improving fuel economy for dummies
From : jmc
Q: suddenly without warning hobart duncan exclaimed 4/28/2005 620 pm i have a question that i can not find an answer to within this group or googled on the web.... but first the background of my question. i am now retired and my wife and i want to travel. we do have the funds to purchase a new dodge w/cummins to pull a 5th weel toy-box to carry my jeep and live in... and have been looking for both units here in california where we now live. new dodges in our area go for 38 to 42k and the trailers are in the 20 to 25k price ranges. i want a manual hard to find and a ram 3500 seems to provide what i may need. have you considered ordering straight from the factory i purchased my 2001 dakota off the internet and had a truck factory-built to my exact specifications i built my truck on the dodge website then provided the printout to the dealer. it was weird i had a vin well before i ever laid eyes on my new truck. im not necessarily saying to buy from the internet - i had a good experience and saved just over $6k but not sure its for everyone - but i just wanted to suggest that if youre willing to wait youre not necessarily stuck with what the dealers have on the lot. jmc .
Replies:
From : christopher thompson
on fri 06 may 2005 152840 -0700 oldtimer wrote i have heard it stated from some that the o2 sensors should be changed out at higher mileage even if they are not generating any trouble codes. i would like to hear others opinions on this. oldtimer i would yend to beleive that if they were generating no error codes then they are ok. jacob .
From : jmc
very good point...... .
From : Annonymous
im about to take in the dak for its ball joint recall and some other work. i figure that this will be a good time to get a new set of tires. i currently have a set of bfg all-terrain t/a kos 31x10.50-15. these have served me well but im looking for a quieter non a/t tire as a replacement. did alot of off-roading for a couple of years with the truck so these tires made sense. all highway now with 6-10 hour drives on occasion. im considering the michelin ltx m/s. anyone here have any experience with these any other suggestions. i still need decent snow traction for the ski season in ny/vt. i live in jersey so the a/ts are kind of overkill. thanks wayne ----- 2000 dak qc 4x4 4.7 auto w/towing packageheavy duty services group and tire a wheel upgrade to 31x10.50-15. .
From : j haggerty
just found dto while i was looking for info for brake problems with my 03 1500 ram. found that brake problems are common with this model year. then found tsb on the proper fix. i have had my rotors turned and/or replaced three times in less than 20000 miles. the service manager says he does not know what else to do. now with copy of tsb in hand i can demand another new set of rotors as well as calipers and pads. thank you dto. i must agree best dodge website on the internet randy s. .
From : peter
placed in a grave jesus rose from the dead as jesus said would happen before jesus died. if someone tells you that they are going to die and then three days later come back to life and it actually happens then this person must be the real deal. jesus christ is the only person that ever lived a perfect sinless life. this is why jesus is able to cover our sinsmisdeeds with his own blood because jesus is sinless. the holy bible says in himjesus we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins... ephesians 17 if you would like god to forgive you of your past present and future sins just ask jesus christ to be your lord and saviour. it doesnt matter how old you are or how many bad things that you have done in your life including lying and stealing all the way up to murder. just pray the prayer below with your mouth and mean it from your heart and god will hear you and save you. dear jesus christ i want to be saved so that i can have a home in heaven with you when i die. i agree with you that i am a sinner. i believe that you love me and want to save me. i believe that you bled and died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins and that you rose from the dead. please forgive my sins and come into my heart and be my lord and saviour. thanks lord jesus christ for forgiving me and saving me through your merciful grace. amen. welcome to the family of god if you just allowed god to save you. now you are a real christian and you can know for sure that you will live in heaven forever when this life comes to an end. as a child of god we are to avoid sinwrongdoing but if you do sin the holy bible says my dear children i write this to you so that you will not sin. but if anybody does sin we have one who speaks to the father in our defense jesus christ the righteous one. those of you that have not yet decided to place your trust in the lord jesus christ may never get another chance to do so because you do not know when you will die. jesus said i am the way the truth and the life no one can come to the fathergodin heaven but by me. john 146 this means that if you die without trusting in jesus christ as your lord and saviour you will die in your sins and be forever separated from the love of god in a place called hell. the holy bible descibes hell as a place of eternal torment suffering pain and agony for all those who have rejected jesus christ. the good is that you can avoid hell by allowing jesus christ to save you today. only then will you have true peace in your life knowing that no matter what happens you are on your way to heaven. praise the lord! servant of the lord jesus christ ronald l. grossi * show this to your family and friends so they can also be saved. * this message may get deleted so you may want to print a copy. * just press the ctrlp keys on your keyboard to print this page. .............. got questions http//www.gotquestions.org/archive.html other languages http//www.godssimpleplan.org/gsps.html free movie to hell and back http//www.tbn.org/index.php/8/1.html animation http//www.gieson.com/library/projects/animations/walk/index.html the passion of the christ http//www.thepassionofthechrist.com beware of cults http//www.carm.org/cults/cultlist.htm about hell http//www.equip.org/free/dh198.htm is jesus god http//www.powertochange.com/questions/qna2.html free online bible http//www.biblegateway.com .............. . 222 300201 2sade.15331$3h7.386@trndny05 this wacko again .
