I have been reading a lot of the posts on here and need a little help. I recently bought a 2004 Quad 1500 with the Hemi and AWD. I have not noticed many people with the AWD option. Was this more or a rare option that year? The only info I can find is that the power transfer rate is 48% front to 52% rear. It seems to work great but I was just curious if anyone else has had any problems with it? thanks

 

Well, your right about one thing... it's not a common option. I have never heard of any problems on the forum this these t-cases. I don't know anyone that owns a truck with it either. I got the chance to drive quite a few of them while I worked out at the proving grounds in 2003. They have their upsides and downsides. The upside is that they provide great traction on wet pavement without having to manually shift into 4-HI like the most of us. The main reason I didn't want one when I got my 2005, was because I like to goose the pedal sometimes and spin the rear tires, or the occasional donuts. I don't think you'll be able to with your drivetrain. I can even do 4-HI donuts in snow/ice with the wheels turned full lock, but your would probably kick in the traction control or torque management and kill the power first. Hope that info helped a lil.

 

I actually had a hard time finding a Laramie edition truck (I wanted leather seats) in '04 when I bought mine without the AWD option.
I knew I was gonna lift the truck and had already seen where most lift kits did not work with this option.
I don't know offhand of anyone who has had a failure with theirs, but just the same, I wanted a good, old fashioned stick anyway.... just one less thing to mess up...

 

Thanks,
Yeah goosing the pedal with the AWD basically pins your head not spin the tires. With the 20" tires, 3.92 gear ratio, it is tough to beat off the line. Can't wait for some snow in Jersey to try and do a donut....we will see....right now I am looking at upgrading the air intake, chip, and the exhaust to bleed out some more power

 

Air intake. For the money, it's hard to beat just a drop in K&N filter. For the money, it's a much better value than purchasing an entire CAI set-up. I just refuse to pay $250+ for a bunch of plastic. i'd buy a used cai over new if i could find a good one.

Chip?? Anything that is called a chip is junk. You want a handhled prgramer such as Superchips(SC) or DiabloSport Predator(DSP). Gives the user lots of control and has proven output. $275-400 used-new range

Exhaust...Installing a catback won't gain you much of anything really as far as power goes, but you will have a great sound other than the muffled Hemi from the factory.

 

AMEN brother!

 

Yeah I guess it is just one more thing to break. When I found the truck it was not advertised at all with AWD just 4x4. When I test drove it I looked around for the stick and saw it only had a **** on the dash for AWD 4-hi, 4-lo and neutral.

I guess when I say chip that is to old school from back in the mid-eighties. I did mean the programmer although I have not tried one yet.

I did not know just a drop in K&N filter would make that big a diference

 

Yeah, chips are a hing of the past. Hanhelds have sooo much control over engine and transmission functions these days.

Aftermarket CAI's are just replacement box's that have a high flow air filter along with a solid tube going from the filter box to the throttlebody. There's nothing special about them. Not saying the stock airbox flows as good as aftermarkets, but there's very littel difference to be had when spending that kinda money for a stock engine. Only if i had a Cam or headwork would i lay out $250+ for an intake. The gain isn't really there for stock motors. The diff between just dropping in a high flow filter and replacing the entire set-up is negligible. Like 2-3hp more i would guess on the Dyno for stock engine's. I'm not one to pay $100 per HP....lol A tuner is a much better investment for a mostly stock vehicle.

 

The drop in filter for mine was about 60 bucks and I made a custom intake with a 5 1/4 Cone K&N for about 65 out of 4" PVC

 

Thanks guys these ideas are really helping me. I have always bought Chevy and now I am sold on the Hemi....Looks like I have a new weekend project. I have already done the standard tranny fluid flush and filter change and converted to full synthetic like my other vehicles. Now I need to get on a handheld programmer, I am really wondering about the performance change. Right now my biggest complaint is the tranny shift points.....