I picked up another truck. Its a 99 1500, 360 auto. Regular cab long bed.

It needed a speed sensor, it was acting up in 1st gear. I put that in and fixed that issue.

The bed is rough. I currently am ready to primer/paint it as soon as I get some time on a decent day. Then I'm going to throw herculiner in the bed. Wanted some feedback on whether or not to herculine the bottom quarter panels. The bottom lip is mangled up a bit. I tried straightening it out, but I don't think I'll get the paint to look good down there. I was thinking about just herculining the two tone section all black, and taking off the trim pieces.

Then, I have to replace the hood/hinges/latch, since something broke and the hood flew up and crimpled up at 60mph.

I have a mysterious hissing. Couldnt find a vac leak. It's constant, doesnt vary with RPM. Going to check the EGR, Breather, etc. Any other ideas?

And last I have a squeal on one of the pulleys or something. Whats the easiest way to diagnose whats squeeling?

And finally. Pics

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...20Ram/99d1.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...20Ram/99d2.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...20Ram/99d3.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...20Ram/99d4.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...20Ram/99d5.jpg

 

Nice looking truck. The easiest way i have found to diagnose a pully squeek is to spray wd-40 on one pullys then take it for a drive and see if the little extra lubricant stops the squeal. Do this for each one until the squeal stops and you found out which one is toast.

 

I seem to remember when I had my 97 ram, there was a recall that involved replacing the latches because they would seize and not always hold the hood shut. Not positive though.

 

Can you take a pic of the speed sensor and it's location on the tranny, that supposedly 98's and up don't have? It would clear up a lot of disagreements.

 

easiest way to track a noise - use a piece of pipe, PVC or conduit or anything, about 2 feet long. stick it against a non-moving part (obviously) and then put your ear to it. move around and follow the noise to its loudest point.

for pulleys and such, place the pipe against the back side of the alternator or tensioner. any bearing noise in the unit will resonate (big word) all the way through the device.

be careful of moving parts !!! this can be extremely dangerous around belts and such.

 

Thanks. I picked it up pretty cheap, so I don't mind putting some work into it.

Ill try that. Thanks.

There's several if you google it about recalls on it. But they just say about getting the latch replaced at the dealer :/..Probably won't do anything for me :\

It most certainly has a speed sensor. It is located on the drivers side, on the exterior housing. This would be the output sensor. I'll take a picture when it's not raining out lol

Ok I'll give that a shot when I get ready to hunt down that problem lol. Got a list here haha

 

Well. I contacted Chrysler about the recall on the hood latches, and here is an update for anyone who may be interested.

94-99 Rams had the recall. # 973. Secondary hood latch.

http://www.automotix.net/autorepair/...ageshoodlatch/

So, I got ahold of Chrysler and spoke with a customer service representative. He informed me that the vehicle had gotten the replacement done in 2005. However, since it did the same thing again, it very well may could be the problem once again.

So I filed a case, and was told to bring it to a dealership. I had taken it to the dealership, dropped it off, and came back the next day (yesterday). Talked to one of the bodyshop guys when they were on lunch, and he said they had checked it out, and it probably was not form the secondary hood latch, but rather because the striker was at an angle and not making connection with the primary latch.

Why? Because the hood has a dent in the front. Now, I very well may be wrong. However, The dent in the hood is right where it attaches to the grille, on the drivers side of the hood. Maybe a 4-5" section. There is also a slight slope on the entire thing, but I think that may actually be from when it flew up. Either way, neither dent appears to mess anything up as far as the striker...

You pull the hood open in the cab. This connects a cable that releases the primary latch (at the bottom), popping the hood up. However it still is held on by the secondary latch (w/ the striker). Pushing up on the button beneath the grille pushes the striker out of the way, and the hood opens. Correct?

So if I can pop the hood on that truck, and it does NOT come straight up (there secondary latch catches) then the secondary latch gave out before and that is what caused the hood to lift up - correct?

Thanks. If this is the problem, I plan on pursuing it. If it was caused by some other sort of malfunction, then I'll just replace it. Just want to make sure I understand this correctly.

 

Why?, because it may have gotten bent from whatever caused the dent(depends on what you mean by dent I guess) or it got stuck, which is most likely the reason Dodge is replacing them. You are correct in saying when you open the hood from inside the cab, the secondary latch should catch.

 

I understand that if it was bent it wouldn't catch, but I'm pretty sure that was not the case. I'll have to go down and check it out.

 

There is also a spring that may fail. Not saying yours is bad. Just saying that SOME may have. If so, Dodge would have to replace them.