City Rat

and bought this 1999 Dodge Ram 2500,24 valve 5.9l, 5 speed, 4x4 with a full sized 8 foot bed. Not sure where the new guy intro posts got so mods please feel free to move this to wherever else is appropriate. Anyway, it has 187k miles on the clock with 1 owner. Over all the truck is in very good condition. I has 1 significant, 50 cent piece sized rust hole and three quarter sized rust induced, paint bubbles. I found a guy who is going to cut that all out, weld in new sheet metal, prep and paint them before I pick it up next weekend.

I plan to use the truck as utility vehicle/hunting rig. I plan to use it to haul building and yard supplies for projects around my house, haul my kids crap around as they move from apartment to apartment as they get established and moderate off road use to get in and out of hunting spots during deer, bear, turkey seasons.

I have some experience doing off road touring and driving and know what it takes to make a capable off road rig. That said my last project was a short wheel based 1980 diesel Toyota Landcruiser which was a beast billy goating up mountain trails and doing river crossings on 35s with e-lockers, yes I miss that rig. This will be very different. First, this rig is in much better shape to begin with, little to no rust and the engine and tranny are running great so far. Second big difference is that I need to prep this rig to be a bit multi purpose and not a dedicated off road rig that is streetable. That means compromises, i.e. how to balance lift and suspension mods to make it capable for mild off road with maintaining towing and hauling capacity. I am really hoping to learn a lot from you guys as I work through the plan of how best to tackle this.

The Current Plan:
1- Basics: Before anything fancy gets done the basics get put on a strong footing, i.e., all fluids flushed, air, oil and fuel filters replaced, belts and hoses checked and replaced as needed, batteries checked and replaced as needed, brake rotors and drums inspected and replaced if necessary, pads and shoes replaced. After that I keep the truck on a very aggressive preventive maintenance schedule. Please let me know what else I should be looking out for or taking care of while doing this.

2- Steering/Front End: The steering feels a little loose, not unsafe mind, it just passed state inspection, but it could stand some attention. So take a hard inventory of PS box, TREs, idler arms, sway bars, etc. and figure out what needs to be replaced and schedule it out. Again looking for all of your input here, especially on the wisdom of any kind of hydro boost or other ways to tighten steering.

3- Suspension: Take a hard look at the shocks and front coils, the leaves in the rear look pretty new. Of course all of this gets pulled together in a lift. If possible I would like to be able to haul and tow and still run 35s/315s. I just don't know if that is possible on this vehicle. I would really be interested in hearing from you guys on this as well. If I have to settle for 33s/285s so as not to lose hauling or towing capacity, so be it. That just means that the rig will be a little less capable off road but again nothing this large was ever going to be a dedicated off road rig. I am hoping to pull alot of this together in a good lift kit, augmented if necessary with fresh body and engine and transmission mounts.

4- Bumpers and Winch: This is the easiest no brainer piece of this to do. The rear stock bumper has rot, which for once I can say I was happy to see because it ave me some additional leverage in bargaining the price down and an excuse to pitch it for something else. The front bumper has to go as I am intent on having a bumper mounted winch.

Yeah this is a big plan. The last time I did this it took three years which is why I broke it down in phases like this, so that it can be tackled in bite sized chunks. I really hope that you guys bring on your suggestions and experience throughout, that is why I joined, to learn from folks who have plowed this ground before. Thanks.

SIXSLUG

Welcome to the site! Sounds like a solid plan for a build.

high bid

Recommended to read and read again on this great site when ya have questions. So many answers to upgrades, troubleshoting, mods and overall maintenance. Good luck and welcome.

MontanaRam

Your truck looks a lot like mine. Welcome to the site.




100 0330

City Rat

Thought that I'd post up a progress report I'll have some pics in a few weeks.
Steering:
So I took the truck in to get a second opinion on what was the source of the really sloppy, 4 inches of swing in either direction, steering. As you guys know, steering diagnosis and fixes are hard because if you really want to track the cause down you have to be patient and deal with one thing at a time rather than throw parts at the problem. So verdict the ball joints were shot and the driver's side tre was sliding on a banana peel. I had them swap those bits out and while it helpede, we were looking at still 3 inches of swing either way, just scary on narrow country roads at night. I checked the steering shaft and it was just rusted and scaled over and decided that the play was in the box and the shaft, just based on age 16 years old. I ordered the Redhead 18:1 box and ended up getting the best fitment with a Boregson shaft. My hunch was right, now down to just over an inch of swing either way. I was next headed to grab an adjustable track bar and call it good when I started looking hard at upgrading the 99 HD steering links. Read through the longest thread in existence, 99 pages, but lots of good info. Short answer for the 99 guys, you can get the Mopar kit, which is just new versions of the exact same stuff that you have now or heavier guage aftermarket kits from Dodge Off Road, EMF or soon to be released Synergy. I will probably grab up the Synergy kit from CJC after speaking to their tech folks and engineers, when it comes out along with an adjustable track bad and steering box brace. and call whatever results after that the best I can get in terms of steering.

