Hybrids Gas Mileage in the real world...INTERESTING !

From : bob g

Q: http//www.freep.com/money/autoreviews/phelan3e20050203.htm you mean this one -- steve williams noticed in last eveings local paper am article under the headline defroster air-conditioning put dent in hybrids milage mark phelan from knight ridder papers seems they tested a few hybrids in real world conditions from late summer thru most of this winter... look at these figures toyota prius... rated at 60 city 51 highway racked up 22.8 mpg ford escape.. rated at 36 and 32 by the epa racked up 21.6 mpg the honda accord with the electric motor rated at 29 & 37 racked up 20.4 mpg i mean in the winter my little dodge dakota 3.9 5 sp does fall to about 19 mpg .... but what the hell my one corvette has averaged 24 mph over its entire 10 year life time... i have to wonder how much fuel milage a hybird would loose it it had any full grocery bags stuffed inside...so much weight would really kill the gas mileage bob griffihs.. ----== posted via feeds.com - unlimited-uncensored-secure usenet ==---- http//www.feeds.com the #1 group service in the world! 120000+ groups ----= east and west-coast server farms - total privacy via encryption =---- .

Replies:

From : stephen harding

time to get an obdii scanner for myself. anyone have one of the various actron models or otc scanners that they sell at the big auto parts chains any recommendations or advice on what to avoidthe actron cp9135 seems to be my first choice. .

From : trey

you have a good dealer then. the cap costs about $11 and shop labor is about $75/hour. no shop here will do anything for less than 1/2 hour labor charge. johnc wrote ramman seacowboy milesscooter et al the dealer miller dodge in binghamton smoke tested it and intalled a new gas filler cap. less than $35.00 well spent. .

From : trey

on sun 10 apr 2005 082919 -0500 mike simmons mikesim@yhti.net wrote i tried this ng in both ways; nice/full of shit and mean/honest. obviously the mean/honest approach stirs responses and reveals the best from the ignorant. so ill be mean and honest. recently did a d47 ball joint recall on a durango and noticed the brakes were real thin. customer responded to the writer by saying; why are you selling me crap i dont need when i just want the recall done that i need after that i chose not to mention the leaking front shocks and loose tie rod ends not under warranty on this vehicle. after all if brakes arent important why is suspension and steering two weeks later the customer returns and complains to the service manager that we did not recognize the loose rod ends and midas who did their brake repair that they did not need. . . remember did notice the problem. as a dealer we are cons for recognizing needed repairs while performing warranty services yet we are idiots and inferior to independents when we dont. make up your minds. waiting to hear from the warranty kings and queens who have stories of repairs that should have been done under warranty. read the manual that you never opened and came with the vehicle its not covered. well brent it seems that your attitude is your worst enemy. too many times stealerships try to tack on extra work during recall and minor service calls that really isnt needed and people hear stories about it all the time. i would even go as far as to say that the stories heard make the problem seem far worse than it actually is and are greatly responsible for forming this attitude with the customers. then you can tack on the dealerships rather high labor rates and parts costs and can you wonder why people react the way that they do the point is that you also have an attitude when the customer doesnt listen to and do everything that you say and think that they are asses and will be given and told nothing and that make you the biggest ass of all. hows that for being mean/honest the fact is that it was your responsibility to tell the customer everything that you knew was wrong with the car regardless of their attitude and because of your bad attitude you didnt do it so you deserved to get complained about to your manager. what if one of these parts you chose not to tell them about failed and caused the customer to get into an accident would you justify your actions of not informing him/her by your complaint above you actually should be fired if you keep this shit up. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving stealerships hmmmmm... there would be hell to pay in this ng if i referred to customers in such a disparaging manner...... but stealerships passes thru with comment...... double-standard surely not! mike interesting. a lot of the dealers on tdr resent that word. i would too if i were in the business. the dealership that i go to isnt the greatest but they do good work. they charge a ton but i really dont resent that their mechanics and employees need to make a good living too. i make a decent wage and dont resent them doing the same. on the one hand i wish that they would show a little more concern for the problems that we customers bring in but on the other hand some of the things that they have to deal with would drive me crazy too. i just try to treat them right and for the most part they do the same for me. yup! the golden rule applies both ways! yes the term stealership is resented. those who use it paint with a mighty broad brush. when confronted they always say somthing like well i was screwed by a dealer once.... and proceed to relate a story that paints the dealer in a bad light. well in over 30+ years in the business i could relate stories about customer antics that would make dealerships look downright honest! but based upon the antics of a few to paint the rest...... nope. remember you are usually treated by others the way you treat them. mike lol you guys love to make mountains out of mole hills. the term stealership was used more as a dig toward brent with all of his whining about the customers than an attack on the dealerships in general. but the point still remains that i doubt that there is even a single dealership that hasnt ripped off at least one customer in either sales or service at some point in its existence including yours. does that make them all bad all of the time no and i never said that they were so chill out. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .

From : trey

snip the bad after that i chose not to mention the leaking front shocks and loose tie rod ends not under warranty on this vehicle. after all if brakes arent important why is suspension and steering its friggin ass wipes like you that make people hate service departments at dealerships. you are supposed to be an expert in the automotive repair/maintenance industry; maybe its time you acted like one. people dont hate you they just hate hearing bad . you have to deliver that bad ; it comes with the career you chose. hell if i take my car to valvoline to get my oil changed they always document on the bottom of the invoice things they see that need to be looked at. a simple note on the invoice is all that people want. not too many times you run into people who like to hear of problems with their vehicle but that doesnt make it ok for you to be negligent in your job. which dealership do you work at again i would rather walk then let a asshole like you work on my car. -- regards slick willy 73 cb 450 95 xj 600 03 flstf - parted ways in late july 04 flhrci - entering geezerdom at a mere 32 ... remove the bendover to reply .

From : trey

agreed and you can include india and the ukraine into that mix as well. the point is that this strain isnt going to go away and we have a choice to make. we can either do our part to help reduce the demand or not. justifications to continue as we have sound good but mean nothing and will ultimately cost us big time. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving doing nothing is still a desision and is just as costly. the demand may still rise but if we get away from it then not only will that lower the global demand at least for a little while but it will allow the us market to spend that money elsewhere. and let the rest of the world deal with the oil shortage. .

From : Annonymous

ramman seacowboy milesscooter et al the dealer miller dodge in binghamton smoke tested it and intalled a new gas filler cap. less than $35.00 well spent. johnc youre apt to discover that any code that clears itself may still remain stored and come back from the grave to haunt you on vehicle emissions inspection day. been there and done that... urn4trouble@hotmail.com writes overfilling the tank does it also..done it myself a few times..it just clears itself in a few days scott thank you both for the tips and advice. light unhook the battery for for bout a minute. if it comes back after that then there is definitely a leak in your lines somewhere. maybe replace the lines just so you know that there isnt any leaks. good luck with that. .

