Cummins Engine Coolant - Special Coolant or Marketing tactic????
From : nojodas67
Q: charles wrote we have a 2001 dodge ram 2500 cummins 24 valve td quad cab long bed. we bought a camper recently and weighed the unit today. it weighs 10280 lbs with camper empty two persons. both axles are within the specified gawr. camper tag says 3000 lbs and i figured around 6800 for the truck so that is not much more than i expected. however list gvwr is 8800 lbs. truck handles just fine and feels just fine with this load on it. i really dont notice any handling difference with load on or off. i do notice a slight performance hill climbing at high elevation difference. camper sets rear of truck down 3.75 inches and sets the front of the bed down 1.625 inches. i have air bags with 15 psi. they can take up to 100 psi. truck has camper helper spring and sway bar package on it from factory. i have 10 ply load range e snow tires with studs. right now they are 70 lbs but i can put them up to 80. air bags say they do not increase load capacity. not sure if camper helper springs and sway bar do or not. it does not seem as campers much lighter than this can be bought and dealer said it was just fine for this truck but i needed air bags. suggestions advice thanks in advance charles you are really up is dualie teritory. i do not belive for one minute that it does not handle on bit different with campers weight and high cg on of off i know better. if your tires are 265-16e they are good for about 7000lbs for the pair at 80 psi. while i do not strictly follow gvw rating myself i watch gawr more you are seriously overloaded with your current setup. while your gawr are okay sitting on a scale they can be easily exceeded when climbing hills or braking front axle by a wide margin and give you high cg the strain can go higher. not many optioos here. either sell the truck and get a dualie or beef up the rear springs with a couple of leafs on each side and find a wheel and tire combo good for about 4000 lbs each or convert it to a dualie same axle basically left as it is you are headed for trouble and the smartest thing to do is to get a bigger truck or a lighter camper because you are well past your capacity before you load it and you have a high cg too. if you have a wreck they will have a feild day with you if it is your fault. sorry to nbe a downer as i am usually tolerant of over gvw loads but in this case your are exceeding it too much. to weight 10.200 with a low profile is one thing but with a high cg it is a lot worse yet. you are definately in need of a 3500 daulie here. -- ----------------- www.thesnoman.com .
Replies:
From : john kunkel
billwintly@earthlink.net wrote rubbish stupid **** cant even work out compound interest - so no chance his figures are right. .
From : nojodas67
i have reinstalled the factory radio. the front speakers do not work if there is a seperate amplifier then where would it be. i have not taken the inside front door trim off yet in search of an amplifier. also is there anywhere that i can get a wiring diagram in pdf format on sun 27 nov 2005 111847 -0700 azwiley1 azwiley1@cox.net wrote there is should be an amp on each of your front speakers. did they work before you installed the new stereo if they did then you need to pull out the new one and make sure that you hooked up the blue wire on the new one. this is your remote amp turn on and with out this hooked up your fronts will not work. my front speakers in my 1999 slt have quit working. is there an amplifier or connection common to only the front speakers i replaced the stereo so i know the problem is not there. both front door speakers and the small speakers near the winshield have quit working. connector to the back of radio is in great condition and fits snugly. any help would be appreciated. rbari at sbcglobal.net .
From : thesnoman
actually there is a class action lawsuit pending against gm for dex-cool alleging severe engine problems. do a google search on the issue and youll find lots of info on it. but of course the lawyers will get the bulk of the settlement millions and each consumer will probably just get a replacement bottle of antifreeze. hope this helps. .
From : bob m
bob m wrote nojodas67 wrote i am about to flush the radiator in my ram 2500 with cummins engine. the bottle cap says use only special coolant. what could be so special about this coolant; afterall its a cast iron block and head engine. gm now has a lawsuit against their special coolant; experts claim it ruined their engines. any thought john not sure about the cummins but i just wanted to say that my elderly parents just had to spend $3600 to put a new engine in their oldsmobile. mechanic said the dexcool had ruined the engine. gigantic mistake gm wont cover a penny of it. said its not their problem. i would be really interested in any class action lawsuit against gm. bob it was not really the dexicools fault per say it is gms. the problem lies in the increasing presence of aluminun with the cart iron in the engine assembly which increase reactivety with water in coolant. a 50/50 mixture will not cut it and gm came up with dexi to try to stay with 50/50 to save money on coolant on production line. i have a few vehicles that have had dexi in them for over 5 years now and they are all fine and coolant and overflow tanks are a clean as day one but they are also running 60 to 70 percent dexi too. even mazada recognized the problem when they came out with the rotary engine long ago and called for a 90/10 mex anitfreeze to water in their early rotary engines that had a lot of aluminum in them. -- ----------------- www.thesnoman.com .