2003 Ram DC front drive shafts to save gas?
From : john
Q: john wrote since the front axles are always turning is there any reason you couldnt disconnect the front drive shafts and axles to save gas i never use 4x4 any more. what was dodge thinking when they decided to get rid of locking hubs you could remove the front drive shaft but axles shafts would still turn and so would ring gear. dodge did it his way to save money and to make engaging 4wd a no brainer because the front axle is always turning so it is easier to sync it with tcase output. dodge scraped hubs in the 70s and broguht them back in the 80s then scrapped them again several years ago. very poor judgement indeed. ------------------ www.thesnoman.com .
Replies:
From : thesnoman
if you have a trany cooler and you change both of the filters it will take just under 2 us. gal to top off the 545rfe trany. do not put any thing but atf+4 in it or you will be sorry!!!!! i was wondering if anyone knows the approx cost to change out an evaporator coil in a 2001 ram 2500 diesel thanks bill .
From : tom lawrence
tom lawrence wrote strong. you are doing something wrong big time. nope im doing something right. ive never intentionally owned a ford you really need to stop taking everything so seriously. so i should post bs answers then ----------------- www.thesnoman.com .
From : tom lawrence
tom lawrence wrote if i were to put one on my truck i wouldnt think twice about going with the larger unit. hell even if i couldnt justify the larger winch as a necessity i would still buy it just because it has more power and as a man..... - nathan http//inlinediesel.com .
From : john
hello i have a 4 cylinder dakota 2000 year model. i am looking for a replacement ac compressor and all i see for sale on ebay and a few other places is the one for the v6 and v8. but these are also the sanden i forget the model number ndh71 or something close to that. they have the same 7 groove pulley. do any of you know if it will fit the 4 cyl. as well they sure look the same but i hate to buy something that wont fit. thanks in advance. .
From : tom lawrence
my wife stated that she thought the fan was not cooler like it used to. i am not sure if it did get slower and slower but if i put the fan on any position now i get nothing. no fan noise and no air out of the vents. thanks for any help you can give me. -- thanks & have a nice day ! ed & sherri what do you mean by slower and slower has this been happening over time and what happens if you set the control to full fan speed -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving i have a 2002 dodge dakota quad cab and my a/c & heater fan motor does not work. i think it is the resistor but who can tell with all the electronics on a vehicle any more. what has happened is my fan kept getting slower and slower and now i have no fan at all. the mode controls work the a/c button lights comes on when you push it on. i can even hear the a/c compressor cycle on and off but again no blower motor. anyone want to please give me some input. i did check the fuses to be sure that it was good. thanks !!! -- .
From : thesnoman
that doesnt seem too bad. was the core aftermarket or from chrysler thanks bill i had the core replaced on my 2000 3500 2 years ago. cost me about $600 for parts and labor. local dodge dealer wanted $1200.00 on mon 03 oct 2005 003946 gmt rider89 custom4173@sbcglobaldotnet.invalid wrote i was wondering if anyone knows the approx cost to change out an evaporator coil in a 2001 ram 2500 diesel thanks bill .
From : thesnoman
i should also mention that i am getting an extra 200+ kms on every tank of gas and thats really rough housing with it whats the horsepoqwer increase figure if i use this stuff and a k$n i should be able to run with john force.bfg maybe ifn ya lost that friggen posterior ya might.......... bg denny hey pal how ya doin going to put a few rounds through the new toy in the morning. gotta zero it. roy bushmaster denny .
From : tom lawrence
tom lawrence wrote i pointed out to them that my 200000 mile f150 was still on its original front differential seals bearings gears ujoints and oil. and its 3rd engine 2nd transmission 4th t-case... my 89 4x4 burb is still all factory issue after 175k and still going strong. you are doing something wrong big time. i can get 200k plus out of a engine and trans regularly and have on other vehicles too. this one has been cross country and across the rockies more than a dozen times too. ----------------- www.thesnoman.com .
From : john
john wrote what kind of truck do you drive that weighs 9000# empty mine weighs 8000# and my truck hasnt been empty since i brought it home. - in fact i had towed a nearly 10000# trailer to the dealership with the truck that i traded in and towed it home with the dually the first time i ever drove it didnt even bother with a test drive before i bought the truck!. unless you go 4 wheeling with a fully loaded truck heh....in montana in the winter the interstates can be as impassable as any trail youve ever been on......and thats the interstates that are plowed. you should see the highways and back country roads. - billings isnt to bad but i dont limit my travels to billings. while travelling into the more rural areas during the winter i carry several days worth of survival provisions. .
From : thesnoman
ditto what sno said! years ago i was the only one of my friends that had a ford. it had locking hubs and their gms didnt. they made fun of me when i would pull over and lock my hubs when the snow started or to go off road. they were convinced their full time hubs were better. till i pointed out to them that my 200000 mile f150 was still on its original front differential seals bearings gears ujoints and oil. .
