Hi All,

I bought a new (to me) RAM last night and have a few questions:

Truck is a 2004 RAM 2500 Turbo Diesel 4x4 Crew 6 Spd. 160kmi. Laramie pkg

#1 Cabin noise. We bought this truck for a road trip vehicle. Inside is pretty comfy, door and window seals are working well, but its still a bit more noisy in there than I would like. Any suggestions? Common fixes?

#2 Audio-In AUX Jack.
The truck came with the factory 6CD changer and steering mounted audio controls. One thing frustratingly missing is an Audio-In, or Aux jack. I use my Data phone to play MP3s and Pandora often, so not having this really sucks for me. I could get an aftermarket radio, but I'm worried that the steering volume controls wont work with it... Is there a way to splice an Aux jack into the factory system, or is there an aftermarket radio that will work with the steering controls?

#3 I plan to take the truck to a machanic this week to give it a once over. Im a rather mechanical guy, but this is my first Diesel vehicle. Anything specific that I should look for?

#4 With almost all of my vehicles I install a hiden fuel pump switch as a means of theft control. If the car was to be hot-wired, it will not drive anywhere unless the thief knows about the switch. What could I tap and switch on my new truck to have the same effect?

#5 As mentioned, this is my first Diesel vehicle. Is there a good guide of DO's and DONT's for diesel owners somewhere? For instance, ive heard that diesel can freeze/gel. How cold is too cold and what should I do if I get into that weather? Also, is any diesel at any pump OK to use, or do I need to watch out for stuff? What about Biodiesel? Can I really pour vegitable oil or heating oil into my tank?

#6 I read that front axle U-joints are a common problem on this model. What are the sighns of bad U-Joints?

 

#2 the make radios for 2006 rams that have aux input already in the radio, i would stop by a dealer and see if they are interchangable or i can tell you if they are if you give me the 3 letter code on your radio IT WILL EITHER BE REB, REZ, REN, etc.

#4 it is possible to cut an inline power switch for a lift pump switch if you cut into the power wire and wire it to a switch to make it an open circuit while the switch is off and a closed circuit while the switch is on

#5 dos and donts are mainly do your maintence (oil changes and fuel filter and other maintence) and if its cold out make sure to let it warm up the heater grid before starting it ( the yellow curly symbol on your cluster/gauge setup). plug it in if its below 10 degrees and if its below 0 degrees its possible to gel up but they make different grades of diesel fuel #1 and #2 diesel one for summer blend and one for winter blend. also try to fill up at truck stops or fuel stations that pump out alot of diesel fuel ( ones that have a high turnaround for selling fuel)( as in not sitting on diesel fuel for months) also i never fill up at a station that has a truck putting fuel in the tanks below ground as it mixes with water in the bottom of the tank.

#6 signs of bad u joints are hopping and wheels siezin in 4 wheel drive while turning. a little hopping is somewhat normal since its a solid front axle truck.

 

3 You need the base system single cd unit. They are very common as they came on most trucks that didn't have the Infinity sound system. You should be able to find one on eBay.

I think you are looking for a REF radio. It needs to be from a 06-08 to fit correctly.
It is a single CD with an aux input plug. Or you could do like me and use a FM transmitter that plugs into the speaker jack on the phone/mp3 player

 

Thanks for all of the help. Any advice on the cabin noise? Also, where is the Radio code printed?

 

cab noise, you may need to do an old chevy fix and have the doors bent a little.
If you travel in colder areas such as the Northern cold states, make sure you have Anti-Gel with you just a precausion. They say you can #2 at 10 deg, but I wouldn't recommend it as I have seen them Gel at temps high then that. Any truck stop will have anti-gel.

Also I have been told not to let a diesel pickup sit for longer then 2-3 weeks at a time or you could have problems with the berrings in turbos

 

1) add insulation to the firewall and floor board. Probably more of a hassle than it is worth.

2) RF modulator between the phone and radio

6) vibration. Try to move the u joint back and forth and look for obvious signs of movement. If you can move it by hand it is bad.

 

#1 You could take the interior apart and line the floor and cab walls with an acoustic sound deadening material like Dynamat. There are other products out there that are similar in function, but are cheaper. I've owned a couple of different 2nd gen Camaro's, and the last one I bought had the floor lined with Dynamat. This car also had headers, which should have put much more heat into the floorboards and firewall, but I could tell the difference in sound and heat having the Dynamat under the carpet. I do wish it had had the same material in the door panels to help with improving the sound of the stereo, but you mostly heard the exhaust with this car which I really enjoyed. The Dynamat in the floor made the exhaust sound much cleaner and really made it a joy to listen to. I have a feeling though that if teh complete interior was lined with Dynamat, the exhaust would have seriously decreased in volume, which is probably why the previous owner only did the floor.

Probably expect to spend $300-$400 on Dynamat to fully cover the interior our your truck. If you do it yourself, you will have sore muscles and bleed from your fingertips.

 

Welcome to the site

 

I am a bit peeved! As instructed above, I bought an REF radio on eBay - it came in today. At first look, it seemed perfect. Got home, tore apart the center dash panel, took my old radio out, crossed my fingers and went to connect the new radio. Plugs fit like a glove! Turned it on, everything works, glorious!

Went to actually mount the radio and that's when the problems began. Radio would not fit into the hole all the way, but stuck out about 1.5". After a bit of wresting and measuring, found that the REF radio is about 1/4" thicker than my stock. Looking inside of the hole, decided that cutting away the plastic retaining tabs would let it slip in. Went through about 20 minutes of cutting and prying, finally slid the radio into the hole just to discover that the screw holes don't line up!! F&#K! Decided that I will figure out the screw alignment later (drill some holes), and went ahead to test-fit the center dash trim, only to discover that the radio face does not fit into the hole!! F$&King S*%T!!!

Wrestled with it another half hour finally deciding that there is no way to make it fit and look decent. Original radio has an oval shaped face, the REF is square; REF is also about 1/4" too narrow and 3/8" too high. Narrowness could be remedied with some back filler trim, but making it fit height-wise would mean cutting the center dash trim, which would be hard to do while making it look decent...

Like I said, I am really peeved right now! It's my fault for not checking what "some dude on the internet said", but I am still $80 light and have a neat radio that is too bulky to use as a paperweight.

*****UPDATE*****

For future purposes: I just went online and did a bit of research that made me another $230 lighter, but it is the proper way to get this done. Apperantly, a number of manufaturers have a built-in port on aftermarket radios to accomodate steering wheel controls (this is why I decided to try a stock radio). Long story short, the module is like $65. I ended up at www.crutchfield.com and went with a Sony head deck and this add-on modure. Crutchfield was cool enough to auto-select the proper wiring harness and trim package to make things fit right. They include these for "Free" with their radio orders... Anyway, if I run into any problems with this install, I will post back. Otherwise, learn from my mistake - dont waste time with other Dodge radios - an aftermarket solution does exist...