A Dodge Registry "Dark Thunder"

A friend of mine gave me this 1998 Dodge Ram 1500. The transmission wouldn't get out of 2nd and it needed some basic maintenance. He wanted to give it to a junkyard, but he called me up at work and asked if I wanted it. I said "Hell, yeah!" and brought it home a week later.


Specs:

5.2L V8 (230HP @ 4400RPM / 300 ft.lb. torque @ 3200RPM)
46RE 4-speed Auto
2WD
Single Cab Long Bed
3.55 Gear Ratio
9.25 Chrysler Rear Axle
ST w/ Cruise, A/C, and fogs
126K miles
Towing Capacity of 8000 lbs
Exhaust cut off after Cats
Class IV Hitch 10,000lb GTW

When I brought it home:

Now:

Flexing

Future Mods

Powertrax Lock Right Locker
Dual Battery setup
Better seats

That's pretty much it. I want more MPGs out of it than the measly 10-12 it has around town. The Scan Gauge will help with logging MPG gains and RPMs, and the filter will allow the engine to breath a little better.

Why is the truck jinxed, you say? The answer is simple. I cannot go 2 weeks in a row without something going wrong, be it my fault, general maintenance that's been ignored, or paperwork that's not been done right.

1. Title and Registration issues kept me from driving the truck for 6 months.
2. In trying to get the truck running, the battery craps out
3. When I finally get the truck legal, the radiator blows out on the highway.
4. That same week, I hit a guy who didn't pay attention to traffic, crunching in the fender and destroying the signal lens.
5. While that is being hashed out with the insurance company, the ball joints decide to do the rumba with my steering.
6. Took a while but got the joints done and then did a slide into "home" at 45, because the wheel fell off due to my negligence in checking the lugnuts.
7. With a destroyed knuckle and lower balljoint, I get the pleasure of fixing it in one of Houston's coldest winters.
8. Engine overheated. Nearly zero coolant in reservoir.
9. Transmission slipping out of gear randomly due to Powertrain module
10. While pushing the Explorer up on a trailer, the Ram gets a nose job from the trailer hitch when it kicks off the front rail.
11. Took the Ram on an unscheduled detour and while hopping a curb, I got stuck on the tranny cross member. Getting off required turning the the cross member into a pretzel.
12. Water pump blew out right before I left for Austin to get the part to fix the Explorer.
I know I should be getting the hint now, but I can't get over my attachment to this truck.

Maintenance 'n Mods

Interior
Replacement cup holders
Dash cover

Sound
Two 6x9 Kenwoods
Sony CD/USB/Radio head unit

Suspension/Steering
New Ball Joints
Refurbished driver's side steering knuckle
New inner and outer tie rods
New Gabriel Ultra shocks
New Pitman arm

Brakes
New Rotors and Pads

Drivetrain
New Governor and Governor Sensor for transmission
4 qts Valvoline Synth ATF w/ 1 qt of Lucas Tranny Fix
New Filter and Pan gasket for the Transmission

Engine
New Spark Plugs
New Filter
Oil Change every 4k
New Belt tensioner
New Belt

Exhaust
Cut off after Cats

Body
Fixed floppy antenna
New Wipers

Cooling/Heating
New Radiator
New Water Pump
Drier replaced
Liquid Line replaced

Wheels
265/70/16 Michelin LTX's
Chrome Stars

Lighting
Sylvania Silverstars Headlights
Fog Lights

Accessories/Mods
A.R.E "V" Model Bed Cap
Two 10k lb. Reese Tow Hooks
12v Power Socket in Truck Bed
CB Radio
Scan Gauge II
AEM Brute Force Cold Air Intake

 

[reapereviltwin]

I finally got fed up with my a/c system...or lack thereof. I'm sitting in my truck, boiling for 20 minutes in a 100 degree heat, so by the time I'm done all that sweating has turned me into a shriveled hot shell of a human being. But that's all done now (knock on wood) and with two days of work, a new accumulator, orifice tube, fluid line, and 3 cans of freon...I seem to have my a/c in working order.

Unfortunately, on Saturday, I accrued more battle damage to the Dodge. So, tell me whats wrong with this picture:

I took a small detour to get into a Sonic, which require hopping a curb. Technically I could have made it since I'm running 31's, but the stupid tranny cross member sits so low underneath the truck that it got hooked on the curb, which got me stuck. I panicked and gunned the engine which in turn did a number on that piece of metal. If I had had 4wd I probably could have made it out of that mess.

But the A/C keep working right?

Heck Dan, that is why they make BFH's!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MrQ]

Got a new toy for the Dodge today. I have been waiting for nearly a year to get one of these.

Hopefully my gas mileage will get better, but I still have to get it calibrated for the fuel tank.

 

[rookieshooter]

That's cool, is there a link to that gadget? Wonder what the + - in accuracy is?

 

[MrQ]

Sure thing...

Scan Gauge II

Its basically a real time data display for the OBD II system. It also reads and clears codes, logs mpg, allows you to make performance runs and saves them, it can add extra gauges, has a trip computer and calculates fuel used and cost for the trip etc...

Hitchhikingmike got me in on it when he picked up one for his 02 Explorer. One proviso, apparently MPH and MPG cannnot be calculated on 96-98 Explorers, however there are more gauge options for Ford vehicles.

