Bought a 97 down in Texas from WKener here on the boards, head down to pick it up on Memorial Day. Was under a load yesterday and met up with him to look it over and take it for a spin, was impressed for sure. I can't wait to get back down there and drive it home. This truck will complement the 01 3/4 ton gasser I already have.

Mods will be very slow to come, but I will be bumping up the power a little bit. Two questions though: Fuel gauge doesn't work, we both assumed sender, does it require dropping the tank? And cruise is inoperable right now, any suggestions on what to look for? Thanks.

 

To get at the sender , it is easier to raise one side of the bed than to drop the tank.

As fas as the cruise control goes , first off , check the vaccum lines , make sure the actuator is getting vaccum, next check to see if you have power at your switches with the key on, and again check for power at the actuator with the key on. The switches in my truck appear to be going bad , if i clean them with some electrical cleaner , my cruise works for a few weeks , then stops again until i clean the switches , so that might be something to look into too.

 

i have to disagree with raising the bed...as long as your bolts aren't rusty, it will take no time to drop the tank...i just replaced the fuel sender on my 97 2500, and it took about an hour total to drop, replace, and reinstall tank

 

Yeah, sometimes the straps snap for you anyway. :P

Chrysler makes an updated version of those...

 

Do they snap due to rust, or fatigue, or both? The truck is very clean underneath, very little rust on fasteners and such. I don't see it being a problem getting everything loosened and dropping the tank. I'll just run it down to about 5 or so gallons, guessing of course, and do it.

As for the cruise, where is the actuator located? I am going to try to get that working for the 1200 mile trip home, but if it's nothing simple, I'll just live without til I get back. Thanks all for the help.