Yeah sure, who knows I may need it after all

You wont believe what I have been finding out about this truck so far

11/12/2009 7:44:29 PM

dont get discouraged


I am here for you. PM me for anything. Jeepman will cup thy balls if needed.

11/12/2009 7:45:11 PM

its probably faded, if he had to buy a brand new one foe the other side

11/12/2009 7:45:12 PM

I bought the truck that was listed on NC4X4 by the way.

Apparantly up until recently, it was owned by Robertson Hauling in Mooresville, IN. From what I can find online, they are a hotshot auto transport gig. It appears they had the truck in a flatbed configuration, probably had towing mirrors on it and naturally a brake controller, hell maybe even an true 5th wheel. Maybe before, maybe after it was traded into Kernersville Dodge, a bed and gate were put on it and the entire truck was painted at Peach! Now, the cheap paint job does not scare me, what I am going to have to deal with though is the missing/loose bolts in the bed, the barely reconnected fuel filler (good story there, I will get to it later), and the totally screwed up wiring harnesses. Currently I have ONE working brake lamp and ONE intermittant working tail lamp on the truck. Also the truck is wearing regular baby mirrors now.

There is a lift pump mounted on the inside of the framerail, I am guessing that it is an auxillary unit in case the other one (mounted on the side of the engine?) were to fail. Like I said, thats a guess, I have not had a lot of time to research this yet and its been raining constantly here.

The 4 rear tires are DONE- 1-800-MAY-POPS done. You can imagine rolling on the throttle in 3rd in a downpour... And the front has 245/75 on it?? And the spare is missing?? Oh boy.

RH power door lock inop.
Power mirrors inop.
Radio inop.
Seat bottom LH power tilt inop.
Fuel filler cap MISSING/filler neck DISCONNECTED <- remind me to tell this story later
Cab clearance lights/tail lamps intermittant
RH brake/tail lamp inop
Fuel level sending unit intermittant
Fuel filter drain lever broken
Dash cracked
HVAC vent selection inop. FIXED
K&N filter installed in stock airbox (falling apart) but wearing a FIPK2 placard under the hood?
Coolant res. empty
Brake/Clutch fluid needs changing
Oil service due soon
Serp. belt needs replacement ASAP
CHMSL inop.
Sliding rear glass latch broken
LH headlamp loose, needs lower adjuster?
Window tint turned PURPLE?
LH-F door panel loose?
LH-F door hinge bushing worn out
SLIGHT play in steering
215/85 rear tires below wear bars
245/75 front tires low (ROWL? wtf)
Spare wheel/tire missing
Jack missing?
Parking brake needs adjustment
No floor mats
Nigrigd gooseneck ball in bed
Evidence of Aux fuel tank installed in bed
Front inner fender liners missing?
No regular trailer hitch installed
Steering wheel has shitty cover installed FIXED
5th gear now inop.
Exhaust missing behind muffler, no hangars attached at all, pipe held by blue wire?
Some bed mounting bolts missing/loose
RH tail lamp harness and bulb holders missing


I have forgotten at least two things

[Edited on November 12, 2009 at 8:24 PM. Reason : my turbo does appear stock (Holset is stock correct)]

11/12/2009 8:20:57 PM

yes, holset. that generation is hx35W on the plate


and jesus christ my truck is in better shape, even the half of it supplied by the chrysler corporation

[Edited on November 12, 2009 at 8:36 PM. Reason : twas a joke, btw]

11/12/2009 8:36:20 PM

You have to understand though, for the past month I have feared buying a $7500 one of these on eBay with never laying eyes on it- for $5750 I have a truck that I can afford to fix the little shit on.


By the way, I kind of got under it today and eyeballed the trans, its a reman wearing fresh grey paint.

11/12/2009 9:12:27 PM

jeepman ain't cuppin nothin.

11/12/2009 9:12:51 PM

^^understood

11/12/2009 9:21:27 PM

that tail lamp is the passenger side. it still had bulbs installed and the pigtail.

11/12/2009 9:32:58 PM

Quote :

"that tail lamp is the passenger side. it still had bulbs installed and the pigtail."

