Hi guys, new here...

955 Views 16 Replies 9 Participants Last post by midnite ram, Oct 20, 2006

NORTEXED

Discussion Starter · Oct 17, 2006

3

Hi folks, just recently found this place and it's great. Helped me with a stop light switch problem on the wifes Caravan. About me, 51, 2 kiddoes, ALWAYS owned Fords untill we bought my wifes Voyager in 93, then replaced it with a Grand Caravan in 2000, then had my Bronco wrecked in 2002 and wound up with a minty 99 Ram 1500 QC. At this point, it would be hard to get me in anything but a Dodge Chrysler product now. We are just having such great service out of them, I'm sold. The Ram is in the shop as I write this though, a guy ran a 4 way stop last Tuesday and slid across the front of my Ram, messing up the bumper, grill, and his rear view whacked the hood. Fortunately, he had insurance, and it was clearly his fault (the 60 Y.O. housewife /deacon in the church sitting next to where he came through stayed and gave police her statement, thank you). I'm supposed to have my baby back Thursday.

Before:

After:

Course, I know I'm lucky, had I been 2 seconds quicker or he been 2 seconds slower, he would have been in the drivers door with me.

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1 - 17 of 17 Posts

Grantman31

· #2 · Oct 17, 2006

Welcome to the site! Sorry to hear about the damage, I hope his was worse off...at least he had insurance. Hope you find much useful information here, I know I do.

moparram97

· #3 · Oct 17, 2006

welcome, sorry to hear about your baby. It is nice to hear that you saw the light and converted to the mopar faith. good luck with your truck, there is an endless amount of info on here. when you may have a problem or question just ask we are all glad to help...

NORTEXED

Discussion Starter · #4 · Oct 17, 2006

Yea the Caravan still has me stumped on the sparkplug change, but after fighting the back right plug on the Bronco II, the Ram has been a real joy to work on (WHAT LITTLE HAS NEEDED TO BE DONE). Man, you can crawl into the engine compartment on that baby. Only slight recurring problem has been brakes grinding even when new. I'm getting ready to redo them again, and go ahead and turn the rotors even though they don't look to need it. I've even considered paying the premium and getting the pads from the Dodge house to see if that makes a difference. Last time (only time) I changed plugs at 80,000, I went to the Champion truck plugs (also in the Caravan), and am now wondering, I changed the Caravan plugs again (22,000 on them), and the Truck plugs were not fairing well at all. Went back with Platinums, and made a noticeable difference. I'm wondering if they're all that great in the Ram???

bobem12

· #5 · Oct 17, 2006

Nice truck and welcome. Looks like a 2wd version of mine.

NORTEXED

Discussion Starter · #6 · Oct 17, 2006

Thanks Guys, yep, 2wd, 318 but still pulls the bike trailer West with NO PROBLEMO.

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edglock21

· #7 · Oct 17, 2006

Kinda got a RED theme going there :tup:

Welcome to the site.

I'm gettin' ready to take platinums OUT of my Ram - it doesn't seem to like them. You'll get a lot of opinions on spark plugs...the top three seem to be Autolite, NGK, and Champion.

If you don't like the Champs, try one of the other brands. My Bosch platinums are going to be replaced by a set of Autolites.

P.S. Looks like the quad needs some air in the right rear

chizzle1

· #8 · Oct 17, 2006

that 318 is a longevity motor. I've put 109000 on mine so far, only replaced the water pump to date. Everything else has been bolt on mods.

I ran a set of Bosch +4 plats to help with pinging when I first got it. Ended up fixing the pinging problem with a 180 t-stat though.
I have since switched to autolite 3923s, a LOT cheaper and seem to be fairing well.

I gave the Bosch's to a co-worker and we put them in his 99 Durango 5.2, and he loves them. So I guess what I'm saying is that every motor can be slightly different.

Welcome and nice looking truck.

edit: some things I would recommend to get the most out of your truck: install a 180 t-stat and get an external tranny cooler.
Then there are the bolt ons if you are after some more go.