From : bob g

your right on this time . well brent it seems that your attitude is your worst enemy. too many times stealerships try to tack on extra work during recall and minor service calls that really isnt needed and people hear stories about it all the time. i would even go as far as to say that the stories heard make the problem seem far worse than it actually is and are greatly responsible for forming this attitude with the customers. then you can tack on the dealerships rather high labor rates and parts costs and can you wonder why people react the way that they do the point is that you also have an attitude when the customer doesnt listen to and do everything that you say and think that they are asses and will be given and told nothing and that make you the biggest ass of all. hows that for being mean/honest the fact is that it was your responsibility to tell the customer everything that you knew was wrong with the car regardless of their attitude and because of your bad attitude you didnt do it so you deserved to get complained about to your manager. what if one of these parts you chose not to tell them about failed and caused the customer to get into an accident would you justify your actions of not informing him/her by your complaint above you actually should be fired if you keep this shit up. .

From : stephen harding

ernest christley wrote im at my wits end and im hoping someone here can point the way. i bought a quadcab dakota in 2000. havent had much problem with it other than the pcm module having to be replaced in 2002. been very dependable. but my heater core sprung a leak two winters ago and i finally got around to replacing it last fall. note that everything was fine except for the heater. so i spend a weekend tearing the whole $*#! truck dash out to get to the $100 heater core that could have easily been desined to slip out through the engine compartment. but ill leave that rant for another thread as i have another whole list of headaches. when i got everything back together the abs and brake lights stayed on constantly. i assumed something was unplugged but i couldnt find any problems. brakes worked so i drove it. now the engine would die at stoplights. if i hit the gas as it dropped through 600rpm it would keep running with no problem. if i slowed very gradually with it in gear so that it tried to lug up to the stoplight it would keep running. but if i just pushed the clutch in at 1000rpm and let it drop off the engine would die every time. whats more as i passed through about 2400rpm there was a loud roar coming from the engine compartment that would disappear at around 2800. to top it all off the spedometer wouldnt register speed until i hit about 35mph. further investigation revealed that a small vacuum line coming from that dongle hanging off the front of brake booster to the interior was pinched. i had also twisted that dongle while trying to remove the vacuum line going to the manifold. aha! i found the culprit i says to myself. either the pinched hose or me twisting the dongle must have broken some sort of diaphram in the brake booster which let excess air into the intake manifold causing an overlean condition at the stoplight. this also sucked air through the broken diaphram at a resonant frequency at 2400rpm causing the roar. didnt explain the spedometer problem but baby steps i say. i spend $100 and an afternoon replacing the brake booster. the roar is still there and the engine still dies at stops. so i turn to google and search for a problem. turns out there is a problem with a $30 sensor on the rear end that will cause the spedometer/brake light problem. there is also a known problem with the fan clutch that will cause this roaring problem. i would go out and buy all the parts needed but i find it hard to believe that all these things went bad at the exact same time. can anyone here suggest a set of troubleshooting steps or test that i can work through to determine if the fan or abs sender is bad could i have gotten a bad replacement brake booster -- this is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. it goes against instinct and morality to just sit back and watch people make mistakes. we want to help them which means control them and their decisions but in doing so we actually hurt them and ourselves. welcome to the dodge dakota lemon club! i have a 2002 that has had some of the same problems and many more. i filed a lemon law suit and got cash for my troubles. the idle problem is caused by the programing of the pcm. recheck the wiring connections and clean them this may clear the indicator light problems and the speedometer problems. the roaring sound is the fan. jam .

From : bob g

for the few who complained i suspect that to be true but once again they were not driving them the way they were intended to be driven. the example that you gave also had the defroster on all of the time which was a worst case condition for that type of vehicle. i think that i used my defroster about 20 times since i bought it in 97 and i lived in nj for most of that time so the constant use of the defroster is not a common thing. if you also want to try and drive it like a sports car then the mileage will be significantly reduced but they are not sports cars. ========= no arguemnt on them not being sports cars...but i live in maryland and to be honest my heater is on almost all winter...and my defroster is used almost every morning... in the summer i can and normally do drive without the air conditioner..... but many people use it all the time during the summer... and what is the advertized mileage of your vette the simple fact is that they are capable of significant mileage if you drive them that way and even though that cannot be done all of the time they will still always do better than your vette under similar situations. i do not know...what i can tell you is that i own 5 corvettes and a bb chevelle i am in the car hobby...and have a computer in each garage into which i record every nut bolt drop of oil gallon of gasoline etc for each of my cars.... the overall average mpg on that corvette is 24.2 mpg over the entire 69923 miles i have driven it since new... i will admit that i do not race around town in the car and generally have a fairly light foot... the chevelle is another story... but i use it differently ...very differently...usually 1./4 mile at a time... enjoy bob griffiths .

From : ron

john robertson johndanielrobertson@cox-internet.com wrote http//www.savefuel.ca/members/904335/hydrogen.htmovraw=hydrogen%20cars%20fue l&ovkey=hydrogen%20fuel%20car&ovmtc=standard i did a report on this in college last semester not this product but hydrogen fuel cells...i have never seen an add on system for a fuel only system. but could this work how reliable is it for a gas-only engine one year for christmas; someone gave me popcorn that came in a can just like that one. .

From : tbone

why is it that when im reading this i keep hearing don wests voice in the background... limited edition people!! limited edition! ill even throw in a mcgwire rookie card. be dialing people! whats next a bunch of lemons some copper and zinc probes and a spool of wire cut your household electric bill in half! get your electric company to send you a check every month!. of course individual results will vary it might get a second glance at a junior high science fair but as a practical supplement to gasoline for an automobile engine hardly... .

From : joe

peter peter@greatnowhere.com wrote in does anyone know specs input voltage impedance etc on stock infinity amplifier in durango 99 im thinking about replacing the stock radio but will probably leave amplifier in place. secondly is there an aftermarket stereo that can make use of volume/seek buttons on the steering wheel peter the infinity amp accepts speaker-level inputs from the head unit and it puts out about 12 watts rms per channel at a somewhat reasonable distortion level take that with a grain of salt. its rated at 160 watts but thats peak power at something like 8% thd. the only good thing about the infinity amp is that its got pre-programmed equalization to make the infinity speakers sound good relative term. chances are pretty good that any decent aftermarket head unit will have more power than the infinity so it may be better to simply bypass the infinity and go directly from your new head to the speakers. of course your best bet is to replace both the head unit and the speakers. .

From : alan petrillo

change the pcv/ccv valve on sat 12 feb 2005 191205 -0500 rich85 dickjr5@hotmail.com wrote i got an 85 dodge ram and the engine is keeps building up pressure and spitting oil up through the carbeurator. what is up with it and what should i do .

