Yes! And do not forget that there is an adjustment screw on top of the gearbox that will eliminate some slop in the steering. The way to adjust is to have the Engine off and the key out of the ignition. Next have another person sit in the driver's seat and have the person move the steering wheel back and forth while the slop is in play. While other person is moving the steering back and forth with one hand and without much force slowly adjust the set screw inward until most of the slop is gone. The way to tell if you have gone too far is if the truck wants remain in a turn and not zero back to center when you let the wheel go. If so, back off until it does. It's a 1 hour adjustment that makes your truck feel like new again.
1996 Dodge ram build...
- Thread starter rikinwyoming
- Start date
Yes! And do not forget that there is an adjustment screw on top of the gearbox that will eliminate some slop in the steering. The way to adjust is to have the Engine off and the key out of the ignition. Next have another person sit in the driver's seat and have the person move the steering wheel back and forth while the slop is in play. While other person is moving the steering back and forth with one hand and without much force slowly adjust the set screw inward until most of the slop is gone. The way to tell if you have gone too far is if the truck wants remain in a turn and not zero back to center when you let the wheel go. If so, back off until it does. It's a 1 hour adjustment that makes your truck feel like new again.
Mighty Dodge Ram
Explorer
Good call Roboter. I'll give that a try myself. Rikinwyoming...any updates or more pics? :sombrero:
rikinwyoming
Observer
Added some dual whip antenna's and a modified cobra 29 cb radio.. washed it,,, that's about it so far, but sold my harley and paying off my truck in two weeks eliminating two years of payments,,, so after that I should start some mods,,, giving alot of thought to the front bumper situation of added weight (thus bringing on front end problems) so haven't decided on that yet. Oh yeah, and since this pic a few days ago, I took some colgate whitening toothpaste and buffed off the yellow tint on my headlights and they look alot better! Small steps sometimes are good ones!
Jimmeh
Think'n with me dipstick!
Nice truck. And I will tell you that the posi lock is the way to go! My 4WD in my old Ram didn't work when I bought it, so I got a posi lock and loved it. My only complaint was getting it to disengage was kind of a pain in the ***, but that could have been an installation error. I really miss that truck and wish I still had it. Wasn't pretty, but it did everything I asked of it.
rikinwyoming
Observer
Ok, not too much of an update, but here it is, hopefully should get more exciting in the following months...
Cb is in as I stated, and my tomtom one gps is in as well.
I paid off the truck (lady at the local dealership said she never saw someone pay off a 7k loan in a month before, lol), took care of plates, reg, title, and all that good stuff. Got a new windshield put in as the old one had many cracks and the local pd doesn't like that very much. Found out that the electric window switch on the drivers door only worked when it was in the mood, so I replaced it. Also, the neutral safety switch in the transmission was sticking sometimes, which would not allow the truck to start, so I fixed that as well.
Tires are going to need replacing before summer, so I am shopping already for them. I currently have 285/75R16's on it, and am thinking that moving up to a 315/75R16 should be a good compromise size. Currently there is a 2 inch suspension lift on the truck, consisting of coil spacers in the front and add a leaf's in the rear. I know I can clear the new tires on the lil lift but won't give me much room to articulate so I am thinking (to stay on a budget for now) to get ahold of a set of V-10 coils for the front and longer shackles (+2") for the rear. Thoughts and opinions on this?
Lastly for now, thinking on gearing changes to either 4.10 or 4.56... I want the truck to be able to handle the 35's offroad but be a reliable daily driver as well. I drive about 40 miles daily with it. Well that's it for now, love to hear your thoughts of course. Oh yeah, and I have nixed the bumper idea for now unless I find a bunch of money on the side of the road, and then I will have a good bumper fabbed from aluminum!!
Cb is in as I stated, and my tomtom one gps is in as well.
