I thought I knew everthing
From : moparman
Q: hi all; looking for a good daily driver worktruck narrowed it down to either a super duty w/powerstroke or either new style or older style ram hd w/cummins or the ugly ass chevys with the duramax. i cut grass using a jd 855 so its not huge but id rather have too much truck than not enough. i prefer the reg cab so from yalls experience which one will last the longest im also too lazy to shift gears so itd be an auto. any opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated thanks tb .
Replies:
From : max340
yep the hemi most definitely gets worse mileage than the 4.7 but oooohhhh i love that power! i still get a big grin every time i romp on it. just dont grin at all at the pump. copper makes my 2003 4.7 ram 1500 sound like an economy car! with regular tires i was averaging about 14.85 around town and got a record 18.85 on pure highway at 65mph. this is pretty close to the 13/19 quoted on the window sticker .
From : transsurgeon
whats the down side to having powertrax why dont vehicles have this designed in how much did it cost you rmorgan7@austin.rr.com says... ok its all done. it works fine. talked to powertrax tech support they said it was the synchronizer ring; theyre sometimes very tight when theyre new and wont disengage. they will under the weight of the vehicle but not when youre just turning the wheels by hand. he said just drive it around and itll loosen up. so i drove the truck around. yahoo! beautiful. i cant really tell its back there. i backed down the boat ramp - it was raining so it was wet. i gave it some gas and you could just feel both wheel shoving the truck up that ramp. wonderful. wonderful. wonderful ron m. .
From : tom lawrence
you really only need the chains on the rear wheels to satisfy the legal requirements. youll get better traction if the chains are on all 4 wheels but the ride will beat you to death and handeling will suck. so just put them on the rear tires put it in 4h and drive a little slower. sorry but i have to disagree... if you drive in 4h or 4l or awd for that matter you have to have chains on all wheels since chains drastically change the performance of the wheels they are on. driving with chains in only one axle in 4x4 mode will get very very interesting. there is also the debate of putting the one set of chains in the front axle since you need the traction mostly for steering but since chains are fairly inexpensive by all means if you need to use chains do it the proper way. in my experience the question is if you have to stop and get out of your truck to put the chains on. if you do it putting on a second set is just 5 minutes more of your time... you already are outside and wet anyway... do not forget to stop and adjust the chains after about 200 yards of travel and then check them from time to time for looseness. a loose chain in the right wrong circumstances can wreck havoc in your front system. do not go fast with the chains on... .
From : moparman
my 3.9 dakota will not idle when it is warmed upi can start it in neutralkeep my foot on the gas then shift it into drivebut it will still stall if i dont keep the revs up to about 1000 it starts fine and idles when cold.is this a computer/sensor problem any ideas would be appreciated. i had this problem with my 97 dakota 3.9 last summer. it ended up being vacuum leaks that were fixed by retorqueing the intake manifold. ken .
From : moparman
on thu 04 mar 2004 041456 gmt tbone t-bonenospam@nc.rr.com wrote gee do you mean like the boycott and radio station noplay policy against the dixie chicks exactly... they took heat for things they said in public.. heat from the public not firing squads from the government.. the right to free speech doesnt protect you from people disagreeing with what you say just your right to say it.. mac .
From : moparman
on thu 4 mar 2004 010123 -0800 jeff mayner jeffmayner@yahoo.com wrote i dont know. maybe its cause im paranoid but when folks post links with no explanation i tend to get a little leery of clicking them. having done so in the past lets say in my internet childhood and been transported to an x-rated site that grabbed hold of my browser and wouldnt let go well i usually just shit-can the poster and wont open any post by them in the future. i have no idea what the link was about but i guess i sure started a shitstorm eh ;- jeff jeff... i dont what to make a big thing out of this but i only click on links that interest me.. if im in doubt i wait until a few others have gone there and made comments.. bottom line is that nobody makes me click on links or read something that is labeled ot in the subject line.. mac .
From : max340
hey gang when did they change the body style of the dakota i have a friend that has a 93 i think and is trying to get about a 2 lift in the rear. since the leafs are under the rear axle blocks wont work. i think a set of lift leafs for a 94 should work but he is being told no because the bodies are different. what about the old poormans hotrod trick longer shackles. or put the axle below the leaf springs i was never convinced these methods were sound in their engineering principals though - it is my understanding that longer rear shackles will make minimal difference. however moving the front hanger down will make more difference. bryan .