From : alan petrillo

1985 dodge ramcharger four wheel drive runs very good body in good shape 140000 miles. email or reply for more info. must sell!!!! .

From : trey

paul bowman via carkb.com wrote i have a 1999 5.9 litre dodge durango slt that i purchased new. about 2 years ago...very scary that this has been going on this long i had brake work done usual pads replaced rotors truedalso replaced all 4 tires stock size at a local shop. after this work was performed my brakes will sometimes lock up at slower speeds 25 mph they become very touchy to the point that when driving through a parking lot just barely touching the pedal can cause the brakes to lock up. i have taken the durango back to this shop three different times and to two different dodge dealerships who can find nothing wrong with the brakes. this is absolutely not my imagination does anyone have an idea that this could be any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance. -- paul its not your imagination. i had the same problem on my 01 ram. my other half used to bitch whenever it happened and tell me i didnt know how to drive. i told the bitch to shut up. the dealer said it was normal although an independent shop i took the truck to said i had a bad brake caliper. bob .

From : trey

is that binghamton ny just curious my brother lives there. would be pretty funny if he was looking for a dodge and i could say a guy told me miller is pretty good. course my brother never listens to me anyway but still...; cricket ramman seacowboy milesscooter et al the dealer miller dodge in binghamton smoke tested it and intalled a new gas filler cap. less than $35.00 well spent. johnc youre apt to discover that any code that clears itself may still remain stored and come back from the grave to haunt you on vehicle emissions inspection day. been there and done that... urn4trouble@hotmail.com writes overfilling the tank does it also..done it myself a few times..it just clears itself in a few days scott thank you both for the tips and advice. i agree with miles. change the gas cap. and to clear the check engine light unhook the battery for for bout a minute. if it comes back after that then there is definitely a leak in your lines somewhere. maybe replace the lines just so you know that there isnt any leaks. good luck with that. .

From : joe

on fri 08 apr 2005 140307 gmt trey treydog90spam@hotmail.com wrote as for on the street with traffic lights. they are getting smarter but they are still pretty darn dumb. i have spent a countless collective hours waiting at a vacant traffic signal waiting for the light to turn green for me. i have sat there for as long as ten minutes before yeah ten minutes. without a single car go though the green. i also love it when one light i recall a late evening/early morning return from a party stopping for a light out on the edges of college station tx. waited for a few minutes while giving the gal i was with an earful about how humans should not be subjected to the mindless idiocy of machines. absolutely no one around. finally the woman said why dont you just go through then! so i did and encountered the cop sitting in the dark up ahead waiting for people dumber than stoplights! got a ticket for running a red light which ive always felt was really unwarranted. i had actually stopped for it for a period before passing through. always felt it should have been a warning but considering i might have flunked a breathalyser at the time i suppose i made out as well as could be expected. smh that is especially frustrating on the motorcycle since most the time i dont have enough steel to trip the lights... i will see the smart lights cycle though a few times skipping me since it doesnt see anyone in that lane. .

From : joe

i just bought a used 2000 dakota qc d and when i open the passenger door the courtesy lights don t work. is this normal for the truck if not where is the switch or sensor for the door located cry -- posted using the http//www.autoforumz.com interface at authors request articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards topic url http//www.autoforumz.com/dodge-interior-lights-ftopict111398.html visit topic url to contact author reg. reqd. report abuse http//www.autoforumz.com/eform.phpp=522960 .

From : joe

tbone t-bonenospam@nc.rr.com wrote in tbone t-bonenospam@nc.rr.com wrote in tbone t-bonenospam@nc.rr.com wrote in on tue 05 apr 2005 022358 gmt alan petrillo asp@baylink.com wrote bob g. wrote the honda accord with the electric motor rated at 29 & 37 racked up 20.4 mpg i have no experience with the accord hybrid but my mothers civic hybrid did a real-world 47mpg on the highway on a trip to new jersey and back from florida late last year. ============ my original post a few weeks ago was just because i could not believe these... wonderful... hybrids were getting such poor relative to their advertised fuel mileage... why should this surprise you if you actually read what was said you would see that these cars were being driven in their worst possible way and under the worst conditions. if you operate them as they were intended the mileage would get much closer to what they are advertized to be in many situations. nonsense - its exactly the opposite. advertised mileage is almost always fiction. for many people the way those cars were driven are considered normal driving. for the few who complained i suspect that to be true but once again they were not driving them the way they were intended to be driven. and what is that you buy a car and you drive it however you drive it. obviously if you drive as efficiently as possile youll get better mileage than if you race from stoplight to stoplight. correct but different cars are optimized for different things. a hybrid is optomized for mileage but to take advantage of that you need to drive it as efficiently as possible to gain those benefits. right but unfortunately that opportunity doesnt present itself all that much in real world driving. thus the decreased actual mileage results. the example that you gave also had the defroster on all of the time which was a worst case condition for that type of vehicle. i think that i used my defroster about 20 times since i bought it in 97 and i lived in nj for most of that time so the constant use of the defroster is not a common thing. if you also want to try and drive it like a sports car then the mileage will be significantly reduced but they are not sports cars. i used to live in nj years ago and you always drove with the defroster on in the morning simply because of the humidity. now i live in florida and everybody always drives with the a/c on 24/7/365. i suspect its the same from here through texas and beyond. perhaps if you cleaned the inside of you windshield every now and then it wouldnt fog up so bad. a ive always cleaned the windshields every weekend and b using the defrosters got nothing to do with dirt. its got everything to do with humidity. as for florida and the deep south that perhaps is not the best place for a first generation hybrid vehicle. first theres a substantial number of people that live in warm climates here in the u.s. there are also a helluva lot of people that use their a/c 24/7/365 even in cooler climates. running a/c all the time is real world - its standard equipment btw. the point is that a lot of people use the defroster and a/c a lot more than you might think. thats normal driving. normal for them and in these areas the current hybrid technology mignt not be the correct fit. you have to be willing to give a little to get a little. nonsense. companies selling hybrids know all this but yet they continue to market their cars as across-the-board alternatives. thats simply not true. its ridiculous that well pay an extra whatever thousand dollars for a car thats not going to get the advertised mileage and we have to drive it in a special way to come anywhere near that advertised mileage. not surprised on the mileage your moms civic got on the trip... hell my corvette got 34 mpg on a 400 mile run down the interstate ..with the speed control set at 82 mph... no starting or stopping very little acceleration...pretty level terrain... yea because you were driving it under ideal conditions and not the way it was intended to be driven. if you get on it since it is a sports car in the city i bet that you get about half of that mileage. just like hybrids will get less than half their advertised mileage when theyre driven under real world i.e. horrible conditions. and what is the advertized mileage of your vette the corvette is someone elses. the simple fact is that they are capable of significant mileage if you drive them that way and even though that cannot be done all of the time they will still always do better than your vette under similar situations. exactly like the hybrids and every other vehicle on the road. not every vehicle is capable of significant mileage. ill bite - what is significant mileage is there some universal cutoff point where a mileage figure becomes significant so maybe 29mpg isnt significant bu

