Making my used Ram reliable

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CKH

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I bought a 1999 1500 4x4 quad cab about a week ago. I've been working hard to get her road ready.

So far I have replaced the tie rod ends, track bar, shocks, and took it to the shop for new tires/alignment.

Today's project was replacing the exhaust. I knew when I bought it that it would need at least a new cat back since the single in/dual out that was on it was a rusted and leaky piece of crap. While under the truck doing the shocks, I noticed passenger side of the y pipe was actually touching the transmission pan :favorites68: Some loser welded in a new cat and didn't check all the pipe clearance properly.

I took a drive to Summit Racing equipment yesterday and picked up a stock style direct replacement cat and a Summit Racing single 3" cat back. The cat back was on sale for $179. Total for the new exhaust including the cat ran me less than $500.

The cat bolted right up, and of course, I couldn't get the rear o2 sensor out of the original pipe so I had to buy a new one. I'm pleased with the cat back, it's not loud, just a turbo muffler but it sounds pretty good. I used band clamps so I could change the muffler out easily at a later time if I wanted to. The cat back kit is a one size fits all 1994-2001 Rams and does not include a tip, it's just a factory style passenger side exit. You have to cut the middle pipe to length if you have an extended cab short bed or a regular cab short bed. I had to cut 21" out of it. It was a fairly straight forward install. It was a bit time consuming due to taking measurements a few times and cutting the pipe and making a new hanger for the tail pipe. Whoever did the previous exhaust work removed the factory tail pipe hanger.

I still have to do the brakes and service the transmission, axles, and transfer case. Everything works fine, I just don't know when the last time the fluids were changed.

Sorry for the long post. I am just exited about getting this truck road and off road worthy.
 
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CKH

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Nice.

Pics and part numbers please. NOW

Summit Racing part numbers:
Catalytic converter CTO-9666
Cat back SUM-685012

I don't have the part numbers for the tie rod ends anymore, I got them from Autozone and they were rebranded moog parts.

And now for some pics.

This is the rusted out crap I replaced.

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This is the piece that was touching the transmission pan.

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Don't mind my bumper, it is getting replaced as soon as I can find one.

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It seems like a lot of clamps but it's not, half of them are a clamp on style exhaust hanger.

IMG_20131201_114530_322_zpsb8a11a0a.jpg
 
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CKH

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I just did the brakes yesterday. I used Pep boys brand Pro Stop severe duty, carbon metalic pads. They are comparable to the Performance Friction carbon metalic pads. I have had great experiences with these pads on my Dodge Dakota and so far so good on the Ram.

The drums were a bit of a pain but they were easier than the Dakota drums since there is no c-clip attaching the parking brake to the shoe.

Next up is servicing the tranny, transfer case, and axles. I also have to make adjustments to the steering box and I have a steering stabilizer kit ready to go on.

The joys of buying a used truck. Good thing I got it for a good price.
 
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CKH

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Today's project is the intake manifold and plenum gaskets, distributor cap, spark plug wires. I replaced the plugs the other day and they were all fouled up.
 

dodge dude94

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Got any pictures of what your pan looked like?

You might also install a new PCV valve from the dealer.
 
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CKH

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I will take some pics tomorrow. Looking through the throttle body, it doesn't look too bad but there is some crud in there. I got stuck dealing with a manifold bolt that broke upon disassembly. Luckily its the front bolt on the driver side. I need to pick up some quality drill bits and a helicoil kit to fix it. I hate the design of this intake manifold.
 

NYCruiser

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That exhaust you replaced looks like it was a muffler shop special. Gonna be a nice truck when you're finished. Got any pics of the whole truck?
 

MegaMouseGW

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Cool glad to see more people that can do their own work. Keep it up and soon your "new" truck will be as reliable as a new one. :)
 
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CKH

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Just got done wrapping everything up. I had a lot of other stuff going on so the project got spread out over a couple days. What a huge difference in performance! Replacing the distributor cap/rotor/plug wires/plugs and having a nice clean throttle body and no more plenum leak makes this thing feel like a totally different truck.

Here is a pic of the plenum plate.

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The distributor cap and rotor were toast. Combined with the condition of the plugs, I'm surprised the truck ran at all.

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jf5.9

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she was in dire need of a tune up - was the plenum pan gasket completely blown? I see one bulge curious if it was blown out or not
 
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CKH

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It wasn't completely blown, just that one spot you see in the picture. You can tell what the effects of just that one bulge in the gasket are by looking at the black sludge at the bottom of the plenum. The sludge starts out the same width as the bulge and then spreads out toward the other side. It's no wonder they fail, that gasket material was total crap. I used a Felpro replacement gasket and it was really nice quality and had a metal core. I also put a light film of ATV on both sides of the gasket.
 

dodge dude94

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Whew.

You should get 3 mpg from all that. Good job.
 
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CKH

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Thanks, that job is a beast, especially when you have a manifold bolt break off. I made sure to put a good coat of anti seize on the new bolts before reinstalling.
 

jf5.9

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I had my front two manifold bolts break that was great feeling when I was pulling the intake lol. The PO had attempted to fix the heater bypass hose by putting a hose clamp around it where it connects to the intake. I had thought my waterpump gasket was leaking when it was just streaming out the heater bypass hose and bathing the front two intake bolts. :Pshyco:

+1 for PO's making the truck more expensive for us.
 
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CKH

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+1 for PO's making the truck more expensive for us.

No kidding. I'll never understand why people rig stuff instead of taking the time to do it right.

I couldn't get a drill bit to bite into the bolt that broke off. I had to grind it out with a dremel tool. Talk about hours of wasted time. I was able to grind the center of the bolt out and then I had to drill it out and use a thread repair kit. It was seized so bad I couldn't even get it out when I tried a bolt extractor. Blows my mind how a bolt that is only torqued to 12 ft/lbs could seize like that.

The torque sequence you have to follow on this manifold is ridiculous too.
 
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