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Dodge Ram
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Comments
There's another Dodge dealer out on the highway. I just may give them a call and see if they can help. The noise isn't what I'd call "terrible," just irritating. Mostly because you're right - I paid a lot for a brand new truck and it shouldn't sound like a 10 yr. old junk heap.
I'll take a ride out to the highway dealer this weekend and look closely at the other quad cabs to see how their doors line up.
Thanks, guys. I was ready to give up, but your encouragement brought back my fighting spirit.
About two weeks agoI put mud flaps on the front of my Ram. These were the molded ones from Chrysler that are made for Dodge trucks. I followed the instructions to the letter, and aside from having to use a larger drill bit than they recommended, the installation went smooth.
Yesterday I was washing the truck and I noticed that THE PAINT IS RUBBING OFF where the mud flaps meet the body. I am guessing that wind vibration is causing the flaps to rub against the paint.
I thought of trimming the flaps so they do not make contact with the body, but that will cause water and debris to collect in that plastic pocket on the back of the flaps. I also thought of running a bead of clear silicone along the seam to keep the flaps from moving against the side of the truck.
Any suggestions? I'm calling today to get some touch-up paint, but I want to prevent further damage.
If anyone is interested, I can post the entire list of problems. I don't want to waste bandwidth, so I'll post it on request.
Again, thanks.
Greg
I also installed molded mudflaps on the front and rear of my 98 Ram1500. They are black and have the Ram head ligi in chrome. I did not like how they fit . They were too low to the ground and did not sit in the front wheel wells poperly. I trimmed them to fit the contour of the fron t wheel wells and rasied them so that only about 6 inches were below the body. Using this technique the installation turned out great. They look good and I have no missing paint or body rubbing.
I hope this is helpful
Rich
Thanks for the suggestion. Those are the same mud flaps I have, except the ram's head is not chrome, just raised black
Since I've already drilled the holes, I don't want to move the flaps from their current position and drill more holes. I think I'm going to try just trimming away a little of the plastic where it touches the body side.
Yesterday I ordered another pair for the back and some touch-up paint. When I put the back ones on, I'll try to make sure they don't fit tight against the truck this time. I'm also going to try smoothing the edge of the plastic before installing them. It does feel pretty sharp.
Get yourself some Teflon tape with one side having pressure-sensitive adhesive. Peel the adhesive side off and apply it between the portion where the mudflap and the paint meet. Then reattach the mudflap using stainless-steel screws and support washers. This should fix your problem. The mudflap is the part that is moving against the painted surface, so be sure to attach the adhesive side to the painted surface, or this will not work. The Teflon tape can be purchased from a local Industrial supplier, or you may luck-out and find it at a quality hardware store.
good luck,
rk
If you can't find Teflon tape, you can ask for a similarly slippery plastic that goes by the tradename of UHMW. It also comes in a tape style with adhesive backing.
glengle,
I would most definitely be interested to hear the cause of the noise problem that seemed to come from under the dashboard, if I remember our conversation correctly. Glad to hear things were fixed to your satisfaction.
rk
Thanks. Funny you should mention tape, because I stuck some Scotch tape over the scratches as a temporary fix until I could figure out what to do. Your idea sounds great. I'll look for some tape over the weekend.
I've got to figure a way to make this work, 'cause I really need the mud flaps to protect the truck. Some of the roads I drive on have lots of gravel and mud.
a 5th wheel hitch. I'd like to know what the towing capacity of this truck is and comments from anyone who has this combo and uses it for trailering. Dodge book makes no destinction in book on 5th wheel capacity between 5.45 and 4.10 gears.
It lists 12500#s for both. Thanks for input. Jim.
The V10 trucks have the same towing capacity regardless. The engine provides enough torque to make the gear ratio difference irrelevant. The new 24-valve Cummins is the same way, although the older 12-valve diesel did have different ratings with the two axles.
Although this is called "tape", it's actually about 1/64" thick, much stiffer than masking or "duct" tape. My new 3500 will be here by next week, and I am going to use the same technique for myself to attach the front mud flaps. After you put it on, you can carefully trim the excess that is sticking out with a razor blade. Please try to limit any self-inflicted wounds using this technique :-)
I didn't see which engine you had, but on my Cummins I was getting a strange noise also that was related to rpms. They replaced the heater hose restrictor and the problem seems to have been eliminated.
