Murymann

I'm new with this Ram. It's a 1993 W250-LE 4x4, AT, AC, windows, locks etc. with 1st Gen Cummins diesel. Bought it in December with 124K miles; one owner before me.

I took my 7-1/2' Meyer Quick-Mount plow off my '91 D250 ( 360 V8 ) and installed it on this one. I luv this truck. Nice stiff ride, pulls like a Bear and has tons of torque. And, it was pretty quiet inside ( for a Cummins diesel ) until after I took the plow off last week. Now, I have this annoying "squeek" noise that's almost like a "chirp". I don't have to run over anything to get it to squeek. Just driving does it, and it wasn't there last time I took the plow off in February.

I didn't hurt the truck plowing this year which is rare for me because my accounts have parking curbs you can't see under a large snowfall. I've looked everywhere I can think of. It sounds like it's coming from the firewall area on the driver's side. My '91 gasser never had this issue.

The noise goes away after I run the truck through a wash. But, returns again when it's dry. No driving problems, no handling issues. Stops great, good pedal. Just that darn squeek. It's driving me nutz. Suggestions?
Bob

carl20320

Mine has the same annoying squek. I have tracked mine down to the notorious cowl cracks that plague our 1st gen trucks. Might give that a check.

If you are not familiar with the cowl crack issue, check the tech section under 1st gens.

Carl

Redleg

That's what I was thinking too.

Murymann

Bingo. Driver's side seperation. Not much, but creates a damned annoying squeek. Any suggestions on aftermarket parts source or am I stuck with a Dealer rape-job for the MoPar parts listed in the Tech section?
Bob

freddy2pipes

Mine has the same trouble but I caught it early. I drilled a 1/8 hole on each end of the crack, spread the crack a bit to keep the 2 parts from rubbing to eliminate the noise, and sealed it with silicone. Its not a permanent fix, but it will hold until Im ready to paint.

Redleg

In the mean time, try drilling the ends of the crack to stop it from growing. Cover it with tar or under coating. You can probably make your own patch cheaper. The fix I read about just riveted sheet metal over the top. I read about somebody just hammering it making dents to act as reinforcement. My cab is too rough to worry about it myself.

jleonard

And I have it on the pass side...but for the 2 years it's been squeaking, it only does it when it's cold...it gets quiet in the summer...must be a metal expansion/contraction thing.
Hoping it'll be quiet again soon....
Jay

Murymann

For the price of the parts ( $285.17 for one side ) I'll try the drill & fill first. It's a small crack. Looks like 5/8" maybe 7/8". Thanks for the advise. I'll stay tuned. You guys here seem to have your act together on 1st gen diesel Ram trucks.

Next time you have a water problem in a place that doesn't show, try Life-Caulk. It's a marine product that stays soft, takes vibration and unlike GE Silicone, Life-Caulk seals & adheres to any prepared surface. Glass, Fiberglass, alum, steel, even mortar. Repairs last and it's UV resistant and paintable. You can buy it at West Marine or other boating outlets. I use this stuff on my boat.

Out of desperation I tried it on the rusting cab corner welds that were seperating on my old 91 D250 gasser. I tried everything before that. Cat-hair & epoxy, glass mat & epoxy, even sheet alum & rivits back-coated with Henry's roof patch. Nothing worked. The vibrations and stress of plowing on the cab & frame trashed everything I did. One day I sanded things down, welded a few alum L-plates across the cracks and used the Life-Caulk to fill the gaps, overlapping about 1" per side and 1/4" thick.

The repair held watertight for three years, up to the day I sold it.
Bob

carl20320

Someone gave you a line of BS on the price for the patches! The patches from the dealer ran about $125 for both. The epoxy that you use runs about $30/tube. A handful of heavy duty rivets from an auto paint supply store (don't get them from the dealer at $1.25 ea.) and the total tab is less than the figure you quoted for one side!

Carl

vinny

Here's my 2 cents,

I just turned the MIG down low and buzzed'er back together real good...took a couple passes over it to reinforce it.
Then I threw a couple coats of zinc-rich primer on it and sealed it with spray-on undercoating...so far so good.

Vinny

Redleg

You might consider the body caulk the factory uses on firewalls (not enuff coffee yet to remember the right name). You can get it wherever they sell body repair supplys. It's not cheap, but if you plan to paint, it would be the best choice.