From : john
i have this product that just blows my mind.. i am selling it now.. trying to find out how much tranny fluid is in a slt hemi transmission anyone know... also if you are interested in saving money on fuel and getting alot more performance power and cutting out alot of that normal engine noise.. contact me at lastcanadianhero@hotmail.com.. or go to www.neumann.bitronglobal.biz this stuff is awsome no solids all petroleum based so it doesnt break down like aditives.. i have a shitty lil sunbird and the power i got after i put in was amazing -- bitronguy ----------------------------------------------------------------------- view this thread http//www.carstalk.net/viewtopic-346586.htm send from http//www.carstalk.ne .
From : big al
good morning folks. i have an error code po442 on my 02 dakota. i have installed a new mopar gas cap with no improvement. is there anywhere on the net that i can find a diagram of the evap. emission system so that i can further troubleshoot also how can i reset the codes to make troubleshooting quicker ty in advance for any help offered. .
From : proteusdiver
the idea of locking hubs is having the ability to drive on paved roads and highway where most people to 99% of their driving with the front differential disconnected from the wheels. if mud is even remotely possible you leave them locked. but the rest of the time you drive you leave them unlocked. i know when ill be off road in advance. besides there isnt much mud in the desert. when i lived in the northeast i only needed the hubs locked on a regular basis during the snow season december january and february. the the other nine months of dry weather i still had to have the front differential working for no reason. speaking of greece i have a house in greece just outside of athens byronas. i have a tiny car there with a tiny engine. there is a tax when you buy a car with an engine bigger than 1.8 l. this car gets goog enough mileage with a 1.4 l engine that i dont have to worry about the price of fuel. with greeces lack of super-highways besides the one that goes to the airport and constant traffic small engines are fine there. besides athens has a mass transit system almost as extensive as nyc. the busses and trains cover the city well. where i live in arizona there is no mass transit. highways cover the area well. due to how spread out everything is here everything is far away. i drive 500 miles per week so at $3 per gallon i have to go for every mile per gallon i can. i can stand the inconvenience of locking and unlocking my hubs once or twice a month when i do go off road. saving wear and tear is nice too. by the way fuel prices in greece proove that national politics have little to do the price of fuel. greece has always had a pro-arab stance in the world political theatre. yet they have always paid a lot more for fuel than we do. .
From : snoman
might be a bad ground john wrote when i turn on my headlights the left blinker indicator stays on and solid even when im not using the left turn signel. i get the same behavior without the headlights turned on when i use the left turn signal. the actual blinker appears to have the same behavior as the indicator. the right blinker functions properly at all times. i hope there is a relay somewhere that i can replace. anybody know where that relay might be does this sound more like an electrical short thanks in advance john .
From : thesnoman
on fri 23 sep 2005 220557 gmt denny wddodge@woh.rr.com wrote your email made it a couple of days ago. apparently my reply didnt make the trip. sooooo i guess your putor is still stupid. roy send it again i thinks its working now denny on the way!! roy something is a bit off. heres the story. received your email 9/22 @ 617pm responded to it 9/23@ 131 am. received parachute jump 9/23 @ 545am. seems like the email aint happening. ill send ya something right now. roy set ya 4 emails. roy i got it i think. you are using the spoof address for your email. im hitting reply and it isnt working. roy i just changed the fake to the real addy. ill send you another one to see if it works. denny hmm... maybe you 2 should try long distance rofl mac please remove splinters before emailing .
From : tom lawrence
its time to pick up a speed sensor before the problem gets worse is there a part number that i should be looking for 99 dodge ram laramie qq 2wd - 5.9l auto 355 gears thanks mac dang i had that number right on the tips of my fingers but i just cant type it. g ill see if i can remember to look it up tomorrow. denny ok now well see if i step on my dick..........56028 187ad see if that is the rear speed sensor..... denny .
From : thesnoman
its time to pick up a speed sensor before the problem gets worse is there a part number that i should be looking for 99 dodge ram laramie qq 2wd - 5.9l auto 355 gears thanks mac dang i had that number right on the tips of my fingers but i just cant type it. g ill see if i can remember to look it up tomorrow. denny .
From : tom lawrence
the more i think about it i believe it might just be a loose belt. jim & lil wrote i have a 1998 dodge 3500 slt laramie diesel supercab dually. i bought the truck new and it really has been a good truck so far. i has only 90 thousand kilometers. canada here in 2000 i took the truck to the dodge dealership as i had a whine in the power steering pump that would be very loud when i started the truck on cold mornings -10-20 degrees celcius. the power steering pump would whine when the truck sat idling until after about 2-3 minutes or so. it sounded like the pump was being bottomed out or the pump was low on oil. the dodge dealership said that these trucks come from the south with heavier oil and we should be using a lighter oil up here in canada to deal with colder temps....so they drained the steering pump and put in a lighter synthetic oil for the cooler temperatures. i thought the problem was fixed as the sound went away for about 5 years... now i get a whine when i turn too sharply and can feel it in the steering wheel without bottoming out. its not even cold outside yet....it goes away when i am driving straight and making slow turns...but when i turn sharp it really does whine... oil levels are good. my question is this....is this power steering pump on its way out... if it
From : john
on thu 22 sep 2005 014320 -0400 roy roy@home.net wrote your email made it a couple of days ago. apparently my reply didnt make the trip. sooooo i guess your putor is still stupid. roy sounds like a 1d io t error bro... mac please remove splinters before emailing .
