Summer refresh thread

[notlimah]

Well with the weather and day light times slowly moving towards towards warmer and longer, I'm getting together a list of things (mainly common preventative maintenance stuff) thing I'd like to get done. I have some questions regarding each so help me out!

 

1. Brakes: I'm pretty sure the PO got them done (probably just pads) just before I bought it but I'd like to redo the rotors and pads. Anything special here I should be looking at brand wise or pad material? Geno's sells hawk pads, are they any good?

 

2. Ball Joints: I've read through @Me78569 thread on his quest to find some, so were the spicer ones from Dennys able to get the job done?

 

3. Hub Bearing: should I just do these since I'll be taking the rotor off? I can't seem to figure out if the 02's are the ones that are a pain to get apart or if it's the 2000 and older trucks?

 

4. Starter: I'll probably go with a rebuild kit from LarryB's but could anyone tell me how involved this is?

 

5. Heater Core: Pretty obvious this winter that my core is not pumping out enough heat, even when fully warm so I plan on getting in there and replacing it. Any suggestions on heater cores? I've heard pros and cons for both the ones with the swivel ends and the ones that are completely rigid. I'll probably try and do a dash replacement at this time too since I'll basically have it all apart.

 

6. Other miscellaneous stuff I'd like to do are airbags, shocks and springs, and ideally smaller tires.

 

I'll leave it at this for now. Thanks in advance!

Edited March 19, 2017 by notlimah

[dripley]

1 I did my front a few months ago and got them off of Rock Auto.Bought the rotors and pads for just over $100 along with new seal kits for the calipers. Forget what the total was.  I am not brand specific myself and have used several brands over the years. nothing pricey.

 

2 I like to know how those worked also. Still running my Moog with maybe 120k on them.

 

3 I think any of them are a pain if they are the oe. They get frozen on there. My 02 was extremely difficult to get apart. lay some anti seize in there if you do them and that problem will go away. The late model second gens have easier to remove rotors. Remove the calipers and bracket and they just pull right of. The earlier ones you have to drive the wheel studs out of them.

 

4 Never done this before so no opinion.

 

4 If you are going in that deep do the AC condenser too. I am pretty sure I used the heater core with fixed piping IIRC. I bought both of them thru R A also and they are still working fine after 3 to 4 years. I used the LMC dash replacement and was quite happy with it. Fit great and looks great. Genos has them too and folks seem to like them also. I am not familiar with it myself. If you dash is cracked and heat is not right you will love yourself for doing it. 

 

5 No experience with air bags. Have some cheap Monroes on mine. They do the job but the ride a little harsh. Had some Rancho 5000's, They worked  good a rode pretty fair but did not last to long. 50k to 60k or so. Tires 265's since new. Many choices on brands. I am on my 3rd set of Cooper ATP's and they have served me well.

 

Those are my opinions and the last time I checked every one has one.

[notlimah]

Thanks for the input @dripley always good to get your thoughts on the matter. 

 

Ya know after writing all that out I have no clue how I'm going to find all the time to do this! 

[dripley]

I understand the time thing. My first order of business if I get the time is chasing oil leaks. Need to pull the front off the truck and dive in. New boost boots are in order too along with fixing any other air leaks I might have.

[notlimah]

15 minutes ago, dripley said:

I understand the time thing. My first order of business if I get the time is chasing oil leaks. Need to pull the front off the truck and dive in. New boost boots are in order too along with fixing any other air leaks I might have.

 

And boost boots was something else I wanted to do, thanks! 

[Silverdodge]

1 Breaks in going to do soon my self with part store brand

2 I plan on going with Moog ball joints 

3 my 01 rotaters are easy pull the caliper and pull roters 

4 I'd just go get a life time warranty starter there's aftermarket high torque ones I got a carquest one it works good 

5 more idea on heater core yet 

6 I got no input yet on bags I'm planing to put a kit in mine 

I gotta reseal my vac pump my self and fo the 4th gen steering swap and replace my ball joints lmao it never ends but I finally got quadzilla adrenaline installed next on performance is compounds 

[CSM]

2 hours ago, notlimah said:

Well with the weather and day light times slowly moving towards towards warmer and longer, I'm getting together a list of things (mainly common preventative maintenance stuff) thing I'd like to get done. I have some questions regarding each so help me out!

 

1. Brakes: I have just used new rotors and the cheap pads with minimal metallic in them.  

 

2. Ball Joints: I have a new set of AC Delco Pro ones on my shelf.  Sooner or later... I hope they last longer than the Moog BS.  

 

3. Hub Bearing: I would only do it if it needs it and you want to burn $600 bucks at minimum.  If they aren't rusty, they aren't bad to get out.  I slather them with anti seize when they go in.  If they are rusty, you are going to have some pounding to do.  I would do these prior to ball joints, in case the unit bearings need pressed out or hammered out. 

 

4. Starter: No idea.  I have an awesome old timey starter/generator shop near me that will rebuild for ~$100 bucks, it is worth the money.  I have never had a bad starter on a Cummins though. 

 

5. Heater Core: One thought before doing all that work.  Take the motor and squirrel cage fan out and see if your current core is just dirty, and if your air doors are moving like they are supposed to.  

 

6. Other miscellaneous stuff I'd like to do are airbags, shocks and springs, and ideally smaller tires.

I like my airlift airbags.  Springs?  as in re-arch?  

