Proud new owner with some question

[Chief115]

Afternoon guys,

For those of you who are actually interested, I am the proud new owner of a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 Extended cab, 5.9. Picked it up last weekend and could never be happier. When I was growing up I was raised in a 97 Dodge ram, so this was a blast from the past.

So down to business. I have a very long list of mods I want to make. But there are a few that I have no experience in (this is my first truck/vehicle I care about). Listed below are the current head scratchers I have.

Headers-
iv determined that shortys are the only way you can really go. However I cant figure out which brand is better- JBA or Gibson. I was also trying to find an Edlebrock one(I don't even know if they exist) or just going with a Summit racing header. But past that I have no idea which one is best (other then the warranties).

Differential gear change-
I have absolutely no clue what options/brands or anything I could do. I'm trying to get a little better MPG's, while not loosing my offroad capabilities (I do plan on going mudding)

Driveshaft change-
Again, for MPG's. Is there a aftermarket driveshaft that's lighter then the stock one but still strong enough for offroad?

Intake manifold-
Should I change it? Keep it the same? Just trying to get a lil more power.

That's all I can think of right now. Any help, suggestions or anything like that is MUCH appreciated.

 

[Booms]

Welcome....

 

[dodge dude94]

Afternoon guys,

For those of you who are actually interested, I am the proud new owner of a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 Extended cab, 5.9. Picked it up last weekend and could never be happier. When I was growing up I was raised in a 97 Dodge ram, so this was a blast from the past.

So down to business. I have a very long list of mods I want to make. But there are a few that I have no experience in (this is my first truck/vehicle I care about). Listed below are the current head scratchers I have.

Headers-
iv determined that shortys are the only way you can really go. However I cant figure out which brand is better- JBA or Gibson. I was also trying to find an Edlebrock one(I don't even know if they exist) or just going with a Summit racing header. But past that I have no idea which one is best (other then the warranties).

Differential gear change-
I have absolutely no clue what options/brands or anything I could do. I'm trying to get a little better MPG's, while not loosing my offroad capabilities (I do plan on going mudding)

Driveshaft change-
Again, for MPG's. Is there a aftermarket driveshaft that's lighter then the stock one but still strong enough for offroad?

Intake manifold-
Should I change it? Keep it the same? Just trying to get a lil more power.

That's all I can think of right now. Any help, suggestions or anything like that is MUCH appreciated.

First off, welcome to RF and congratz on the purchase of what appears to be a rather clean 2g.


I wouldn't start modding things until I had made sure that everything was squared away elsewhere in the engine and drive train. Do a compression and leak down test on the engine, replace spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor, clean the throttle body. Move to the transmission by changing the fluid, filter and tightening the bands. Move to the t-case, check its fluid level and condition, if it's low or looks bad, change it. Do the same with the diffs.

If everything checks out otherwise, make sure your plenum isn't blown because that will decide if you want to start cranking on the intake manifold sooner rather than later. If it is blown, you have a couple different options: A stock intake manifold with the plenum fix, a stock intake manifold with the kegger mod done to it, the Hughes AirGap intake and the Mopar M1 intake. They both have advantages, but I'll get into that later.

Driveshaft, I have no idea about and honestly I don't think it will make that much of a difference on a truck like this.

Gear swaps are a great way to pick up acceleration and in some cases some mileage gains. However, DO NOT gear for economy in that truck. Judging by the size of the tires, you'd be looking at changing gears to a 4.56 ratio over the stock 3.55s (maybe 3.92s...who knows?).

You can't have a lifted truck and expect anything above about 12 mpg average. That's just life. I'm completely stock, running 33s on 3.55 gears and the best I can manage out of my beast is 13.5 at about 65. I go above that and it drops to 12.5 consistently. These trucks are heavy and not designed for fuel mileage, they were designed to be worked and survive it.

Headers...ahh...so many options, so many opinions. To be honest, from what I've seen with other guys' trucks and issues they've had and haven't had, I'd say JBA, Gibson or Pacesetter. And ONLY get stainless in ceramic coated. Anything else will rust all to hell and I've seen the ebay and Summit headers (which the Summit headers are actually Pacesetter's, but crappy ones at that) crack at the welds. A LOT. So you're looking at a lot of money for headers, but you'll need to spend that much so you're not pulling them in 3 years to weld cracks up.