Do you think Home Depot would carry this tape? I picked up the rear mud flaps and the touch-up paint yesterday and will probably work on it over the weekend. Your idea sounds great - I just don't want to spend the whole day running around looking for something. Thanks!
Do your searching by telephone, it saves gas.
I found suppliers in my city by looking in the Yellow Pages under Plastics - Raw Materials. Tell them exactly what you're looking for, and if they don't stock it, chances are they can tell you who does.
One of the main reasons Cummins switched to a 4 valve head was emissions. The 12v needed a cat-con, the 24v doesn't - not even in California.
The 24v also has electronic fuel injection for more precise delivery. Day-to-day driving will not really yield much difference if your right foot is in the same place. People who went from the 12v to te 24v said they didn't notice any of the claimed mpg increases because they were too busy enjoying the extra horses.
Thanks for the tip. I have the 5.9L V8. I think the sound is getting worse so as soon as I get walls up in my house, I'm going to take a service tech for a ride.
glengle,
I would be interested to hear your problems and the solutions.
The rear brake adjusters are lousy on Rams, and not just 95s. Normally, they are suposed to self adjust when traveling backwards 10 feet. It got to the point where Dodge even changed the owners manual to say rear drums need to be manually adjusted regularly - in some cases at each (or every other) oil change, depending on how much you drive.
Just put 2900 miles on SY Ram. with the 5.9 v8
she avg. 17.5 mpg. This is a fun truck to drive
When i got home i did have to spend about 10 hours getting her cleaned up and rowtating the tires, adjusting the brakes, change the oil, and filter,
The lug nuts shur looked good after getting the wax on them, HA, HA
I'm just letting you know this is one great TRUCK
SUNNY DAYS AHEAD
I guess what I am really asking is: are there going to be major changes to the 2000 and what are they and when will they be on the lot(I heard late August?).
Advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanx
Eric G.
I just had a fifth wheel hitch installed and getting ready for camping.
I cant explain the feeling I get when I fire up the engine but if you could see the smile I'm sure you could see the pleasure!
Looking forward to joining in on the topics.
Just thought I'd mention I took possession of my new 3500/QuadCab/Cummins/4wd yesterday, and the wife and I drove it around a while just for the fun. God, but this is one sweet machine.
Picked up my mother for a ride (she's 74) and because we don't get the steps put on until Monday, we had to give her a step stool just to get in.
Several of my co-workers have admired this beauty today, and have all asked the same question: "What the heck are you going to do with that?" I just smiled, and said "Anthing I want..."
Thanks again for your help.
rk
Fixed the mud flap problem! I found some adhesive-backed foam weather stripping, about 1/4" wide and not very thick. I taped it to the truck where the flap's edge hits it, and it came out great! Makes a nice seal and prevents the rubbing. I couldn't find the Teflon tape or anything similar, so I tried something else. Thanks for all your help and suggestions. :-)
You're very welcome, and glad you like yours as much as I like mine. My baby-semi turns 3 years old on Monday, 47,000 miles, and STILL no cpmplaints.
It was the Friday before MemDay weekend in 1996 when I took delivery, and needless to say, by the time I got to work on Tuesday, I had refilled the tank twice
the lady in black thanks you!
For those wondering, ladyblue knows my truck's name is Sunset
TKS
Today after a fairly hard run pulling a trailer I got home and after about a 5 minute shut down it coughed when I shut it off. Any ideas what that was?
they are getting with the 5.2 liter V-8 on a
Dodge Ram quad cab 4x4. I only get about 10 city
and 13 miles per gallon highway. I thought I would
get better mileage than this. It is rated 13 city and 16 highway. I only have about 4000 miles on
the truck and hopefully the mileage will bet
better as the engine gets broken in.
I have the same truck with just under 4000 miles on it. I'm getting slightly better mileage than you, but not much. If I remember, the estimates on the sticker were pretty low. The best I've seen so far is around 15-16mpg on the highway, and the worst was around 9mpg in town.
