Hey Folks, nice to met y'all! Let me start by saying that i am NOT a mechanic, but will attempt to perform "minor" repairs on my own. I have owned my truck for about 3 years now, it has 76k on it, and has given me few problems, i have been very happy with it! I have a couple of nagging problems i have not been able to figure out tho...... First up, one day, about a year ago, my ABS and BRAKE idiot lights came on and have been on ever since. all fluids are fine, ran an OBD scan, and nothing came up. doesnt have any effect on the way the truck brakes, it's just annoying....... Also is it normal to have to run 93 octane in these 5.9L engines? If i run anything but, i get horrible pinging under hard throttle....... I also have a speedo that will not read anything until i have her up to 35mph....other than that, the truck is mint and looks almost brand new! Sorry if these probs have been posted already!

 

You could probably fix both the abs/brake light issues and the speedo issue by swapping out your tone ring sensor. Its a speed sensor on your rear end. Check the ram info thread at the top, in there you will find a link to te service manual which will give you instructions. Also if you searched tone ring, you can probably find the pics and tips from other guys who have done it. The 93 octane though, you can probably help that by putting in a 180 degree thermostat.

 

thank ya much. sounds like an easy fix

 

I'd also hazzard a guess that your plenum gasket under your intake is leaking...pinging is one of the symptoms. Pull off your air cleaner housing, and shine a flashlight down in your manifold through the throttle body (engine off!) at WOT. If it looks oily, blackish, smells oily....that's an issue. You will have to have the manifold removed to replace it. If you do..buy an aftermarket plate and have it installed if you want a permanent repair.

 

also if you search VSS.. vehicle speed sensor.. also been known to be called that

for the abs light /speedo problem ill bet your speed sensor is bad on the rear diff.. super easy to change out..

for the pinging you may have a bad plenum gasket.. search plenum gasket and youll find LOADS of info for this problem.. very comon..

good luck!

 

i really appreciate everyone's help! I am big into the 87-93 mustangs, and i have a pretty highly modified one myself. Is there much of an aftermarket for these trucks like there is for the 5.0 mustangs? if i were to go to the trouble of taking my intake off, i would want to replace it with something better.....

 

well machine gunner, the aftermarket for our trucks is pretty good.. could be better.. id like to see more veritey.. instead of having 1 or 2 brands to buy from .. summitracing sells some good stuff for our trucks.. also this forum lists vendors and they also sell some good stuff for our trucks.. but my no means is there an aftermarket for 2gen rams comparable to a 5.0 ford/stang

 

Once again guys, thanks for all the help. I was over there also, with 2 MEF.....

 

i was with 2mef, 2meu, 2maw, mag31(det) EAST COAST!

 

I don't know if I'd agree that there's not a lot of aftermarket stuff for our trucks. Granted, the big name money high volume manufacturers have sorta sidestepped us, but that's just as well IMO. This leaves a lot of room for smaller more Dodge oriented businesses to ply what I consider less "chivy oriented" pieces. The problem is that most of these folks don't have the advertising budgets to get the word out. How ever you can find a lot of things here on the net. It pays to be a member of more than one Dodge ram web site.
For instance, I had no idea that Hughes engines existed, even though they were not 3 hours from my old Iowa home. These guys really have Magnum performance nailed. But there are others.

Personally, I think it's cool you still have to dig around a bit to build a Dodge. Part of what I enjoy about building Mopars is the fact you have to use your own creativity more often the the "other guys". The downside is that it may cost you more.