General 99 Ram thread

Non-repair car talk
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

Another reason I wish I had a long bed: https://providence.craigslist.org/pts/6008643794.html

$250!
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

Kind of a slap in the face. Apparently there was a cap on the truck before my uncle had it.
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Look at the outline and the chunk of foam tape.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

Power washed the Ram. And rinsed underneath. I do need to start priming and painting some of the rust, especially on the passenger side door, and at the bottom of the driver's side door on the inside. Then I guess the frame.
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kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

Saving this for future reference: https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distrib ... 17057.html

If I decide to tow more than a few times up near max rating, I would want to get one of these weight distribution systems. But I would also see how it feels at or near max before I even bothered. The price is reasonable at least.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

I may want to think about this seriously.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/trg- ... /overview/

From the reviews I have gathered two things:

1) As usual, a good shift kit is a fairly intensive installation. One quote was that a 20 year mechanic took a solid 3-4 hours. Frankly I expect this.

2) This kit should significantly improve shift feel and make the trans last a lot longer. If I install while the rebuild has low miles (remember it was rebuilt less than 20k ago), perhaps I won't ever have to touch the trans again except for fluid/filter maintenance. Better if I end up towing anything, too. The 2-3 shift as it sits now just feels bad. I'd say it feels like the softest shift you could have without actually having an RPM flare between the shift. That soft. The worst part is, it feels exactly the same no matter what throttle position or RPM the shift occurs, even WOT. The 1-2 is alright and the 3-4 is alright. My Caprice, even with the worsening 2-3 shift, feels a lot better to me.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

kevm14 wrote:After helping Adam move today I am even more firm in my demand for a cap. Before I could help do anything, I had to shovel all of the snow/ice out of the bed. Did it take 5 hours? No, but it was an annoying step that I know I would spend zero minutes doing if I had a cap.

I put a few things in the bed. But I realized I couldn't stack anything any higher than the bed body height, or else it could fall out. With a cap, you put things in and that's it. Stack it up to the cap roof if you want. I need to get a cap.
Did my first transfer station run with the Ram. Nothing blew out but it was annoying as I predicted. Things moved around in the Ram way more than the Ranger (wind, plus the Ranger had a rubber mat rather than a slippery plastic bed liner). I had to distribute the garbage bags a little bit since one can is always fairly empty and it was blowing around making me nervous. I also had to make sure I had nothing loose that could blow out (there were a few things, and I had to rearrange so they wouldn't be on top). With the recycling, I couldn't just throw it in the back, with a heaping pile of cardboard in my bin as usual. I had to unload into two separate garbage bags until I could fit the cover on it which I have never had to use before. On the way back, I put the empty bags into the recycling bin and attached the cover. That was fine. But with the cans, I put the smaller one into the bigger one and laid them down with the open part facing back. They moved around but nothing blew out. A little more speed, a little more cross wind, or the cans moving to just the right angle to be a sail, it would quickly go from "this is fine" to "oh shit, I have to stop and get that like every asshole who has had shit blow out of the back of their truck."

I could look into new cans and all that stuff, and fool around with different load strapping (large rubber bungies, ratcheting straps, whatever else), or I could just get a cap. I mean, I would except they are hard as hell to find for this generation Ram, short bed. With different loads, different speeds, and cross winds, all of this could be better, or worse - which is my issue. I could strap everything down as if I am going to drive 4 hours at 75 mph but that is a huge pain in the ass for running 8 minutes down the road to the transfer station. With a cap and most loads, I can literally toss them in and then go drive 4 hours at 75 mph without nervously staring at my rearview mirror every 15 seconds as if I am towing a trailer 1000 lbs overweight. Oh yeah, I still wish it was a long bed. The Ranger was a small cab with the longest bed that Ford would allow. The Ram is the big V8 thing, wide, extended cab, and a regular 6 foot bed. It's wasteful.

