look at them and try to get them to seat.

I had my vp44 out and re-installed it. About 1k later, I developed a fuel leak from the bottom of the VP 44 where the #1 injection line is connected. I have tried to tighten it up, but it doesn't want to seal. I haven't lost prime and the truck runs good, but leaks quite a bit. Any suggestions on how to make this seal up?

super - just got her running. had to bleed it a lot more than I thought. But now I have a lot of pressure building from the oil cap. I have the 98.5 which has a block in the front timing cover and is vented out the back. I am thinking about venting it in the front too. I have over 320k. does anyone run a filter out of the front valve cover - like some of the old muscle cars?

I replaced the tappet cover and am unable to get the truck started. Bled the pump, but I am unable to get it to start. any suggestions? thanks, Philo

jep, and I thought the cat was located further forward towards the motor.

As I am in California, just about everything here sucks but the weather. I thought my 97 had a cat on it, so I assumed that this one had one as well. But this appears to be a resonator.

Cool - thanks for the suggestions.

I had to smog my truck on Saturday and the tech told me I passed, but barely. then he told me to check my exhaust myself next year. I asked him how should I do this? he said "snap the gas and check the tail pipe for smoke". As I was trying not to laugh, I asked the tech - what if it smokes what should I do? He said you should definitely take it to the dealership. Funny thing, my truck is completely stock, and brought it to him hot and it doesn't smoke. I think he was concerned over my mileage. So to prepare for this next time around, does anyone have a good cat from a 2nd gen 24v they want to sell? oh, and don't forget to snap your gas!

I have about 15K on a fuel boss with no issues. Richard provides great service. I also like the idea of having an electrical pump for priming and back up. I see about 15 at idle and 18 at wot.

Update on the heater core. Pulled it out this weekend and replaced it - not too bad of a job. Actually much easier than I thought, & Mike's article/video helped out. Replacing the dash sucks. The little screws for the vents were a pia, but the dash looks nice and my heater blows nice and hot now. Next up is the oil leak - maybe next week or the week after?

I thought it was the blend door, because both heater hoses were hot. then I looked under the box and couldn't find the motor. Then I took off the glove box and I can see and feel the cable moving full rotation with the heater control. I wasn't able to move the level any more than what the heater control did...(meaning it seemed tight). Then I read Mike said if both lines feel about the same heat then the core is most likely bad. I will let you know what it is. I think I will try to fix the heat before the oil leak.