The old coil was probably weak... so, running better with a new one is indeed possible.

 

Not a bad idea'r at all. It would match my bed too. I've never tried, but that stuff is paintable too?

 

I think it comes in various colors.... or, you might be able to add some dye to it.... not sure on that score. Not sure how well painting it would work.

 

Replacing the rear main seal and, just because I'm in there anyway, the oil pump. I've just got the pan down and I'm very happy to report that contrary to everything I've read there was no need to jack up the engine and no struggle with mouth held just right to get it out. I just thumped it with ye olde rubber thumping mallet to break the seal, and then down and out the rear it came with nary a glitch. I guess Chrysler got the 98's right -- there's also no need to move the exhaust out of the way on mine.

Some of the pan bolts were a mufker to get at, and might be challenging going back in. Time will tell...

 

Got enough work done on my tire hold down I could test mount it.

 

Jumped on a craigslist post for a toolbox that was for sale locally. I'll find the model number in the morning, but it looks good! Stopped by home depot to grab a replacement lock as the toolbox didn't have keys. It's a rawson koenig album box...pics soon!

 

Thats actually good to hear, Ive gotta do my oil pan gasket/oil pump/rear seal soon. Ive got an 01 ORE and kept reading that you had to jack the motor up and all that. I kept looking at mine and thinking that from the way it looks it should come off fairly easy without doing all that.

 

Am I seeing what I think I am seeing?

 

Pulled Ram out of garage. Plan was to sweep out garage and start paint on Ram. Decided NOT to sweep, but replace steering rack bushings on Yota first......turned out to be a real PITA. Felt bad after long out of town trip and tired after Yota.......put Ram back in garage.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow......

 

The oil pan went back easier than it came out -- color me pleasantly surprised. Of course, I had good sense enough to stick the gasket with some high tack so it just stayed where I put it. With the pan kinda sorta close to where it belonged I threaded a single long bolt near the left rear, then got a pan bolt near the right front and just worked my way around. It helps to have a nice collection of socket extensions.

The 5h177y part: Some of you will remember the great fun I had when living in an apartment in Vegas where I couldn't do my own work, and so had my shiny new Mega Viper installed by these guys... the dudes who sell the Transfer Case Saver. It was a total fiasco, four days and way too many unnecessarily busted parts. My lower starter bolt came out too easily, as did a couple of the inspection cover bolts, which left me cussing them for leaving my stuff loose. On reassembly I discovered that they weren't left loos -- the mufkers stripped the threads in my very expensive converter housing.



I can easily enough get a longer bolt, washer, lock washer, and nut for the bottom of the starter and do it up right with a Heli-Coil after I come up with a right angle drill but there's no way to get at those stripped inspection cover threads, which are in blind holes, without taking the engine or the transmission out. So it's official now that they screwed up everything they touched including the transmission, and I'm just damned glad it's something trivial on the transmission. The bastards.

If you're ever in Las Vegas and need work done on your truck, don't go to those clowns. Their parts guys are very knowledgeable and quite nice, but their wrench monkeys are (or at least were) boneheads. It took three of them four days to screw up a six hour job.

You might have to deal with the exhaust Y-pipe, which I thankfully don't have in my truck, but unless they changed things pretty dramatically under there I just don't see any need to jack the engine up. Maybe it's a 2WD thing... I dunno.