Towing Package: What is it? Plus load question
From : jason g
Q: tom thanks for the detailed step-by-step instructions i could almost see the b&w line art to go with it grin ive got the adapter on order with crutchfield and should have it by this weekend. also now that im not relying on the xm antenna to broadcast to the radio antenna i can mount the xm antenna further toward the rear of the cab and bring the wiring in through the lamp above the rear window would you agree david... 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. .
Replies:
From : mac davis
i dunno ive been in here for a long time now started in 1997 and i believe i remember brent posting as fozzybearc@yahoo.com. seems to me to be the same person attitude and mannerisms as well. i dont recall a sue but i havent been in here continuously 24/7 either can you enlighten me about her now i do remember michelle havent seen anything from her in a very long time. i may be wrong about him but his post just has too many of the signs. the dragon reference in the e-mail address is kinda creepy too. maybe hes deranged. michelle doesnt ring a bell. brent might be able to help us out here. .
From : nosey
definitely a vacuum issue somewhere with the changing of venting with engine rpm. ill look into this when its warmer. for now he has heat blasting no matter which vent it comes out. thanks for the tip john .
From : mike simmons
thanks for the tip. my father has stage 4 cancer and has lost a lot of weight - he really needed heat as we werent getting above 10 degrees still hasnt got above feezing. for now i just jumpered the fan so its always on high. troubleshoot further when it warms up. .
From : jason g
on tue 01 feb 2005 233312 gmt tom lawrence tnloaswpraemnmcien5g@earthlink.net wrote i was just listening to an add on tv about the ford tow packages are including the brake controllers as well. that is something new i would imagine all of them will jump on that. its not just that theyre including them - the brake controller is an integrated unit now - which means full pcm management fully integrated with abs etc. this is a definite plus and is something the other two should jump on as well. for sure... its a great system and very inexpensive... i was talking to a ferd salesman about it and he said that it was such a simple idea that all trucks would offer it in a few years... i asked him what if i want to use my protege controller instead and he said that while he agreed that the protegee was the best add on controller it wasnt nearly as effective as the built in system... ymmv mac as best as i can understand from a tech article i read recently about the fords controller is that it is made by tekonsha and is based upon their prodigy design. it is however somewhat integrated into the vehicles abs system. although i have had only one panic stop situation with my 03 dr and prodigy while towing the setup worked flawlessly for me. the roads were dry however and i *hope* that it will work equally well when they are wet. mike mac please remove splinters before emailing .
From : mac davis
they are awesome and worth every penny. but some find they dont stop worth a shit cold... -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving well guys its time to have a brake job. at 86xxx miles on a 2000 dak 4x4 they are getting paper thin. i went to a parts store to price out brake pads and got asked witch of the three i would like and i asked 3 organic metalic and what he said ceramic. there spendy but will stop your truck 50ft. sooner. sounded good. so group tell me the good and bad of the ceramic brakes other then there a tad bit spendy. are they worth it and how would ceramic pads hold up to a minnestoa winter. it gets cold here and ceramics can be brittle in the cold i have been told. thank you in advance patrick .
From : tom lawrence
i had a complete new exhaust put on before the engine change last summer. i did notice a difference in the tq. the mechanic was not sure that it was the bearings making the noise because the rattle came and went. he asked me to have the exhaust checked. when i got it there the exhaust guy said there was definitely a problem. when he cut off the cat all the stuff fell out of it. there was noting left to the muffler. i did notice more engine power after that but the engine still needed to be changed. is there any way to check the cat without cutting it off i just bought a high-mileage dakota and was thinking of having a mechanic give it a once-over to identify any problems before they get worse. .
From : william boyd
..bob wrote 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 an aftermarket unit with larger ports and bigger pipes for the rest of the system. i had a complete new exhaust put on before the engine change last summer. i did notice a difference in the tq. the mechanic was not sure that it was the bearings making the noise because the rattle came and went. he asked me to have the exhaust checked. when i got it there the exhaust guy said there was definitely a problem. when he cut off the cat all the stuff fell out of it. there was noting left to the muffler. i did notice more engine power after that but the engine still needed to be changed. .
From : mac davis
moparman wrote traded the 2003 2500hd hemi truck for a 2005 3500hd dually with the cummins 610 turbo d. im getting a bigger rv soon so i needed the bigger truck. as far as the 5.7 hemi truck went it was by far the best vehicle ive ever owned. fun to drive and yes the gas mileage sucked. i had it 2 years to damn near the day put 94k on it and never did nothing to it but normal mait. i did change the transmission fluid and rear end fluid more than recommended. it never burned a drop of oil and still ran like a bat outta hell.....im gonna miss it. someones gonna get a sweet truck. driving home in the dually i got 20 mpg hummmm im forgetting about the hemi already. -- moparman---remove clothes to reply! --scud coordinates 32.61204 north 96.92993 west-- this probably wont happen to you then http//www.retiwireless.org/numanumaye/3.php .
From : frank k
check out the new kid on the block. http//www.internationaldelivers.com/sitelayout/severe/cxt.asp jerry .
From : william boyd
and i cant believe i just replied to a 4-month-old post... damn i hate that. .
From : jason g
mac davis mac.davis@splinters.comcast.net wrote on mon 31 jan 2005 013341 -0600 yonzie yonzie@mac.com wrote also satellite radio not only gives you music you can get sports talk shows weather forecasts and road conditions in some citys dale i thought it was kind of funny this last weekend when they were listening to fox on the sat radio... theyd say something like as you can see from this picture... mac please remove splinters before emailing like one radio announcer said while he was on the air i will hold this picture up closer to the mike so you can hear it. pretty soon those radios will probably be transmitting video with their programs dale .
From : j haggerty
its only from an asthetic perspective that i ask the black wire against a white background really stands out and looks tacky. ive got a scrap piece of adhesive vinyl for vehicles that ill cover the wire with once the weather warms up. maybe itll stick & i wont notice the wire so much. btw... i dont know if im ever happy lol david... also now that im not relying on the xm antenna to broadcast to the radio antenna i can mount the xm antenna further toward the rear of the cab and bring the wiring in through the lamp above the rear window would you agree if it makes you happy yes i still think its easier routing it via the windshield .
From : jason g
brent d wrote many... blah blah blah...dealership. brent who cares .
From : Annonymous
roy roy@home.net writes weak moment maybe. while im at it how about the 03 04s any inherent problems what transmissions are used in those years early 03s had the 47re. mine is a july 03 build dually with the 48re and 4.10s. the 48re feels strong. i like it. in addition ot the other minor problems mentioned there is the 2k rpm vibration in the 03-present models. it mostly occurs in swb 2500 4wd models although not everyone has it. mine is a 2wd lwb 3500 and it has the vibe. typical fixes are drive shaft replacement steel to aluminum and carrier bearing shimming. in one case i know of they replaced the rear axle. btw dana and daimler parted ways. aam is under there now. mine has been in four times to attempt a fix. up to 65mph it is smooth. after that the vibe is present. drive shafts and u-joints have been replaced. bearing shimmed and un-shimmed. none of which helped mine. chrysler warranty rep and field service rep drove it last thursday and as of now they will not allow the dealer to do any more work on my driveline. they claim its an exhaust drone to which they say chrysler is working on a fix. theyre full of bs. the mechanic told me he still believes its the driveline. after all at 75mph coasting in neutral the drone is still there. go fugure. before you purchase drive it. drive it a loooong time at 65-80mph before you sign anything. listen to and feel for any vibrations in the seat arm rest and the pedals. truck otherwise has been flawless. aw .