11/12/2009 9:59:29 PM

So last night after buying the truck I went to put some fuel in it before the drive home. We were in Winston-Salem, keep in mind its raining like shit and dark, and the dodgems headlamps are a little dim. So I pull up to the pump, hop out and open the flap- NO FUCKING CAP?? What the hell? In between the visions of thousands of water molecules invading my new truck's diesel tank, I was haunted by memories of trying to get gobs of algea out of a fuel line a couple months ago. I came back to my senses enough to go inside and pay the attendant... "50 BUCKS ON PUMP 12..." Back at the truck, I set it up and let her rip, and walked away to tell Jenn something or other (she was following in a car we rented) and after a couple minutes I walked back to the truck to check on the pump. I noticed the fuel going in the tank was really loud. Really really loud, almost as if it wasnt going in the tank at all. Took a peek in the wheel well and sure enough SPLISH SPLASH I have pumped 5 gallons of diesel all over the damn asphalt. The fuel filler hose wasnt connected to the neck. Guess it didnt matter that there was no cap after all... SO I reached in there and hooked it back up enough to get the rest of the fuel in the tank. Funny part is, since it was raining so much noone noticed the huge puddle of diesel sliding across the parking lot. Anyhow I made it home and immediately bought a new fuel cap and put a healthy dose of additive in teh tank to disperse any water. Please hold your applause, it gets better.

Then today, I decided to drain the filter housing. I went to turn the drain lever and it snapped off. Nothing came out so I guessed it was stuck. Oh well, something else to fix, right? I forgot about it and moved on. This evening I fired it up and went to Advance to get some filters and stuff for the truck. When I came out of the store I noticed everything was slick like ice, which was weird, since it wasnt that cold outside. My foot slipped of the clutch pedal like it was greased. Hmm.

None of this turned on any lightbulbs in my head, I was too focused on my rad new steering wheel cover.

Then, just before the turn off the highway into my neighborhood, I realized that anyone close behind me would have no indication of my intent to slow down and turn due to my lighting "situation" so I decided to make the turn without slowing down too much, so I could get off the highway as quickly as possible. Not really possible in something the size of a shuttle bus UNLESS you have bald tires, its pouring rain outside, and you have a massive diesel fuel leak!! Trouble is, I knew about the rain and the bald tires, and not about the fact that the rear tires had been splashing through the diesel spilling from the filter drain for the past 2 miles. Anyone want to guess how long my entire neighborhood is gonna smell like diesel fuel? I probably spilled another gallon all over the drive figuring out how to shut the drain valve.

11/12/2009 10:25:11 PM

must be setting up the garage for an epic rebuild


no props from me unless you get a real man turbo

11/12/2009 10:36:54 PM

I might do a little turbo upgrade later on, who knows maybe a medium one and some injectors. But for now the focus is getting the truck back to 100%

11/12/2009 10:51:04 PM

don't you get it to 100% you can only really get it back to about 72%

11/13/2009 7:21:22 AM

300% powa

11/13/2009 8:14:52 AM

amazing, in his first day of dodge ownership, everything has fucked up on him


i give it a week before he gets pissed, smacks the dashbord, and the whole thing falls into the defroster vents

11/13/2009 8:34:00 AM

Joel...your tale of woe is nothing unusual or even slightly out of the norm for a Dodge owner. Only thing worth anything on those trucks is the drivetrain.

11/13/2009 8:52:11 AM

Dodge hate ITT.

My 96 has 243k on the original, not worth its weight in scrap(amirite?) dodge automatic trans.

The ONLY issue it has is a fuel gauge that only works sometimes...... Damn those piece of shit dodges!! They don't last for shit!

Sounds to me like whoever owned that would have ragged it out no matter whose name badge was on the tailgate.

11/13/2009 9:04:21 AM

The truck, although in some state of misrepair, is in reletavely good condition. Originally from Texas, then moved to Indiana, it has no rust on the body at all and minimal rust underneath, which I am pretty pleased about. The fact that the trucks have sooooo many common issues works to my benefit actually. For example I got a headlamp switch at advance auto for $20. OK I probably wont get the truck back to 100% but you guys know me, I AM gonna make it right.

11/13/2009 9:32:43 AM

Quote :

"I AM gonna make it right niggardly"

11/13/2009 10:05:05 AM

Ok making a lot of progress

11/13/2009 5:23:54 PM

You got your nekkid soul sista mudflaps yet? Curb feelers?

11/13/2009 9:40:13 PM

replaced burnt up headlamp switch and burnt wiring
acquired trailer hitch and taillamp harness/bulb holders/inner fenders/license plate mount/RH door latch
fixed power mirrors and door panels
replaced tailgate cables
topped off coolant res
replaced all fuses


got the brake lamps working, turn signals working, one of the tail lamps working, both reverse lamps working, even got a tag lamp working... tomorrow I will get the sidemarkers and that remaining tail lamp working

I think I may have it towed to chase next week to weld on the 5th gear nut if I can afford it, then it heads to the exhaust shop to get properly straight piped.

[Edited on November 13, 2009 at 10:20 PM. Reason : ( - primer)]

11/13/2009 10:20:17 PM

why doncha pull it there and just take the tranny? Hell, I'll cut you a serious deal pulling it and disassembling it. Yeah, I've done bigger trannies than a NV4500. But I won't weld the shaft. I don't like doing that.

