The overland beater: Dodge 1500

[kraven]

Oooh. Good deal on the HF straps. I hoard those 20% coupons.

I like the idea of being able to unplug the winch and leave it in the shop when I'm just beating around, but hook it up to a front receiver when I'm heading out to ride dirty. This truck does home depot and motorcycle hauling when it's here at the house not being adventured. AT least, that's the plan. But I will need one for the rebuild I have to do on the barn with post/beam raising, so it won't just be ExPo bling either.

 

[justcuz]

I agree with the hitch mount for the winch. It can be wired to work from either end of the vehicle.
Biggest thing to remember though is to put it on before heading out, because if you are nose down in a muddy or water filled ditch it will be a pain to install the winch in the hitch.

I avoid cork trans gaskets like the plague, they take a while to swell and stop leaking and require periodic tightening.
Good trans pan gaskets don't come all folded up, spindled or mutilated, they come on a cardboard backing that keeps the gasket flat. Mostly available at Napa or the dealer.

Drain plugs for the trans are a must, saves trans fluid running into your armpit while trying to balance a half full trans pan to drain it.

Keep plugging away!

 

[kraven]

Got behind this sweet Rover in traffic. The top reads "You may be faster, but I can go anywhere" all hand lettered.
It has the snorkel and all the stuff. But it has a brake light out. The beater doesn't have a brake light out. That that, Britains.

Was on my way back from NAPA, where I was supposed to be getting a track bar, but they were closed at 6:10 when I pulled up (website said they were open til 7P). Good news is that I had about an hour in bumper to bumper so I tested the cooling system really well.

Bad news is that it has about 15 degrees of wheel slop, wanders a bit, etc. So, I'm looking forward to a new track bar and some much tighter steering.

 

[LostChord]

This is easily one of the best threads I have ever read.

Fantastic project, amazing work (you haz skillz), great writing and story-telling, and awesome sense of humor.

Congrats on your progress and thanks for entertainingly documenting this build.

 

[kraven]

Hey, thanks for being interested and following along for the saga of this garbage.

It's a fun project, and hopefully anyone reading along who has never tackled this kind of thing can realize that I'm doing 96.3 percent of this project with nothing but simple hand tools and 55 gallon swear jar. Should have enough in the swear jar to go to Moab and build a nice 2nd home. But the point is that I'm not a magician. I have some experience, but anyone can upcycle a beater into what they want with some cash and some tools and some time. Not everyone has all three at the same time, and I feel lucky to be at a point in life where I have the magical confluence of all 3.

So, I've been redoing the kitchen, as I mentioned previously. The cabinets are done and the flooring is done. We're waiting on the hinges to show up, because its an old farmhouse and has weird inset on the hinges. One place in the country has them. I ordered them incorrectly, transposing the two different measurements. The two boxes of hinges are passing each other on mail trucks as we exist in this now. So, I find myself in-between parts and labor on today's staycation time. The Mrs is going back to work today, so I have all day to do all manner of miscreant deeds and goof off wrenching on the beater.

Today's punch list:
Front suspenders- track bar, damper, and whatever else. Driveway alignment (old school jeep alignment).
Tires
Painted wheels
Mounted tires/wheels

Also, I had a weird vibration when downshifting from overdrive at about 55 (apart from the frightening experience of doing 55 in this pile with worn track bar). This vibe *might* be likened unto the GM TCC vibration where the diode in the alternator is going bad and causes a weird current to the trans. Maybe. We'll just take it like a lion eating an elephant: one bite at a time.

So, I'm up at the crack of dawn, installing coffee, putting out the recycling and trash, and making a list of parts before I hit NAPA up for the stuff I need. My local Autozone is staffed with humans that are super nice, but boy their suspension parts are garbage.

Anyway, we commence with the steering damper and track bar replacement. I have 10 dollars that the stock Chrysler track bar is still on this thing, at 305k miles on the odo. Any takers otherwise? Give you 2:1.

