Dan's Dark Thunder - 1998 Dodge Ram 1500

[TxPlates]

I'll say it. Mainly cause dodge blows ass. :p but nice that you made it safely to kris'.


Sent from my iPhone 5 bitch using Tapatalk

[MrQ]

After a year of being driven by my dad, (who couldn't even do basic maintenance) I am now driving the Dodge. I almost forgot How much power this truck has. I can peel out on just half throttle.

Anyways, I finally changed out the year and half oil and filter, redid the spark plugs and wires, and fixed the vacuum leak on the blend door. I also went ahead and threw on a set of 33's, need to recalibrate my speedo however. I also picked up a replacement fender for the passenger side which is still sporting damage from a side swipe 3 years ago. Need to paint it, unless I can find somebody to do it professionally. I am also going to put in a JVC DVD nav unit and an alarm. A rear locker is also in the works if I can find a good deal. On top of that I picked up the parts to fix the A/C as well, but I am going to have a shop professionally vacuum and fill the system.

In other words the truck is getting a complete overhaul that it has desperately needed. With the Explorer in the doghouse, I moved to the Dodge as a daily and, man, that SOHC is damn anemic in comparison with the 5.2. However, with nothing in the bed this truck has no traction in rain, period. In the last storm we had I just sat spinning my wheels trying to turn out onto the highway. Therefor the locker moved up in priority on my list.

[KF5ZXT]

Nice. Since you said the frames are different, prohibiting you from doing a traditional 4x4 swap, how about a non-traditional, i.e. weld some shit on, SAS style, and make this your offroad rig. We need a full size in the group.

[MrQ]

i am hoping I can procur a locker for the ram. a 4wd conversion is now in the works for the green beast. :-D

[KF5ZXT]

Nice. I thought you told me that was not feasible due to frame differences? What all is the plan?

[MrQ]

To answer your question Randall, I am going to be doing a complete frame swap. I will essentially be building the truck from the ground up...again.

[KF5ZXT]

[MrQ]

Yeah, I am going to pull all the parts together and then hopedully put it all together with some help in a weekend.

[KF5ZXT]

Out of curiosity, have you weighed that option vs. a custom front suspension and bracketry welded onto the 2wd frame? Seems like it would be easier and maybe even cheaper to me.

[MrQ]

Actually, its cheaper and will make replacement parts easier to find as well as proper modifications. i would love to make a custom setup. but lacking a proper welder and the knowhow it would probably turn into a huge mess.

[KF5ZXT]

Oh, it seems something is missing from this thread:



I mean of the Dodge, not the group that it was named after.

[KF5ZXT]

Only ones I could find:

[MrQ]

i have some new onez Ill be uploading tonight with the my DvD Nav unit installed.

[KF5ZXT]

So what kind of timeline do you think you're on for the 4x4 conversion/frame swap?

[MrQ]

That's a tough call right now. The time frame is really going to come down to finding the parts at a decent price and having funding to purchase said parts. I don't see a due date on this project till the middle of next year. Of course that is always subject to change if I get a windfall of parts and/or monies. A lot of of the funding will be coming from next years tax return.

[TxPlates]

So are you scraping the explorer to do this?

[MrQ]

That is a possibility. The only way I would keep the explorer is if I put a V8 in it, I am tired of that SOHC, its never run right and always had a bit of a rough idle till lately.

[AgPete139]

Why the rough idle? Have you looked into what's causing it?

[MrQ]

Multiple times. New air filter, replaced all intake gaskets, iac, maf, fuel filter. Nada.

Last bet was sparkplugs, coil pack or wires, but since the transponder in the key got wiped by pats when I tried to start it it is a moot point..

[MrQ]

Got a possible full size project vehicle in the works (other than Thunder)... crossing fingers.

[Kris Guilbeaux]

Your keys got erased again?

[MrQ]

Yup, I wonder if the computer is the one at fault here. It really shouldn't have done that just trying to start it...right?

[nice59fordf100]

Well there is always a way to check this..we might have another pcm to put in it and try - cause remember when red wiped the pats key back in moab?

[KF5ZXT]

I'm sure he does remember...

[MrQ]