From : tbone

well i never could get the odometer to read pdone but its a moot point now. the light went out this morning. okay - just so were clear... the on position is where all the dash lights light up and you can operate the heater blower motor. off is just one click back - not two clicks where you can then remove the key. so starting from off you go to on then back to off then to on then to off then to on and leave it there. you do this quickly within 2 seconds or so. believe me - it does work and it works on every ram from 2000 on up. i believe you tom. im sure it must be something im doing or not doing thats keeping me from getting the pdone indication. its not that hard so i dont know how i could be screwing it up. i dont know if this makes a difference or not but less than a week after i took delivery of the truck the instrument cluster died. i found out when i tried to unlock it one morning and the fob wouldnt work. neither would the spare fob. to make things worse a rod had come loose from the key lock in the drivers door so i had no way to get into the truck! it was towed back to the dealer who replaced the cluster. the thing that annoyed me more than anything was that when i picked up the truck it had 260 more miles on it than when the cluster died. when i questioned them about it i was told that they estimated how many miles would have been on a truck that old and if i really wanted it fixed they would have to order another cluster. i figured in the big scheme of things 260 miles wouldnt be that big of a deal in a year or two so i let it slide. mike .

From : tbone

@noguess.net says... would a 97 dodge ram truck 3/4 ton 4 x 4 gas pick up box bolt on properly to a 94 dodge ram truck 4 x 4 diesel frame the reason i ask is that mine has few rust spots showing through and can get the 97 one from work for a very good price. they look the same. are the bolt holes the same thanks for you help in advanced. lorne yes perfect fit. as long as theyre both the same length bed. -- bruce grant westminster md 95 2500 club 4x4w/dynatrac manual hubs cummins/auto 265/70rx19.5g .

From : Annonymous

contact a service tech at crutchfield.com. we put a unit in my moms caddy and crutchfield sold us what we needed to utilize the buttons on the steering wheel. does anyone know specs input voltage impedance etc on stock infinity amplifier in durango 99 im thinking about replacing the stock radio but will probably leave amplifier in place. secondly is there an aftermarket stereo that can make use of volume/seek buttons on the steering wheel peter .

From : tbone

bob g. wrote the honda accord with the electric motor rated at 29 & 37 racked up 20.4 mpg i have no experience with the accord hybrid but my mothers civic hybrid did a real-world 47mpg on the highway on a trip to new jersey and back from florida late last year. as far as the defroster sucking up fuel thats because the engineers at the car companies assume their customers are idiots and wire up the defrost to run the ac compressor whether its needed or not. if they would go ahead and switch from an engine driven compressor to an electric one then it would have a much diminished effect on fuel economy. last time i looked the gas mileage of the us fleet was around 20mpg which is the lowest its been in 20 years and instead of getting better its getting worse. ap its called hemi hd 8.1 liter h2 escalade yukon ram f250 silverado... funny how ten years ago 220 hp was a lot. now its insufficient. tell me just how much do those groceries and soccer balls weigh do you really need 350+ hp on tap while parked in traffic a honda civic sits motionless in traffic just as well as the tallest 4x4 you can find! just goes to show how insecure so many people are and how willing they are to spend the extra money for a little compensation. as for some folks that do need a big truck contractors landscapers 5th wheel pullers if people bought what they needed and were not afraid of who might see them in a little car then the national average mpg would go up and the fuel prices just might maintain a reasonable price. but driving around in an economy vehicle just doesnt look cool and the typical driver simply cannot have that. it is much better to look cool and do without lots of money that could be used for other things isnt it -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .

From : tbone

on tue 05 apr 2005 022358 gmt alan petrillo asp@baylink.com wrote bob g. wrote the honda accord with the electric motor rated at 29 & 37 racked up 20.4 mpg i have no experience with the accord hybrid but my mothers civic hybrid did a real-world 47mpg on the highway on a trip to new jersey and back from florida late last year. ============ my original post a few weeks ago was just because i could not believe these... wonderful... hybrids were getting such poor relative to their advertised fuel mileage... why should this surprise you if you actually read what was said you would see that these cars were being driven in their worst possible way and under the worst conditions. if you operate them as they were intended the mileage would get much closer to what they are advertized to be in many situations. not surprised on the mileage your moms civic got on the trip... hell my corvette got 34 mpg on a 400 mile run down the interstate ..with the speed control set at 82 mph... no starting or stopping very little acceleration...pretty level terrain... yea because you were driving it under ideal conditions and not the way it was intended to be driven. if you get on it since it is a sports car in the city i bet that you get about half of that mileage. still 30 percent less then your moms car...but it made me happy... im sure that it does but that is not realistic driving and ill bet that a hybrid under those conditions perhaps not that fast would be getting closer to 60 mpg. you really need to compare apples to apples. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .

From : tbone

tbone wrote but then we the us will have to deal with the impact politically. but before that happens we the people of the us would have to be more willing to accept new technologies and do our part to help it along but as history shows that doesnt happen here unless we are forced to do so and when the situation improves we go directly back to our old ways. people in general not just americans are creatures of habit. in the broad sense people hate change especially when changing something that has been part of our lives for so long. a prime example other than this situation is tv. hdtv has been out for how long now 5-10+ years to the mass market yet there are still people that wont hear of it. they would pay more for a standard tv ... which makes the broadcasters drag their feet as well ... the demand just isnt there for hd broadcasting. i just upgraded to a hdtv ... it rocks. we are beginning to be forced into change right now on oil dependency. the rising cost of crude oil will push that faster than any government mandate. i read last week that gasoline could go as high as $4.00 per gallon. i can guarantee that alternative energy will start rolling big time when/if that happens. note i do feel that our government should do more. for example bush should not have lowered the tax deduction for buying hybrid vehicles ... he should have raised it. in fact he had/has the opportunity to give this technology a huge kick in the ass by offering larger tax incentives to the end consumer and to the manufacturer/distributor. craig c. .

From : alan petrillo

trey wrote yay for big power! boo for not being able to properly harness it. to quote a certain tire commercial power is nothing without control. ap .

From : alan petrillo

for all of you dieseleros running coolant filters http//cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayisapi.dllviewitem&item=7966365741 ap .

From : Annonymous

which full synthetic trans fluid meets dodge specs thanks. dave .