From : nitpik
http//cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayisapi.dllviewitem&item=7969622564&rd=1&sspagename=strk%3amese%3ait .
From : Annonymous
on sun 1 may 2005 013554 -0700 tom r tom42344@snotmail.com wrote i just bought a used 03 dak with a 4.7 and automatic. what kind of scanner should i get to keep track of what is going on where is a good place to buy performance parts to maybe get a little more hp out of it. i would like to make it run like my 96 5.2 if i can. my first stop will be the muffler shop to improve the exhaust what do you guys suggest next. tia tom=20 ive had good luck with the obdscan product = www.ghg.net/dharrison/obdscan.html it will also support your 96 as well i believe. i like the fact that it doesnt= rely on a proprietary hardware tool that could become obsolete far more quickly = than a common platform such as the palm pilot or laptop pc plus it is well supported = and reasonably priced. as far as performance enhancement to your rig i am not as informed as = many in this group so ill leave that topic for the others. i would suggest investigating = the dodgetalk.com site particularly the truck engine forum regarding the engine sludge = issue that people have experienced on the 4.7 from time to time if you have not already = done so. good luck with your new toy. joe brophy countrytech computer email pcfixr@spiretech.com .
From : j haggerty
no i did get a code...its in one of the first paragraphs...but it seems as if they didnt actually do the work and reset it. what the code was well never know...but the current dealer managed to get them to admit they didnt do anything probably because they could not reproduce the problem and simply flashed the pcm and billed chrysler fraudulently. i did get a new problem last night. usually the check engine and battery lights come on until you start it. this time the check engine flashed until i started it then it went off. but they did have a light...the first dealer had the truck towed to them and we called them at 7am to report the problem. they let it sit there all day and never even did anything and claimed that in the 3 calls we made we didnt tell them what was wrong...a lie...and they couldnt check the fault code they didnt see the check engine light when they started the truck even if they didnt hear from us it would give a code. the problem is that it isnt giving a code for the problem which is perplexing the service dept. at the new dealership. now i am going to do what you said with the co-pilot and i am going to drive it this time and make it screw up. thanks! you say nothing about the check engine lite being on or any fault codes found so it sounds like the dealer may be trying to help you but they are guessing at the problem tell them you want to have the co-pilot hooked up so they can figure out what is wrong with your car. that is a tool that will take a picture of everything that happened when the problem occurred. when it acts up you push a button and thats it take it to the dealer and they can download the data and try to figure it out or send it off to chrysler. glenn beasley chrysler tech if they will install it for you make sure you drive the vehicle normally dont try to make it act up because when you look at the readings they will be all confused. also find out what code is in there and document it for yourself .