From : tom lawrence
on wed 3 mar 2004 172022 -0600 lee lethal@nospam.mail.com wrote i know exactly where youre at lee.. my wifes from garrison.. lol maybe if the hemi is a big draw the hemi durango would work out.. put dead animals on the roof rack or pull a utility trailer.. mac the financial situation is not dire just different. i could make the payments on both now but have to stop contributing to my roth ira. i would rather not do that. i have a small boat and would like to continue to hunt and fish. the caravan would haul the boat just fine but if i put any dead animals inside the van.... well i would be in serious trouble. i could keep the dak i like it a lot. it is slightly on the small size for the family now. not too bad but could be better. the ram would be the family car with something like used civic as the 2nd car. the payments drop considerably the insurance drops too i still invest for the future. to me it seems win-win but i am close to the situation and i am emationally involved hemi. one nice new truck older car full coverage on one liability on the other. lose some gas mileage although not much from the 4.7 and gain some. as one poster put it i am looking for an excuse to get a hemi. as far as the topper goes i just have an access roll-up cover on the dak now. i thought about a cap but the one i wanted was $1400... just not worth it based on limited usage. i was more concerned about how the dealer would approach a 2 car trade vs. one. i did put both vehicles in the local paper will see what happens. lee one of those air force riffraff up the road from minot! on tue 2 mar 2004 210654 -0600 lee lethal@nospam.mail.com wrote lee... id say that unless you have a burning need for the qq hemi family car sell the dak and keep the van... the caravan is a great family vehicle... safe and dependable with lots of room for kids stuff... living in minot youd need a shell on the ram anyway.. thats another $1000 or so that could go to helping the family income... when things get better shop for a truck... been there done that my wife has decided not to back to work after having our first child so there is now a minor drop in income for us. to compensate we are looking at selling/trading in our two newer vehicles on one new vehicle. i have an 02 dakota qc 4x4 and she has an 03 gr. caravan sport. i am about $1500 under nada book on the dak while she would be about $2500 to $3000 upside down on her van assuming we trade them both in was thinking of a 04 qc 4x4 slt hemi.... or durango or similar vehicle. somewhere in the $26 to $28k range keeping the loan arond $30k after we lose out on the caravan. i will try to sell both vehicles outright first but my luck with that has always been..... well i havent had any luck selling vehicles privately. any thoughts on trading in two vehicles on one will the dealer even do it will i take it in the shorts for it should i sell one and trade the other your thoughts thanks! lee minot nd mac mac .
From : tom lawrence
putting you in the killfile. jeff likewise im sure politics the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich. .
From : moparman
you are well trained ill say that on wed 03 mar 2004 033243 gmt budd cochran mr-d150@citlinkspam.net wrote mike please send me your email address. i have a question about connecting trailer lights to a 95 lebaron. mr-d150@nukespamcitlink.net budd lives!!! i was beginning to worry about my old buddy. beekeep .
From : tom lawrence
just dont grin at all at the pump. you really should smile for the security camera!!!!!! politics the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich. .
From : tom lawrence
on wed 03 mar 2004 171734 gmt trey treydog90spam@hotmail.com wrote trey... that sounds high.. 2 years ago the snow warning went up when we were on 80 near auburn.. we stopped at a gas station and bought a set for about $60... go with real chains cable suck... usually youre only using chains through donner... maybe 30 or 40 miles then you unchain... mac the chains range from $60-$120. i am thinking the $60 chains should do the trick for the amount of use they will get. at least you may use them again... when we bought ours it was for a friggin rental car.. *sigh* drove all the way to north dakota and back only place we needed chains was donnor.. maybe caltrans gets a piece of the chain action mac .
From : paul l
my 3.9 dakota will not idle when it is warmed upi can start it in neutralkeep my foot on the gas then shift it into drivebut it will still stall if i dont keep the revs up to about 1000 it starts fine and idles when cold.is this a computer/sensor problem any ideas would be appreciated. i had this problem with my 97 dakota 3.9 last summer. it ended up being vacuum leaks that were fixed by retorqueing the intake manifold. ken wow ken! that must have been a menace to determine....how long did it take to figure that one out er .