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1st Gen. Ram - All TopicsDiscussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.
When I worked as a wrench, 30 plus years ago, we had this tester, which would not only tell us the condition of the battery, but also the charging system. I know you have your digital meter inside the cab now, but I would like to see this on the battery, before you start it, and during the initial morning start up. See what is happening, at the battery cables during start up and the first minute or two. See if its corresponding to what you see at the meter in the cab.
Really crazy how things have Changed, over the years. That tool was several hundred dollars, back in the day, and now its less than a case of beer to own one...
I ordered a new set of Isspro gauges (pyro, boost and fuel pressure) from Thoroughbred Diesel they will be here tomorrow. I have a glowshift pillar pod I'm going to mount them in, not really happy with it but will make it work, also bought the fuel pressure isolator, it was a bit spendy but I figured it would keep the fuel out of the cab. I will try to post some pics of the install when I do it
Thanks Oliver, I think that it was -10 F..I really like how you say "not that cold" and "-15" in the same sentence ...Mark
It was unexpectedly cold last night at -22F. My 1/2 full jug of straight antifreeze was insulated under 2 1/2 feet of snow, so that is not much of a test. I did check the radiator on Poncho that spent the night in the pole barn it was totally happy.
I didn't flush the whole system before topping it off with pure antifreeze, so there was some 50/50 mix still left in the heater core. I did remove and totally drain the radiator and the block was also drained well as I had the oil cooler off for a reseal.
Replaced my inner axle shaft seals, drained and refilled the front diff, finished the passenger side ball joints, brake pads, front shocks and installed a new track bar (this is all 2nd Gen stuff). Lubed everything with Lucas X-TRA heavy duty green grease and took her for a spin. All I can say is WOW! She’s driving great now. If I get the chance during the week, I’ll do the rear shocks, as well as rear shoes and Chevy 1 ton rear wheel cylinders (bigger bore than the Dodge ones). I only want to pull the drums off once, so I have to wait for a 2nd set of hands, since I'll need to bleed the brakes. I killed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
As a side note, when you're covered in grease, washing up with WD-40, followed by your favorite hand cleaner works like a charm.
My truck has made me a good Rock Auto customer. I swear that I don't buy their parts just to get a free magnet...... Over the past year, this has become the shop fridge and I have more at home too
Replaced my inner axle shaft seals, drained and refilled the front diff, finished the passenger side ball joints, brake pads, front shocks and installed a new track bar (this is all 2nd Gen stuff). Lubed everything with Lucas X-TRA heavy duty green grease and took her for a spin. All I can say is WOW! She’s driving great now. If I get the chance during the week, I’ll do the rear shocks, as well as rear shoes and Chevy 1 ton rear wheel cylinders (bigger bore than the Dodge ones). I only want to pull the drums off once, so I have to wait for a 2nd set of hands, since I'll need to bleed the brakes. I killed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
As a side note, when you're covered in grease, washing up with WD-40, followed by your favorite hand cleaner works like a charm.
I got some of those plastic gloves if the work is going to be really dirty. Then I just throw them away. Otherwise I use the WD-40 followed by Dawn.
‘89 W250 ; Tore out my carpet & mat, removed the seat & belts, put two coats of bed liner on my floor after finding my windshield seal apparently is leaking due to it shrinking on the corners. It rained this last weekend & after it not being driven all week, I opened er up & reminded me of my gym locker. I pulled up the step plates on the drivers side & put my hand under the carpet mat & it was soaked ! So, Out it all came to dry & upon seeing my floor is still in perfect condition, and decided to hopefully keep it that way, I bed linered it. Next, windshield & seal time. My question is ; the wires running from the firewall, across the floor pan, to the seat belt reel on the drivers side ..... can they be eliminated ? Apparently one pair goes to the seatbelt for the driver, I’m assuming for the “ latched “ indication that you put it on. Can this just be twisted together for a closure, is that what the dash indicator needs to see ? And what are the other wires going to ? I’m trying to do away with them, if possible, don’t like them being crushed against the floor pan every time you get in & out of the truck, they are getting worn. I’ll try & trace the others down tomorrow, but figured I’d ask the “ community “, I’m sure someone knows what these wires do. Thanks !
