98 Dodge 1-ton

[jason]

Got the hydraboost, power steering pump and vaccum pump ripped out. Now my column is toast. There is about a 1/2" of side-to-side play in it. Probably contributed to the steering problems. I think I have the steering column left over from the donor truck, since we couldn't seperate the wheel and column at their shop, so they let me have the whole shebang. Not sure how in the fuck a column gets worn, but it is. The box, shaft, pump, etc. would be no good with a worn-out column. Good news is, I'm finding all this stuff and get to replace it!!!

[djgaston]

You should call this thing RoboTruck because there won't be anything original left in it by the time you are done!

[jason]

The only major things that are original are the cab, frame and axles. Everything else has been replaced (or I have the parts to do it). Trans, engine, fenders, bed, bumpers, hood, they've all been replaced. That's not even counting the minor stuff like radiators, driveshafts and interior pieces. The frame and cab will stay, the axles.................................................probably not.

[jason]

A/C spring lock connectors are a pain in the ass. Especially on this dodge. The entire system (minus the compressor and evaporator core) was replaced 2 years ago by a shop locally. The A/C was cold, but the airflow was nil at best. Found out the evaporator core was 100% plugged (not sure if I mentioned that previously). Well, while waiting for the bushing to come in, I thought I would tackle the replacement. Things went smoothly with the dash, until it came time for the spring locks. I will attach a pic to explain the problems:

The lower of the two lines is 5/8". The upper, bigger fitting, I have no idea. I have some nice aluminum spring lock connectors, but neither the 3/4" or 7/8" would work. It like it's a 13/16" or metric, but there is no such tool. I ended up borrowing one from a local napa for a bit that was 3/4", and getting it to form around the connector. Even with a core there and their tools, we couldn't find out what size it is. In talking with the shop tech today, he recommends replacing the receiver/drier while the system is open to the atmosphere, because it absorbs moisture from the air (which I agree with, and it's only $30).

Hopefully this fixes the problem with the air, as it seems cold, just no airflow. I bet if I was to put my hand by the cowl, I would feel air coming from there. I did manage to break my e-brake release handle. I don't know how I managed last time to get the heater core out without breaking it, but this time I did. So the hunt starts for a new handle.

[jason]

Woohoo! Finally got that POS HVAC box out. Bad news is, I need a new dash. Looks like Geno's is getting a call next week for a replacement dash. I for the life of me could not get the box out without cracking the dash (and busting a stud off the box in the process). The passenger side hinge point on the dash was completely off the bolt, and resting on the seat. I busted the top part of the dash by the vents into about 20 pieces. At that point, I didn't give a shit, as I just wanted the damned thing out.

Okay, onto the good stuff:

The housing out. Let's see what's inside of this thing...

HVAC housing 1.JPG

Ewwwww!!! This was the top half (or bottom, can't brain right now). That is an oily, dusty residue in there. I actually had to use engine degreaser and hose it out to get it clean. I plan on REALLY scrubbing this thing to get it clean. I suppose the mixture of no maintenance, leaking engine seals and dusty/clay-ridden environments helped this along. Wait until you see the evaporator...

HVAC housing 2.JPG

Yum!!! This was only half of what actually came out. The rest was on the floor of my garage. Pet hair, leaves, pine needles, clumps of dirt/clay, cigarettes, pencils, pen caps, beer bottle caps and a piece of paper (approx. 4"x4") were all sitting nicely in the front of this, causing no air.

evaporator core 1.JPG

Last pic. This one shows it with the foam piece removed (not sure if I need to re-use it or not). Explains the low airflow in both heat and A/C settings. I could have vaccumed all this crap out by snaking a smaller piece of hose attached to my shop vac, but the rest of it was a total loss. The shiny center was the only place the air would flow through. So if you have low airflow, check this out. Could be the culprit.

evaporator core 2.JPG

[jason]

