98 Dodge Ram question(s)
Sorry for such a long post!!
I just bought a 98 Dodge Ram 1500 truck. Its got 183K miles on it. It was a one owner and he gave me many of his receipts which were from a local Dodge dealership. Heres the important info that I have found,
rebuilt rear @ 105K including pinion bearing and clutch kit,
right axle u-joint @ 127K,
drums and rotors @ 135K,
left upper & lower ball joints, left outer tie rod, track bar, alignment, oil pump @ 165K
Fuel pump @ 180K
Of course there may be more done that he didnt save receipts for. Its hard to believe that both side ball joints and tie rod ends wouldnt have needed replaced but thats all the ones I can verify have been done.
It was last inspected and driven in 2009, when it started to let him sit and thats when the fuel pump was installed. He claims that over 3 or 4 trips to the dealership after being towed in they replaced many different sensors installed the pump but it still stalled. Of course he doesnt remember what sensors they were. He finally got tired of being left along road so he bought a cheap vehicle and never could afford to put more money back into truck.
So after sitting for between 7-8 years I ended up with it.
My plan is to install a dist pick up, good tuneup including plugs, wires, cap, rotor, PCV, breathers, plenum gaskets, clean/mod throttle body, clean IAC, oil change, coolant change, trans fluid/filter change, rear oil change, transfer fluid change.
Now heres what I found this weekend. Engine started right up after installing new battery, Wouldnt idle below 1500 RPMs and had a slight miss until about 2500 RPMs then seems to go away. Ran for only about 5 minutes total saturday as it was clean up exterior day!
Truck has absolutely NO brakes. No fluid at all in the MC.
Now back at it today, clean up day for interior but I decided to check a few engine things first. Added 1 gal of antifreeze as thats all I had there and couldnt see level in rad as still low. Checked oil, PS fluid, trans fluid levels. Fuel gauge said empty so I added 5 gal plus a can of seafoam to both oil and fuel. Started it up and ran at 2000 RPMs (65 PSI oil)until temp started going up. It went all the way over to about 220-240 and no heat in heater. Motor sounds good no tapping or rapping. Shut it down and left it sit for 5 minutes. Felt both heater hoses and rad hoses. No real temp in any but one heater hose luk warm but both rad hoses cold. Rad felt cold. Restarted and temps going up still wont stay running under 1500 RPMs so I keep it around 2000 RPMs once temp gets to 210-220 the needle drops back down to about 200* starts climbing again then falls to about 180-190 and stays there. STill wont idle but now it will go down to 1000 RPMs. i let it run there for 10 minutes, temps stay the same, and eventually it will stay running at idle. Temp still good, heat starts to come up in heater vents. engine smoothing out. I let it run for about 45 minutes revving it from time to time and sounding good. No tap or rapping, no oil leaks or trans leaks, No coolant leaks visible. Oil pressure holding at 40 PSi at idle and 60-65 when above 2500.
Here are the questions I have as this needs to be a safe for towing my trailer with Dart.
Engine:
Are there any other things other then coolant hoses I should address? Not going to do them until after I drive it a few times to be sure no leaks. Will be pulling plugs and doing a compression test of all cyls, tuning up with parts I mentioned earlier in post.
Should I go to a synthetic oil? Recommendations? I normally use Brad Penn oil. He was using a standard 5-30 oil.
Transmission:
The Napa man was telling me there is a filter in some of these trucks that is built into one of the trans lines, I didnt find it but the line at the rad is rubber and replaceable. He was going to check for a listing. I plan on pulling down the pan gasket and replacing the filter. While its down should I install a shift kit since I will be towing? Any other mods I should do to trans?
What type of fluid should I use in transfer case?
Also the shifter at steering wheel has the end taped on so do I have to replce the whole lever or can I just buy replace the handle? I havent removed the tape to look at it. Not sure if tow button switch works. Does that disengage the overdrive?
Brakes:
Will be turning both rotors and drums, replacing the shoes and pads, rear wheel cyls and hold down spring kits, front hoses and calipers, rear hose. Not sure about the master cyl yet but will be running/flushing fluid first. Gong to use DOT 3 or should I step up to DOT 5?
Suspension:
Dont know what shocks are like but expect to replace after sitting that long. Suggestions on brand if need done.
Will need 4 tires before it can be driven as ones old are rotted very bad. Will be installing Hankook ATMs.
Well that should keep me busy for a while. I cant get on the lift until I get dads Monte Carlo back together but thats another story!
Here are Some pics of the truck. I have removed the push bar in the frt and if anyone needs it I am selling it cheap! I removed the lights as I did need them for another project!