I paid off the truck (lady at the local dealership said she never saw someone pay off a 7k loan in a month before, lol), took care of plates, reg, title, and all that good stuff. Got a new windshield put in as the old one had many cracks and the local pd doesn't like that very much. Found out that the electric window switch on the drivers door only worked when it was in the mood, so I replaced it. Also, the neutral safety switch in the transmission was sticking sometimes, which would not allow the truck to start, so I fixed that as well.
Tires are going to need replacing before summer, so I am shopping already for them. I currently have 285/75R16's on it, and am thinking that moving up to a 315/75R16 should be a good compromise size. Currently there is a 2 inch suspension lift on the truck, consisting of coil spacers in the front and add a leaf's in the rear. I know I can clear the new tires on the lil lift but won't give me much room to articulate so I am thinking (to stay on a budget for now) to get ahold of a set of V-10 coils for the front and longer shackles (+2") for the rear. Thoughts and opinions on this?
Lastly for now, thinking on gearing changes to either 4.10 or 4.56... I want the truck to be able to handle the 35's offroad but be a reliable daily driver as well. I drive about 40 miles daily with it. Well that's it for now, love to hear your thoughts of course. Oh yeah, and I have nixed the bumper idea for now unless I find a bunch of money on the side of the road, and then I will have a good bumper fabbed from aluminum!!
locrwln
Expedition Leader
Before spending too much money on the 1/2 ton axles, wheels/tires, I would look into sourcing a set from a 2500 with the 4.10s already installed. While they are not the end all be all of 1 ton axles, there is some significant improvement over the d44/9 1/4 combo you have now. Plus they will handle the extra weight better, for longer and you get bigger brakes, which is a big help on those 1500's of that vintage. That is the great thing about your era Dodge, interchangeability from 1500 to 2500 stuff. JMHO
Jack
Jack
rikinwyoming
Observer
Sounds like good advice, have heard this now from a few people,,, have to find out exactly what is involved in the swap and then contemplate it!
Mighty Dodge Ram
Explorer
I had 4.10s (one end is actually a 4.11) installed when I mounted the 285/75R16 (33 inch equivalent) tires. The original 3.53 gears are there for CAFE standards and I didn't like the loss of the low end. The 4.10s are the gears the truck needed for that size tire and it runs great with this set-up. 65 MPH = 2K RPM...just about perfect. IIRC, the 315/75/R16 is a 35" equivalent and you really should think about even lower gears...I would imagine that 4.56 would be fine. But a cautionary note...35" tires are the absolute largest you should run on the D44 front end even though the 9.25 rear would be fine...it's actually pretty stout for what it is. Axle swaps are a possibility, but unless you are going to regularly whomp the thing, I think the D44/C9.25 will actually serve you well.
Question: why V-10 springs? I'm thinking about replacing the 2" Daystar levelers I have right now with V-8 springs from a 2500. I think that will give me the 2" I still want but add some needed travel and control with the big bumper/winch I have up front. Will the V-10 springs give you additional height? How much stiffer do you think it will ride? As for the rears, I may actually pony up and replace the stock 3/1 set-up with a 4/1 pack.
Just some thoughts...thanks for sharing your build. :sombrero:
Question: why V-10 springs? I'm thinking about replacing the 2" Daystar levelers I have right now with V-8 springs from a 2500. I think that will give me the 2" I still want but add some needed travel and control with the big bumper/winch I have up front. Will the V-10 springs give you additional height? How much stiffer do you think it will ride? As for the rears, I may actually pony up and replace the stock 3/1 set-up with a 4/1 pack.
Just some thoughts...thanks for sharing your build. :sombrero:
Rot Box
Explorer
This ^ They are one of the easiest swaps out there and they are fairly cheap. Not a deal breaker, but if you can find a later (late 01ish?) front for the upgraded 32spline count.
rikinwyoming
Observer
tires are on, went with 315/75-16 cooper mud claws after the suggestion of many of my oilfield buddies,,, had them siped and got an alignment done as well... ended up trimming a couple inches off the inner plastic wheel wells as it just slightly rubbed under flex,,, sure looks better though!!