From : john
thanks for the information. i will make my attempt at fluid changes for the diffs transfer case and tranny weekend after next along with a drain plug install and band adjustment. craig c. .
From : Annonymous
ooops sorry i meant the southwest in arizona. .
From : john
dont forget to factor in the $$$ lost that you paid originally for 4x4 that will be a complete loss when you go to trade it in or sell it ... unless of course you are planning to put it back together. in that case factor in time and frustration to undo then redo. craig c. .
From : thesnoman
john wrote i totally agree. it makes absolutely no sense to spin a bunch of gears bearing shafts u-joints and seals that should be at rest. besides the loss of mileage how about wear and tear is this another thing you have to give up to have a truck that is less expensive than a ford or gm product or do they also have full-time locked hubs. at the very least why not offer it as an option i remember my 80 f-150 had locking hubs. if they were engaged you could feel it in the steering wheel. it made a bit more noise. it also needed a little more force on the brake pedal to stop it. unlocked gave you a noticeable difference in gas mileage as well as a smoother ride. dynatrac does offer a kit but at $1500 its not cost effective. at $330 savings per year payback in five years isnt worth it. ford offers lockout hubs on some sd models and gm disconnects the right front axle shaft so the other side spins off in spider gears and ring and pinion does not move not perfect but a lot better than taking every thing along dodge missed a perfect opertunity to fix this problem in 03 when they started using a new front axle in 2500 and 3500 4x4 trucks built for them by aam the one that made the tried and trued 10.5 inch 14 bolt for gm for years and the then new 11.5 that gm uses in 2500 and 3500 trucks and gms ifs front drive axles it uses the same 9.25 ring and pinion as used in gm ifs in 2500 and 3500 trucks but dodge specd it to have no disconnect or ablity to support lockout hubs. it is a shame because it is a very stout axle but has no support to disconnect the axles in 2wd with a redesign. ----------------- www.thesnoman.com .
From : tom lawrence
a friend also a cv who did a couple of tours as a crew chief gave me a dvd entitled in the shadow of the blade. had a pic of a huey on it. told him id seen all the stuff about nam i needed to see. told me it wasnt about nam but after kinda a documentary about the huey and the effect it has. to this day aint one of us that hears the wop wop wop of the blades that doesnt look up. he is right i always stop and look up. anyway i watched it saturday night. was like nothing i had seen before the photography was absolutely beautiful. the content well ya gotta watch it yourself. believe me it will leave you drained. oh id suggest you have a box of kleenex handy. if you have seen it you know what im talking about. heres the site www.intheshadowoftheblade.com roy .
From : tom lawrence
i just moved from the northeast to the southeast desert where it hasnt snowed since the ice age. you make 2 mpg sound petty but thats another 70 miles per tank of range. at $3/gallon and 20000 miles per year thats a significant amount of savings every year. assuming 18mpg before and 20mpg after 20k per year and $3/gal youll save $330 a year or less than a dollar per day. i was assuming you wanted to remove the front axles for a while then put them back in when you thought youd need them then take them out again etc. if you want to do a semi-permanent 2wd conversion then it starts making a little more sense. i still dont think youre going to get a solid 2mpg increase especially since you wont experience any of the cold-weather operation that thickens up the gear oil. by the way - wheres the desert in the south-east .
From : thesnoman
i just moved from the northeast to the southeast desert where it hasnt snowed since the ice age. you make 2 mpg sound petty but thats another 70 miles per tank of range. at $3/gallon and 20000 miles per year thats a significant amount of savings every year. .
From : bdk
anything close to slylicone used my dive stuff on several rubber gaskets today. dont know how it works with exposure to gas though john .
From : john
does this light indicate that my tailgate is open .
From : thesnoman
i was planning on removing the axles too. im not sure if the front differential will leak oil at the output shafts once the yokes are removed. is it safe to say the yoke will not stay in without the axles in place .
From : tom lawrence
wddodge@woh.rr.com writes ok the compression check was done on a cold engine and it was ok. this will be a bitch but warm the engine up good and retest #7 compression. compare the warm reading to the cold reading and see if they are still in the same range. i got this sneaky feeling a valve is sticking sometimes. is it still necessary to pull all the plugs just to retest #7 while its hot nope id just do the 4 plugs on that bank. just curious here.. whats the going rate these days for a valve job/top end overhaul on the mopar 5.2 its been a while since i priced one out but to do both heads is about $1000 by the time the machine shop gets added on denny .
From : thesnoman
max dodge wrote the pic didnt come through so im not sure what you are looking at. it could be a blown gasket but what other indications did you have of a blown gasket what led you to pull the head for a misfire pic came through here it looked like the intake valve was burnt near plug hole likley from detenation causing errosion in valve seat from leakage caused by the vibration from repeated spark knock. ----------------- www.thesnoman.com .