1998.5 Dodge Ram CTD - Sally

frojoe

Adventurer
I considered not running an intercooler, but with the amount of warm slow speed all-day offroad driving I do throughout the summer, I'd rather have some form of charge air cooling in it and just try and keep any and all engine-related temps as low as I can reasonably muster.

Also, without the physical blockage of the intercooler at the front of the truck.. it's a surprising amount louder at idle in front of the grill, and on engine decel in gear there is a crazy amount more valve/air noise that resonates back through this simple 3" bypass pipe and out the factory air filter box!
 

cd_193

New member
Wow I had no idea about the increased noise! That's intense!
Speaking of that, I still need to order the Quiet Kit from ATP, did you ever get the rest of it installed?

Also agree with you on the slow speed driving, especially with the offroading you do.
I guess not all drag racing tricks can be reused in the offroad world!
 

frojoe

Adventurer
I had the oil pan blanket and valvecover blanket installed for many months (a year plus maybe?), and still have not got around to installing the exhaust manifold+turbo blanket... that was pencilled in as a task for this weekend (hopefully!)

Since converting the the commonrail valvecover, I actually re-ordered another valvecover blanket from ATP for a 2003-2004 CR valvecover, but I was having some issues getting it to fit cleanly.. mainly sandwiching it within the reduced height between the CR valvecover and my 2nd gen cowl underside (and sagging factory heat insulation on the cowl/firewall).

I also wasn't able to jam part of the blanket between the intake horn and the valvecover/rocker box.. I think the CR intake manifold may have moved the intake horn opening to the driver side ~1", because in a quick Google pics search there's at least a finger gap (maybe even more) on a 2003-2005 CR intake horn to valvecover, where on mine I had to grind 1/4" off the rocker box casting just to clear my intake horn. I may just trim part of that flap on the ATP blanket to let it sit all the way down. I'll take some pics of what I'm talking about, and whatever mods I end up doing.
 

frojoe

Adventurer
Have a few updates on the truck.. I realize I never updated on the intercooler situation with the hidden winch.

So I really wanted to modify an intercooler and throw one back in there, mainly because it's a level of effort I think most people would shy away from, also to damp a lot of that intake noise/resonance I noticed with the 3" stainless "straight pipe AKA intercooler delete", but also mainly because... the truck is turbo'd and it just should have an IC on principle (because I'm a mechanical engineer and just can't not).

After looking at a factory intercooler (which I for some reason had accumulated 2 extras, on top of the one original to the truck).. I realized it was tube-and-fin and not bar-and-plate, and was just going to be torrentially crappy to modify. What is super easy to modify however, is an aftermarket bar-and-plate style... however all the universal cores I could find were a maximum of 24" in the flow direction (factory is 36") and maximum of about 13" in height (factory is 16.5").. also most were only rated to 30psi.

I don't tow, and rarely blip 25-30psi... but I'd rather invest all this fabrication work into a core I know is going to handle the vibrations and potential future abuse........ so I had to resort to spending the $$(...$$$) on a Mishimoto unit... just to cut it up. But again, in my mind, at this point... there was just no option to not see this idea through.

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frojoe

Adventurer
It also looks like I've never really discussed all the track bar & bracket shenangians that I've gone through over the years. This will be a bit of a wordy post, but I think this might be valuable info to put out there for anyone/someone else.

Keep in mind this could all be easily mitigated by keeping the springs as the "industry standard for soft" Thuren diesel coils, or keeping things at a minimum of 3"+ of front level, or control arms at a maximum of +1/2" to +3/4" longer than stock. Since I have a problem, I of course had to try and push the envelope for fit+function while maintaining a low lift/level ride height.

So here's the entire history/details here. The blue text in each version's parts list is the change since last setup:


Version 1:
  • Dodge Off Road track bar + bracket
  • Thuren 2” 3rd gen diesel coils (+2.75” front lift in real life on a stock 2nd gen)
  • Extreme Articulation +3/4” controls arms
  • Factory Dana60 stamped diff cover
  • Caster adjustment in center
The stamped diff cover would just barely kiss the DOR straight track bar (couldn’t feel or hear.. only could see scratched diff cover paint), at the absolute hardest of compressions with factory bump stops and the soft-ish (but still decently firm) Thuren coils. Once I put in the Thuren Boogie Bumpstops in the front, they slowed the hit down early enough that I stopped seeing any track bar scratches on the factory diff cover.


