I finally got a chance to get back to my 1996 Ram 1500. Being a 4X4 I'm having issues with working on the engine as my health makes the odd positions difficult at times. More intense projects have been dealt with so I can get back to the truck. It's been sitting longer than I planned.

The spark plugs are a mixed bag. Some are a bit worn but clean. Others have the electrodes almost completely worn off. The plugs aren't that hard to get to, but it looks like someone just changed a few. I'm surprised it ran as well as it did. I'm also going to replace the valve cover gaskets, all the hoses (bypass hose was swollen and about to pop) plugs, plug wires, injectors, cap and rotor, timing chain, plenum repair and anything else that looks worn. I may get more mpg when I get done. The work definitely needed to be done. I'll bet once the plenum is taken care of, my oil consumption will go down.

I have new injectors but the new ones are more slender than the OEM as well as a small plastic washer on the intake end. I'm thinking those come off but I'll see if they snap in properly. They look to be just holding the bottom O ring seal in place. I was racing the rain but I'll take a side by side photo for your perusal tomorrow. The old injectors seemed to be okay and my Dakota has one that seems to be leaking down. I'll pop the Ram injectors into the Dakota to see if the leak down clears up.

 

Just FYI, might want to consider using a short step stool/ladder for gaining better access to those spark plugs and the distributor cap/rotor. I keep one handy when working on pickup trucks. Some folks have found great success with using a topside creeper..

 

I use short step stools on this truck all the time. The Dakota is low enough I don't need them. With the fan and shroud out as well as the front of the engine, I have plenty of room to climb inside the engine compartment.




I still need to pull the intake and valve covers then I'll start on the plug wires and cap. I'm up in the air about a new water pump. The old one is fine with no leakage staining. I'm leaning towards a new one just because I'm in there and don't want to go back 6 months down the road. I plan to keep the truck for a while unless I get a screaming deal on a heavier one.

One things I've noticed is after I finished rebuilding the front end and put new joints in the front axles, the right axle seal is leaking. Anybody know where I can get the seal installation tool in this video?


I can find other tools but that one looks to work fine with no fuss.

Except for a jury rigged work around for a failed vent direction door, the truck has no issues beyond the speedometer reading high. I'll be messing with that once everything else is done. I suspect an earlier owner had huge tires and it's adjusted for those.

 

The seal install tool is located on their website here - https://www.wahlstrommachine.com/products.html

You'll need the kit for the Dana 44 axle, which I believe has the same dimensions as the Chrysler 9.25 axle.

 

Change the water pump now. It's already off, and if you don't, you will be in there again in just a few weeks.

 

Sounds like a typical karma thing

 

It is.

 

I was leaning that way because I'm a lazy olde pharte. I used to work on things for fun. Now it's because my stuff is old and I'm cheap. Not many mechanics are around anymore. All there are is "technicians".

 

It can certainly get tiring working on cars regularly. Finding a good and thorough mechanic isn't easy, especially one that has the experience/time to properly diagnosis an issue. So many are playing beat the clock so they can get paid and not really solve the issue at hand.

At least with a vintage truck, it's typically paid for and any recurring taxes are low (we have personal property taxes in VA and they can be a brutal cost to bear for newer vehicles). It's just a matter of finding the necessary part(s), installing them and keep it running..

 

Indiana has an excise tax on cars, trucks, motorcycles and most road vehicles. It's value based but reduces each year. Obviously, if you buy a $4,000,000 hyper car, you're going to pay out the nose on excise tax. A basic, cheap new car as lightly equipped as you can get will be much cheaper. Each year the value tax goes down. Once the cars is 10 years old, the excise tax is at minimum and the same for all vehicles. Your originally $4,000,000 super car is taxed the same as my 25 year old beater. The Governor gets his tax cut other ways.

I'm down to just pulling the distributor cap and rotor along with the wires and the intake plenum. Once those are all off, it's clean and reassemble. I even picked up an axle seal today. It's just hot and the mosquitoes are bad. At least it's windy and that cuts down on the skeeters. They can't fly when the wind is over 7 mph.