getting back on the road

[Evilsizer]

Traded my dad his semi running 2003 dodge ram 1500 QC 5.7L for a water heater+install. he is disabled now and cant drive, im tired of being in a car. time to get back in to a truck, got i miss my 02 dakota qc 4.7L.

Any way, i figured as much that the lifters were the problem since cyl #3 was the code the PCM was giving. could have been lifter but who knows at this point. called around a few places about doing a lifter and cam/liter replacement. got one place to call me back but they wanted to rebuild the whole engine and said they would do it for 8k. i went to jasper as a suggestion from my neighbor couldnt beat the price pluse the core money back. found a shop that would swap it in for 1.6k and hopefully by the end of the week i get it back.

things that got replaced besides the engine, new intake manifold to keep the 3yr/100k warranty from jasper(590 ish with tax from the dealer). got a new AFE air intake, it had some cheap ebay looking intake and dealer wanted the same price as the AFE intake. got new headlights/tail lights/ 3rd brake light. nothing fancy on the lights all bulb based no leds except the 3rd brake light. want something i could just replace a bulb and be on my way. seen to many led lights that look funny because one row quit working.

things that needs fixing:
driver side vertical motor
refresh the front/rear suspension (suggestions for better shocks ie better handling)
also thinking about sway bars and strut brace if i can find one.
new ac compressor or redo all the lines etc (makes some kind of metal on metal noise ever so often when idling, goes away after you turn the ac off)

wish list:
possibly shorty headers with new exhaust, high flow cat, borla or magnaflow muffler/turbo muffler.
sound system upgrade, just minor new basic head unit, possible amp, infinity or kicker speakers.
while doing the sound system/while doing the seat fix at same time, add sound insulation to the whole cab and doors.
install/setup rear view camera
security system with remote start.

the if i can make it happen later item, 6.4l stoker setup for low to mid range torque.

 

[gofishn]

Welcome!
Post up some pics, asn you go along, getting it Road Ready.

 

[McBroom]

Welcome Aboard from Denison Texas
Where ya at in Texas


The Blue Mule

 

[HemiLonestar]

Welcome to the forum, have a few responses/suggestions/ideas for you below (see bold)

things that got replaced besides the engine, new intake manifold to keep the 3yr/100k warranty from jasper(590 ish with tax from the dealer). got a new AFE air intake, it had some cheap ebay looking intake and dealer wanted the same price as the AFE intake. got new headlights/tail lights/ 3rd brake light. nothing fancy on the lights all bulb based no leds except the 3rd brake light. want something i could just replace a bulb and be on my way. seen to many led lights that look funny because one row quit working. - keep an eye on your taillights...you WILL eventually get the constant lamp out (even the bulb is fine) because the stock style circuit boards in the taillights are ****. After 14yrs I finally found a set of LED tailights I didn't hate or think were garish and installed them; straight bolt in, no more taillamp problems ever again lol

things that needs fixing:
driver side vertical motor
refresh the front/rear suspension (suggestions for better shocks ie better handling) - Bilsteins for shocks; you didn't say if you had 2wd or 4wd so I can't really give you a recommendation
also thinking about sway bars and strut brace if i can find one. - truck is a full frame vehicle (not a unibody like you're thinking) and as such you won't find a strut brace for it; plus 03 doesn't use struts either way, it's either coils and shocks for 2wd or torsion bars and shocks for 4wd
new ac compressor or redo all the lines etc (makes some kind of metal on metal noise ever so often when idling, goes away after you turn the ac off) - replacement compressor and system flush is an excellent idea

wish list:
possibly shorty headers with new exhaust, high flow cat, borla or magnaflow muffler/turbo muffler.- either are good choices, I personally have the corner exit Borla kit that was sold by Mopar back in the day
sound system upgrade, just minor new basic head unit, possible amp, infinity or kicker speakers. - check first, if it's a Laramie or SLT there's a good chance it already has Infinity speakers and and amp, there should be a logo on the door panel up front if it does and you can find the factory amp (if it has one) behind the glovebox. Mopar offers Kicker factory upgrades for the 3rd gen Rams
while doing the sound system/while doing the seat fix at same time, add sound insulation to the whole cab and doors. - excellent idea, I just did this when I revamped my interior
install/setup rear view camera - did this as well, I found a company that makes factory style/looking/function tailgate handles that have integrated cameras. You have your choice of locking (with small key) or non locking: https://tailgatecamera.com/collections/2002-2008-dodge-ram
I went with non-locking because I also found a place that makes a solenoid that ties in with the power locks: https://realtruck.com/p/pace-edwards-powergate-tailgate-lock/v/dodge/ram-1500/2003/
security system with remote start.

the if i can make it happen later item, 6.4l stoker setup for low to mid range torque. - this is where I **** in your Wheaties unless you're willing to make serious alterations; the 2003 ECM/TCM system cannot be properly tuned (custom tuned) as it is for ANYTHING beyond a mild cam (like a comp 260). With the stock computer you'd never get that stroker to run right. Only course here is either settle for mild cam and a Superchips 91 canned tune or convert the whole works to the 2005 combined PCM setup; this will allow not only proper custom tuning of the engine but also the transmission, at least until you blow up the stock RFE from the power lol

Since you got a reman, early valvespring issues shouldn't affect you; I caveat that with the fact that I'm still running my original 2003 valvesprings at the 160,000 mile mark lol.
Go here and enter your VIN: https://fcacommunity.force.com/RAM/s/equipment-listing Then you can see what options your truck was born with. Incidentally this will tell you if it came with Infinity sound or not.
Some of the modifications I mentioned above you can see pictures of here: https://www.ramforum.com/threads/big-red-over-time-pic-heavy.17732/page-3
You can go through the whole thing if you want, but Photobucket disabled all of my early pictures. Start at page 3 (like the link) and scroll down, then go on to page 4.
Any questions lol? Ask away!