From : thenewguy

steve lusardi wrote avoid the automatics. the engine torque in combination with high load toasts the clutches. even the standard clutch with the manual gear can be suspect under severe load. a dual disk clutch would resolve the problem but they are grabby and harder to drive. the problem is exagerated with increased power with either the power chips or later model engines. however they are still the best there is at the moment. or ... he could just go ahead and factor in the cost of a new tranny up front. all auto transmissions ford dodge chevy at some point are going to start having problems if they are used long term under stress .... even if they are well maintained. for me with dallas traffic getting worse by the day the auto tranny is worth the potential of future $$$ in repairs down the road. i say that now ... ill report back when i drop my first 3-5k on a new tranny. ; craig c. .

From : tbone

does anyone know specs input voltage impedance etc on stock infinity amplifier in durango 99 im thinking about replacing the stock radio but will probably leave amplifier in place. secondly is there an aftermarket stereo that can make use of volume/seek buttons on the steering wheel peter .

From : tbone

hello first timeoposter first time lurker 2000 dodge ram 4x4 short bed. i wont get into the clunk i get stopping and starting...but i was looking under the truck today and i can actually grab hold of the sway-bar link that the drag link on 4x4 is connected to and move it back and forth it twists towards the front and i can twist it back and the ends pivot at the ball joints. is it supposed to do that there is no left-right play when shook. answer to your question is no it is not supposed to wiggle. would bet good money that the clunk and a loose tie rod are to blame for both - just had one of my tie rod ends go bad within the last week 92 4x4 ctd w/205k miles and have an appointment for repair on thursday. highly recommend that you visit your local mechanic and have him/her take a look see about repairing this. .

From : bob g

well i never could get the odometer to read pdone but its a moot point now. the light went out this morning. okay - just so were clear... the on position is where all the dash lights light up and you can operate the heater blower motor. off is just one click back - not two clicks where you can then remove the key. so starting from off you go to on then back to off then to on then to off then to on and leave it there. you do this quickly within 2 seconds or so. believe me - it does work and it works on every ram from 2000 on up. .

From : tbone

on fri 8 apr 2005 233232 -0600 drgn1400@webtv.net brent d wrote many of you have responded in a way that i anticipated except beekeep. he obviously knows me well. yes i was on the rag. one response indicated that a dealer chose to be more expensive. what a stupid statement. independents are not required to pay 3k+ a month in special tools. they are not required to send techs to special training on the vehicle you payed 40k+ for. a dealer is. how do you think they cover the cost for this expertise and special equipment you may feel i have a bad attitude and wouldnt want me working on your vehicle. your choice. youre the idiot that forgot this was a ng and not the real world. i feel i am pretty damn responsible and professional if i direct my frustrations on the ng and not the customer. dont you have frustrations that need vented in your profession we all do. duhhh!! you dumbshits. this is the better place to do it you just dont like the reality of it. brent are you drunk .

From : tbone

many of you have responded in a way that i anticipated except beekeep. he obviously knows me well. yes i was on the rag. one response indicated that a dealer chose to be more expensive. what a stupid statement. independents are not required to pay 3k+ a month in special tools. they are not required to send techs to special training on the vehicle you payed 40k+ for. a dealer is. how do you think they cover the cost for this expertise and special equipment you may feel i have a bad attitude and wouldnt want me working on your vehicle. your choice. youre the idiot that forgot this was a ng and not the real world. i feel i am pretty damn responsible and professional if i direct my frustrations on the ng and not the customer. dont you have frustrations that need vented in your profession we all do. duhhh!! you dumbshits. this is the better place to do it you just dont like the reality of it. brent .

From : alan petrillo

craig@metronet.com wrote honestly if i were in the market for a new vehicle i would consider buying a hybird but it would be stupid financially to buy one purely to save money on fuel... agreed. the savings is nice but not enough to pay for the increase in cost over the same model with a 100% gas driven drivetrain unless you are driving a good distance. in fact i drive about 140 miles per day ... and even at that the roi for a hybrid civic is negligible. give it a few more years and the costs for the hybrid systems will come down. i hope. im still going to buy a hybrid or other alternative energy vehicle within the next 3 years ... but the thing driving that decision is not saving money ... its to support the technology that will free us from the grip of the arabs and improve the environment ... something like one of these http//www.acpropulsion.com/tzeropages/tzerohome.htm ;- no offense but the change to alternative energies is not about $$$ its about doing the right thing. hear hear! ap .

From : bob g

hello first timeoposter first time lurker 2000 dodge ram 4x4 short bed. i wont get into the clunk i get stopping and starting...but i was looking under the truck today and i can actually grab hold of the sway-bar link that the drag link on 4x4 is connected to and move it back and forth it twists towards the front and i can twist it back and the ends pivot at the ball joints. is it supposed to do that there is no left-right play when shook. .

From : thenewguy

1953 dodge info tag states type bd4 translates to 1-ton vehicle 1953 veh#/chassis 81469947 translates to being a 1953 b-d-4 built in detroit b-4-d-126 translates to 126 inch wheelbase model dws109 here i am lost - never saw that model code before pictures are here - http//www.inet-lender.com/1953dodge/ so far i purchased the dunn books no mention or pictures of this type and the 1953 dodge trucks shop manual no reference to this type pretty please .

From : trey

on tue 05 apr 2005 175811 gmt tbone t-bonenospam@nc.rr.com wrote ramman@dodgecity.cc wrote by the same token the tree huggers also share some of the blame. just look at how theyve phuqued things up in california. already theres a $1/gallon price differential between cal. and the rest of the us. you left our government out too. why are there no congressional hearings on the fact that oil companies profits during this time keep setting new records everytime theres an increase in what we pay at the pump thats a rhetorical question as i know the oil companies contribute heavily to both political parties congress cannot protect us from our own stupidity. they cant even protect from their own stupidity. that would be a great place for them to start. just saying. if we are willing to pay the price to fuel oversized vehicles no matter how much it costs then the oil companies can continue to reap in huge profits and well fund their congress. the only ones that can put a stop to it is the american people and we are far to dumb and selfish to do that. .

From : tbone

just bought this and both headlight lenses look cloudy inside ; im wondering if they are frosted from the factory like this or if they are messed up the parking light lense which is part of the headlight assembly is crystal clear. lastly has anyone successfully removed the headlight lense only for cleaning thanks dave .

From : trey

as for the batteries and re-programming my system has not required that i do anything after i replace the batteries. so no re-programming of any of the functions that i use it for. there might be some functions/features that some people use that *might* require programming it again but im not aware of any of them. that price sounds ridiculously cheap. i hunted around and 300 about a year ago was the best i found so be careful to check that seller out make sure its not re-man or fallen off a truck. sounds to cheap to me also. you can put in an el-cheepo but you wont be happy and the aggrivation will drive you to rip it out. happened to my bro in law. willy .