For the seatbelt wires, I would assume that you can just tie them together. The seatbelt should be making a normally open contact, close, when you insert the seatbelt. If it were me, I would turn the key ON, watch the dash, then connect the 2 wires. Unless it’s a normally closed contact, which I highly doubt.
It was unexpectedly cold last night at -22F. My 1/2 full jug of straight antifreeze was insulated under 2 1/2 feet of snow, so that is not much of a test. I did check the radiator on Poncho that spent the night in the pole barn it was totally happy.
I didn't flush the whole system before topping it off with pure antifreeze, so there was some 50/50 mix still left in the heater core. I did remove and totally drain the radiator and the block was also drained well as I had the oil cooler off for a reseal.
I am ready to stop this investigation and call pure antifreeze innocent of freezing, or not ...Mark
Yesterday I pulled the afc cover to inspect the diaphragm with a new one ready to go to try and fix my low power issue. Ended up deciding to just try it with the new diaphragm and keep the old one as a spare. After having the truck have even less power then before and not even be able to build boost hardly, I went back home panicked and put the old diaphragm back in and tried driving it again and got the same result. I then checked some things under the hood and went to start the truck again, but it wouldn’t start. Seems like it isn’t getting fuel so I think my FSS must be gummed up again. It has been a while since it got gummed up last, but I suspect that there may still be a small amount of gunk in the fuel system. So I am going to check the FSS. I also am going to reapply some multi purpose grease to the fuel pin since my dad thought it was just crud and wiped it all off. I need to check the little slide pin down inside that rides on the fuel pin as well to make sure it isn’t stuck. If it is I will have to fill the bore with something (I’ve had WD-40 and diesel suggested; one or the other of course rather than a mix of the two ) to loosen it up. Thank you to Alec, NJTman, and tcows for contributing in my thread on this issue!
As for today I haven’t yet gotten home from school to check it, so the closest I have come to doing anything to it yet today was look at Edge’s CS2 and the new wiring harness they came out with that allows you to hook their monitor to a non-OBD-2 vehicle. Pretty nice! I’m almost tempted to ditch the GlowShift 3-in-1 gauge for it. The Edge CS2 is a bit pricier though. Just getting the wiring harness, monitor, and EGT harness cost as much as the GlowShift 3-in-1, ISSPRO tachometer, and a fuel pressure gauge combined plus the GlowShift pod to fit them in. Still kind of tempting since it is such a slick set up, but because of funds I would have to limit myself to having just the EGT for now if I went with the Edge. If any of you aren’t quite as tight on funds as I am then I think the Edge is probably the slickest setup and easiest to install. A CTS2 monitor would be even better, but also more expensive.
Well, having tried everything else, a relay to get the straight battery(+) to the regulator and a new plug for the regulator I noticed that my voltage was spiking over 20 volts today. So even though I had tested it, I decided to run a #10 wire from my battery(-) to the case of the voltage regulator.
Now my voltmeter sits at 14.0 to 14.3 volts and doesn't spike. Whether this will prove to be a final fix for this issue remains to be seen.
Well, having tried everything else, a relay to get the straight battery(+) to the regulator and a new plug for the regulator I noticed that my voltage was spiking over 20 volts today. So even though I had tested it, I decided to run a #10 wire from my battery(-) to the case of the voltage regulator.
Now my voltmeter sits at 14.0 to 14.3 volts and doesn't spike. Whether this will prove to be a final fix for this issue remains to be seen.
Jim Lane was right. I should know better.
Not surprising that Jim is right. Its his NORM. Careful, he needs to fit through his entry door at home, tonight, and we wouldn't want him to require his wife smother his head with grease to get him to fit through.
these trucks are silly, ground losing wonders of machinery.
03-18-2018, 08:09 AM