 

[MrQ]

Another new addition to the Dodge... a AEM Brute Force Air Intake.

I just installed it last night and I must admit that it was a lot more difficult than I imagined. Serves me right for reading the instructions. :

I'm not too crazy about the heat shield. I don't like how it blocks access to the passenger side plugs, so I'll probably rig something up to support the intake tube and get rid of that box.

 

[reapereviltwin]

Nice!

 

[MrQ]

A few weeks ago I replaced the passenger side headlight assembly since it was busted out in the accident earlier this year. And since I got a pair of assemblies I went ahead and replaced the drivers side as well. I was supposed to get a two xenon headlights as well, but one broke on delivery, so I replaced them with silverstars. What a difference from my old headlights.

 

[reapereviltwin]

A few weeks ago I replaced the passenger side headlight assembly since it was busted out in the accident earlier this year. And since I got a pair of assemblies I went ahead and replaced the drivers side as well. I was supposed to get a two xenon headlights as well, but one broke on delivery, so I replaced them with silverstars. What a difference from my old headlights.

Pics?

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

I use silverstars as well and I am very pleased with them. I like the whiter light.

 

[MrQ]

Just posting to say I'm still alive and so is the Dodge. I took the camper off a couple of weeks ago. Just tired of the look, I guess, however I have no intention of selling it right now. So far, the Dodge has been getting a workout going back and forth to school and work, but I'm not finished with it yet. I still want a locker and some bigger tires, but those are going to happen later on. Maybe when school gets out and I have a little more money in the bank. Who knows, it might even get a body lift.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

has you scanguage been working out for you? learned anything interesting about your truck yet form it?

 

[MrQ]

The scan gauge is inaccurate to say the least. But what should I expect since I never calibrated it? It just costs too much to do a complete fill up on the Dodge and at 12mpg in town its down right nasty on the wallet.

I miss my $45 fill ups on my 15mpg Explorer.

Oh and another note, my damn front license plate fell off again. Took getting pulled over before I finally noticed. Fortunately, the officer just wanted to give me a heads up. :whew:

 

[MrQ]

6 hours later....

The Dodge is finally out of the garage. I spent a large part of the day replacing and fixing stuff. First off a trip to Autozone (my first mistake) and walked out of there $200 lighter. I picked up 4 Gabriel Ultra shocks, 5 quarts of Valvoline High Mileage, a Fram Tough Guard oil filter, and a pitman arm puller. Any guess as to where those 6 hours went?

First off, I grabbed the inner and outer tie rod ends that have been laying around for 4 months got them installed and did a quick and dirty alignment to get me to next weeks paycheck.
I then did a quick oil change. I guess I let it go too long as the oil came out filthy dirty, either that or the Mopar filter I used wasn't doing the job. I have been kind of leery of Fram since I heard that they are a low quality filter. But I wasn't about to pay $14-$17 for a K&N, so I said what the hell. I guess I'll see at the next oil change.
Next up the shocks. Gabriels were all they had in stock so I had little choice on what to get other than economy or quality. I went with the best they had. Anything has to be better than those marshmallows coming off. I had installed shocks on the Explorer and these were only slightly different. I think I sprained a few muscles trying to compress them enough to get them in though, but that just lets me know they are gonna do the job. Of course the bolts were stuck on the top of the shock and I was just twisting the upper shell. Locking pliers, a solid stop point and a box wrench solved that problem. I did have to break out the impact on the back ones however.

And last but not least I changed out the differential fluid. After I popped the cover off and took a look at the fluid, I figured out it was pretty much unnecessary as the inside was very clean. A vast difference from what I dealt with on the Explorer's rear end.

All in all it was a good day, for me and the Dodge.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

You never commented if the dodge rides better now!

 

[MrQ]

I haven't really driven it yet. I'll be testing it out really well tomorrow.

 

[black91EB]

sounds like the dodge is making a nice daily driver. Btw check out my registry, I've been bumper building again.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

You know, friends don't let friends use Fram . I use Amsoil absolute efficiency Ea oil filters. They filter down to 20 microns and the construction of the filter is superior to others. They are also guaranteed a range up to 15k miles, making them equivalent in cost to two cheap filters. I have never run past 12k though miles on a single filter before.

Might want to check it out:
Dead Link Removed

But if you were already spending a lot of money on other parts I understand opting for the Fram.

 

[MrQ]

It's been about 2 months since I updated this. I sold the Ram to my dad so I could get my new ride, Red Bull. I do miss the extra room I had in the truck, but I don't miss the size or the gas mileage. It was probably a good thing too as nearly $60 a week in gas was killing me.

 

[MrQ]

After I bought Red Bull, I realized that I missed my truck. Don't get me wrong, Red Bull is amazing and I love him dearly, but the Ram was very good to me and I really wanted it back. So I set up a deal with my dad and within the next month it will be mine again.

It still has that nasty coolant leak from a bad freeze plug and the pitman arm needs to be replaced, but on the good side, it now has a dash cover, brand new Michelin's that my dad got for free, the bumper cover and a working cup holder plus all the work I did before I sold it to my Dad.

I have a month to get it ready for Banditfest, so here we go...

 

[rookieshooter]

Awesome!