2003 vs 1999 RAM 1500 ? Other known 2003 issues?

From : todd w roat

Q: on 7/1/03 1647 joe blow wrote on 7/1/03 1106 remove spam from address to reply wrote we did a little unscientific research a few years ago with our mazda pickup drove from calif to dallas with tail gate down and averaged the same or a little less than other trips with gate up... drove back with a piece of plywood on it that my bro-in-law cut to fit the bed and averaged almost 2 mpg more on the return trip... if i remember right the normal was about 27 and we got about 29 on the way back with my 01 dak with ext. cab adding the cab high camper shell increased hiway/trip mileage from the 16-18 mpg range to maybe the 18-20 range... mac heres another one for you and ive repeated it several times with similar results driving from dallas to santa fe a 600-mile one way frequent vacation i always got poorer mileage than on the return trip. i averaged the differences and using some rule-of-thumb conversions and engine efficiencies i got from guys on the alt.energy groups i found that the excess energy consumed on the trip west was almost exactly equal to the change in gravitational potential energy going from this lower elevation to the higher one! i got worse than normal mileage going west uphill and better than normal mileage going east downhill. i stored energy on the gradual climb and got it back when i came home! martin sounds far-fetched. prevailing winds are a more likely factor. add the headwind to your groundspeed westbound subtract the tailwind eastbound and the difference is twice what the winds speed is. aerodynamic drag doesnt change linearly either it changes as the square of the change in velocity. driving west at 60mph into a 20mph wind gives 80mph airspeed going east gives 40mph airspeed so the westbound trip has 4x the drag. no its not far fetched its observable and repeatable. my dad and i have both done it multiple times. santa fe elevation 6300 dallas elevation 600 roughly a mile difference spread over a 600 mile trip a 0.00003 degree slope. i dunno its not much but its real. i still say the wind did it. .

Replies:

From : todd w roat

no and you smell bad too it so happens that i do not use air conditioning in my truck. i like being warm. 100 degrees feels like wonderful weather to me. if i reroute the belt to bypass the a/c will i save any $$ on gas i .

From : tom lawrence

it so happens that i do not use air conditioning in my truck. i like being warm. 100 degrees feels like wonderful weather to me. if i reroute the belt to bypass the a/c will i save any $$ on gas no. the a/c compressor has a clutch that simply free wheels when its not in use. the added friction from this freewheeling pulley is so minute that its not worth it to change the belt youd need a smaller belt - one designed for your engine without the a/c option. .

From : dan j s

i am considering buying a 2003 hemi ram giving dodge and america one more chance but am understandably vervous. any idea whether they cured the spark knock presumably a result of truck mnaufacturers trying to balance the emissions and emission regulations no known pinging problems on the hemi. its a completely new engine and among other improvements contains sensors to detect knocking and adjust the engine accordingly. .

From : ignoramus17139

if your knock hasnr developed yet you might be safe. it was just a metal on metal knocking from the engine over detonation of the chamber i think. regardless when you were going up hills giving it gas the engine would knock like crazy. not the valve clatter they soemtimes call as per design b ut knock. chnaging gas cleaning chambers etc did nothing for it. i had a 1999 ram slt 1500. had that infamous horrible spark knock issue and was without resistance bought back in full by dodge on arbitration buy back. loved that truck - except for that horendous spark knock issue they couldnt fix. i have a 1999 ram also. what is that spark knock problem how does it manifest itself i i am considering buying a 2003 hemi ram giving dodge and america one more chance but am understandably vervous. any idea whether they cured the spark knock presumably a result of truck mnaufacturers trying to balance the emissions and emission regulations also what are the common known issues with the 2003s. i nderstand all manufacturers have issues every year just want to read up on them in advance to decide. thanks todd .

From : mike simmons

truck goes into car wash windshield fine. truck exits car wash major crack coming up from the bottom center a 3 long and then turning left for 4. the truck is 1 1/2 years old...that being said is it covered under the warranty thanks .

From : dan j s

i put a aux tranny cooler and a temp sensor on a few months ago but my tranny gets up to 220f. is that bad it seem awefully warm thanks nate -- .

From : kirby

you say you replaced the coil but it might also be a problem with the ignition module itself im assuming thats a separate component on this engine. its possible there might be some mechanical problem like a burnt valve or something thats causing a miss but the dealers engine replacement recommendation seems a tad extreme. did they provide details of the leakdown test results -- robert hancock saskatoon sk canada to email remove nospam from hancockr@nospamshaw.ca home page http//www.roberthancock.com/ for six months i have been trying to help my so fix her mini-van. the mini-van is a 1998 plymouth grand voyager 3.0l v-6 automatic with around 128000 miles. several months back her check engine light illuminated however the car ran ok and the mileage seemed normal. round one - local dodge dealer performed a tune up. mostly new new plugs. light stayed out for a few days. round two - local western auto replaced plugs and wires. light stayed out for a few days. round three - western auto again - replaced plugs again. light was out for a few days. round four - yours truly - used ignition switch method to trigger code read out. got code 43. checked coil resistance compared to manual decided it was not quite right so i replaced it. disconnected battery and the light stayed out for almost a week. round five - used code reader and got p0300 and p0305 codes random misfire and misfire on #5 cylinder. checked plugs they looked fine. i decided that maybe the plug wire was not on correctly. reset light. the light stayed out for almost a week. round six - same codes as before. replaced wires and #5 plug. reset light. stayed out for a couple of days. round seven - same codes as before plus p0306. decided problem might be leaking intake manifold gaskets so i replaced them. reset the light and it stayed out for about three days. round eight - p0300 and p0305 codes again. in desperation i replaced plug #5 with another brand ngk and replaced the o2 sensor with a genuine chrysler part. light stayed out for 3 days but the vehicle did not complete the obdii driving cycle. round nine - dodge dealer again. same codes. dealer performs compression test and says the compression is fine. performs a leak down test and says based on this test the engine is shot and should be replaced - for $4000. round ten - help! $4000 is a lot to but into this van. it is only worth around $4500 in good condition. i am suspicious of the diagnosis that the van needs a new engine. it runs ok. not perfect but no oil usage no smoke idle is little rough but runs smooth at speed. p0305 code usually shows up with a couple of days after resetting the computer. i have certainly driven vehicles that run worse. if i leave the code reader connected to the engine i never see the mis-fire condition. the problem is almost always the same p0300 along with p0305. once p0306 was also found but this was a typical. not fixing the problem is not an option since this is an obdii inspection area. i am willing to try miracle cures...... regards ed white .