Any pointers for radio swap-out in a '99 RAM 1500?
From : gary brown
Q: if you get fined for a traffic violation what does it cost obviously theres the fine itself. if you had to leave work to go to court add the price of your lost time and wages. dont forget to include your increased insurance premiums which will probably add up over several years to much more than the fine itself. do you know the total cost yet no. the hidden cost which most americans have never even thought of when dealing with traffic tickets is you are losing your freedom. for years the government has been telling the public that driving is a priviledge not a right - and now most people believe that. is it true though when america was founded our forefathers assumed the right to freely travel the public roads without question in the peaceful conduct of their own private affairs was such a fundamentally recognized right that they didnt need to explicitly list it in the constitution. that right however is precisely what has been taken away you must now first get permission from the government before you venture out in public. do you really think its proper that such a fundamental part of our freedom has been taken away is that something you want to give up without a fight common wisdom tells us that you cant fight city hall - the government is out of control. that attitude is most of the problem the only way it can happ
Replies:
From : robert e smith
hi tom thanks a bunch for the overview it allows me to get my head around it a bit better. tom lawrence tnloaswpraemnmcien5g@earthlink.net wrote the manual i got with the van does not go into such detail. does the 360 these days have distributorless ignition that can sense detonation and advance the timing nope - still got a distributor. in your van it should be about between the drivers and passengers seats is it fuel injected or carburetor multi-port fuel injection timing chain or belt chain interference engine dont think so - but not positive. single serpentine accessory belt yes engine control computer damn near a requirement for fuel injection... yes i know i know... there were mechanical fuel injection systems... but not anymore robert ex aircraft mech trying to catch up to these fancy puter controlled cars it is quite a shift in thinking but once you get into it its pretty simple to understand. heres a quick very quick overview of the computer functions during normal operation the engines computer reads the position of the crankshaft and camshaft via sensors the crank sensor is mounted on the front of the engine and reads off a tone ring on the crank. the cam sensor is actually inside the distributor which is driven by a gear on the camshaft. this is how the engine knows the position of the piston in a cylinder and what part of the cycle its in intake/compression or power/exhaust. using this data along with the speed of the engine it knows when to command a fuel injector to squirt fuel. to figure out how much fuel to squirt in it looks at several other sensors air intake temp. to determine how hot the air is manifold pressure sensor to determine how much air is going into the cylinders engine coolant sensor to know how hot the engine is throttle position sensor to know how much oomph the driver is asking for. it crunches all these numbers together and comes up with a pointer to an internal table some computer stuff here that says for this value of stuff you just calculated squirt this much fuel. so at the right time the computer tells the injector to open up for some period of time because the computers been told how much fuel the injector delivers in a certain amount of time. as the piston come up on its compression stroke the computer uses some other sensor inputs again intake temp. engine temp. rpm and throttle position to figure out when to fire off the spark plug. yes even though theres a distributor the exact timing of the spark is controlled by the computer so dont go messing with the position of the distributor trying to time the engine . this is the electronic equivalent of the old centrifugal and vacuum advance systems on non-electronic distributors. so that takes care of one combustion cycle. now as the exhaust gases pass out of the cylinder through the exhaust they waft over one or two or even up to four sensors called oxygen sensors. these guys sniff the outgoing exhaust and send a signal relating to how much oxygen is present in the exhaust. this tells the computer if the engines running too rich or too lean. the computer takes this information and adjusts its fuel amount for the next cycle. this happens several times up to almost 50 times per second with the computer constantly adjusting for both the drivers inputs as well as the sensors outputs. now like i said thats very high level and ive glossed over lots of details but it should help you to get a basic understanding of whats going on in that black box with all the wires coming out of it. .
From : gary brown
gary brown wrote soon ill be replacing the oem am/fm cassette with a cd-player version. any tips on removing the radio my haynes manual is a bit weak on removing the instrument cluster bezel after i remove the cup holder and ash tray. any hints on where the bezel retaining clips are would sure be appreciated. the bezel just pulls off. if you have an automatic tranny then put the lever in 1st to get it out of the way of the bezel. next start pulling at the lower left corner and work your way around. dont worry it pulls off fairly easy. once the bezel is out youll see the radio is only held in by 3 screws. visit your local auto radio shop or even walmart and pic up a radio wiring harness for your truck. they are only $10-$20 and make wiring much easier without having to cut or splice any of your trucks wiring. also youll need to buy a radio bezel kit if you plan to mount a standard radio in. the stock radio is taller in size so this kit fills the excess gap. there are a few radios that are made for chrylser cars/trucks but your choices are slim. i went with the bezel kit and an alpine single cd deck. sounds great. good luck. .
