First off, I am a new guy here, will be in 2nd gen mostly so I thought Id mention that here after introducing myself on the main board. So, hello all 2nd gen owners! Have a few ase certs so working under the hood isnt a problem, just here looking for extra help with diagnosing/fixing a few things on my truck(1996 Ram 1500 5.9 4x4).

Cruise wont work, hasnt worked since I got the truck, I have diagnosed it I think. Coming off the throttle body is the throttle cable of course and along side it is another cable or line.. I think its a vacuum line, goes down over under the battery I believe, but its broken about 8" shy of the battery. I think it is supposed to go down to what looks like the vacuum solenoid(or whatever its called, sorry been awhile since tech school lol), but I am not sure exactly where it goes.

Any tips on where this line goes, what I need to do to get to where it goes so I can fix it etc. would help! Thanks!

 

it goes to a rubber elbow that plugs into a vacuum connection on top of the cruise control servo. if you're standing on the drivers side of the truck and lean over the battery you can see the top of the servo under the battery. on top of it toward the front of the truck you will see where it connects. and yes, if that is unhooked then the cruise won't work. and you don't have to take anything apart to reconnect it.

 

Directly underneath the battery tray there is a temp sensor. Not sure if there's any vacuum lines down there. Make sure all the lines going to the servo are OK.

 

Heres what I see in the front drivers side corner of the truck, under the battery tray:



Another shot below, in this one my finger in the upper left of the picture is just above the vacuum line that has broken.





I dont see any vacuum tee or other rubber connection where it could connect. Am I looking in the right place?

 

That's definitely the servo and it should definitely have a vacuum line going to it. Perhaps the nipple got broken off? Probably have to remove it to find out.

 

OK, will just pull battery and get a good look down in there.

 

look on the side toward the front of the truck, not from the passenger side.

can you see it? i think the picture is big enough.

if you do have to remove the servo it is really easy. and it would also give you a chance to look it over really good to check for battery acid induced holes. its common on these trucks for the batteries to leak and burn a hole in the servo and the vac line going to it.

 

Ahh.. I see.. perfect, thank you for the pic Sheriff, gonna see if I cant get it fixed tomorrow morning.

 

i've read on here where guys use windshield wiper hose to fix broken spots in the hard vac lines because it fits perfectly. i don't know if i'd use it to fix an 8" section though, i wouldn't want it to collapse and lose the cruise again. it might work for ya though. you could always get a section of that plastic line and use it to take up the gap then use the wiper hose to seal the connections on the servo and at the other end on the break in the line. you might also want to clip about an inch off the broken end just to give it a clean attachment with the hose.

the proper thing to do would be to replace the whole line. good luck finding it though, i just checked autozone and oreilleys websites and didn't see them. maybe napa or the dealer will have it.

 

Found the other broken side of the line, mine was rotated so that the rubber elbow seen in your picture was not visable/is facing the battery tray.

Yes cant seem to find the line, did some searching today and have found nothing to replace that line with locally.. rockauto doesnt have it, havent tried a dealer yet.

Thinking of trying this out:
http://www.jegs.com/i/Auto-Meter/105/3226/10002/-1

Just unsure of the size of the stock line, gotta be close to 1/8" though.