Ol-dodge 1992

Well I didn't DO anything to my piece today ... I did crawl under it and try to locate the tag on the rear end that Jim was talking about and couldn't find anything (maybe looking in the wrong place)
So I did a dodge.com search with my VIN and got a 4 page spec sheet which I'm assuming is accurate!

Very useful info ... said my truck was originally equipped with 3.55 gears in rear and 46rh 4 speed auto transmission ?!?!???

What does that mean as far as what I should expect from the truck as I do not have a clue to gearing and transmission stuff?

Am I looking at a bulldog low gear tug or is it highway racehorse that apparently is on its last leg with get up and go?

And how do I know the stuff I got is the same as spec sheet... I could not find the aforementioned tag to confirm the gearing...etc...

Thank you sirs,
SD

j_martin

If you still have the automatic in it you probably have 3.55 rear gears. Does OD work? There should be 4 distinct gears as it rolls out.

You can jack up the rear end and crawl under it, turn the driveshaft and count the turns to rotate the rear tires 1 turn. (Assuming it has the traction lockers in it.) If the differential is open, jack up one side, count the turns, and multiply by 2

Other possibilities:
Wrong gear in the VSS (speedometer error)
Someone put a 46RH/47RH shift kit in it and installed the TCC parts, putting too much pressure on the torque converter and stretching it, making it slip. I actually had a Goerend TQ damaged that way.

Even with a bone stock transmission, it should roll 70 quite comfortably at a little over 2000 RPM.

maybe368

3.55 gears are "highway"gears. That means that you are going to be able to travel at highway speeds with the engine at relatively low rpm's. This is as opposed to "taller" gears, like 4.11. This will result in a quicker takeoff, but she will be screaming at higher rpm's at highway speeds. Taller gears are good for drag racing and off roading, while highway gears are good for fuel economy and cruising at highway speeds, hope this is clear as mud...Mark

edwinsmith

I'll probably have to replace my calipers soon. The only reason I didn't do it now is money. It stops good now and the calipers don't leak. (yet)

Ol-dodge 1992

[quote=j_martin]If you still have the automatic in it you probably have 3.55 rear gears. Does OD work? There should be 4 distinct gears as it rolls out.

You can jack up the rear end and crawl under it, turn the driveshaft and count the turns to rotate the rear tires 1 turn. (Assuming it has the traction lockers in it.) If the differential is open, jack up one side, count the turns, and multiply by 2

Yes still have the auto transmission in it ... yes OD works now that the ECM is replaced (would always hunt in and out for OD before) but I can only feel 3 distinct shifts and they seem "soft" compared to my other vehicle.

I've never dropped the transmission pan and changed the filter ... read how to adjust the bands... not sure if I could tackle that one though... and I've always heard that you should leave good enough alone on a old transmission that has not been serviced correctly...

I had rear end jacked up the other day to rotate tires and I noticed the other tire spinning the opposite way ... is that a limited slip rear ... a positive traction rear ... or the traction lockers you referred to

Please forgive me if these are all one in the same and interchangeable terms...

SD

maybe368

[QUOTE=Ol-dodge 1992;3329995]That is a regular non LS rear end. The real test is to have somebody hold onto 1 wheel and spin the other. If you can spin 1 while the other stays still, that is non-locking and non-limited slip. The "slip"that they are talking about is that one spins, while the other doesn't. A limited slip, is exactly that, it limits the slip on the wheel with less traction, while giving the wheel with more traction the power. A locking rear end has no slip and you end up dragging one wheel around corners. That is really only good for going real fast, straight ahead, like drag racing or off roading, going slow. They also make lockin-lock out lockers, that lets you lock them manually...Mark

jimbo486

A little trick I use when removing the filter is to slip an untorn plastic bag around the filter to capture any oil that may find its way out. It's nice to be able to set the filter in the bag and lift it out by the handles.

Of course you know, out here in California now, that plastic bag will add $0.10 to the cost of each oil change. Unless you have a collection of plastic bags in your pantry.

Pistol grip, you say? I'd love to fashion one onto my NV5600 shifter. Another idea that came to mind was getting a junk or 80% 1911 frame and slide to set on the shifter whenever parked at car shows or something. I'd be wise to remove it before driving around with a 1911 pointing at the windshield. I'm sure it wouldn't be long before a smokey stops me because of reports from a "concerned citizen."

thrashingcows

Swapped out my stock injectors for the OEM set I cleaned up last week. Took me about 4 hours to do the swap last night. Took it for a quick burn and it does seem smoother and quieter.

But my past experiences has shown that after I do a change or repair it seems to take a few days for things to "settle" and I can get a good reference if things have gotten better or worse.

jimbo486

I've been awfully busy for about the last 6 months. If anybody's on Facebook or Competition Diesel, you may have seen that I had to rebuild my motor again due to a water leak from a crack in the rear of the block behind one of the head bolt bores that went external. I found out after removing the head that it had also cracked at one of the front head bolt bores but didn't go external.