17 Ram 1500 CC Laramie 4x4 Eco Diesel - Brilliant Black, fully loaded
10 Challenger R/T 6M in Brilliant black 6.1 based 426 @ 11:1 NA Howards Cam,ported heads & intake, 52# Deatschwerks injectors, AFR shaker, Derale oil cooler, Barton STS, SRT8 shorties/mids,BBK 85,HP tuned,Jet 180*,BT Catch Can,SLP line locks,DRL,skip shift delete,splash guards-alu dash kit,MP hood struts,BT Mopar nose-fuel door-sill plates, sequential tails,marker blackouts,392 chin spoiler,tint, T-rex billet grill, Pirelli tires,MyGig 730N,rear cam, park sense.
09 Suzuki 1255S Bandit Metallic Blue on black, 1255cc I-4, 6 spd, Yoshi can, Givi screen, K&N, Bags Connection tank bag, TPX fuzz buster, Techmount GPS holder, Suzuki center stand, World Performance Seat
SOLD 01 Ram 5.9 Sport QC 4x4 - 180k+, current project - SCT Stage1 custom tune via Hemifever, Harland Sharp 1.7:1 roller rockers, Modded Kegger, 52mm TB,180* t-stat,e-fans, pacesetter long tube headers, true duals with spun cats, Jones full-boar mufflers, 4.56s front & rear, LSD, 35x12.50 Cooper MTPs on 3rd gen Dodge 20"s, 3"TC lift, rebuilt 46RE w/HD internals, PML Deep Pan,MAXtow Tranny Temp gauge,Rebuilt 231D,TSC Diamond Box, Sony head unit, on-board air
SOLD 13 Dart Limited Pitch black, fully loaded, hers
SOLD 06 Hemi Durango 4x4 Limited in Atlantic Blue Pearl
SOLD 97 Ram 1500 SLT Laramie in DuPont Frost White Pearl

NORTEXED

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 17, 2006

Thanks, already got the tranny cooler, put it on right after buying the bike trailer. Yea, do kinda like red alright. Temp has never been a problem, should I go ahead and drop down to the 180* thermo? Is it the engine or transmission that gives the Rams sorry gas mileage? We did have 1 00 Ram at work though that got like 17-18 mpg all the time. Had the 318 also. We had 3 in that batch though, and that was the only 1 that did it, curious, huh.

NORTEXED

Discussion Starter · #10 · Oct 17, 2006

ps: I do need to join the "Cracked Dash" club though. After 6 years, this summers 113-115 *days finally did it.

Ram3500Dually

· #11 · Oct 18, 2006

Welcome to DodgeTalk.com and the world of Dodges.

chizzle1

· #12 · Oct 18, 2006 (Edited)

Temp has never been a problem, should I go ahead and drop down to the 180* thermo?

i would, lets it run 15* cooler but doesn't run so cool as to lose mpg or performance.
Also, since the stock tranny cooler (which I assume is still hooked up inline with the aftermarket cooler) runs through the radiator, it will keep the tranny from getting as warm.
I've had mine in for over 4 years now and still get about 12-13 in town, 15-16 highway.

17 Ram 1500 CC Laramie 4x4 Eco Diesel - Brilliant Black, fully loaded
10 Challenger R/T 6M in Brilliant black 6.1 based 426 @ 11:1 NA Howards Cam,ported heads & intake, 52# Deatschwerks injectors, AFR shaker, Derale oil cooler, Barton STS, SRT8 shorties/mids,BBK 85,HP tuned,Jet 180*,BT Catch Can,SLP line locks,DRL,skip shift delete,splash guards-alu dash kit,MP hood struts,BT Mopar nose-fuel door-sill plates, sequential tails,marker blackouts,392 chin spoiler,tint, T-rex billet grill, Pirelli tires,MyGig 730N,rear cam, park sense.
09 Suzuki 1255S Bandit Metallic Blue on black, 1255cc I-4, 6 spd, Yoshi can, Givi screen, K&N, Bags Connection tank bag, TPX fuzz buster, Techmount GPS holder, Suzuki center stand, World Performance Seat
SOLD 01 Ram 5.9 Sport QC 4x4 - 180k+, current project - SCT Stage1 custom tune via Hemifever, Harland Sharp 1.7:1 roller rockers, Modded Kegger, 52mm TB,180* t-stat,e-fans, pacesetter long tube headers, true duals with spun cats, Jones full-boar mufflers, 4.56s front & rear, LSD, 35x12.50 Cooper MTPs on 3rd gen Dodge 20"s, 3"TC lift, rebuilt 46RE w/HD internals, PML Deep Pan,MAXtow Tranny Temp gauge,Rebuilt 231D,TSC Diamond Box, Sony head unit, on-board air
SOLD 13 Dart Limited Pitch black, fully loaded, hers
SOLD 06 Hemi Durango 4x4 Limited in Atlantic Blue Pearl
SOLD 97 Ram 1500 SLT Laramie in DuPont Frost White Pearl