 

I'll leave it at this for now. Thanks in advance!

 

[Mopar1973Man]

1. I got the economy brakes from RockAuto and still going on them I'm going to most likely exceed the OEM in mileage I might just make 200k miles on these brakes. 

 

2. I got AC Delco ball joints from RockAuto and still tight and no issues. The other factor I'm not running oversized tires either. 

 

3. 2002 the rotors just slide off. 

 

4. I did a NEW starter from NAPA and no issues to report. I kept my old starter to rebuild but just not had the time to do it yet.

 

5. I'm running the aluminum swivel end heater core and no issues to report.

[notlimah]

@CSM I'll keep that in mind about the hub bearings. If they look ok I'll leave them be. As far as springs, I was more meaning front coils from thuren or something. It'd be awesome to get some custom leaf springs from atlas or carli but they're pricey and not really necessary. As far as the "motor and squirrel cage fan out and see if your current core is just dirty" if you're referring to the one under the glove compartment, I had that apart not too long ago to install the heater treater and it was pretty clean. I can still get warm air but the truck needs to be pretty close to 190* and it definitely doesn't feel as hot as it should. I figure between wanting a new dash and that, might as well get them both done at the same time. I'll check out air lift bags.

 

Thanks @Mopar1973Man & @Silverdodge

 

Good to hear the stuff from RockAuto will work out well and last a bit. I was hoping to not have to spend a premium on most of these things.

[NorthernDodge]

I did the LarryB's solenoid rebuild kit not that long ago, super simple. The hardest part was actually getting the heavy, grease covered starter out from under the truck when it was cold and wet out. So far the starter seems to be functioning flawlessly. The full rebuild is a little more involved though based on this video.

[notlimah]

1 hour ago, NorthernDodge said:

I did the LarryB's solenoid rebuild kit not that long ago, super simple. The hardest part was actually getting the heavy, grease covered starter out from under the truck when it was cold and wet out. So far the starter seems to be functioning flawlessly. The full rebuild is a little more involved though based on this video.

 

Nice, do you feel like the trucks turning over quicker/easier now?

[Dieselfuture]

@NorthernDodge ha ha, love the profile photo. Don't get me started on this subject. Around where I live, it helps to spot retards on the road. No offense to anyone that is using it for intended purpose. Ok here I go 

[Mopar1973Man]

Everyone alway takes my brake information and says that is my exhaust brake that gives me the long brake life. Which is true. The other bit of the story with MoparMom's medical requirements I've been driving back and forth to Boise, ID and fighting the city traffic as well. You'll be surprised how much you really can use an exhaust brake in city application and still save a ton of service brake usage. 

 

Ball joints the biggest factor is keep those big tires off the truck. nearly 150k miles on these ball joint and were inspected last weekend by me and 4 days ago by a tire shop. Still tight no issues. 235's have really extended the life of the front axle a lot. Even my track bar is lasting a long time. 

 

Starters typically the contact go bad and are easy as pie to replace. Eventually, the brushes start to wear out and that's where you start to see the slower cranking speeds. When this occurs you need the full rebuild kit. Being time was my huge factor I replace with a new starter and figure when time allowed I'd full rebuild my starter. Being that I did do a new NAPA starter I will say there is no issues with a NAPA's new starters and spin this beast over easy as pie even in minus subzero weather. 

 

Hub bearings are spendy. Like being I just figured out my ABS issues which is a spun tone ring. I really don't want to replace just one bearing at $300 a wack nor both. Both of my bearings are fine and tight yet. So my advice is leaving the bearing alone unless you need to replace them. Even in my case I'm hunting for a used bearing for test purpose.

 

Heater cores most failures are caused by over extending the coolant. Swivel heater cores are fine there is nothing wrong with them and work excellent being I just tested this winter with temperatures outside the truck at -31*F I was able to keep 160*F coming out of the vents on high fan. The evaporator will impact the heater core performance. It's best to completely pull the HVAC case and inspect everything right down to the blend door bushing.

 

[NorthernDodge]

10 hours ago, notlimah said:

 

Nice, do you feel like the trucks turning over quicker/easier now?

Like Moparman said the brushes wearing out is usually what slows down the starter, mine was clicking and not turning over so I only did the solenoid rebuild.

[jlbayes]

I've replaced more moog parts under warranty than I'd care to count.

 

I really need to replace the heater core in this 12v. Does not melt your face like the one in the 24v lol

[Mopar1973Man]

@jlbayes If you lived near me I'd be more than happy to change that heater core so it does melt your face off. 

[Me78569]

the dana spicer joints from denny's were ok.  I would say they were still acceptible, but not as tight as the AD delco pro's I put in.  

[jlbayes]

8 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

@jlbayes If you lived near me I'd be more than happy to change that heater core so it does melt your face off. 

 

I'm just being lazy, it really wouldn't take me long. My dad and I swapped the trans out in my car this weekend. So glad it is leaving. 

[Mopar1973Man]

10 minutes ago, Me78569 said:

the dana spicer joints from denny's were ok.  I would say they were still acceptible, but not as tight as the AD delco pro's I put in.  

 

 

That's what I've got in my axle now and still tight. AC Delco ball joints. 

[notlimah]

Are the ac delco's from Napa?