TARDISGUy
Junior Member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2022
- Posts
- 4
- Reaction score
- 2
- Location
- San Antonio, Texas
- Ram Year
- 2008 MegaCab 1500 4x4
- Engine
- 5.7 Hemi
Hi everyone. Sort of new to Mopar but not really. Parents had a Plymouth minivan growing up, My first truck was a 91 Dakota, only lasted a year before the torque converter split and I sold it. Mom has a 08 magnum 3.8/auto that I am the designated mechanic for so I have become more recently familiar to Mopar. But now I have recently acquired a 08 1500 Mega Cab 4x4 5.7/auto on a 2 or 4 in lift. I knew it was gonna need some work when I bought it but it was a good deal and it is the kind of truck I have wanted and am beginning to need. I have 2 other trucks that I love with all my heart but they do fall short in fuel mileage (89 chevy extended cab/long bed 2500 with a 350 & 3 speed auto w/ 4.11 gear) and rear passenger space for my 4ft tall 9 year old on road trips to the NASCAR race while pulling the pop-up camper (91 chevy extended cab/short bed 1500 with a 350 & 5 speed manual)
I am very mechanical minded and able so like I said, I knew the Ram was going to need some work when I bought it. First thing was: the motor was probably no good. Chocolate milk when I drained the oil, so I ran my borescope down cylinder 1 and the top of the piston is all beat up and cylinder 3 is full of water/oil mix. Had a quality rebuilt motor (w/ 4 year warranty) put in it by a trusted shop along with trans fluid service that showed no issues (trans fluid was good color/smell, filter was clear of debris and pan was clear of sludge) It runs and sounds great!
I am in South Texas so rust is not normally a problem BUT the previous owner was a competitive Salt Water Angler so this truck saw a lot of time at the coast and was not underwashed very well. As a result there is a lot of surface rust on the bottom side especially on the frame and suspension on the front half of the truck. Very little pitting and it is cleaning up pretty well with a wire wheel on a grinder and Rustoleum. Floors and body panels are not affected except for a few spots on the bed but I will get back to that. Some other metal items did not fare so well. The engine oil pan and trans pan both needed to be replaced during the engine swap. All the brake lines from the master cylinder to the calipers needed to be changed as leaks were forming just driving around. The wheels and tires were junk from salt water exposure. The bed had rust on the edge of the passenger wheel well and a rusted through spot in the middle of the bed as the bed had a 1 in thick layer of sand in it with a layer of old fishing junk and trash on top of that. Replaced the bed and painted the frame while it was off.
Interior is dirty but cleaning up OK. I love the space!! First vehicle that I had to move the seat closer to the dash so my 6ft 4in self could reach the dash controls! Smells fishy inside and there is sand in all the nooks and crannies but mostly just regular dirty hand holds, door handles and seat stains. The Radio half works. The on/off and volume work but the screen doesn't come on and you cant change anything. The 3 AM channels that the defaults happen to fall on sound great though.
That pretty much sums it up at this point. Still working out some gremlins that sometimes affect the starter but I made another post about that with more detail. Glad to be here!!!
I am very mechanical minded and able so like I said, I knew the Ram was going to need some work when I bought it. First thing was: the motor was probably no good. Chocolate milk when I drained the oil, so I ran my borescope down cylinder 1 and the top of the piston is all beat up and cylinder 3 is full of water/oil mix. Had a quality rebuilt motor (w/ 4 year warranty) put in it by a trusted shop along with trans fluid service that showed no issues (trans fluid was good color/smell, filter was clear of debris and pan was clear of sludge) It runs and sounds great!
I am in South Texas so rust is not normally a problem BUT the previous owner was a competitive Salt Water Angler so this truck saw a lot of time at the coast and was not underwashed very well. As a result there is a lot of surface rust on the bottom side especially on the frame and suspension on the front half of the truck. Very little pitting and it is cleaning up pretty well with a wire wheel on a grinder and Rustoleum. Floors and body panels are not affected except for a few spots on the bed but I will get back to that. Some other metal items did not fare so well. The engine oil pan and trans pan both needed to be replaced during the engine swap. All the brake lines from the master cylinder to the calipers needed to be changed as leaks were forming just driving around. The wheels and tires were junk from salt water exposure. The bed had rust on the edge of the passenger wheel well and a rusted through spot in the middle of the bed as the bed had a 1 in thick layer of sand in it with a layer of old fishing junk and trash on top of that. Replaced the bed and painted the frame while it was off.
Interior is dirty but cleaning up OK. I love the space!! First vehicle that I had to move the seat closer to the dash so my 6ft 4in self could reach the dash controls! Smells fishy inside and there is sand in all the nooks and crannies but mostly just regular dirty hand holds, door handles and seat stains. The Radio half works. The on/off and volume work but the screen doesn't come on and you cant change anything. The 3 AM channels that the defaults happen to fall on sound great though.
That pretty much sums it up at this point. Still working out some gremlins that sometimes affect the starter but I made another post about that with more detail. Glad to be here!!!