From : miles
comparing the 2nd generation with the 3rd genration is comparing apples and oranges. i think youll be amazed at the ride quality and handling of the new dodge. what year was the beginning of the 3rd generation dave i can tell you what i did. traded in my 02 sierra 1500 4.8l extended cab 4 dr on an 03 dodge ram 1500 quad cab hemi. soooo glad i did. the hemi is a great engine and my last tankful not towing came out to 15 mpg. thats better than the sierra did in the first 1000 miles. the quad cab is much better than the extended cab. the doors open wide and you never get trapped in between clamshell doors while in a parking lot. hd in ny hd is your ram a 4x4 my 96 was and it rode like a truck imagine that. it had the 360cid and eventually got up to 17mpg from 15mpg. my gmc z71 ext. cab sb has the 5.3l and 4x4 and rides much better and averages 19mpg. still the attraction of a new truck and a hemi is very strong. im in my mid fifties young enough to like trucks with lots of hp but old enough to want a reasonably smooth ride. i guess i should go drive one but i hate to have to deal with the sales people until im sure i want to trade. thanks for the reply dave .
From : miles
go out and buy the $9 tool for automotive trim clips. looks like a big two prong wide fork with a bend for leverage. very carefully pull away the trim starting at one corner and look for the nearest clip use the tool to get right behind the clip and it will just pop out with a small pry. soon ill be replacing the oem am/fm cassette with a cd-player version. any tips on removing the radio my haynes manual is a bit weak on removing the instrument cluster bezel after i remove the cup holder and ash tray. any hints on where the bezel retaining clips are would sure be appreciated. thanks gary .
From : david
fred your post might have some relevance if drivers licenses were issued by the federal government but they are not. the constitution you speak of is a federal document and clearly states that all powers not specifically enumerated in the constitution are reserved for the several states. states being sovereign entities at least they used to be! have every right to require the licensing of its drivers. sorry your argument is without merit. mike fred koschara wfredk@nospamstophighwayrobberynospam.com wrote in if you get fined for a traffic violation what does it cost obviously theres the fine itself. if you had to leave work to go to court add the price of your lost time and wages. dont forget to include your increased insurance premiums which will probably add up over several years to much more than the fine itself. do you know the total cost yet no. the hidden cost which most americans have never even thought of when dealing with traffic tickets is you are losing your freedom. for years the government has been telling the public that driving is a priviledge not a right - and now most people believe that. is it true though when america was founded our forefathers assumed the right to freely travel the public roads without question in the peaceful conduct of their own private affairs was such a fundamentally recognized right that they didnt need to explicitly list it in the constitution. that right however is precisely what has been taken away you must now first get permission from the government before you venture out in public. do you really think its proper that such a fundamental part of our freedom has been taken away is that something you want to give up without a fight common wisdom tells us that you cant fight city hall - the government is out of control. that attitude is most of the problem the only way it can happen is if we let it - by not banding together into a unified voice to put our public servants into their place. you can make a difference. help us in the fight to protect our liberty by going to http//stophighwayrobbery.com to join the battle or to at least learn more about the issues involved. this domestic threat to our freedom is as dangerous if not more so than any external ones we have ever experienced in the past. http//stophighwayrobbery.com -- its your freedom at stake. .
From : robert e smith
new ball joints for ram pick-up 1500 4x4 factory madefor a good price. buy them at e-bay.com search #2428343424 or e- mail me i wouldnt dream of using home-made ball joints. factory made ones are definitely the best way to go. thats kinda what i was thinkin too! ^ mike .
From : tom lawrence
states do not have rights; only individuals have rights. what states have are powers. well you got something right..... the states have not been sovereign entities since the 1860s. you must live in the south. ahem!!! and whats wrong with living in the south.....hmmmmmmm mike st. louis is in the south i thought it was in the mid-west. just my point of view from georgia. .
From : nosey
ive used fram filters for over 30 years and never had a failure. budd tom & debbie heintz wrote huggins says... just purchased 2003 dakota quad cab with the 4.7 engine. i had hoped to at least be able to do the first oil change myself. cant seem to spot the oil filter. please help! if you look down between the battery and the radiator and the power steering pump you will see a black plastic thing that looks like a chute protruding toward the radiator. follow the chute with your eyes back toward the engine and at the widest part of that black chute you will find a black oil filter. be sure to get a base fitted oil filter attachment from you local wally super store to fit your 3/8 ratchet. you will really need this in order to get the filter loose as it is impossibly tight as provided from the factory! also the damn 14mm drain plug was put on by a gorilla at the factory too not to mention the oil filler cap. i changed mine the first time at 1500 miles and used a fram doublegard filter the number is dg-16 and now i change it at 3000 mile intervals using the fram orange filters ph-16. enjoy! - read the following article and see if you still want to use fram filters http//www.frankhunt.com/frank/corvette/articles/oilfilterstudy/oilfilters.h tml not ragging on ya i used to use fram myself. i quit after reading this article. it ended up being the final factor in that decision. tom heintz mopar maniac what does any of this have to do with the manufacture of the filter the original problem was that the filter is hard to get at and was over torqued from the factory. ron just offering information. if its off topic i apologize. i found it to be interesting & it changed my view on what filters i use. i never had a problem with the fram filters that i used either. at least not that i know of. as i said not ragging on anyone just offering information. tom heintz mopar maniac .