You should also consider an SCT tuner, a 50mm throttle body, and an off road y-pipe as well.

I would also advise that you delete the transmission cooler line check valve and factory aux cooler, and install a much larger aftermarket cooler in place of that. These transmission die in part because they never have had enough cooling from the factory, number one, number two, the check valve in the cooler line can clog up with junk and literally cook the trans. to death because the fluid can't flow properly.


Good luck and I hope this helps ya!

 

[Chief115]

Thanks for the info! Slowly but surely I was going to go through each piece but totally forgot about the leak down.

As far as gears and tires, I took those off. Way too small for me. I'd like to get 18s. And some duel sport tires.

Now what do those intake mods do?

 

[dodge dude94]

The Kegger mod cuts down the intake runners, thereby moving the power band up a few hundred rpm and allowing the engine to breathe a bit better in the upper RPM. These engines are notoriously breathless above 3500 rpm and usually need a bit of help.

 

[Chief115]

I had no idea. Now if I were trying to burn the tires off at a stop sign, how would I go about doing that. I only ask because my friends 06 Silverado smokes the doors off my truck and that needs to change ASAP

 

[WhiteExpress]

I had no idea. Now if I were trying to burn the tires off at a stop sign, how would I go about doing that. I only ask because my friends 06 Silverado smokes the doors off my truck and that needs to change ASAP

That's a pretty lofty goal for a 2G Ram. While I feel the '06 Silverados (all of em, for that matter) are dogs, you're talking a couple generations of difference in trucks / engine technology.

I don't think simple bolt ons will put you infront, at all. You replace the heads, get long tubes, M-1 and a large TB properly tuned, a good transmission and fast gears, then maybe you'd be talking...

 

[dodge dude94]

I had no idea. Now if I were trying to burn the tires off at a stop sign, how would I go about doing that. I only ask because my friends 06 Silverado smokes the doors off my truck and that needs to change ASAP

That's a pretty lofty goal for a 2G Ram. While I feel the '06 Silverados (all of em, for that matter) are dogs, you're talking a couple generations of difference in trucks / engine technology.

I don't think simple bolt ons will put you infront, at all. You replace the heads, get long tubes, M-1 and a large TB properly tuned, a good transmission and fast gears, then maybe you'd be talking...

I agree with the above. If you want to stomp that Silverado, hook up a strap or a trailer instead.

 

[Chief115]

Alright, so maybe not stomp the Silverado, but is it too much to try and get it to burn tires at stop lights?

 

[dodge dude94]

If you want to spin tires, gears will be your best bet. Depending on the size you've got, either 4.10s or 4.56.

 

[Chief115]

How in the heck do you find places to buy gears from? Maybe I'm having a dumb moment but Ive checked AutoZone (and the like) and quite a few online places like autoanything and can't find anything

 

[dodge dude94]

Summit, Randy's Ring and Pinion, etc....4x4 shops. lol

 

[Chief115]

And what does a throttle body spacer do?

 

[dodge dude94]

Not a DAMN thing.

 

[Chief115]

Lol good to know. I always wondered that. I'm not sold on cold air intakes either. Saw a very convincing video on YouTube mythbusting it. Now I know I saw a link on the forum somewhere with a link to the kegger mod but forget where it is. Any idea?

 

[dodge dude94]

CAIs are all about flow, not cool air. lol



There is a thread in the DIY section of the forum for the Kegger mod.

 

[DavidRam]

Welcome and congrats man! Awesome looking truck!

 

[Chief115]

Welcome and congrats man! Awesome looking truck!

Why thank you kind sir. All I see is a ********* blank pallet to do whatever I want. An so it begins.

 

[98blackbeauty]

Welcome bud, You have a nice looking sport. I have the similar truck stance and all but 318 5speed Laramie. Im getting Pacesetter Armor coat shortys and an off road direct bolt y pipe from Jegs. also im running 35'[s and upgrading to 4:56's. Im getting them from Home Page - JustDifferentials.com they have a package deal on there for our trucks. If you got any questions feel free to give me a holler and ill help the best I can

 

[Chief115]

That sounds great. I'm really looking into changing the gears but that's a little ways away. But it's been giving me a headache trying to find it.

What made you goose pacesetter ?