Okay, new dash is on the way, as well as some Maxx Link swaybar links for the front. The D25 skyjacker springs I had planned to buy are on backorder until September 10th, but should be here by the 15th. Bad thing is, the replacement dash won't be here for at least 2 weeks, more like 3. Which leaves me only 2 days to get this entire thing back together before it goes to the shop on the 15th for a complete front and rear axle rebuild. New seals, bearings, balljoints, and best of all, 3.73's!!!!!!! These 4.10's are going to kill me in RPMs. I thought about 3.55/4's, but wanted to still be able to get a good-sized load going. They seemed to fit the bill, as 3.73's will have me doing 70 mph at 2k RPMs with my pizza cutter dually tires. Hopefully by the first week, I will have a rebuild trans and transfercase from Denver here. Not sure when I'll be able to make it out there to get it, as work has me on 12's until the end of September. Getting up at 1:30 AM is easy, if you go to bed at 6 PM.

I will have some new pics tomorrow, instead of a bunch of words. Because I like pics. Words suck.

[jason]

NEW DASH!!! Looks super-cool in black, as I don't think black was ever an option on 2nd gen rams. I am thinking about painting all the interior trim pieces black to match. My pillar pod is black as well. The factory mist gray paint was $9 a can from Geno's. It would have taken 3 to do the dash, and the pillar pod. Anyway, this is the one:



It came from genosgarage.com. The ONLY thing I will advise anyone to is the defrost mounts. On the OEM dash, there are 2 places for screws on each of the 4 vents for the defrost. This replacement dash has none. I'm thinking about double-sided tape (the 3M gray foam stuff). My old dash cracked in 5 giant pieces, so nothing was salvageable, except the felt. I'll see if I can take some pics tomorrow after work. According to Geno's, this dash has a lifetime replacement warranty. I don't know too many folks that have bought one, and haven't found any write-ups for installing one. It's not like it's super hard to install, but the defrost vents will be challenging. I could possibly plastic weld some tabs onto the bottom of the dash, then get some of the speed nut clips from Lowe's. I don't think they would void the warranty for modifications, would they?

[BIGMAC]

Dang Jason, you been busy. Sucks about the dash busting up on you. My dash in my '01 is MINT. No cracks at all. But, I need to do the heater core & I know as soon as I start pulling the dash out its gonna bust all to hell.

I can vouch for the quality of the dash from Geno's. A friend of mine from work just put one in. Very good quality & well worth the $$$ IMO. Not to mention it has a lifetime warranty. His factory dash was busted up so bad the cluster was falling out Im not sure about the defrost vents i'll ask him next time I see him.

Yup, black was an option on the 2nd gens. My '00 sport was black. Dodge called it Charcoal, but it looked black

[jason]

My '01 has the "agate" interior color, which could have been black at one point, but is faded to a dark grayish color. I just didn't recall seeing a black interior package available. Yeah, if you wouldn't mind, see what he did about the defrost vents. Hopefully it's something easy to do, as double-sided tape may not hold the weight of the vent tube/assembly through the heat and cold cycles.

[jason]

Well, the axles were more than I anticipated. Talked with the owner today, and it will be in the 13th of October for new gears. $1950 is what it looks like. The rear axle split is 3.73 and down, 4.10 and up. So it will need a new carrier for the rear. The good news is, that price includes new front axle u-joints. I didn't realize they had 1480's up front. Good news for me, not for the wallet. At least the axles will be, in a sense, brand new. Yukons in the rear, US gear up front.

I also ordered up a sport headlight conversion harness today. I wanted the upgraded harness with relays, instead of running the power through the switch. But since I need/want new headlights up front, I figured I would go with the sport version, instead of the 1-piece black ones. I believe the price is the same. The cool thing is, with this particular harness, both bulbs will be on in low, and both on in high. In addition to crappy steering parts, trac bars and what-not, headlights on these rams are sub-par at best. Maybe now I will be able to see (not to mention every single attach point on my current headlights is broken, thus eliminating any chance of adjustment). This is the harness: http://suvlights.com/product_info.php?products_id=116.