11/13/2009 10:40:57 PM

honestly I dont want to weld the shaft, would rather go with a better mainshaft but only one I have found is out of stock? http://www.quad4x4.com/NV4500%20Rebuild%20Kits.htm

plus thats $texas

11/14/2009 12:10:03 AM

Doesn't somebody make a clamp collar to put over that motherfucker? I can't for the life of me remember.

11/14/2009 12:38:02 AM

also with my back injury I cant fathom pulling that heavy thing myself

looks like drivetrain.com might have an updated mainshaft for $250?


I think for now I am gonna have to pull the tailshaft and take a look- if this isnt the first time the 5th has fell off in this trans I might just get an updated nut and get it tacked on- and no more powershifting into 5th

[Edited on November 14, 2009 at 12:54 AM. Reason : lol]

11/14/2009 12:50:00 AM

Yesterday I got the stock radio hooked back up and replaced all the speakers. Also fixed the RH door lock so thats all working properly now, and started cleaning up the interior.












___________________________________________
Upgraded lift pumps seem really expensive?

I am gonna get a picture of how the truck is set up today any maybe one of you Cummins Gurus can ID what has been done to the fuel system.



[Edited on November 15, 2009 at 9:57 AM. Reason : ..]

11/15/2009 9:54:52 AM

My bets are someone put another electric pump in series with the stock lift pump in attempt to resolve the fueling issue.



Fuel/Air separators are in the $500 range. they come with the pump, regulator, and filtering medias all in one setup. you could piece-part it for less, depends on the searching/labor you want to put into it.

11/15/2009 12:03:37 PM

Yeah it looks that way... actually today when I went out to crank it the truck didnt start at first, it hit for a half a second and died. You know how the pump under the hood buzzes for a second when you turn the igniton on? Well I dont remember hearing that before trying to start it. But after that first time the pump mounted on the framerail came on for about 20-30 seconds, then I tried it again and it hit/died but started normally on the third try.

11/15/2009 8:33:58 PM

Auxillary pump pics:

11/15/2009 8:41:40 PM

I'm not familiar with the lift pumps on the 24v's, just the general setup. sounds like its loosing prime.... but if it's cold out it may be necessary to let the grid heaters get'er going

11/15/2009 8:42:07 PM

where in the fuck is all that sludge that's coated everything coming from? fuck!

11/15/2009 8:44:59 PM

Ill have to see what it does tomorrow morning. Regardless an upgrade is definitely planned as soon as I get past a few more of the remaining issues.

Brian the sludge appears to be a combination of two things- first, dirt adhered to gear oil from the tailshaft seal (probably from the old transmission), and the diesel fuel that got spilled all over the first couple days I had the truck. There is some undercoating there too, dodge did a piss-poor job of spraying in on though. I am gonna hit the quarter car wash after I fix the transmission and knock all that off the undercarriage. The good news is that the diesel fuel loosened it all up and its ready to come off, instead of being that ten year old, stubborn, sticky, grimy shit like most old trucks are covered in underneath.


BTW this afternoon was spent fixing/replacing the nest of wires that used to be a trailer wiring harness. Completely rebuilt the harness from the framerail out, there was no saving what was there. Looks like someone had spliced into each wire to the OEM trailer harness plug, then unspliced it and looped it around... anyhow I was lucky enough to have a new vehicle side 7 pin on the shelf. Looks good mounted on the Class V hitch I picked up for $30.



[Edited on November 15, 2009 at 9:10 PM. Reason : undercoating]

11/15/2009 9:05:24 PM

my pic posting skills are lacking tonight, lets try this again

OK underneath pictures take 2- now with more ghetto exhaust hangers

11/15/2009 9:09:26 PM

that tranny mount is probably soft as shit from all that fluid

11/16/2009 1:12:36 PM

straight-pipe it! i think it's cool as fuck to hear what i think is a big rig taking off and it's nothing more than a lonely cummins.

11/16/2009 1:52:03 PM

wow


Pulled the tail housing off, 5th gear nut is updated type, condition= fully driven, seated and not stripped. However the snap ring on the 5th synchro gear/clutch thingy was half cocked and popped off and shot across the driveway with a slight touch...



Considering this is a fresh rebuilt transmission hopefully the snap ring wasnt quite put on all the way and when I powershifted into 5th that night it kept the clutch assembly from engaging 5th? I am not a standard transmission expert by any means so I will let the experts puzzle over that one.

I am gonna snap a couple pics and slap this sucker back together and see what happens...