 

[35xj]

Hey man, if you ever need a hand, I'm out in candler.
You may have seen my white dodge with a four wheel camper in the bed

 

[kraven]

Hey, I think I have seen you around! I'll give you a holler sometime.

Update: the NAPA track bar is garbage. Same exact part as Autozone and other box stores. Just has their decals slapped on the box. So, I passed.

Went back home and found an open/damaged box deal on the Moog problem solver part and ordered it through Amazon for about half the retail price (65 bucks), along with a Rancho stabilizer (replete with boot). There's some kind of model year change on the bar, so when it gets here I'll have my fingers crossed that it is the right one. My research shows that it should be the right part number... but stuff happens.
Anyway, the whole idea of this project is to make it reliable, not throw junky parts at it to get it to do the bare minimum. Steering is too important and I don't need it to get me to work tomorrow. So, I can wait for the better part. So, I will. I also felt like the Rancho stabilizer was a better part than the Rough Country and OE replacements, what with the reviews skewering Rough Country for downgrading their "big bore" line of stuff.
Probably next I'll get some shocks for it. These seem to have been the world's okayest shocks when they were new. Now they're not really that okay.
I'll look for a deal on some Ranchos or Bilsteins or something, instead of slapping cheap Gabriels or Monroes on it.
In the meantime, I get to paint my wheels and procure tires.

 

[jalbrecht55]

What aspecs of the Napa/autozone trackbar were junk/not good? Just curious what to look for or avoid. Thanks!

 

[kraven]

It has a really low grade "rubber" in the bushing end that nicks somewhat easily with your fingernail. The better ones will deflect but not mark.
The ball joint has a very cheap castle nut on it, you can tell by the coating and final finish of the castellated section, the finish of the threads, and the dry action of the ball joint straight out of the box. Very low quality look and feel from one end to the other.
They all generally have extra material around the curvature just down from the ball joint, but the cheaper ones all have kind of the same rough finish. It's not quite smooth and not quite bead blasted. It's really rough, and painted very sloppily. There are also some cast parts, very cheap, in some even lower line brands. The Autozone and Napa parts do have a larger than stock ball joint, which is good. But the design and grease control is really not what it needs, and it's very obviously made to a low price point. Look across the brands and you'll see this part at a comparable price suprisingly similar at major retailers. I found it at 86 bucks across four chains. The Moog was something like 125 or 130 bucks.
edit: also forgot to mention the cheap "rubber" ball joint boot that is heat susceptible, tears easily, and loves to leak the grease out and simultaneously hold water.

Here's Moog's PDF on their "problems solver" track bar for the Dodge front.
http://www.moogproblemsolver.com/_pdf_En/MOOG_PS_Bulletin_27029_R_DS1413_En.pdf
You can see the issues they've tried to address with it.

Some of the main complaints of the cheap China made replacements sold through box stores as budget line parts are that they just don't last. The "rubber" in the bushed section is susceptible to heat and is prone to deflection, which goofs up the geometry and causes shimmy. They will prematurely fail, some in as few as a couple of weeks of regular street driving.

I had some issues previously with Moog's u-joints for this truck, but so far the track bars seem ok. So, I'm going with it for now. We'll see how it goes. The Problem Solver line is supposed to still be made in the US (by people who care) and have good quality control.

The fixes after this are to go to a fabricated track bar or a 3rd gen Ram track bar conversion, both of which are too spendy for this budget project. I can buy a lot of Moogs for one fancy pants 3rd gen bar.

The other fix is to switch to 08.5 and up steering with a 1 ton front. Not doing that either. I can live with the trucks limitations, especially since I'm not thinking about big lift or big big tires over 33 inches.

 

[kraven]

Got my track bar in, and it was damaged at the ball joint boot. No dice on getting a boot, so I returned it and ordered another.

The one that's on the truck is the cheap replacement I avoided. The boot is still in great shape, til I hit it with the pickle fork of doom, but the ball joint is sacked. Ideally, a ball joint should outlive a cheap "rubber" boot. Bruh...

