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Too much Ram, not enough Dodge. Broke my Fat Car.

7K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  LegoJunky 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
On my way to work Monday morning... I had a Frost Gaurd windshield cover on overnight so the outside of the windshield was clear. Soon as I pulled out of the driveway the inside of the windshield fogged up. I reached over to turn the heater over to defrost and crank it up and slammed into an old Honda Accord parked on the curb.

Hondas make great ramps. I clipped it just enough to get my right front tire up on his car and I got airborn. Spilt my coffee! There's a divot in the asphalt where I landed. My new running boards really did a number on the sheet metal on the Honda.

They just don't make pickups like they used to... I think pickup and I remember the old Charles Bronson movie Mr. Majestic. They used a stock late 60s or early 70s Ford pickup and made all kinds of jumps in it. Ford used those scenes in it's TV commercials. The 09 Dodge didn't fare so well... My wife just shakes her head when I refuse to call it a truck. It's my Fat Car. Just a big car with a wide open trunk.

After I woke the homeowner up and left my info I limped it the block back to the house. It barely made it. Wrastling match with the steering wheel.

The wrecker service just towed it off to the shop. It didn't want to back down the driveway, he was worried about popping a tire off the bead. Eased it down slow while turning the wheels back and forth to relieve the pressure then he pulled it up the flatbed. The top A arm was digging into the tire, everything's still attached, so there's some stuff seriously bent up.

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#2 ·
 
#3 ·
that reminds me of the time my wife hit a early 2000's dodge truck with our 88 Chrysler minivan...he cut her off from the right curb, crossing left into his driveway...while the minivan suffered cosmetic damage, the steering and front suspension on the truck was totally screwed up.
we drove home 2 blocks no issues, he had a tow truck move his truck from the street onto his driveway- like maybe 150 feet?
I have to agree, vehicles are not made the way they used to be.
at least nobody got hurt (except maybe your pride!)
 
#4 ·
93trooperpooper said:
I have to agree, vehicles are not made the way they used to be.
at least nobody got hurt (except maybe your pride!)
Well, I knew it was a Dodge when I bought it so not a lot of pride to hurt. It's a decent small hauler and a comfy ride. But right after I bought it I passed an accident scene at an intersection, a Dodge pickup same generation as mine and a small sedan dinged each other. Both were pretty beat up but the Dodge had been clipped hard on the right front and the frame was on the ground. Entire right side of the front suspension was strung out beside the pickup. Definite weak link there...
 
#6 ·
this reminds of a rear-ender I saw while I was hauling gravel-was very minor, car had a broken taillight- but the steering was screwed on the new dodge truck. are they made out of left-over tinker toy parts? everything is getting made cheaper and lighter, but they still charge premium price for vehicles nowdays…….
 
#7 ·
Just finished the front suspension on my 89 Ram D-150, and will never complain about doing a Trooper suspension again. An overly complicated suspension that Is known for the Dodge death rattle. I like the 318 in it and it has that wonderful 8 foot bed which hauls a bunch, but no confidence that the suspension is going to go 100K after a full rebuild. I did hook up dual steering stabilizers which I've never done before and might indicate my level of confidence in all the rest.
 
#8 ·
wmorrisiii said:
Just finished the front suspension on my 89 Ram D-150, and will never complain about doing a Trooper suspension again. An overly complicated suspension that Is known for the Dodge death rattle. I like the 318 in it and it has that wonderful 8 foot bed which hauls a bunch, but no confidence that the suspension is going to go 100K after a full rebuild. I did hook up dual steering stabilizers which I've never done before and might indicate my level of confidence in all the rest.
Willie,
Was reading my new car & driver Magazine. The article on pick-ups. Comparing ford, chevy, and dodge, the dodge came out on top. Further reading confirms dodge uses aluminum in the front lower control arms (???) and composite for the uppers. This doesn't compute (at least to me) to be the strongest available materials to use. By the way, ford was second, and guess who came in last?....Harry

