Ok so i got this truck from a friend of mine for 700 bucks and a case of beer its ugly and looks wore out, he parked it about 8 months ago because of a leaking freeze plug on the driver side behind the motor mount. he really has no knowledge of mechanics so he just got a new truck so i ended up with it and i plan on making it my camping and hunting rig i gutted the interior and got it showroom new and also replaced the dash board the bed was dented where he jackknifed a trailer backing it up so i just happened to have a long bed same color the my grandfather pulled off of a 1999 ram back in 1999 and its just been siting so i put it on and looks great now but its time to tear in to it the things i plan on doing to it are as listed if im missing something or going overkill let me know, the truck ran and drove fine when parked but i plan on goin out in to the sticks elk and deer hunting with it and do not wanna walk out lol, so here is my parts list

yukon gear ring and pinion set ront and rear 5.13
top gear customz lift kit 5in with drop pitman arm and upper and lower arms
dual steering stabilizer
bilstien 5100's
35in tires with 17in wheels
hughes plenum pan, felpro gaskets to finish the intake job
moog tie rods and moog adjusting sleeves (99 hd)
moog track bar
cloyes double roller timing chain
standard motor products-ignition coil, iac, Crankshaft Position Sensor, Distributor Pickup Coil, Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)
new radiator
new oxygen sensors
airtex fuel pump
new motor mounts
oil pump
oil screen
water pump
new plugs wires cap and rotor
new injector o-rings
new upper and lower radiator hoses
new tstat
new pads and rotors
new belt, idler pulley and new tensioner
new rear shoes
new battrey

the truck has 208,000 miles on it the motor was rebuilt at 183000 miles and a new tranny put in but since the motor and tranny were replaced im sure not much maintenance was done to it any help would be great. this forum is amazing i spend hours a night looking over threads to the point my wife is ready to kill me lol i will post pics of the truck when i got it and some when im done replaccing all the above and anything else you all recommend so far the bill for everything above is at about 2900 bucks

 

Unless you enjoy changing fuel pumps, skip the Airtex. Spend a bit more, get the delphi, or denso, and never worry about it again.

The engine was rebuilt at 183,000, but, the freeze plug is leaking? That doesn't really sound kosher to me. My truck has a 185K on it, engine has not been rebuilt, but, I ended up replacing the same plug at around 175K. Somethin' ain't quite right there.

5.13's with 35's? Why so low? To keep the engine right around stock RPM for any given speed, 4.56 is closest, going to 4.88 would give you more low end, and still be reasonable for the street. Not to mention, I don't think you can get 5.13's for the rear end. (chrysler 9.25)

With that kind of mileage, I would take a close look at the front ball joints, and universals as well.

 

ya i was a bit suspect on the motor also so i planned on pulling it out and rebuilding it but then he showed me the paper work, to me it looks like a lot of corners were cut when pulling the intake off half the bolts were case grade 8s with about 6 washers stacked on them so make the right lenght, but i have rode in the truck and it seemed to run ok minus the fact it had no power from the leaking plenum, also just added the denso fuel pump instead of the airtex

 

and added joints front and rear and ball joints (moog)

 

Hhhmmm.... cut corners on an engine rebuild doesn't strike me as the best idea..... going thru it again sounds like a good plan.

Do you have the truck someplace you can work on it? Would be a good idea to thoroughly inspect all the steering linkage, starting at the base of the column. Steering boxes were notoriously sloppy on these, especially with high mileage. Borgeson, or RedHead box are best. Stock replacements don't solve the problem.

 

ya i have the truck up on my lift in the air the box feels a little sloppy not real bad was gonna just try to adjust it a little see if that helps

 

Can't hurt.

There is the 2001 service manual available for download in the faq section here. (service manual thread) Proper adjustment procedure is in there, if you feel like getting that berserk.