Buying another 2nd gen questions

[dapepper9]

I'd you're gonna do a gear swap, i would go 4.56 if you plan on keeping the 36s. Especially for a truck that's not a daily. Take the strain off the trans and give you more acceleration

 

[IrocRam]

I'd you're gonna do a gear swap, i would go 4.56 if you plan on keeping the 36s. Especially for a truck that's not a daily. Take the strain off the trans and give you more acceleration

I didn't end up getting that blue one. The one I ended up getting is the same year and drivetrain configuration and even has a fabtech long arm lift but it's smaller.probably 3" smaller.it has 34 or 35" tires whatever 315's are. I would like to re gear it but I'm pretty intimidated by doing differential work myself. A lot goes into it. Not sure how much a differential shop would charge.

 

[dapepper9]

I didn't end up getting that blue one. The one I ended up getting is the same year and drivetrain configuration and even has a fabtech long arm lift but it's smaller.probably 3" smaller.it has 34 or 35" tires whatever 315's are. I would like to re gear it but I'm pretty intimidated by doing differential work myself. A lot goes into it. Not sure how much a differential shop would charge.

My mix up. 4.11s should do ya fine at that.

 

[IrocRam]

My mix up. 4.11s should do ya fine at that.

I'm not sure when I will get to it. There's a lot things going on that I want to do and need to do. I would prefer the 5.9 instead of the 5.2 but the power difference is so small that when I get to it and my motor is supposedly rebuilt, then I might just put money into that instead of another motor. Cam, bigger injectors, redoing the exhaust, burning a chip, getting different gears, etc. We shall see if that happens or not. I love the idea of fixing the truck up though and I really don't have to worry about cosmetics, so I can probably put that on hold. I'm eventually going to paint it red. I have always wanted red. But the paint on this is actually in pretty decent shape so I might wait until fall to do that. I will also want to do either the sport package front bumper or an aftermarket heavy duty ARB or something, might convert it to sliding rear window(although that increases the ease for thieves to break in, both my 97 and 2001 had this happen before I owned them), switching to all terrains instead of mud terrains, maybe some lights somewhere, a CB with PA speaker, and whatever else I can think of. It sounds good in my head but it will depend on how deep my pockets are and how much time I will have.

 

[dudeman2009]

I'm not sure when I will get to it. There's a lot things going on that I want to do and need to do. I would prefer the 5.9 instead of the 5.2 but the power difference is so small that when I get to it and my motor is supposedly rebuilt, then I might just put money into that instead of another motor. Cam, bigger injectors, redoing the exhaust, burning a chip, getting different gears, etc. We shall see if that happens or not. I love the idea of fixing the truck up though and I really don't have to worry about cosmetics, so I can probably put that on hold. I'm eventually going to paint it red. I have always wanted red. But the paint on this is actually in pretty decent shape so I might wait until fall to do that. I will also want to do either the sport package front bumper or an aftermarket heavy duty ARB or something, might convert it to sliding rear window(although that increases the ease for thieves to break in, both my 97 and 2001 had this happen before I owned them), switching to all terrains instead of mud terrains, maybe some lights somewhere, a CB with PA speaker, and whatever else I can think of. It sounds good in my head but it will depend on how deep my pockets are and how much time I will have.

I got a CB and PA in my truck for less than $200 (CB was %80) and i'm not disappointed. After I get the deathflash removed though i'm replacing the unpowered speaker with an amp driven 170W dual setup (for all my road rage needs )

Just get rid of the deathflash, if it has it, and it'll be a new truck all over again. My more distant friend just got his tuned (a ****** Hemi fever tune) and he still chirps tires off the get go, and he's done nothing but small bolt on stuff to the engine, stock tire size and rear end. Remanned tranny though, his was more broke than mine xD

I love my truck. Even with my tranny being as busted as it is, the engine is a rock and it still drives solid. Somehow i've avoided the dreaded death wobble and gotten away with just a slightly loose feel in the steering.

 

[IrocRam]

I got a CB and PA in my truck for less than $200 (CB was %80) and i'm not disappointed. After I get the deathflash removed though i'm replacing the unpowered speaker with an amp driven 170W dual setup (for all my road rage needs )

Just get rid of the deathflash, if it has it, and it'll be a new truck all over again. My more distant friend just got his tuned (a ****** Hemi fever tune) and he still chirps tires off the get go, and he's done nothing but small bolt on stuff to the engine, stock tire size and rear end. Remanned tranny though, his was more broke than mine xD

I love my truck. Even with my tranny being as busted as it is, the engine is a rock and it still drives solid. Somehow i've avoided the dreaded death wobble and gotten away with just a slightly loose feel in the steering.

I had a cb and PA in my other 97 i had in high school. Me and my buddy (who is swapping a powerstroke in his bronco right now) were at a radio shack when we were younger and saw huge PA speakers. They were the same wattage as the ones they used on a street of our home town to blare Christmas music every year so we each bought one and wired it up to work with our cbs. That's exactly what I did, yell at people when they did something stupid.
I never heard of the death flash until I came on this forum. Not sure if it's engine specific or year specific but I did read that it was at least the later 2nd gens like 2000+. I'm considering scrapping my iroc project so I will have a lot of time on my hands if that's the case, so I can go all out and pull the motor if I want and swap cams and injectors and replace all the seals, even though they were replaced a few years ago when the entire drivetrain was supposedly rebuilt. Transmissions in these things are so frequent at a junkyard that I wouldn't be opposed to picking up a spare or 2 and having them on standby.I'm considering doing so because the entire month of April a junkyard in my area is selling all Transmissions for $99. They have 3 locations in Phoenix so I'm sure I will find a 97 or older 4x4 auto.