From : alan petrillo

tbone t-bonenospam@nc.rr.com wrote in tbone t-bonenospam@nc.rr.com wrote in on tue 05 apr 2005 022358 gmt alan petrillo asp@baylink.com wrote bob g. wrote the honda accord with the electric motor rated at 29 & 37 racked up 20.4 mpg i have no experience with the accord hybrid but my mothers civic hybrid did a real-world 47mpg on the highway on a trip to new jersey and back from florida late last year. ============ my original post a few weeks ago was just because i could not believe these... wonderful... hybrids were getting such poor relative to their advertised fuel mileage... why should this surprise you if you actually read what was said you would see that these cars were being driven in their worst possible way and under the worst conditions. if you operate them as they were intended the mileage would get much closer to what they are advertized to be in many situations. nonsense - its exactly the opposite. advertised mileage is almost always fiction. for many people the way those cars were driven are considered normal driving. for the few who complained i suspect that to be true but once again they were not driving them the way they were intended to be driven. and what is that you buy a car and you drive it however you drive it. obviously if you drive as efficiently as possile youll get better mileage than if you race from stoplight to stoplight. correct but different cars are optimized for different things. a hybrid is optomized for mileage but to take advantage of that you need to drive it as efficiently as possible to gain those benefits. the example that you gave also had the defroster on all of the time which was a worst case condition for that type of vehicle. i think that i used my defroster about 20 times since i bought it in 97 and i lived in nj for most of that time so the constant use of the defroster is not a common thing. if you also want to try and drive it like a sports car then the mileage will be significantly reduced but they are not sports cars. i used to live in nj years ago and you always drove with the defroster on in the morning simply because of the humidity. now i live in florida and everybody always drives with the a/c on 24/7/365. i suspect its the same from here through texas and beyond. perhaps if you cleaned the inside of you windshield every now and then it wouldnt fog up so bad. as for florida and the deep south that perhaps is not the best place for a first generation hybrid vehicle. the point is that a lot of people use the defroster and a/c a lot more than you might think. thats normal driving. normal for them and in these areas the current hybrid technology mignt not be the correct fit. you have to be willing to give a little to get a little. not surprised on the mileage your moms civic got on the trip... hell my corvette got 34 mpg on a 400 mile run down the interstate ..with the speed control set at 82 mph... no starting or stopping very little acceleration...pretty level terrain... yea because you were driving it under ideal conditions and not the way it was intended to be driven. if you get on it since it is a sports car in the city i bet that you get about half of that mileage. just like hybrids will get less than half their advertised mileage when theyre driven under real world i.e. horrible conditions. and what is the advertized mileage of your vette the corvette is someone elses. the simple fact is that they are capable of significant mileage if you drive them that way and even though that cannot be done all of the time they will still always do better than your vette under similar situations. exactly like the hybrids and every other vehicle on the road. not every vehicle is capable of significant mileage. still 30 percent less then your moms car...but it made me happy... im sure that it does but that is not realistic driving and ill bet that a hybrid under those conditions perhaps not that fast would be getting closer to 60 mpg. you really need to compare apples to apples. its very simple - hybrids driven normally in the real world dont get anywhere near their advertised mileage. and your proof of this is where and exactly what is your definition of normal my proof is what most people are experiencing right now. normal is how most people drive. most people do not drive the way advertised i.e. maximum mileage is achieved. thats not normal. sounds like justifications and excuses to me. just because people decide to drive wastefully doesnt make the car a bad thing. the next time you go out on the road observe how most people drive. theyre not driving at a steady 45 on a flat smooth road with no defroster or a/c on and the windows all rolled up. theyre speeding up slowing down turning going up and down hills using their accessories etc. thats normal. no that is normal for

From : alan petrillo

craig@metronet.com wrote note i do feel that our government should do more. for example bush should not have lowered the tax deduction for buying hybrid vehicles ... he should have raised it. in fact he had/has the opportunity to give this technology a huge kick in the ass by offering larger tax incentives to the end consumer and to the manufacturer/distributor. but that would hurt his buds in the oil industry. you know the ones who are largely resposible for getting him into office. ap .

From : alan petrillo

joe wrote my proof is what most people are experiencing right now. normal is how most people drive. most people do not drive the way advertised i.e. maximum mileage is achieved. thats not normal. the next time you go out on the road observe how most people drive. theyre not driving at a steady 45 on a flat smooth road with no defroster or a/c on and the windows all rolled up. theyre speeding up slowing down turning going up and down hills using their accessories etc. thats normal. ah. you mean like the city course that is used to determine the city mileage rating ap .

From : alan petrillo

tbone wrote snip but driving around in an economy vehicle just doesnt look cool and the typical driver simply cannot have that. it is much better to look cool and do without lots of money that could be used for other things isnt it depends on who you are i suppose. there are some insecure men who just need that penis enhancement vehicle. ap .

From : alan petrillo

bob g wrote snip personally i would not feel insecure in a small car i just want a hell of a lot more horses under my right foot they offer... if you dont think small cars offer enough horsepower then you havent been looking at the right small cars. looked at import tuners lately a toyota supra with the appropriate bolt on kit can put 1000 hp under your right foot. is that enough a cousin of mine has a lexus sports car with 300hp under the hood right off the lot. its performance is somewhere between crazy and insane. with the hybrids when that electric motor kicks in the accelleration can be neck snapping. electric motors have a property called locked rotor torque which is the torque applied with the rotor held still. its the highest torque the motor can pull and its available right off the line. when a hybrid comes off the line all of the electric motors torque is available instantly which is one of the reasons they have reasonably good acceleration off the line even with their heavy load of batteries. the worlds major user of oil happens to be china... and last i heard they are not a nation know for driving cars at all.. hmm... do you have a source for that one thing i recall reading about china is that theyre the largest emerging market for cars in the world and all of the manufacturers are climbing over each other to get sales rights over there. if americans would drive cars that were higher in fuel efficiency i honestly do not know if it would really make a difference in the price of oil....on the world market.... it would help a little...but just how much indeed that is a good question. i think how much depends on the greed of the oil companies and the patience of consumers. ap .

From : alan petrillo

tbone wrote on tue 05 apr 2005 022358 gmt alan petrillo asp@baylink.com wrote bob g. wrote the honda accord with the electric motor rated at 29 & 37 racked up 20.4 mpg i have no experience with the accord hybrid but my mothers civic hybrid did a real-world 47mpg on the highway on a trip to new jersey and back from florida late last year. ============ my original post a few weeks ago was just because i could not believe these... wonderful... hybrids were getting such poor relative to their advertised fuel mileage... why should this surprise you if you actually read what was said you would see that these cars were being driven in their worst possible way and under the worst conditions. if you operate them as they were intended the mileage would get much closer to what they are advertized to be in many situations. indeed it makes the reader wonder if the test was intentionally rigged to get the absolutely worst mileage out of the hybrids. that would be par for the course with hybrid bashers. not surprised on the mileage your moms civic got on the trip... hell my corvette got 34 mpg on a 400 mile run down the interstate ..with the speed control set at 82 mph... no starting or stopping very little acceleration...pretty level terrain... yea because you were driving it under ideal conditions and not the way it was intended to be driven. if you get on it since it is a sports car in the city i bet that you get about half of that mileage. well hey. you cant be getting on it all the time. they really do get pretty good mileage when theyre cruising and the engine only has to produce 20 hp to keep the thing at highway speed. still 30 percent less then your moms car...but it made me happy... im sure that it does but that is not realistic driving and ill bet that a hybrid under those conditions perhaps not that fast would be getting closer to 60 mpg. you really need to compare apples to apples. nope. my mothers boyfriend was driving and he had the cruise control set at 85mph the whole time. real world 47mpg on the highway. ap .