Basically everything I said before I got the truck still applies.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

Second weekend doing trash. Tried something different. I tried bungie cords to hold the trash cans against the tailgate. That seemed to work alright on the way. On the way back I did the same strapping (empty cans upright against the tailgate) and halfway home they both tilted as if there were about to be blown out of the back of the truck. I pulled over, tried to adjust the strap lower, and continued on. Oh I forgot the best part - I had to clear snow off the back half of the bed just so I could put the cans in. Still looking for a cap...

You know who else should look for a cap? The guy who presumably was carrying a bag of trash that I saw in the middle of the road on my way home. That's right - things blow out of the back of a truck which is why people like caps. Oh the irony.
kevm14 wrote:A little more speed, a little more cross wind, or the cans moving to just the right angle to be a sail, it would quickly go from "this is fine" to "oh shit, I have to stop and get that like every asshole who has had shit blow out of the back of their truck."
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

Ordered a trailer brake controller and a 3 ball mount. The weight distributing hitch thing is on the list but that will come later. It is like $275.

I just need the 7 pin to 4 pin adapter from Harbor Freight. Then this will be ready to actually tow something. Without weight distribution I am technically limited to 5,000 lbs if memory serves. With weight distribution, up to the 7,600 lb max.

Curt TriFlex Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 4 Axles - Proportional
Item # C51140
https://www.etrailer.com/Brake-Controll ... 51140.html

Adapter for the truck's pre-wired 4 pin plug under the dash:
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-an ... 51332.html

Ball mount with 3 balls which should be handy.
https://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/Curt/C45650.html

I made sure to select one that does up to 7,500 lbs with the 2" ball. Close enough to 7,600.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

Bought the 7 pin to 4 pin adapter, received the 3 ball mount and installed the trailer brake controller. eTrailer.com accidently packed 2 of the ball mounts so I have an extra one. I didn't realize I would need to supply my own pin so I have to pick one of those up, too.

I splurged and got a small tool kit (the only thing that HF has that contains the 8 point sockets that I want), but it was only $5. And I also got my first set of metric ratcheting wrenches. All of this was $42 with tax. The checkout lady informed me there is a lifetime warranty on these hand tools, and no receipt is required. That is pretty incredible if you think about it.
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Specs of the Curt 3 ball mount. I looked at the HF ones and they didn't have the same weight capacity. I wanted to be able to max out the truck's towing capacity with the 2" ball, and this allows that.
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Curt trailer brake controller. This was a middle grade in terms of features and I think I am going to be happy with it. Much fancier than the ones from years ago.
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Here is where I chose to install it. It really seems setup so you'd want to manipulate it with a single right hand if you needed to, so that's why I put it on the right. I tucked the harness up under stuff and plugged it into the factory 4 pin plug that runs to the rear plug. That was pretty easy.
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kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: General 99 Ram thread

Post by kevm14 »

Thoughts on the transmission.

I really need to get back in there and tighten the adjustment on the rear band. I will probably do this sooner than I originally thought. All of the shifts feel pretty normal now except the 2-3. I still don't know how many turns I want to back off. 4 is too much. With the way it feels, 3 might not be enough. I could try 2 or 2.5. I don't want it too tight, either.

Due to a Kia Soul giving me problems coming back from HF, I basically just put it to the floor and saw what kind of speed the truck could gather. Somewhere around 100, it actually shifted into 4th and locked up the torque converter which put it around 2,700 rpm and no real acceleration. Although it is interesting because you could just hold your foot on the floor and both the engine and trans are not under extraordinary load, with the modest RPMs and the locked up TCC. Steering and braking is obviously terrible but in a straight line, it feels totally fine to me. The braking is especially terrible and I need to make that a priority next, both front and rear. That should be something I do before towing if I'm being smart about it...

I am still annoyed with a number of things with the transmission, mainly the calibration at lower speeds and the tall 3.55 gears on back roads with hills. One thing that really helps, I found out today, is turning OD off, which holds the trans in 3rd. Happily, it immediately locks up the torque converter when you do this and RPMs are actually quite modest below 50 mph. Which reminds me that this is probably a tow in 3rd gear vehicle, which I did speculate previously. Now I'm even more convinced.
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