Proud New Owner
From : moparman
Q: 1.thinking about getting satellite radio and i was wondering where to mount antenna. i dont want to drill any holes into the truck. several options. i have an xm unit and it has a very small antenna that i stuck on the roof between the middle cab clearance light and the windshield. its a magnetic mount and its very strong. i routed the wire into the groove between the roof and windshield using a bit of silicone to hold it in place. from there i routed the wire underneath the door weatherstripping down the a pillar down the door jamb and through an existing grommet. this brought the wiring behind the dash and from there you can go anywhere you want with it. this method took me all of 10 minutes to do. others mount the antenna towards the back of the cab and remove the 3rd brake light run the wire through there then notch/silicone the trim to allow the wire to pass through. i dont like this because it necessitates dropping the headliner to route the wire. 2. is xm better than sirius or are they about the same. roughly similar with some subtle differences in programming. equipment-wise chrysler radios can have a sirius tuner connected directly to them. xm has better smaller more features add-on units. sirius is also considerably more expensive per month and gives you nothing for it. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .
Replies:
From : frank
aftermarket unit with larger ports and bigger pipes for the rest of the system. -- ..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 : moparman
just replaced the headlight switch in my 98 durango. the switch was misbehaving...dash lights would come on sporatically and switch had to be pushed in hard otherwise it wouldnt shut off all the way. i replaced the switch but dash lights are still not working. the existing harness didnt look cool...i worked at night but i think there was some melting that may have taken place. if this is the case i guess it will just be easier to clip wire by wire and cinch on a new/direct connector to the switch. please comment. as an aside i hadnt checked before i made the change but it seems the stock fog lights are not coming on or off...could this be related to the headlight wiring harness being hosed up any suggestions or help would be appreciated. thank you. .
From : nosey
fred wilson wrote hello all i have another question about my 96 b250 conversion van. i had a new 360 put in last summer after spinning a bearing in the last one. i tow a camper with this van and i am pretty close to the max combined vehicle weight. anyway a guy at work got dual exhaust and flow master stuff put on his 00 ram 1500 he says it mad the world of difference in tq. how true is this it can make a difference but a world of difference may be an exaggeration. one of the problems is that over time the cats get clogged and dont work as well. its such a gradual change that most folks dont notice. then you swap in new parts and it wakes up again. would it be possible to put dual exhaust on this van is it legal to mess with the exhaust or change it from factory standards yes an no. federal regs state that you cannot change the factory configuration of the cats. if yours is one in and one out thats the way it has to stay. after the cat you then split it to make a dual cat back system but that is generally done for looks and not performance. there is very little - if any - torque to be gained there. if you have the original exhaust on there its probably time to think about at least changing the cats. and if you do thats your chance to add
From : moparman
i have a 96 dakota v6 3.9 that i bought used. the gas mileage in town is 12-13 mpg. after checking all the other possible causes and then looking at the hitch it came with and the boat harbor sticker on the window i am guessing that it might have a towing rear end gear setup that is responsible for the low mileage. i figured that i could put a chalk mark on the drive shaft and on the tire jack it up and get an idea of the gear set in the truck. i thought that if the drive shaft turned four times for one rotation of the wheel it meant i had a gear set roughly 4.0. apparently i am barking up the wrong tree. it did not work out that way. so how do i determine the ratio of the gear installed. i do not believe that the original gears are still in it. oldtimer thats it. mark the tire and mark the drive shaft. turn the tire one revolution and count how many times the drive shaft mark goes by. 3 and 1/2 times would be about a .355 rear end. a little over 4 would be a .411 rear end. -- moparman---remove clothes to reply! --scud coordinates 32.61204 north 96.92993 west-- .
From : frank
henry wrote interesting post in my mind. i wasas a young airman in danang vietnam in 1969. i was part of a maintenance group for f$ phantom jet aircraft.in short order was sent to the philipines for specialization on said jet aircraft. one week after return i was reassigned to asmall basephucat that wasnt large enough to have jet aircraft use and spent the rest of my year working piston aircraft that were built in wwii or any piston aircraft that came through...you folks think your autos used/leaked oil i guess you were left behind and i was forced behind... give me a 1000 hp radial any day. and by the way when cat fishing use a piece of pantyhose to wrap the bait and put on hook it is less likely to be robbed. henry you must be talking about the t-28 but not the sandy a1 they had a 2700 hp engine r-3350 and loved to drip oil every where. ;- .
From : moparman
looks like ill have to get on one order this week although im not sure im looking forward to pulling parts of the dash apart - the dash of the 3rd gen rams is by far the easiest dash ive ever worked on. remove one screw above the trash bag hook to the left of the glove compartment and give the hook a good yank. work your way around the center bezel popping out all the spring clips. before you do this though lower the ashtray and cupholder. when you pop off the center bezel rest it on the cupholder lean it forward and disconnect all the various electrical connectors the spring clips on the bezel would have gouged the face of the ashtray and cupholder had you not lowered them first. just like that the entire center of the dash is opened up. when you go to route the wire into and behind the dash the knee bolster panel has two screws at the bottom that you remove and then the panel pops right off more spring clips. the little 4x4 or so insert on the side of the dash visible when you open the door just pops off. use a plastic putty knife or something similar that wont scratch the plastic to pry it up. to remove the glove compartment empty the contents or theyll empty for you then look inside to see where the stops are. pull the back wall of the compartment towards you a little bending the plastic and allowing the stops to clear. the glove box will then rotate all the way down and you can just lift it off. for the passenger side kick panel to access the antenna wiring start with the back of the carpet trim... pry it up more spring clips - no screws to lose and work your way forward. the whole panel will the rotate upwards slightly and will pop off. mount the modulator in a convenient place as i said i screwed mine right to the inner stricture of the dash behind the heater controls. route the antenna wires behind the glove box and tap into the antenna wiring might need to undo some electrical tape and gray foam to find the connection. run the +6v receiver power and 1/8 audio jacks off to the right side these will protrude outside of the center bezel when its put back on. for a switched +12v tap into the red wire that went to the cigarette lighter connection. for ground run across to the metal frame underneath the steering wheel. back off one of the bolts here and put your ground lug on this. with that done just button everything back up. youll only have three screws - two for the knee bolster and one for the center bezel by the trash bag hook. like i said - one of the easiest dashes to take apart and work on. .
From : ken bosch
interesting post in my mind. i wasas a young airman in danang vietnam in 1969. i was part of a maintenance group for f$ phantom jet aircraft.in short order was sent to the philipines for specialization on said jet aircraft. one week after return i was reassigned to asmall basephucat that wasnt large enough to have jet aircraft use and spent the rest of my year working piston aircraft that were built in wwii or any piston aircraft that came through...you folks think your autos used/leaked oil i guess you were left behind and i was forced behind... give me a 1000 hp radial any day. and by the way when cat fishing use a piece of pantyhose to wrap the bait and put on hook it is less likely to be robbed. henry .
From : mac davis
i put a can of restore in it yesterday sunday and it seems to have helped it. knock on wood seems to run and idle a lot smoother. thanks for the help. john water pump about two months ago. - john replacing the valve guides would involve removing the heads right yup. if you do decide to rip the heads off might as well install a new timing chain when you have it all apart. and maybe a water pump... .