Lucky me, $100 bought a shortblock with a cracked timing case from a buddy of mine. Now I have spare engine parts to sell that will pay me back and then some. Took them both to a local machine shop and had them disassemble both blocks and reassemble the replacement block with all of my internals. The new block was cleaned, magnafluxed and inspected with good news. Along with having the cylinders punched open .020" to accept the new pistons, I opted to have the deck surfaced to get it flat just as the head still was at this time. The deck had .006" of material removed to make the true.

I took all of last week off of work and still worked like a dog to get it back together and back in the truck. Friday evening, I cranked it to build good oil pressure, bled the injectors and let 'er come alive for a few minutes. Saturday, I buttoned up a few small details and filled the block with antifreeze. With the luck I had after the first rebuild, you can probably imagine how nerve-wracking this was for me. So much so that my hands were shaking. I was dreading that I would see it leak again.

However, I'm happy to report that it held nearly all 4 gallons! After finally getting the truck out of the backyard and onto the street again, I opened it up a little to get things up to temperature. As of late last night, it's still leak free. What a project! What a year!

Bob L

Jim,
WOW �� your workmanship is outstanding !
What a beautiful Cummins !
A lot of Pride right there.

jimbo486

In the middle of my motor's second rebuild, I went on a weekend getaway to Vegas for Mopars at The Strip. Or as it's been renamed to make the Ford, GM and other guys feel more welcome, Muscle Cars at The Strip . While checking out some of the show cars, I mentally noted that the 67-70 B-body hood hinges looked very familiar to the truck's hood hinges.

As the weekend went on, I noticed other B-body cars had billet aluminum hood hinges with small nitrogen struts attached. Now this piqued my interest. I posted last year sometime about trying to figure out how I could adapt nitrogen struts to my hinges or hood. My original springs are certainly worn from years of usage. They hold the weight of the hood but don't do much assistance in lifting. I couldn't seem to come up with the info I felt was necessary. Seeing these billet hinges sent me on a mission. As soon as I got home I started searching on Google. One of the first results listed was a place called Eddie Motorsports and to my surprise, they're less than an hour away from me.

So what did I do??? I grabbed one of my hood hinges, drove on out and had a chat with them. The only way I could test these, of course, was to buy a pair and put them on. If they didn't fit, I'd simply return them. Being that they were just a trial, they suggested a raw, unfinished set.



Over the weekend, I was finally able to see if they would work. Fitment, geometry and stainless hardware provided is all spot on! Alignment was good but they would need only very slight modifications to make them perfect. As you'll notice in the following pictures, with them at their highest, the back of the hood sits about 1/8" low on both sides. It seems simply lengthening the slots in the fender flanges would do the trick. I noted this as I would share with them my findings and see if they would be willing to help with the modifications.

Next came testing of the struts for function and capability. The hinge sets come standard with 300lbs. struts. I weighed my hood prior to buying the trial hinges and mentioned that among the discussion. I wasn't able to get a comparison weight of a factory, steel B-body hood though. However, they said if the struts are too strong or too weak, they would exchange them for the next step up or down.

The passenger side and its retaining clips popped on easily. The driver side, I hadn't noticed until this moment that one of the ball studs was too small. I didn't feel comfortable pulling down on the hood with only one strut installed. I removed and repacked all of the pieces and drove to their shop the next day.









In speaking with the sales manager whom I had spoken with initially, when I asked about lengthening the slots for more height adjustment, he told me that they wouldn't do any "one-off" type of work and because the hinges were made for a different vehicle. Obviously they won't guarantee they'll work on another. "Hey, no problem. I can do what's needed to make them work for my truck." I mentioned the one small ball stud on the driver side hinge and was informed that it was installed by mistake and is actually sized for a weaker strut.

So, knowing now that I could make these hinges work yet still had to test the struts, I had to decide on a coating. Clear anodizing would take up to a week and a half since they run them in large quantities. I chose anodized black. The new set was checked for the correct ball studs for the 300lbs. struts.

I still need to test the struts but I should be able to make that happen this week.



These certainly aren't for everybody and most will say the price is hard to swallow or not worth it at all but to each their own and I agree. $535 for the raw, unfinished set. $645 for any coated set. I've shared my findings with others who have any 72-93 show trucks that they may want a nice set of hinges for.

jimbo486

Thank you, sir! I'm very proud of the work I've put in. It sure has been a long time coming and I hope I'm done with it this time.

edwinsmith

Jim:

You said you had the deck planed .006", did you also have to plane the pistons .006" to match?

You sure do purdy work.

Edwin

maybe368

Hey Jim, pretty rig, I like it. How did you make the windshield washer reservoir look so good? Is it new?...Mark

thrashingcows

That's just the mood/back lighting he used to make the pic that much better....