From : greg surratt

ok thanks for the advice. it has around 140000 miles on it and expect the fuel pump will have to be replaces someday but at this time power doesnt seem to be the problem just a hessitation every so often. i will reset the connection. thanks ron michael moorman wrote if it acts like an upper limit on the ability to deliver power it may be a failing fuel pump. i am ready to replace the one in my 89 voyager. initially at various times it wouldnt hold 70 mph up hill then 65 etc. now on a bad day it wont go fast enough to get into 4th. guess ill have to do something soon. a few years ago i had what seemed to be a random misfire problelm. reseated most of the electrical connectors. i suspect that it was the big one behind the battery that connects to the computer. that was when the problem seemed to disappear. good luck mpm i have or my wife has a 1989 caravan with a 3 liter eng that has developed a problem. it wants to miss every so often when cruising down the highway. i have replaced the gas filter but that didnt help. i took the plugs out and they all look good. is this an electrical problem or a fuel problem thanks ron .

From : trey

the lift pump simply supplies fuel to the main injection pump which supplies the high pressure side. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving tom lawrence wrote yep - the computer knows how much fuel should be used on each injection event lets see... i opened the injector for 3 milliseconds with fuel rail pressure at 15000psi - that used x amount of fuel... subtract that... carry the one... okay next event... so it keeps track of that and sees how much fuel was used to travel a particular distance. from that it makes an mpg calculation. thats why when with a diesel you add a pressure box to increase rail pressure the fuel economy calculations get all out of whack. the computer thinks it injected x amount of fuel becuase it did a 3ms injection event at 15000psi rail pressure. but the rail pressure was really at 17500psi so it really injected about 1.2x fuel... the computer thinks it used 17% less fuel than it actually did. so instead of your actual 17mpg that youre getting the computers reporting 19.8mpg. all numbers are used as examples only and may not have any real meaning - so put down the calculators where does all this common rail pressure come from surely not from the punie little lift pump. i would have thought that the actuation of the injector would create the much higher pressure. i have come to this conclusion because of the location of the lift pump being between the tank and filter. that would make the filter an extremely high pressure can with a low pressure gasket on it. -- bill p. just dog & me .

From : greg surratt

if it acts like an upper limit on the ability to deliver power it may be a failing fuel pump. i am ready to replace the one in my 89 voyager. initially at various times it wouldnt hold 70 mph up hill then 65 etc. now on a bad day it wont go fast enough to get into 4th. guess ill have to do something soon. a few years ago i had what seemed to be a random misfire problelm. reseated most of the electrical connectors. i suspect that it was the big one behind the battery that connects to the computer. that was when the problem seemed to disappear. good luck mpm i have or my wife has a 1989 caravan with a 3 liter eng that has developed a problem. it wants to miss every so often when cruising down the highway. i have replaced the gas filter but that didnt help. i took the plugs out and they all look good. is this an electrical problem or a fuel problem thanks ron .

From : stephen harding

is there an aftermarket driving/foglight with a bracket that will plug into the stock harness auto parts store wants 75 bucks for one oem light. thanks .

From : joe

i was already aware about the un realistic .gov checking. what i wanted to know is how does the computers installed in the late model vehicles work. that is for both the gas as well as diesel vehicles. yep - the computer knows how much fuel should be used on each injection event lets see... i opened the injector for 3 milliseconds with fuel rail pressure at 15000psi - that used x amount of fuel... subtract that... carry the one... okay next event... so it keeps track of that and sees how much fuel was used to travel a particular distance. from that it makes an mpg calculation. thats why when with a diesel you add a pressure box to increase rail pressure the fuel economy calculations get all out of whack. the computer thinks it injected x amount of fuel becuase it did a 3ms injection event at 15000psi rail pressure. but the rail pressure was really at 17500psi so it really injected about 1.2x fuel... the computer thinks it used 17% less fuel than it actually did. so instead of your actual 17mpg that youre getting the computers reporting 19.8mpg. all numbers are used as examples only and may not have any real meaning - so put down the calculators .

From : trey

craig@metronet.com wrote im still going to buy a hybrid or other alternative energy vehicle within the next 3 years ... but the thing driving that decision is not saving money ... its to support the technology that will free us from the grip of the arabs and improve the environment ... no offense but the change to alternative energies is not about $$$ its about doing the right thing. i dont really see it as a right thing or wrong thing except of course in political terms. is it really more right burning say hydrogen or using electricity via batteries with their own manufacture complications as well as recharge demands seems were simply exchanging one set of positives/negatives of an energy source with another. i like gasahol. my truck seems to like it too. and the idea i might be helping out some american corn grower has its attractions too. but of course its an energy net loss iirc in the grand scheme of things. i look forward to the maturation of alternative energies in propelling me about town or keeping me warm during winter but i dont think theres going to be any great financial or even political liberation coming out of it. just means some other energy producer instead of exxon will have their hands in my pocket! smh no it will still be exxon. instead of buying exxon gas you be buying exxon hydrogen. energy companies will always adapt to keep your money flowing their way. .

From : trey

on thu 7 apr 2005 001341 -0600 drgn1400@webtv.net brent d wrote i tried this ng in both ways; nice/full of shit and mean/honest. obviously the mean/honest approach stirs responses and reveals the best from the ignorant. so ill be mean and honest. recently did a d47 ball joint recall on a durango and noticed the brakes were real thin. customer responded to the writer by saying; why are you selling me crap i dont need when i just want the recall done that i need after that i chose not to mention the leaking front shocks and loose tie rod ends not under warranty on this vehicle. after all if brakes arent important why is suspension and steering two weeks later the customer returns and complains to the service manager that we did not recognize the loose rod ends and midas who did their brake repair that they did not need. . . remember did notice the problem. as a dealer we are cons for recognizing needed repairs while performing warranty services yet we are idiots and inferior to independents when we dont. make up your minds. waiting to hear from the warranty kings and queens who have stories of repairs that should have been done under warranty. read the manual that you never opened and came with the vehicle its not covered. brent on the rag again brent beekeep .