WOW! What an upgrade from a Ford! I never looked back. I also bought a 300M and I opt for the 2500 4 time out of 5 when I walk out of the house. Love the sound, feel and high up ride of the Ram. Its loaded
Quad Cab
4x4 long bed
automatic
Red/grey
Travel convenience group
Rear underseat compartment
Sliding rear window
Remote keyless entry
Fog lamps
AM/FM stereo w/CD, cassette and equalizer
Chrome wheels
Bedliner, Leer
Power seats
Towing package
anti slip
upgrade transfer case
I dont remember what all else.
It looks great. But if you folks really want your truck to look great, treat it to the Zanno show car wax! That stuff is easy to apply and makes the paint reflect like a mirror! At least twice the shine of anything else Ive seen! I origionally ordered it for the 300M, but its migrated to the Ram. I'll post some picks of it in a week or so.
Bushpilot
Talked to the service manager today after two attempts to fix a total of 8 problems with my Ram. I told her that I would give her one more attempt to repair the vehicle, and if it isn't fixed I will afford them the opportunity to buy it back.
Send email to glengle@mindspring.com and I will be glad to discuss the details offline. This is mostly a topic for Dodge "fans", and I would like to respect that by not trashing my truck here.
Bushpilot
The search continues-- as klkrueger suggested- I'm heading for the telephone.
GASHOG
I got my mudflaps at the dealer. They were 39.99 a pair and they have the ram's head on them. Richram, the lucky duck, says his ram's heads are chrome. They weren't hard to install and look good.
I have Westin chrome nerf bars on my truck. I think if you're looking for a whole sidestep/mudflap custom look you'll have to go through one of the bigger accessory shops. Sometimes the companies who make caps and lids also make the steel-supported fiberglass steps like they put on vans. Try ARE, Leer and Glasstite for a start. Sorry, I don't have any numbers or links for them.
My molded mudflaps were bought at the dealer.
I think they were $10 or $15 a pair. I bought them at Reedman in PA.
I was suprised they were so cheap.
Rich
The wife and I looked all over two cities today for a potential replacement for the Ram should ChryCo buy it back. The only thing that came close was a F150 5.4 4WD Supercab, but I still didn't like it as well as mine.
I just want my truck fixed, but I don't want to keep it if these problems can't be rectified. Am I just too picky? A skinny sheet of the probs is this:
Bog in OD.
Diff whine.
Clunk in trans from 1-2 and 2-3 shift.
Squeaks in bed (leaf springs).
Clunk in rear suspension when turning.
Door window weatherstripping falling off.
Door rattle where above is happening.
Rotor squealing.
Howling from tranny in reverse (known prob).
Grinding when braking to the right from cowl.
All of these were confirmed to be legit and real problems by the service manager last week with only 2500 miles on the truck.
We shall see...
Just curious, where was your truck made?
You did get those mudflaps cheap! I paid the standard dealer price, same as listed on the Dodge website. I guess not just the vehicles are cheaper at Reedman. :-)
Speaking of cheap. This is my family's 6th vehicle from Reedmans in 9 years.I paid 22,900(not including $3000 trade in for a 90 s10 blazer 170K miles) for my 98 Ram Club Cab 4x4 slt
Power win and locks
5.9 360 v8
Cloth interior
Auto Trans, A/C
chrome wheels
265 offroad tires.
It listed at 28K and I bargained down
There was a $1000 rebate and I got 5.9% apr.
They also gave me a great trade, which I negotiated after I finalized the truck $$.
I think I got a great deal. I was looking for a quad cab with the tow pakage but I couldnt afford it. The club cab is fine for my 2 small kids. I also do have any creaks in the doors. I also installed my own tow package ($120 for a class 4 hitch and $60 for an auxiallary trans cooler that I installed.)
The truck is great, but at 11k miles i need new front pads (only 1 of the 4 is bad. This is covered under warranty and I will get new pads on FRiday. How is your truck doing?
Rich
Rich
sit down and read that owner's manual. If you even come close to the requirements for the heavy duty maintenance schgedule, do it by the book, even though some of that stuff may seem annoyingly frequent.
I'm a couple of days away from 48K on my 96 Ram, and yeah, changing the transmission fluid, transfer case fluid, and diff fluid every 12K seems like a pain, but I have not had a drivetrain problem in three years. And in my case, it's known that the diesel will eat the Dodge automatics for lunch - but not in my truck