Why shouldn't I buy this truck?

[SkwerI]

Brett, I thought it was a rule that all Ram owners had to flip their mirrors up to look like moose horns. Wassup widdat?

 

[Mellow]

Yeah, I'm a rebel.

 

[treesmith]

I confess…I leave mine up.

 

[Burnham]

Lazy scuzz...

 

[pantheraba]

View attachment 116539View attachment 116540View attachment 116541

I am so proud of you! Looking good! Nice neat line there, too.

 

[SkwerI]

Engine and transmission are mated, engine is sitting on the mounts. Damn sun is super bright but everything I need to see is in the shadows. With the glare off my glasses I can't see a damn thing. Stopping for a while.

 

[SkwerI]

Hit a bit of a roadblock this afternoon. I only got 3 of the 6 nuts on the torque converter bolting it to the flex plate on the engine and couldn't turn the engine any further. Will need to back up tomorrow and reverse procedure until I figure out why the engine is binding. I'm not in a particularly good mood about it right now.

 

[SkwerI]

Got it. The torque converter wasn't fully seated. Started at first light with the prybar on the flex plate, unbolting the torque converter and loosening up the bolts connecting the engine and transmission. I noticed the transmission sagging so I put the bottle jack back under it and leveled it out. Once the torque converter studs lined up with the holes again, it was obviously recessed an additional 1/2". At that point the engine turned over easily so I drew the engine and trans together using one bolt on each side and then bolted the torque converter to the flex plate again. By the second nut I was able to spin the engine using the 13mm wrench on the torque converter nuts so I didn't have to keep crawling in and out to turn the engine.

Seven hours and I'm about done. Both me and the truck. Everything up top is complete, lacking the exhaust Y pipe and O2 sensors. Oil is full, I got almost 6 gallons of coolant and water in the coolant system and the transmission is probably low due to the fluid I dumped out of the torque converter. And I just noticed in my picture the battery ground wire isn't hooked up.

I'd love to fire it tonight but right now I need a break.

 

[pete mctree]

Your determination and skill does you proud Brian 👍

 

[biggun]

Ditto what Pete said. Well done Brian.

I am a demon when it comes to Lego, I have the determination needed to finish it and fix all the problems my kids cause.

But that's about the level of my mechanics... a bit of chainsaw maintenance obviously and maybe changing an exhaust or manifold.

 

[SkwerI]

It lives! No exhaust hooked up but I fired it up and it runs smoooooth!

 

[biggun]

I bet it sounds like a dragster without the exhaust.

 

[Burnham]

No kidding!

 

[SkwerI]

And yes, the cowl vent is trashed. It was already cracking but I nailed it with the hood when putting the hood back on. It's on my wish list.

Amazon- replacement cowl vent grill covers

 

[Marc-Antoine]

 

[SkwerI]

IMO the trick to doing big repairs like this is to break it down into steps. Just like a big tree job or eating an elephant, one bite at a time. Each individual component that needs to be removed will have 2-8 bolts holding it. Keep the nuts and bolts with the component they hold and line them up on the bench. When you put it back together, the nuts and bolts for each component will be right there. When you have no parts left then you're finished!

 

[Dave Shepard]

Unless there's a spare camshaft on the bench...

Glad to see it's going your way finally.

 

[SkwerI]

I got the exhaust on and was literally ONE PLUG AWAY from being finished, and I can't find the damn plug for the front right oxygen sensor. I've been looking for 45 minutes and nothing. I've started taking off the airbox and throttle body but it looks like I have to remove the entire wiring harness and trace it back. I'm guessing it's trapped under the intake manifold as that's the only possible place it could be.

 

[SkwerI]

Once I decided to unhook the intake, it only took about 10 minutes to find the plug and hook it up. After getting everything buttoned up I tried to drive it down the block. I made it 100' past my driveway and it died. Limped it back home (barely) and figured out that more than just the first cat was plugged. Unhooked the exhaust and it started and ran fine. Just finished gutting the second cat and will have a new muffler tomorrow.

 

[Bodean]

Good Job, Brian! All Aces... You gotta make your luck! Great thread.

 

[pigwot]

Any updates Brian?
How's it running?

 

[SkwerI]

It runs great but only gets 8 mpg. Suspension is tight, steering is straight without any slop, brakes are awesome. I burned 27 gallons in 190 miles and half of that was without the trailer. Unfortunately the guy I've been working with has been sick for 3 weeks so I haven't really worked since before Christmas. I haven't started it in over 2 weeks.

 

[pigwot]

Hmm, 8mpg, - with amazing towing capability... life is always competing lists of tradeoffs.
Hope you buddy is better soon and you get that truck working, the cash flowing, and earn back your investment.

 

[pantheraba]

My GMC 2500 only gets 8 MPG when towing. And I'm happy to get 10 if I'm not towing. But it's gas and maybe that's the deal.

 

[BeerGeek]

My 2000 IH4700 (195HP) gets about 8 MPG, and it's almost always pulling the chipper. My 2006 F550 gets 8-9, and it has the dump trailer/Dingo behind 90% of the time. My new RAM 2500 gets about 16 normal, 13 when towing either of the above. Both tow options weigh ~7200 as is. Everything runs diesel.