From : trey

ok so lets do some calculating. i drive a car or truck about 9000 miles a year. my current vehicles get 12 mpg average so i use 750 gallons of gas a year at $2 per gal that is $1500. all my vehicles are paid for so no payment to make plus they are older so license and insurance are relatively low also repairs which i can do are very cheap. so now if i buy one of these new vehicles that get 60 mpg i would use 150 gallons at $2 per gal $300 for fuel. i expect that my insurance would be about $300 more and my license would be at least $100 more. so $300 + $300 + $100 = $700 now subtract that from $1500 i end up with $800/year for a car payment or $66 per month. think i can find a dealer that will sell me one of these fuel efficient cars for a payment of $66 a month we could work this backwards to find out at what price gas will have to get to before i would be equal to the new car payment. now if i was driving 90000 a year i am sure i would be rushing to a dealer to buy one. ron i have seen five year old trucks for sale with over 400k miles on them. i know quite a few people that commute over 60 miles each way for work. that comes out to over 31k miles a year in just commuting to work. its not just the fuel economy though its the size of the vehicles. one full size consumes just about as much space as two economy cars. if we got rid of the unnecessary big suvs and trucks then traffic would not be as bad ether.. and with better traffic comes a higher average speed approaching closer to a more efficient speed for the engine. allowing the engine to operate in its more efficient range and less time is spent sitting in traffic. less traffic less stress less road rage lower blood pressure and less medication due to stress induced ailments. something else to think about 2000-3000 pounds of steel and aluminum. compared to 5000-7000 pounds of steel and aluminum. not only would our dependence on foreign oil go down but our need for steel and aluminum as well as the needed energy to manipulate that raw materials will go down. lowering the price of the raw materials associated with building the cars. smaller tires less rubber. less glass less plastic. all materials that we ether produce or import but what if our consumption was less then our production then we could export these materials and actually bring some money into this country! .

From : frank

first comes the question --- does anything else spotlight cell phone charger anything that plugs into a cigar lighter socket work if so go to the auto parts store and get a new lighter insert. im not sure that my experience with my 89 dakota is valid here but i looked up in my mauals. on my truck cavity 7 15 amp fuse serves horn relay cigarette lighter and tachometer. you might want to look in the user manual you have for what the proper fuse is and what else it may serve. if those things are working go to your local favorite automotive parts store and get a new insert the radio being half-dead can be related. your owners manual will be able to tell you more than i can especially if it is a fuse or a shorting problem. another thought hits my head. how did you check the fuses do you have an ohm meter or a testing light or did you look at the fuses only with the blade fuses in my truck ive been fooled by the appearance a few times.. or dont try to clean up your ciggie lighter contacts with a file... okay i know that was a dumb idea well the forgetting i hadnt turned the key off part anyway.... regardless i big surprise blew a fuse. what fuse is the question - no fuse i found is bad. the lighter is dead the radio is semi-dead...sound comes on but wont hold a station no clock or other display lights. secret inline fuse that requires pulling the whole damn dash its possessed none of the above anyone thanks cricket .

From : greg surratt

thanks for the advise. would there be anything else that it could be. i was told that it might be a throttle cage or something like. what do you know about that .

From : Annonymous

i haul a 24 fifth wheel camper with my 1999 ram 1500. it sags quite a bit when hooked up but the truck is okay to haul that size camper and weight. ive been looking into buying supersprings to get rid of that sag. i really cant find anything bad about them while searching the internet but some before and after photos ive found that they use seem very deceiving. so there is doubt in my mind. i do think these photos are fake. i found the same two pictures on an ebay listing http//cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayisapi.dllviewitem&rd=1&item=792219 8952&category=33584&sspagename=wd1v if you toggle back and forth between these two images the photos with the load of firewood in back of a small white pickup the tires have not even moved an inch. how can they jack up that truck spend all that time putting the springs on and have the tires be exactly in the same position i use photoshop a lot and this photo is fake. there are too many red flags. in the background there is building lumber but yet the truck is full of firewood. i even think the load of wood in the back of the truck is another image from some other photo! and the mud flap in the back doesnt even move with the truck. the more i think about it the more im convinced this a photoshop trick and does not even closely represent what these springs can do especially if they had to use photo manipulation to get us to buy the product. anyone have anything to add or suggestions on if these springs are what i need thanks steve .

From : greg surratt

been looking at a dodge hemi 2500 quad 4x2 short bed. cant seem to get anyone to give us an idea of the estimated miles per gallon. trying to decide if i should go the hemi or diesel. will be using it to pull a 5th wheel that will weigh about 8500 lbs and general use. thanking in advance.................. i just traded my 2003 2500 hemi for a 2005 turbo d. for this reason. theres no comparison. the hemi is fun as hell to drive around12-14mpg towing 6-8 i would never have taken it to the mountains or even rolling hills though. my deisel yanks my 12600 pound 5th wheeler around like a step child. -- moparman---remove clothes to reply! --scud coordinates 32.61204 north 96.92993 west-- .

From : john doe

d. wilkinson wrote been looking at a dodge hemi 2500 quad 4x2 short bed. cant seem to get anyone to give us an idea of the estimated miles per gallon. trying to decide if i should go the hemi or diesel. will be using it to pull a 5th wheel that will weigh about 8500 lbs and general use. thanking in advance.................. hemi economy thats funny. kind of like jumbo shrimp military intelligence and accordion music. the two words just really shouldnt be used in the same sentence. ; if youre going to pull a lot get the diesel. in general use the diesel and the hemi will cost about the same to run. but when you start towing the gas engine will suck fuel like theres a hole in the tank. the diesel also has a lot more torque. youll really appreciate that when youre pulling a long slow hill. one last thing the diesel is turbocharged. it makes about the same power at 12000 feet as it does at sea level. cant say the same for the gas engine. -- ..bob 1997 hd fxdwg - turbocharged! 2001 dodge dakota qc 5.9/4x4/3.92 1966 mustang coupe - daily driver 1966 ffr cobra - ongoing project .

From : greg o

heyall ive been looking at used dodge cummins and find a good amount of units available. its seems that many are being traded at the 100-150k mark. some a bit less miles. they look to be nice unitsand being told that the power train is good for much more than 100k is there any real concerns on units of this vintage any known gremlins in these thinking auto transmission. i need a heavy duty reliable towing truck and have settled on the dodge cummins just not which one. tnk de ----== posted via feeds.com - unlimited-uncensored-secure usenet ==---- http//www.feeds.com the #1 group service in the world! 120000+ groups ----= east and west-coast server farms - total privacy via encryption =---- .

From : steve w

that might explain the brake light but not the abs light. not necessarily... a couple of weeks ago i noticed my brake/abs lights on in my 95. it turned out the brake pedal was keeping the brake switch engaged. pulling the pedal up with my foot made both lights go out after a bit. this happened on more than one occasion. i have to adjust the plunger depth on that switch just havent gotten around to it yet. .