NORTEXED

Discussion Starter · #13 · Oct 18, 2006

Yep, when I put the tranny cooler on, I spliced into the outlet line from the transmission cooler in the radiator, so it goes Radiator, then aux cooler, then back to tranny. It's never had a thermostat to my knowledge, and therefor probably needs one anyway.

chizzle1

· #14 · Oct 18, 2006

It's never had a thermostat to my knowledge, and therefor probably needs one anyway.

It's cheap insurance in my opinion. You can see if your tranny is getting too hot before it starts cooking the fluid.

Mine was getting up to 210 towing my boat this past summer. Stuck a Hayden HD tranny cooler on it, dropped it down to 190, installed a 10" Hayden fan ontop of the tranny cooler, that got it down to 175. I only need to use the fan when I'm in traffic (traveling less than 30 mph), any faster and the flow of air cools it without the fan being on. Runs about 165 unloaded / not towing.

17 Ram 1500 CC Laramie 4x4 Eco Diesel - Brilliant Black, fully loaded
10 Challenger R/T 6M in Brilliant black 6.1 based 426 @ 11:1 NA Howards Cam,ported heads & intake, 52# Deatschwerks injectors, AFR shaker, Derale oil cooler, Barton STS, SRT8 shorties/mids,BBK 85,HP tuned,Jet 180*,BT Catch Can,SLP line locks,DRL,skip shift delete,splash guards-alu dash kit,MP hood struts,BT Mopar nose-fuel door-sill plates, sequential tails,marker blackouts,392 chin spoiler,tint, T-rex billet grill, Pirelli tires,MyGig 730N,rear cam, park sense.
09 Suzuki 1255S Bandit Metallic Blue on black, 1255cc I-4, 6 spd, Yoshi can, Givi screen, K&N, Bags Connection tank bag, TPX fuzz buster, Techmount GPS holder, Suzuki center stand, World Performance Seat
SOLD 01 Ram 5.9 Sport QC 4x4 - 180k+, current project - SCT Stage1 custom tune via Hemifever, Harland Sharp 1.7:1 roller rockers, Modded Kegger, 52mm TB,180* t-stat,e-fans, pacesetter long tube headers, true duals with spun cats, Jones full-boar mufflers, 4.56s front & rear, LSD, 35x12.50 Cooper MTPs on 3rd gen Dodge 20"s, 3"TC lift, rebuilt 46RE w/HD internals, PML Deep Pan,MAXtow Tranny Temp gauge,Rebuilt 231D,TSC Diamond Box, Sony head unit, on-board air
SOLD 13 Dart Limited Pitch black, fully loaded, hers
SOLD 06 Hemi Durango 4x4 Limited in Atlantic Blue Pearl
SOLD 97 Ram 1500 SLT Laramie in DuPont Frost White Pearl

Loud_Dodge

· #15 · Oct 18, 2006

NORTEXED said:
ps: I do need to join the "Cracked Dash" club though. After 6 years, this summers 113-115 *days finally did it.

Let me be the first to welcome you to the "Cracked Dash" club. (check out my sig, hehe). Welcome to the site, good to see another fellow Texan on here!

NORTEXED

Discussion Starter · #16 · Oct 18, 2006

Thanks Loud, Is yours from about 3" from left side of "change tray" against windshield back across change tray? I wonder what one of these from a wrecking yard would run and how hard to change???

midnite ram

· #17 · Oct 20, 2006

Cracked dash club

Hey.... I haven't been on the site for awhile. I didn't know there was a cracked dash club. I also need to join ! :IDEA:

midnite ram

'01 Ram quad
318 /auto
flowmaster
K&N drop in
lund running boards
leer hard tonneau

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