Thanks and I look forward to your help
Rod
Sorry for such a long post!!
I just bought a 98 Dodge Ram 1500 truck. Its got 183K miles on it. It was a one owner and he gave me many of his receipts which were from a local Dodge dealership. Heres the important info that I have found,
rebuilt rear @ 105K including pinion bearing and clutch kit,
right axle u-joint @ 127K,
drums and rotors @ 135K,
left upper & lower ball joints, left outer tie rod, track bar, alignment, oil pump @ 165K
Fuel pump @ 180K
Of course there may be more done that he didnt save receipts for. Its hard to believe that both side ball joints and tie rod ends wouldnt have needed replaced but thats all the ones I can verify have been done.
It was last inspected and driven in 2009, when it started to let him sit and thats when the fuel pump was installed. He claims that over 3 or 4 trips to the dealership after being towed in they replaced many different sensors installed the pump but it still stalled. Of course he doesnt remember what sensors they were. He finally got tired of being left along road so he bought a cheap vehicle and never could afford to put more money back into truck.
So after sitting for between 7-8 years I ended up with it.
My plan is to install a dist pick up, good tuneup including plugs, wires, cap, rotor, PCV, breathers, plenum gaskets, clean/mod throttle body, clean IAC, oil change, coolant change, trans fluid/filter change, rear oil change, transfer fluid change.
Now heres what I found this weekend. Engine started right up after installing new battery, Wouldnt idle below 1500 RPMs and had a slight miss until about 2500 RPMs then seems to go away. Ran for only about 5 minutes total saturday as it was clean up exterior day!
Truck has absolutely NO brakes. No fluid at all in the MC.
Now back at it today, clean up day for interior but I decided to check a few engine things first. Added 1 gal of antifreeze as thats all I had there and couldnt see level in rad as still low. Checked oil, PS fluid, trans fluid levels. Fuel gauge said empty so I added 5 gal plus a can of seafoam to both oil and fuel. Started it up and ran at 2000 RPMs (65 PSI oil)until temp started going up. It went all the way over to about 220-240 and no heat in heater. Motor sounds good no tapping or rapping. Shut it down and left it sit for 5 minutes. Felt both heater hoses and rad hoses. No real temp in any but one heater hose luk warm but both rad hoses cold. Rad felt cold. Restarted and temps going up still wont stay running under 1500 RPMs so I keep it around 2000 RPMs once temp gets to 210-220 the needle drops back down to about 200* starts climbing again then falls to about 180-190 and stays there. STill wont idle but now it will go down to 1000 RPMs. i let it run there for 10 minutes, temps stay the same, and eventually it will stay running at idle. Temp still good, heat starts to come up in heater vents. engine smoothing out. I let it run for about 45 minutes revving it from time to time and sounding good. No tap or rapping, no oil leaks or trans leaks, No coolant leaks visible. Oil pressure holding at 40 PSi at idle and 60-65 when above 2500.
Here are the questions I have as this needs to be a safe for towing my trailer with Dart.
Engine:
Are there any other things other then coolant hoses I should address? Not going to do them until after I drive it a few times to be sure no leaks. Will be pulling plugs and doing a compression test of all cyls, tuning up with parts I mentioned earlier in post.
Should I go to a synthetic oil? Recommendations? I normally use Brad Penn oil. He was using a standard 5-30 oil.
Transmission:
The Napa man was telling me there is a filter in some of these trucks that is built into one of the trans lines, I didnt find it but the line at the rad is rubber and replaceable. He was going to check for a listing. I plan on pulling down the pan gasket and replacing the filter. While its down should I install a shift kit since I will be towing? Any other mods I should do to trans?
What type of fluid should I use in transfer case?
Also the shifter at steering wheel has the end taped on so do I have to replce the whole lever or can I just buy replace the handle? I havent removed the tape to look at it. Not sure if tow button switch works. Does that disengage the overdrive?
Brakes:
Will be turning both rotors and drums, replacing the shoes and pads, rear wheel cyls and hold down spring kits, front hoses and calipers, rear hose. Not sure about the master cyl yet but will be running/flushing fluid first. Gong to use DOT 3 or should I step up to DOT 5?
Suspension:
Dont know what shocks are like but expect to replace after sitting that long. Suggestions on brand if need done.
Will need 4 tires before it can be driven as ones old are rotted very bad. Will be installing Hankook ATMs.
Well that should keep me busy for a while. I cant get on the lift until I get dads Monte Carlo back together but thats another story!
Here are Some pics of the truck. I have removed the push bar in the frt and if anyone needs it I am selling it cheap! I removed the lights as I did need them for another project!
Thanks and I look forward to your help
Rod