And Von, careful on those humid mornings!~
 
#9 ·
itsmehb said:
wmorrisiii said:
Just finished the front suspension on my 89 Ram D-150, and will never complain about doing a Trooper suspension again. An overly complicated suspension that Is known for the Dodge death rattle. I like the 318 in it and it has that wonderful 8 foot bed which hauls a bunch, but no confidence that the suspension is going to go 100K after a full rebuild. I did hook up dual steering stabilizers which I've never done before and might indicate my level of confidence in all the rest.
Willie,
Was reading my new car & driver Magazine. The article on pick-ups. Comparing ford, chevy, and dodge, the dodge came out on top. Further reading confirms dodge uses aluminum in the front lower control arms (???) and composite for the uppers. This doesn't compute (at least to me) to be the strongest available materials to use. By the way, ford was second, and guess who came in last?....Harry

And Von, careful on those humid mornings!~
Aluminum and "composite".... Composite seems a little vague. Could be litter box dumpings and plastic. I was seriously guessing paper mache.

I guess they've figured out that most pickups aren't used as pickups anymore. Never haul anything more than groceries and some occasional lumber. never go off road. And the ones that do are usually 4x4, so they put car suspensions under them..?

But after using the M715 as a daily driver for a little while... I miss my Fat Car.
 
#10 ·
itsmehb said:
wmorrisiii said:
Just finished the front suspension on my 89 Ram D-150, and will never complain about doing a Trooper suspension again. An overly complicated suspension that Is known for the Dodge death rattle. I like the 318 in it and it has that wonderful 8 foot bed which hauls a bunch, but no confidence that the suspension is going to go 100K after a full rebuild. I did hook up dual steering stabilizers which I've never done before and might indicate my level of confidence in all the rest.
Willie,
Was reading my new car & driver Magazine. The article on pick-ups. Comparing ford, chevy, and dodge, the dodge came out on top. Further reading confirms dodge uses aluminum in the front lower control arms (???) and composite for the uppers. This doesn't compute (at least to me) to be the strongest available materials to use. By the way, ford was second, and guess who came in last?....Harry

And Von, careful on those humid mornings!~
Quote from magazine
The Ram is not without its imperfections. It, too, uses some aluminum in its construction-the tailgate, engine mounts, steering gear, lower front control arms (the uppers are composite), and transmission crossmember-but at 6102 pounds, it's 500 and 600 pounds heavier, respectively, than the Ford and the Chevy
 
#11 ·
As much as I rag on my Fat Car's paper mache suspension... I've been real happy with it otherwise. The 4.7 V8 has plenty of oomph for me. And it has the tow package so it's the 5 speed transmission instead of the 4 speed the 4.7 pickups usually get.
Of course the shift points are optimized for fuel mileage... so if you've got anything other than sipping gas in mind, you're SOL.
 
#12 ·
Whoops!

I somehow missed that you picked up a modern vehicle. Definitely more of a car than a truck. Seems like it was built for smooth ride and easy hauling over long life.
 
#13 · (Edited by Moderator)
Got my Fat Car back. It was ready Friday but I was working. They're closed weekends but the owner came by and picked me up and I got it.

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FIRST thing I did when I got home was open up the shop and put the Green Turd in. It'll stay there a while... As far as reliability, it'd do as a daily driver in a pinch. But that is the only metric by which it succeeds... a work in progress..

When I bought the Dodge it had a dent in the front bumper and the plastic bits were faded. We were admiring the straight bumper and shiny plastic bits and noticed two gaping holes in the bumper... Mine is an ST. Base model, no fog lamps. The new bumper... is NOT for an ST.

The body shop owner's wife, Marsha, takes care of the paperwork side and orders parts. I sent her an email with pics. She was NOT pleased... mortified.
She had ordered using the part number on the estimate, but didn't verify. And she was really pissed her guys didn't catch it when they put it together. She said that sometimes happens and her guys will come in and tell her she ordered the wrong parts.

She said there was 2 ways to go... she could order a new bumper or blanks to fill the holes. I started to tell her new bumper, just on principle, but I'm thinking I might add lights and those holes would come in handy.