From : Annonymous
ramman@dodgecity.cc wrote ive heard equally wild claims that synthetic oil helps get better gas mileage. if it does the price of synthetic far offsets any incremental fuel savings. to me fuel economy is more about economy and the total cost to operate than it is about how much gas i burn getting from point a to point b. gasoline is only one component of the cost to operate. if suddenly i triple the cost of an oil change its going to take a *lot* of fuel savings to recover that cost. does your owners manual say to use synthetic no it doesnt. that should tell you something. if it were recommended dont you think the manufacturer would say so dont listen to the carnival barkers and snake-oil peddlers. save your money. i wouldnt be too quick to dismiss synthetic oil. with prices at $2 per gallon and most places even more it could actually be cheaper in the long run than dinosaur oil. if you were to get 1/2 mile per gallon better with synthetic not saying you will but maybe and you normally get 16 mpg then the difference in cost of fuel over 5000 miles if thats how often you change oil would be $18.93 over that distance assuming $2 per gallon. if synthetic costs $3.50 more per quart and you use 5 quarts then you would have saved $3 combined gas and oil over that 5000 miles. 5000 / 16 = 312.5 gallons = $625 plus 5 quarts oil at $1.50 $9 = $634 5000/16.5 = 303 gallons = $606 plus 5 qts synthetic at $5 $25 = $631 as far as owners manuals saying to use synthetic late model dodges do require synthetic in the rear axle if used for towing at least my owner manual for the 2002 1500 and the 2004 dakota require that so it seems that dodge realizes that synthetic is tougher and holds up better than regular oil in that application. dodge doesnt require synthetic in the engine but the benefits of synthetic oil in the engine during cold startups is well known to anyone that has lived in really cold places and tried synthetic. it just flows a lot easier and the engine is more responsive initially with free flowing oil. if your trips are short distance then im sure it would have at least a small impact on fuel mileage. jph .
From : jmc
i forgot to mention it only occurs once the engine is warm. exhaust manifold leak check the bolts that hold the manifolds to the heads. .
From : jmc
suddenly without warning craig@metronet.com exclaimed 4/29/2005 339 pm wanting to own and owning a truck does not make you a redneck. it makes you practical. imho a crew cab ram is the ultimate vehicle. takes cargo passengers tows a load and looks good too. now a ram with a roll bar kc lights glass packs and a 10 inch lift does make you a redneck ... gimmea gimmea gimmea redneck girl ... craig c. waaal a rams a bit big for me yea i know wimp! the daks about the right size. the ol mighty max what a stupid name for a truck! was seeming a mite small. no rollbar or lights but i do have a spray lining metal bed box and side steps. and i bought it with the tow package and heavy-duty alternator etc. i guess im more practical than redneck woulda bought a bullbar if i was sure they were legal here. turns out they are actually. on the other hand it does have a certain eu de horse as ive just noticed my computer room does too though i only ride once a week too expensive here to own my own so i take lessons even if i prefer western. and at the moment i could probably grow daisys in the dirt thats in there... but its cleanish on the outside! when we move out west itll probably sport a gun rack in the back window as well... jmc .
From : j haggerty
only harder if its a 1500. thats one reason i got the 2500 with manual tranny. someone looking at a 2500 will most likely be using it to tow or to work in some fashion and will appreciate the manual over the auto. but on the 1500 a manual is suicide when it comes time to sell it. -- laszlo almasi carolina watercraft works inc. in the battle between money and love money will always triumph i may have to change my signature...... trying to remember if its feasible to switch out stick for an automatic or automatic to stick. what are my options on 2004 stick i dont like the stick that comes with the truck . harder to resell a stick .
From : Annonymous
on 29 apr 2005 205027 -0700 benrachmann@hotmail.com wrote http//cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/ebayisapi.dllviewitem&rd=1&item=7970834716 herrick78363@yahoo.com heheh didja get a knobber from him too .
From : fmb
did you replace or have the heads rebuilt when you rebuilt the bottom end. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving it has been consuming oil since the rebuild and before the rebuild too. it was worst prior to the rebuild a couple of the plugs would foul over time. when i pulled the plugs i was sure i would see oil residue on a plug or two but nothing nosey wrote psion wrote i have a 97 dodge ram 1500 - 318 motor. i rebuilt the engine last summer and i am loosing oil. i just pulled the spark plugs and none of them are black or seem to have any oil in it. i can see no oil leaks and no oil on the ground when parked. if the oil was going out the exhaust pipe wouldnt i see evidence on the plugs anyone got any suggestions has it been consuming oil ever since the rebuild or is it a recent problem .