2004 Ram 1500 problem
From : lax ca
Q: i own both the older89 and the newery2k if you are going to do heavy hauling go for the newer. my y2k hase performed absoluetly flawlessly it has 72k miles and i tote 4500# of truck camper and tow a 4000# a toad. i just now replaced the original lift pump as it was getting a little tired everthing else is oem. you do not need to buy a new truck there are a lot of good used ones. dont be afraid of high milage these engines will last many hundreds of thousands of miles. jmtcw on thu 28 apr 2005 102022 -0700 hobart duncan viking.ggh@verizon.net wrote i have a question that i can not find an answer to within this group or googled on the web.... but first the background of my question. i am now retired and my wife and i want to travel. we do have the funds to purchase a new dodge w/cummins to pull a 5th weel toy-box to carry my jeep and live in... and have been looking for both units here in california where we now live. new dodges in our area go for 38 to 42k and the trailers are in the 20 to 25k price ranges. i want a manual hard to find and a ram 3500 seems to provide what i may need. the question to save money.... i believe i can purchase a used manual 3500 with 12 valves 1997 or 98 for under 15k and poke an instant 8 to 10k into it and come out with a very reliable truck that will last the x number of years we have left. ive been reading within this group the major advantages of the pre 24valve engines and have been persuaded in this direction. my major question is the difference between the 1997 and the early 1998 cummins 12 valves are the 97 dodges the same as the 1998s prior to the 24 valve and for either the 97 or 98 what is the most effective engine mods to perform i plan on purchasing and registering the vehicle outside california because the trailer will be located in another state maybe missouri. the 5th wheels length will be just long enough to carry my jeep and provided the necessary space to cook and sleep while on the road 26 to 30 foot max. once a destination is reached the jeep comes out and will be parked under an attached awning like a car port. also i understand that new regs will be governing the fuel in the near future. will the mods made to a 12 valve be compatible with the new fuel regs anything you can help me with will be appreciated. if im barking at the wrong tree..... let me know that too..... reliability strength and economy are the major factors.... speed of the vehicle is of no major concern..... we will get where were going when we get there.... .
Replies:
From : maxpower
you forgot tailgate up or down both ways are better . i have a 318 and i think the best way to get more power from it is to make it a 360 i just bought a used 03 dak with a 4.7 and automatic. what kind of scanner should i get to keep track of what is going on where is a good place to buy performance parts to maybe get a little more hp out of it. i would like to make it run like my 96 5.2 if i can. my first stop will be the muffler shop to improve the exhaust what do you guys suggest next. tia tom i would buy the biggest k&n filter i could get. should increase your hp by about 60%. spray the truck with silicon itll make less drag decreasing wind resistance and allow for better speed performance even in the rain. -- moparman---remove clothes to reply! --scud coordinates 32.61204 north 96.92993 west-- .
From : lax ca
thanks but im refering to the programmable communications interface data bus found in chrysler autos. not the peripheral component interconnect bus found in personal computers. .
From : maxpower
suddenly without warning nitpik exclaimed 4/30/2005 416 pm the type of tire tread/design and air pressure can have a very significant effect on fuel consumption. you should have a tread that is designed for best treadwear and keep the pressure up toward the high end of limits for best results. that will affect handling especially on wet roads so take care. i put a topper on my truck and gained about 1 mpg. ive considered that on and off but settled on a bed box instead. toppers arent available here anyhow. keep clean air filters and clean oil. yup i was checking my records and do need to replace the air filter. the vacuum leak should be fixed mine has the same problem and i noticed that sometimes the baffles or doors on the hvac system shift around due to no vacuum sometimes while pulling a load up a hill at lower rpms and heavy on the throttle so the vacuum could be an issue with other things on the engine. i guess ill have to look into it. im trying to avoid having serious work done on the truck here there are no dodge vehicles aside from those us yanks brought with us and even the chrysler dealer isnt familiar with dakotas. but maybe they can do a smoke test and determine if theres a leak. dunno... i have seen a lot of difference in mpg from one tank to the next while driving cross country so the quality of fuel can have a significant effect nothing you can do about that except be observant and buy from the place where you get the best economy. ive noticed that when driving in the us as well mpg and how well the truck runs but my choice is essentially on base when its finished for the cheapest gas around $3/gal i think or at places that take the gas coupons which cost slightly more. you could remove the front drive shaft dont know how much that would help but its a pretty easy thing to do. however its not a very massive shaft so dont think youd really gain all that much there. that would of course leave you with 2 wheel drive. but at $6.50 / gal .. id be tempted to try anything. no way i want to turn my truck into a 4x2 even assuming i knew how to remove the shaft. but thanks for the suggestion. you might also consider altering the shiftpoints of the transmission to optimize fuel economy or just use a light foot on the throttle and work the buttons to keep the transmixer from continually shifting which can affect mpg. perhaps i misunderstand - youre talking about an automatic correct i create my own shiftpoints my trucks a stick. i havent changed my shifting style and it used to get very close to and occassionally over 20mpg so i think my shifting isnt the problem. you could rent another vehicle for the vacation. mini cooper or something that burns dirty chips oil! or take mass transit. my hubbys old 1991 toyota pickup has been drafted for long trips now. lots less comfortable on long trips but at least we wont have to take out a loan to pay for the petrol! thanks for the suggestions. if we can get more than 15 minutes of sunshine i can go out and change the air filter anyway. im currently requesting standard oil 5w30 i think at changes. is there any real advantage to moving to synthetic jmc i have a 2001 dak 4x4 4.7l. it used to get better mileage than it does now - i daresay its topping off at 12 or 14 highway possibly less i havent done an actual measurement when it was getting 19/20 highway when new. anything i can do to help improve the gas mileage anything i should be looking at perhaps some preventative/standard maintenance i may have overlooked that would explain the dropping mpg thanks for your help! jmc .
From : tbone
from benrachmann@hotmail.com groups cks subject great job lettering my truck by this guy! date 29 apr 2005 205027 -0700 organization http//groups.google.com lines 4 message-id 1114833027.563703.101390@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com nntp-posting-host 67.51.20.226 mime-version 1.0 content-type text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 x-trace posting.google.com 1114833036 21089 127.0.0.1 30 apr 2005 035036 gmt x-complaints-to groups-abuse@google.com nntp-posting-date sat 30 apr 2005 035036 +0000 utc user-agent g2/0.2 complaints-to groups-abuse@google.com injection-info g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com; posting-host=67.51.20.226; posting-account=vgiuna0aaabkjssoen0chh70v2ii0b67 http//cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayisapi.dllviewitem&rd=1&item=797083471 6 herrick78363@yahoo.com could be the same spammer.. just report it to e-bay..or better yet buy from him and kill his feedback....and send it back. .
From : joe
yes i read that article. but isnt that just with the nv4500 the kdp is an engine problem - regardless of the transmission bolted to the back of it. you may be thinking of the 5th gear nut problem that existed with the nv4500... different issue. thanks for the reply and just because you only mentioned two faults with the 97/98 12 valve i believe im on the right track. its a very sound reliable engine. 1000000 miles isnt out of the question. .
From : lax ca
it probably why the dealer having a hard time selling. its a v6 non 4x4. carolina watercraft works wrote only harder if its a 1500. thats one reason i got the 2500 with manual tranny. someone looking at a 2500 will most likely be using it to tow or to work in some fashion and will appreciate the manual over the auto. but on the 1500 a manual is suicide when it comes time to sell it. .
From : bob
on thu 12 may 2005 014604 gmt christopher thompson kf4drr@earthlink.net wrote do it the easy way - while the brakes are still connected. whats difficult about sticking a screwdriver in the rotor using the brakes requires two people... and sometimes its tough to generate enough brake pressure to hold back against the torque necessary to break that nut free. or the easier way yeah - just throw caution to the wind... trust me ive done this plenty of times - and the screwdriver in the rotor has yet to fail... i personally would side with tom on this one....less chance of personal injury or body damage. ive done it with the big bar many times when 250 foot lbs from my impact wouldndt do it and 200 lbs jumping on the end of a 3 foot bar woudnt do it. never had one fail to come off using engine power - and never did any damage. and what do you do if your rotors are not vented as for removing the nut with the wheels still on the car and on the ground ive never managed to spin the wheel with the car parked in gear with the emergency on by jumping on the johnson bar. its a one man job. and if the emergency doesnt hold a chunk of 4x4 or 6x6 wood in front of the wheel makes a good substitute - still a one man job. if it doesnt come off that way i brace the wrench handle against the ground and use the power of the engine. when the nuts are cracked loose i put it up on the hoist or jacks jack stands .