All the old parts, except the fender and fender liner, were in the back. I just looked them over a little as I moved them to the back of the M715, but I couldn't see any bent stuff. Upper and lower control arms and the steering knuckle. All looked straight. They put a new wheel on but the old one wasn't bent, the gash in the tire went all the way around. The wheel bearing assembly was in a box, I didn't look it over. It drives straight... maybe I don't want to know...
hmmm....

With the deductible for the pickup and buying a power recliner for my mother, my ring and pinion fund is gone. Not complaining, Mom needed the recliner for her edema in her legs. And I won't be in a hurry to drive that thing for a little bit anyway...
 

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#14 · (Edited by Moderator)
Von said:
FIRST thing I did when I got home was open up the shop and put the Green Turd in. It'll stay there a while...
"HAHAHA!!!"
Says the Demon Murphy, Wretched Wrench in hand.

The left front tire on my wife's car has been a slow leaker the last week or so.
On her way home from work today the BMW informed her that her right rear tire had 0.0 psi. No warning, no slow pressure loss, 32 to zero.
After dinner I pulled it off to see if I could plug it and I'd call Firestone tomorrow. As I jacked it up and got the weight of the car off it I could hear the tire sucking air in. Bad sign.

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Guess I waited too long on those new tires...

So she's driving the Dodge and I'm driving the Green Turd until the BMW gets some new shoes.
 

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#15 ·
Von said:
Von said:
FIRST thing I did when I got home was open up the shop and put the Green Turd in. It'll stay there a while...
"HAHAHA!!!"
Says the Demon Murphy, Wretched Wrench in hand.

The left front tire on my wife's car has been a slow leaker the last week or so.
On her way home from work today the BMW informed her that her right rear tire had 0.0 psi. No warning, no slow pressure loss, 32 to zero.
After dinner I pulled it off to see if I could plug it and I'd call Firestone tomorrow. As I jacked it up and got the weight of the car off it I could hear the tire sucking air in. Bad sign.



Better get them shoes on before this weekend. A blue norther heading this way and the green turd looks like it'd be cold inside.

Guess I waited too long on those new tires...

So she's driving the Dodge and I'm driving the Green Turd until the BMW gets some new shoes.
 
#17 ·
Time for some expensive run flats. My boss bought tires for his wife's BMW last summer and decided he didn't want to be held hostage for the factory recommended run flats. He put good old fashioned tires on it and she had a blow out the next week. He ended up buying a wheel too!

Do you have a wheel lock tool? Whatever you do, DON'T LOSE IT!!! Boss's wife's car didn't have the lock, so they couldn't take it just anywhere. My buddy at the BMW dealership explained that BMW has 32 possible wheel lock combinations and that they cannot be searched by VIN due to security reasons. So you have 32 chances at like $60-80 a piece. Or you pay the dealer to try their master set until one works (an hour shop time) and then you order one for $60-80). You might be money well spent to buy 4 more lugs when you do the tires and remove the locks.
 
#18 ·
Wheel lock? It doesn't have any locking lug nuts if that's what you meant.
Skeered me for a second there.

I'll call the Firestone store downtown in the morning. I checked their website at work today and didn't show any of the Firehawk AS runflats. Just the Bridgestone Portenza. Had Portenza (not runflats) on the Maxima and they sucked in the rain. And they are gawdaweful expensive.

Tire rack has the Pirelli P7s like it has now for $185 each. May go that route and have Firestone do the install.
 
#19 ·
Been distracted and haven't been on here in a while.

On the BMW ended up getting Bridgestone Driveguards. They don't make the Firehawk in runflat anymore... so she said... I can still find them online, so...
But, she sold me with buy 3 get one free.

Still haven't resolved the fog light hole situation on the Dodge bumper. She can't find any of the plastic hole plugs to fit the Dodge. I'm looking at fog light assemblies with mounting brackets and some wiring included. Need to look into how to wire em in... I'd like to have them come on with the parking lights... maybe power wire to the parking lamps as a trigger for relay to the fog lamps... but thinking extra draw on that circuit might make the computer concerned.
If i just run a separate harness with a switch off the accessory circuit I'll either forget I have them, and why bother wiring them in, or I'll forget they're on and run the battery down.
 