Version 2:
  • Dodge Off Road track bracket + custom z-bent track bar
  • Custom super-soft coil springs (initially +2.0” front lift)
  • Extreme Articulation +3/4” controls arms
  • Factory Dana60 stamped diff cover
  • Caster adjustment in center
Once I ordered up custom super soft long coil springs and installed those, smaller bumps/hits would compress the front end deeper into the Boogie Bumps, and I started to notice the track bar hitting the factory Dana60 diff cover again.. this time it was an audible tap and annoying enough that I got Thuren to bend up a custom Z-shaped track bar only, which I bolted into the original DOR track bar bracket. I gained back ~1/2” clearance from the track bar to the diff cover and all noise when away.


Version 3:
  • Dodge Off Road track bracket + custom z-bent track bar
  • Custom soft-soft coils (sagged to +1.5” level in real life)
  • Homemade +1.25” controls arms
  • Yukon cast iron diff cover
  • Caster adjustment in center
This is the very first test drive of the +1.25” homemade arms on the new diff build with the Yukon hardcore cast cover, and it did not last long. The reason for the +1.25” arms was to see if I could have absolutely zero fender pinch weld rubbing while keeping the inner fender liner and zero pinch weld metal trimming, with 37’s on relatively aggressive offset aftermarket alloy wheels. Immediately during the 1st test drive, I was absolutely smashing diff cover into track bar over every bump, so I knew I had to replace the DOR track bar bracket with a Thuren bracket-only in hopes to move my custom z-shaped track bar far enough forward to clear.


Version 4:
  • Thuren unmodified track bar bracket + custom z-bent track bar
  • Custom soft-soft coils (sagged to +1.5” level in real life)
  • Homemade +1.25” controls arms
  • Yukon cast iron diff cover
  • Caster adjustment in center, and then minimum-caster adjustment
Installing the Thuren track bar bracket certainly helped, but I noticed coming down off some large rock ledges/flexes, or hitting a cross-ditch with any speed, I would still hear a clunk in the front end. After investigating, the track bar was still just tapping the front-top of the hard edges on the Yukon cast cover. I attempted to adjust the caster shims to the minimum-caster position to rock the axle back from the track bar bracket, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the tapping.


Version 5:
  • Thuren modification #1 track bar bracket + custom z-bent track bar
  • Custom soft-soft coils (sagged to +1.5” level in real life)
  • Homemade +1.25” controls arms
  • Yukon cast iron diff cover
  • Minimum-caster adjustment
I retained the rear track bar mounting plate of the double-shear Thuren bracket, and cut off the front moutning plate and moved it forward something like 1.0”, and used a longer track bar mounting bolt with lots of washers to offset the bar full forward (this is technically not that bad.. but full disclaimer: do not do this). This moved the frame-side end of the track bar forward enough to clear the Yukon diff cover.


Version 6:
  • Thuren modification #1 track bar bracket + custom z-bent track bar
  • Custom soft-soft coils + 1” Daystar coils spacers (+2.0” combined total front lift)
  • Homemade +1.25” controls arms
  • Yukon cast iron diff cover
  • Minimum-caster adjustment
I was still tapping something in the front end with the custom coil springs which now had sagged out over time to be only around +1.25” front lift over stock with OEM diesel springs. It looked like the top ear of the Yukon cover was now contacting the mounting plate for the Thuren bracket where it is double-shear at the factory track bar mounting ear on the frame rail. I removed the factory rubber coil spring isolators, installed Daystar +1” poly coil spacers, and ground a bit of the Yukon cover ear to get a bit more clearance, however it still contacted the Thuren plate over hard hits.