Everything else seems tight and good. Should be downright responsive after the track bar and damper are replaced.

 

[35xj]

Hey man, I'm pulling the stock steering/pitman arm/ stereo and a few other bits off my truck if it's of any use to you at all

 

[kraven]

I appreciate it! But the rest of my front suspension seems to be new or fairly new parts. So, I'm likely out of the woods as far as suspension goes, right now.

I put the new Rancho replacement damper on as soon as the brown truck dropped it on the front porch. I guess this counts as my first mod to the suspension. It's just a notch better than stock replacement though.

I was pretty impressed with the way it's packaged for the Ram's fitment. All I had to do was locate the bushings for the two ends (in a raft of parts that came with it), and slide them in to the rubber with my fingers. No tools necessary. Then it was just a simple righty tighty x2 and it was on. The boot is ok. I thought about reusing the hard plastic boot the stock one has (had), but I'm a gen-x'er so that red Rancho boot is etched into my mind.

The original was made in Brazil, and had the Pentastar on it. This one is made in the USA, by people who care. I like that, since I spent a few too many days in the Rockwell heavy axe plant building those big axles for heavy trucks and wheelers. Once you work in manufacturing, you realize that it matters, even to small degrees, where you buy stuff. Not trying to be all jingoistic, or start a debate. I'm just saying. This is my jam.

 

[chilliwak]

I happen to agree with you Kraven about where you buy your parts. I replaced a wheel cylinder but could only get `made in china´parts from my local supplier. The cylinder lasted 2 years then started leaking. :Wow1:The original one lasted more than 15 years. (thats how long I have owned the truck) Could actually have lasted longer. No chink parts for me if I can avoid it.. Although I burned out a set of Rancho shocks in 2 summers of driving. my Bilsteins are on their 8th year now.:smiley_drive:

 

[redthies]

I happen to agree with you Kraven about where you buy your parts. I replaced a wheel cylinder but could only get `made in china´parts from my local supplier. The cylinder lasted 2 years then started leaking. :Wow1:The original one lasted more than 15 years. (thats how long I have owned the truck) Could actually have lasted longer. No chink parts for me if I can avoid it.. Although I burned out a set of Rancho shocks in 2 summers of driving. my Bilsteins are on their 8th year now.:smiley_drive:

"Ahhhhhh, Dude, the correct nomenclature is 'Asian American' ". - Walter Sobchak"

 

[kraven]

Bought new tires. Sears had a great deal on the Kumhos I couldn't pass up. 113 bucks mounted, plus valve stems and balancing, and tax. Like 530 or so for 4 new tires.
Hardest part of this build: Sticking to the budget. If I could just throw parts and money at it, it'd be easier. But it's kind of fun digging up bargains and stuff.

That puts the build around 3400. So, I have some money left for farkles and whatever other mechanical stuff needs to be done. The new track bar is supposed to be here today. So, I should have the trans fluid/filter change and track bar done tonight. I just have to finish up the painting of the wheels and get a pack of black lug nuts.

I read this very good piece by Bruce Elfstrom regarding the high lift jack. Now I kind of want one for recovery work. But I don't plan on getting into too much hairy stuff, so mud will be my biggest enemy. I purposely left the stock size tires on the beater and didn't lift it so it would remain useful (bed height and mpg) day to day, and so I would stay out of cringey stuff I don't need to take this thing into with its slip axle and longish wheelbase. Maybe later I'll lift it and put some 35's on it, but not today. From what I've seen I can do the entirety of the Trans America trail with this truck no problemo. I can go out on the beach and fish. I can drive rutted roads.
So, I don't know. I'm torn, just like Natalie Imbruglia. Jack/no jack. Meh.

The wife is excited by the project. We made some plans yesterday to take it to the coast and ride the ferries, camp, and do some sightseeing in it.
Even a nifty bumper and lights can't save you from the beach though. So, I'm planning on being very very careful and cautious.