#20 ·
There are some requirements limiting the number of bulbs allowed to be turned on in some states. That's why fog lights often turn off automatically when high beams go on. Not sure why I'm telling you this, but it might be helpful in your strategic planning.

If you wire off a separate switch and are worried about draining a battery, just tap into a circuit that is activated by a key. Use a switch to send that to a relay and have it be separate. Then, you'll never be able to leave them on.
 
#21 ·
a relay triggered from the parklight circuit ''should not'' muck with the computer but....

my co-workers dodge truck, he replaced the factory fogs with a pair (per side) led cube lights. they are plug and play. once on, only one side would work, the other side strobe a few times, then shut off...set a warning light in the dash....
so, the computer was ok with one pair of led lamps on the fog light circuit, but hook up the 2nd pair, and the computer freaked out and killed the circuit.
the company he bought the kit from swears that they never had that problem installing them....
so, I had a new old stock '' led anti-flicker'' in-line ballasts for a ford f550, changed the end on the weather-pak connectors, installed them inline on the fog lamp circuit and all 4 led cubes worked after that, no warning lights in dash.

I hate computers in new vehicles. everything is tied together, if your trailer sway control activates or fails it affects the signals, traction control, cruise control, 4wd and seat belt functions... and more... stupid ford trucks. don't know about Chrysler products, but most likely all the sensors are tied into the safety system....
 
#22 ·
N law said:
If you wire off a separate switch and are worried about draining a battery, just tap into a circuit that is activated by a key. Use a switch to send that to a relay and have it be separate. Then, you'll never be able to leave them on.
... facepalm.. duh.
I think the only light laws we have pertain to flashing your brights at people and running those monster light bars and spots in town. And I never use my brights... maybe secluded back roads and such.

93trooperpooper said:
a relay triggered from the parklight circuit ''should not'' muck with the computer but....
I'll give it a shot and see. I'd rather do it this way, have them come on with the park lights and just roll the switch and wires up under the dash... not mess with mounting the switch.
 
#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
Last week I finally wired up those fog lights. Didn't want to dig around in the wiring harness and end up messing something up.
The harness kit came with a switch and a relay, everything already plugged together and wired. I pulled the Left headlight and isolated the power to the running light and tapped into that for the trigger on the relay. Both ground wires to existing body grounds and hot to the relay directly on the battery.

Then test.
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Everything works as it should, ECM didn't get wiggy about extra draw. The fog lights come on when the running lights do, they don't blink with the turn signals...
I pulled the blank for a clutch off the firewall and used some 1/4" thick rubber sheet to make a spacer with a cutout at the bottom. Put it under the firewall blank and have the wires for the switch running through there. Switch is stickied to the dash on the left side of the steering wheel, I leave it on but can turn them off if I want.
 

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#24 ·
Well, I am not going to complain about other vehicles front end suspension... after owning an Axiom...

The vehicle has only 88K miles on it and it is moderately used vehicle in California. But I have already had to re-do the front end a few times (CVs, steering, some welding, brakes, crossmember, diff mounting brackets, etc). It broke the front frame (control arms) 3 times and eventually had to be re-engineered and re-weld to fix the Isuzu design problems. A rear shock frame mount broke, too.

With new custom front end I am more or less confident in driving over any Honda (except Passport, of course). But every camping trip is kind of nervous for me - I am expecting something to brake every time.

When I lifted my Montero 3" it maintained pretty much the stock geometry and the CV axles are still almost horizontal and the ride has not changed (actually improved). But lifting an Axiom means basically full reengineering of everything to make it usable. I regret that I did not bite the bullet and I did not do SAS right when I bought the Axiom. I guess that would save me lots of trouble and thousands of dollars.
 
#25 ·
I have a '15 Ram 1500 Quadcab, silver like yours. My company bought it for me new in '15, when it ran out of warranty last month they let me buy it at a huge discount($11K). Now it's at 95K and the 8 speed trans is still shifting fine. The 5.7L hasn't given me any issues. The wife likes the ride comfort and XM radio. It barely fits the baby carrier in the back seat though. I even got to keep the tool box & headache rack that was installed.
 
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