Version 7 (success, finally):
  • Thuren modification #2 track bar bracket + custom z-bent track bar
  • Custom soft-soft coils + 1” Daystar coils spacers (+2.0” combined total front lift)
  • Homemade +1.25” controls arms
  • Yukon cast iron diff cover
  • Minimum-caster adjustment
The ultimate fix was to remove not only the feature for securing the Thuren bracket to the factory track bar mounting ear, but also remove the factory mount on the frame rail in its entirety. There was no going back from this.. I would have to commit to full trimming and then weld the heavily-modified Thuren track bar bracket onto the frame to ensure safety and longevity.
 
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frojoe

Adventurer
Starting with the +1.25" longer control arms (and offending Yukon cast diff cover) and approximate 1.5" front level height, here was the install, clearance issues, and then 1st modification of the Thuren track bar bracket...

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frojoe

Adventurer
And here is the final (2nd) modification of the Thuren track bar bracket. As a re-re-reminder.. one should not attempt this unless they're a certified welder, and are willing to assume all risks and repercussions of failure, etc etc.

Also huge to note: I had zero issues with the Thuren bracket itself, it just simply didn't work for my combination of axle push-forward, low lift height, and crazy bulky front diff cover.

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frojoe

Adventurer
And from a combination of years-long desire, and "well at this point why not"... the truck is now on 40's haha. Nitto Trail Grappler 40x13.5x17 currently, with the below two pictures at the +2" front level, which is probably closer to +1.75" level with the weight of the winch, and the rear is something like +0.5" higher than a stock rear suspension height:

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That above initial ride height honestly just looked a bit too slammed, and I was absolutely ramrodding the tire into the back of the front inner fenders, despite the inner lining being removed and a significant amount of pinch metal being trimmed, so I ended up doing a mild front + rear suspension lift:

Front: After many years of being off the truck, I reinstalled the Thuren 2" diesel 3rd gen coils back in with only the factory rubber isolator cup, to gain some stiffness as well as ride height. This resulted in a +1.625" gain in front.. so theoretically around 2.75" level from factory suspension.

Rear: I installed the 5th leaf that I had removed from the original 5-leaf Chevy pack I bought when I first 64" leaf swapped the truck. This was also to gain some height but mainly gain back load capacity for full camping/wheeling load out and ground clearance. This resulted in a gain of around +1.5" in the rear over previous.. so maybe +2.0" taller rear suspension than factory.

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Mekcanix

Camper
Man, I love this build. You have some serious skills and knowledge and tenacity.
I really enjoy reading about what you have designed built or tweaked

John
 

frojoe

Adventurer
Looks good! Always been one of my favorite builds here. Any plans of giving Sally a bit of body love?
Haha.. yeaaaaah... that's always: "arg the body is getting bad, I need to start on it this summer" in the spring, and then fall rolls around and it gets turned into "arg I guess that'll be next year". But it IS on The List, I will get to it.. I want to.. I need to.. one day.

Man, I love this build. You have some serious skills and knowledge and tenacity.
I really enjoy reading about what you have designed built or tweaked

John
Thank you! I just have a problem where I can never leave good enough alone, and have to try out the next idea in my head.
 

JamesReddish

Active member
Just read through this. What an inspirational build you have! Fantastic documentation of some great engineering.

Hope you continue to enjoy Sally.
 

Nikkshepherd

Observer
Crazy build man. Not sure if I'm feeling inspired or defeated after reading this thread. Absolutely incredible work.

Ever consider manufacturing those sliders you fabricated up?
 

frojoe

Adventurer
Thanks guys!

For the sliders.. those are the Trail Gear 78" universal you-weld-it kit that I extended by... I think 15" (can't remember off the top of my head). They come with the legs extra-length and uncut, and the outer slider tubes are already welded.. so they're not thaaaat far off from being doable!

Trail Gear 78" weld-on slider kit

Also in other news, driving the stock gearing around (3.54's) and 40" tires... 1st gear is a legit gear now.. which also sucks because that means I'm only at 1100-1200rpm on the highway at 65mph or ~100kph. So I'm going to do a gear swap to 4.10's, using factory Dana ring and pinions. This will get my driveability in terms of gears/speeds back to how it was on 35's, which was great.

I also... have an Atlas 2spd on order, ETA of November sometime. Some interesting things are upcoming on this rig.
 

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