 

[dapepper9]

Don't **** with injectors unless you build a stroker or boost it. Chips dip nothing you'll want a programmer, sct to be exact, if you plan on building it and custom tuning. Anybody who recommends hemifever is wrong lol. This is if you wanna build it though

Death flash is a software update that dodge did that incorporates torque management at low rpm and ******* timing to reduce pinging to hide plenum leakage. Kills power. 2000+ it was factory. Below 2000 it was done by tune dealer if the truck was brought in for service. Look on the pcm, or anywhere in the engine bay really, for a sticker that says something about "software update". Any programmer will take away the timing retard but only sct will do the tq management. Superchips and hypertech are both expensive plastic though and i would recommend edge over them.

 

[IrocRam]

Don't **** with injectors unless you build a stroker or boost it. Chips dip nothing you'll want a programmer, sct to be exact, if you plan on building it and custom tuning. Anybody who recommends hemifever is wrong lol. This is if you wanna build it though

Death flash is a software update that dodge did that incorporates torque management at low rpm and ******* timing to reduce pinging to hide plenum leakage. Kills power. 2000+ it was factory. Below 2000 it was done by tune dealer if the truck was brought in for service. Look on the pcm, or anywhere in the engine bay really, for a sticker that says something about "software update". Any programmer will take away the timing retard but only sct will do the tq management. Superchips and hypertech are both expensive plastic though and i would recommend edge over them.

The reason I thought of the injectors was it seemed like a package deal to do all at once; injectors, cam, and tune. I know not to trust the aftermarket chips. I was referring to a custom tune by a professional, that is until I learn how to do it myself. On a stock motor doing bigger injectors, cam, and a tune shouldn't hurt it unless it's on its last legs. My engine was supposedly rebuilt which it seems like it was and it runs really well, but I will see if I pull the motor one day. I don't expect something like 100 ft lbs of torque but maybe 20-40 extra. I haven't looked into what other people have seen for numbers yet so that's a guess based on prior knowledge of other engines. I believe the intake design from factory on these was not that bad, so I don't know if I would change it.maybe make a custom one that looked better but ran the same way.

Other than the sticker, is there a way to tell? This engine was pulled in the last few years so it might have had stickers removed if it was applied to anything that was removed. Or maybe painted over as a lot of the engine has been painted blue. I only have the cheap pocket obd2 reader so it's not very advanced so I doubt I could detect it that way.

 

[dapepper9]

The reason I thought of the injectors was it seemed like a package deal to do all at once; injectors, cam, and tune. I know not to trust the aftermarket chips. I was referring to a custom tune by a professional, that is until I learn how to do it myself. On a stock motor doing bigger injectors, cam, and a tune shouldn't hurt it unless it's on its last legs. My engine was supposedly rebuilt which it seems like it was and it runs really well, but I will see if I pull the motor one day. I don't expect something like 100 ft lbs of torque but maybe 20-40 extra. I haven't looked into what other people have seen for numbers yet so that's a guess based on prior knowledge of other engines. I believe the intake design from factory on these was not that bad, so I don't know if I would change it.maybe make a custom one that looked better but ran the same way.

Other than the sticker, is there a way to tell? This engine was pulled in the last few years so it might have had stickers removed if it was applied to anything that was removed. Or maybe painted over as a lot of the engine has been painted blue. I only have the cheap pocket obd2 reader so it's not very advanced so I doubt I could detect it that way.

Factory injectors and fuel pump are plenty for anything short of boost or stroker is why i was blunt about them. Not like mustangs where you almost have to after just a couple bolt ons lol. FlyinRyan canned tune is good for 20whp/tq across the board and a cam and heads really do a lot for these motors.

More than likely if you have it, it'll be on the pcm. 9 times outta 10 that's where you'll find it though some report seeing it on the rad support

 

[IrocRam]

Factory injectors and fuel pump are plenty for anything short of boost or stroker is why i was blunt about them. Not like mustangs where you almost have to after just a couple bolt ons lol. FlyinRyan canned tune is good for 20whp/tq across the board and a cam and heads really do a lot for these motors.

More than likely if you have it, it'll be on the pcm. 9 times outta 10 that's where you'll find it though some report seeing it on the rad support

Interesting. I really didn't take the time to learn a lot about vehicles until I bought my 88 Camaro over a year ago. So that's where I'm coming from with injectors. I was building a 305 TPI with a aftermarket tpi setup and way bigger injectors and cam.

I didn't even think of the heads. Are these stock heads pretty solid? I feel like that's a stupid question because most iron heads I would assume are good. I currently have my iroc heads at the shop getting worked on and I have sunk $586 into them for just the work they are doing, not the cost of the heads. So I'm imagining it will be similar on this truck. If somebody made good aftermarket heads that weren't very expensive I could get those.

I will have to look into that. I'm down to my last few weeks of school and have multiple papers to write so I have barely anytime to do anything the next 2 weeks. After that, the fun begins.