Seems I always end up joining forums for any vehicle I own! Anyways, I’ve owned this 2001 Single Cab for a few days now. Such an awesome truck! Loving it more every day.

Has a healthy 5.9 Magnum backed by an auto trans which I can only assume is a 46re? Healthy readings from all the gauges. Nearly everything works on this truck. Power windows, mirrors, AC almost works perfectly! Which leads me to my first concern for the truck. Granted, it’s 22 and it’s not going to be perfect (nor do I expect it to be.) However, I’d like to keep this as my forever truck. So I’d eventually like to get small problems like this squared away before they become big ones! Truck has been a California truck for its whole life. It’s lived in nothing but dry environments.

My AC blows ICE cold! Heater gets pretty hot. Air blows in all directions which leads me to believe that my heater box is functioning properly too. However, I’m not getting hot air from my defrost vents. Granted, I don’t need HOT air but I know it should be hot. If I turn the control to blow out of the vents in the dash it gets pretty hot. Turn the control to blow out of the defrost vents and the air is warm but not cold either. Could this be a sign of a failing blender door? (Sorry don’t know the proper term.)

Another gremlin I’ve been dealing with is this very odd “Shhhhhhhh” noise I experience when accelerating. Not present when I’m just sitting and the truck is idling. It doesn’t struggle to idle at all, nor seem to have a loss of power. But whenever I’m accelerating and getting up to speed, it sounds like Darth Vader is breathing under my dash. Here’s a video I took of my wife driving the truck so I could get a good example of the sound:
Could this be AC related? Or possibly something to do with the throttle body?


other than that, this truck runs fantastic. Tranny could use TLC. Nothing bad, but I can tell the TV cable needs adjusting as well as possibly having the bands adjusted too to be safe. At 120,000 miles - I’m sure new fluid would be wise also…




Interior is CLEAN!

 

The whole AC system air distribution (blend doors etc.) is vacuum operated so there's a good a chance that both of the issues are caused by vacuum leaks somewhere. Grab the service manual from here: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...e-manuals.html and there is also a stickied thread above about the "wild vents".

 

A 2001 has an electric motor to move the blend door. Might want to remove it and see if the coupler is chewed up. I would first check if both of your check valves are working. You have the least amount of vac during acceleration so the check valves need to hold it. Its also possible the one of the rubber seals on a actuator could be leaking.
https://heatertreater.net/dodge-ram-95-02

 

Beautiful truck ya got there. Looks like it has been well cared for. Good luck with it.

When you switch to defrost mode, the A/C compressor will come on, therefore the hot air gets cooler & isn't as hot as thru vents or floor duct. I don't think you have a problem to fix.

Two or three times, I've dealt with that sound during acceleration. It was caused by the air filter housing not being properly seated, creating a leak. There's also a gasket for it so make sure yours is there. It's kind of a PITA to get right but you'll definitely hear the difference once it's installed the right way.

 

Thank you! Would seem to make sense then about my defrost air. Seems everything is working the way it should be then. It looks to have factory wires and coil, not sure of the plugs but I will be placing an order for the Accel tuneup kit and I will also get the Accel coil + a new pickup coil! Surprised at how amazing this truck actually is. It won’t get driven hard. I plan to baby it and fix it up my way little by little.

Also makes sense about the air filter housing! It isn’t the factory unit, rather a aftermarket K&N. I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t installed properly. I wonder also, if the factory unit might be better than the aftermarket one.

 

You don't want one! I bought one and it left me stranded about a year after i bought it.

 

Wow, good to know. What is a good alternative? I see NGK makes one.

 

Personally, I'd re-install the factory air filter housing. It tends to work better than the cold air intake tubes & filter folks tend to install in its place.

 

The thing is most of the aftermarket ones look the same and you don't know who manufactures them. Look on summit racing and check out the reviews before you make a decision.

 

I thank you sir, I had the “darth Vader breath” noise while cruising along sometimes and especially on startup, found there was no gasket.