Brakes:
While we were under the truck looking for play in the steering parts we saw that my brake pads on the drivers side were shot, down to the metal and had gouged the rotor so I had to go in for new rotors and pads on both sides up front. So even though it was ahead of schedule on the build, at least the front brakes are sorted out at this point. Still need to think about the state of the drums and shoes in the rear and whether or not the one ton wheel cylinders are a worthwhile upgrade. Thoughts?

Frame:
This has caused me some considerable heartburn. Again while up on the lift rust just kept falling off the drivers side front frame horn and there are through and through holes there right at the mount for the bumper. As far as I'm concerned nothing else on this truck is getting touched until the frame gets blasted, repaierd and coated in POR 15. I got lucky as a good frame place, small two man operation, is just around the corner and this will only take about a week to blast the frame, box in and weld on fresh metal on the front and a bit in the right rear and then get it all coated . Once that is done me and my wallet will take a breather for a while before I start the next phase. Pics to come as soon as I get them.

SIXSLUG

Steering- mine got everything but a box and shaft. I added the DSS hoping it would help ease stress on the front frame horns by supporting the steering box shaft. Couldn't really tell any difference but warm and fuzzy knowing its in there...A good trac bar will keep the axle in place left to right, check your control arm bushings also for forward and back movement. Ball joints and tie rod ends make a big difference. Guys say driving a 2nd gen is like trying to guide an elephant with rubber bands..ha!

I've read the 1 ton cylinders are worth the work for improved rear braking. I've got discs so only comment...

I'd consider new calipers up front, a bad caliper will ruin the rotor and pads pretty quickly. I think NAPA premiums are 86 bucks each side...also grease the slider area so they can move freely.

Sounds like the frame work is mandatory so good plan.

patdaly

Make very sure you get the right taper to fit your 99. 1994 to 1999 trucks used a different tie rod taper than 2000 up trucks did.

Us 94-97 guys grab MOOG 98-99 stuff for the best HD linkage that fits correctly.

City Rat

Absolutely. If there was one thing that came through in doing the research was that point and how some guys have tried to ream their way out of the difference in taper. The Synergy folks say that they are supplying a kit that is truly a direct bolt on with correct fitment at every loint.

gorms

The Chevy 1 ton wheel cylinders should be mandantory with something like 35's. They're pretty cheap and work well with either oversize tires or stopping a load, or both. Not so good for stock-ish tires empty, too much grab I found.

City Rat

It always pays to decode the VIN...
As I am not the initial owner and there is no owners manual that came with the truck I decided to do a VIN search to see what I could learn about the features and specs of this truck as I am starting to work my way through the build. I went to this site: VIN decoder is the best online tool to check vin number | VinDecoderz.com and it not only gave me the specs for the rig, recall data but also any complaints made by the PO to the gummint. From the VIN search the fuel transfer pump, failed on him when the truck ticked over 72,000 miles in October of 2002. The truck began to lose power while climbing a grade and with his family aboard on vacation. He was able to safely get the vehicle off the road and replaced the factory fuel transfer pump and this cured his power loss problem. Apparently he complained to Daimler/Chrysler with no positive results so he notified NHTSA. I am very thankful that he and his family made it ok and that he stuck with the issue and complained. His actual report is attached to my truck's permanent record now and I read it cover to cover. Given that he noted that this was a factory defect I am hopeful that when he replaced this it was not with another factory pump but I guess I won't know until I can get a to take a hard look at the engine. I guess at least for the second owner the moral of the story is decode your VIN. Last anyone know when Dodge fixed the fuel transfer pump problem? Any chance that if the P.O. swapped in an OEM replacement part in October 02 that it was a part that was re-worked to fix the issue?

patdaly

The factory fix, at least later was to move it from the block to the tank. Do what you want, but a quick 15 minute change on the roadside is preferable to dropping the tank to me.

If I owned one, I would have a spare LP with me, with my luck, it would never fail.

City Rat

That explains a lot. When did they do that fix, before or after 1999, if you know? Thanks.

patdaly

It was after 1999, the factory changed production to in-tank in 2004.5, I know the fix was before that date, but after the 3rd Gen was out.

I switched more than a few of them back for people when their in-tank pump died.

SIXSLUG

Mine was warranteed to the in tank version in 06 IIRC. The ecm died in Western Montana, and a week later the lp died and they put the in tank pump in under warranty. After it dropped from 8 psi to around 5 I pulled the trigger on a FASS and haven't had any issues with pressure since...

City Rat

Great, so chances are that when the previous owner had the fuel transfer pump replaced under warranty in 2002 it probably stayed on the block, in which case it won't be that hard to change it to a FASS.