[Edited on November 16, 2009 at 2:14 PM. Reason : should be straight piped by the end of the week]

11/16/2009 2:12:58 PM

DAMN

(didn't work, still no 5th gear )

11/16/2009 6:11:01 PM

Tellin' you Joel, you need to let a nigga hook you up. I've been working on manual trannies for about 15 years. Ask Matt about his itty bitty AX5.

I've got an Eaton/Fuller FS5205 that would make that truck a real pullin' machine. Got a 7.50 first gear...but fifth is 1:1.

11/16/2009 6:51:27 PM

BTW I checked the air pressure in the rear tires today, even though all of them looked fine AND passed teh "kick test", one on the left was <10psi and the other was ~20PSI- on the right one was 20something and the other 37psi. WTF! Just goes to demonstrate the beneficial load distribution that comes with 4 rear wheels.

Also, it is easy to slice your fingers open on some stainless simulators. Just FYI

11/16/2009 6:54:28 PM

Quote :

"Tellin' you Joel, you need to let a nigga hook you up. I've been working on manual trannies for about 15 years. Ask Matt about his itty bitty AX5."

So have you got an idea of what might have gone wrong here? I am thinking i will pull the left side cover tomorrow and see if I can get a look where the shift fork? rod? fork rod? hooks up.



















Also, it appears to have a sending unit tapped into the PTO cover on the RH side? Interesting.





[Edited on November 16, 2009 at 7:10 PM. Reason : image redundancy]

11/16/2009 7:03:21 PM

Dan (or anyone who has rebuilt a standard transmission)


The parts held on by that snap ring on the 5th synchro gear (larger of the two pictured)... does anyone know what they are and what exactly they do? Could something be wrong there (or further in the transmission) causing loss of 5th gear and the wear inside of the tail housing?

11/16/2009 8:23:45 PM

Joel, the snap ring that I see retains the spline hub to the countershaft, if that's the one you're talking about.

fifth gear is unique to the rest of them in that it's the only gear where the syncro hub is on the countershaft instead of the mainshaft. All the others (reverse excepted) are on the main/output shaft.

There are two things that could cause that shaft to eat the housing: excessive play in the rear countershaft bearing or a sheared countershaft. If you've got a sheared countershaft, that explains a lot right there. but the damn thing wouldn't just stay there, and would have wreaked a lot more havoc than you'd see. If there's wear in the countershaft bearings, then you'd see thrust issues that would either prohibit fifth gear from ever engaging or would kick it back out in a heartbeat. And that could also be one thing that caused that snapring to climb out of the groove: excessive fore and aft travel. Endplay should be damn negligible. If the tranny was rebuilt using shitty quality bearings, then it really wouldn't take long for the problem to manifest itself. Those bearings take a hell of a load in the thrust plane under power because of the helical cut gears.

Of course, you could have a sheared rollpin or bolt holding the shift fork to the shift rod. I would love to take a look at that motherfucker. i don't know if time will allow before the weekend, but you never know.

Also...take a look at the shift fork boss where the rod slides through...are those casting parting marks or is that bitch cracked?

Get Jen to shift that bitch into and out of fifth a few times while you're watching. See if you see any funky movement. The shaft should remain almost completely stationary.

[Edited on November 16, 2009 at 8:46 PM. Reason : blahblah]

11/16/2009 8:42:26 PM

Quote :

"Also...take a look at the shift fork boss where the rod slides through...are those casting parting marks or is that bitch cracked?"

oooooooooo good question..... I may have to drag my ass out there tonight and tear this fucker down now....

11/16/2009 8:56:15 PM

looks cracked!

11/17/2009 11:27:07 AM

Did you get any help shifting it and eyeballing everything?

11/17/2009 12:46:51 PM

What's the scoop, dookey chute?

11/17/2009 3:14:25 PM

that shift fork is cracked like a motherfucker, get someone to shift it while you're lookin at it and see if it engages all the way

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 3:25 PM. Reason : that tranny has eaten shit a few times from the looks of it]

11/17/2009 3:24:05 PM

actually the shift fork is still doing its job even with the crack


got my lovely assistant to shift into fifth after the second teardown this morning, and the snap ring and whatever you call the two parts it holds on popped right off. I noticed though that left in the synchro gear were three little sliding tabs held in by springs after messing around and dropping two of them to the bottom of a pan full of 90wt I figured out how they went and put it all back together. One side of the snap ring that holds it all on is chamfered, looks like initally it was backwards- meaning if under enough pressure it would pop off- I installed it with the flat side in the groove and put it all back together around 2PM........... ONE TOO THREE FO FIF !!




[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 5:09 PM. Reason : guess I learned how a synchro works?]

11/17/2009 5:09:13 PM