 

[Evilsizer]

@McBroom im in cedar park, just north of austin.

Dont really need to run the vin, was rental truck before my dad got it. has the tow package, came stock with 17's. my farther did find a guy on CL back in the day wanting to get rid of the 20's on his 04 or 05, they swapped and my dad payed him like $100ish. no infinity system, i plan to put something better then stock, kenwood HU/kicker 6x9/6.5 maybe a amp. was watching some videos on sound deadening cars, etc. i'm planning on buying some to do the roof/floor/behind the back seat. Got the truck back today, will take a picture of the engine bay to show off the intake

sorry no before picture but i got the new tail lights installed, got them from carid, lumen euro. the shop installed the new headlights for me but i need to get them adjusted, forgot to get a picture of those. they say euro styling for the headlights, i just dont see vs the tail lights. they are blacked out just like the tail lights so no extra chrome. I did get my new 3rd brake light installed but it got dark after i got it installed so no picture. i seem to have so much trouble getting night shots to show off how the look when on. while it looks good on the truck, i had to settle for the 3rd brake light. i couldnt find one to fit with the style of the rest. i also ordered just a dash pad to cover up the cracked plastic one.

i did forget to mention that after the engine swap, i now have a CEL on. has to do something with evap system, some kind of leak at the rear cansitor or the rubber hose. they were not sure which after doing a smoke test. they never told me how much and its was already at $2500 for the engine swap plus a few new parts. since i am having no luck finding this hose/canister for the rear of the truck i think i may have to go to the dealer. im just going to get both to be safe at this point.

all the lights came from carid
Head lights: LUMEN® 87-1001254
tail lights: CG® 03-DR2002TLG2DS
3rd brake light: CG® 11-DR2002LED

 

[Evilsizer]

little late on posting these

 

[Evilsizer]

i should have looked at exactly entailed the engine swap. they swapped over parts from the old engine, so now i have some parts on the way. they did install a new belt that will now be a backup, some of the parts on the way.

4 seasons condenser fan
gates auto tensioner
gates idler pully x2
continental belt

after a lot of reading i went for the continental belt, it being the only one on RA. i thought it was the gatorback since someone said continental bought rights from GY to make it. now after a bit of looking around, i cant find a gatorback belt for my 03. i must be missing something here, need to look more into it. yea i am replacing parts since they are old and second, looking to get rid of a belt noise or possible bad bearing noise. followed some advice from a few videos on youtube, namely chrisfix even though not ram specific. watched the belt as suggested didnt see any kind of off center on the belt any where i was able to see. while the engine was off tried to wiggle the idler and tensioner for play but nothing. another issue being the ac which i posted about but no help yet, turned to youtube. found a guy that replaced either the bearing or both bearing and clutch for the ac compressor. looked like alot more not just work but more then i could do, thinking i need a new condenser to make the job easier. as of right now truck is sitting since im playing safe cause of the slight grinding noise i hear now and agian. it happens around 2k rpm and the other night happened when starting up, the noise doesnt happen all the time. though like i posted in another thread he noise goes away when rpm goes down, then when rpm raises back up the noise is not there. its hard to figure out exactly how to replicate what causes this noise. i do know its coming from the driver side of the engine bay.

i also picked up some kicker 6x9's to get started replacing bad/blown/dead speakers in the front. figured while i was at it to order a new head unit, next pay day will be to pick up some sound deadening for the front doors. for the HU i opted to use single din unit, the Kenwood Excelon KMM-X503, price was right for the features i wanted. the speakers are the Kicker 44KSC6904, back doors might be done. more then likely not since im solo in the QC 90% of the time. im thinking at some point down the road to install a amp for a bit more juice.

 

[Evilsizer]

i should have taken pictures but didnt for some reason. just did a basic speaker upgrade but i also installed sound deadening and sound foam, noico off amazon. the sound deadening/foam was IMO the best $130 spent, i havent even done the back doors yet. it seems im still going to have a lot left over, i did not do 100% coverage, i did a bit over 50%, in that ball park. after the doors were done, i installed some Kicker 6x9's, wanted to try another brand use to using infinity. i did notice that the parent company of infinity and jbl, now make both brand of car speakers exactly the same just different color's. that is more then likely why i went with kicker, seemed better i guess not sure how to explain it. i can not honestly say one is better then the other infinity or the kickers, as the infinity's are in a 07 buick. both needed a small bass bump off the stock HU, the truck how ever is getting a kenwood single din installed soon. i need to get the alarm installed first before installing the HU, had my dakota broken into two different times when i had it. the HU got stolen, the worst part is, each time they were like the cheapest Pioneer HU's.

when i do the back doors, i plan to post some pictures in case someone else is wondering about doing sound deadening/foam.