My old Dodge Ram with Cummins diesel...

[7milesout]

I'll have to watch ALL the video later. But I'll make some comments:

• His truck is too quiet.
• I didn't watch but maybe a 4th of the video, so maybe he states this, but I'm guessing he'll have to drop it out of 5th over, to 5th original when pulling steeper hills on the interstate.
• I'm betting (whether he admits it or not), he doesn't get much use out of 5th over when towing heavy.

I know those trucks well. His sounds more stock than mine. And especially with the stock air box and a muffler (and maybe even a catalyst), they just don't make a lot of boost below about 1,900 rpm. He might get good mpg empty cruising the interstate. And he might get good mpg going east in Kansas (meaning flat ground, no headwind) when towing heavy. But that GV O/D will mostly be annoying towing heavy on the interstate, not enough rpm to make good boost in that truck.

That GV unit is not a bad thing. Especially on 6BT's with a 5-speed. Mine is a 6-speed. But they are 'spensive. I don't think you'd ever save enough fuel money to pay for it.

[Wallythacker]

Can't say I blame for not chasing MPG on a 3.5 ton truck. But it is food for thought. There are ways to get radical MPG without losing drivability but like you say, that stuff needs to be engineered in, not added on.

[7milesout]

Well, old trucks have problems. A close friend bought him a 2021 blue Dodge Ram, and he wanted me to drive mine down to his house (about 50 miles away), and inspect the 2. His drove really smoooooth, and quiet. And was so easy to drive being an automagic.

Whilst down there, I started smelling something burning, when we parked my truck at his house. So we took it for another ride and I realized it was the smell of brakes. I stuck my head out the driver's window at a stop and saw smoke coming off the left front wheel. I knew what it was. The OEM original caliper was sticking. I replaced the RF caliper about 2 years ago. Get this, about 2,400 miles ago! Don't drive old blue that much these days. I guess I'll forgive the calipers on blue truck. Almost 24 years of service.

The point of this thread was this. This guy is a guy I hired when I was at H-K. He was always a really smart guy. He was the lead engineer on is college FUSA team. A chassis guy mostly, but he knows it all, for the most part, about cars. He watched a remote control car race one day, decided he wanted to do it. A week later, he entered a race and won it. Against an old guy that had been winning at this track for a couple years. My friend, we'll call him ... Chris. Chris had cheated up one side and down the other with this car. In very creative ways though. They had to inspect his car for anything outside the rules, this was BIG TIME remote car racing. They were off-road, like Baja trucks. They found NOTHING and Chris's win stood. Chris said that he could not learn the track good enough on his first race and the old guy would pass him in the technical areas. But luckily the start / finish line was after somewhat of a straight. And Chris's cheats freed up the powertrain and he could pass the guy on the straight every time. So he won by re-passing the guy on the straight just before the finish line. The old guy was more than perturbed. Anywho...

So while I was there with Chris, he said, I know how to get you home. We went to a Harbor Freight there in his town. I bought what Chris told me to which was some sort of hose clamp. Chris bought some discount tools cause he just couldn't resist. We came out to my truck and it had stopped smoking but that caliper was hot as fire. With the front wheels turned right all the way, we could easily access the brake lines. We clamped the brake hose, tried to loosen the bleeder (it was just rounding) so we loosened the banjo bolt. Let it drip some. Retightened the hose clamp, torqued down the banjo bolt. I drove on home. The smell went away immediately. I think driving it then, with the pressure relieved on that caliper, cooled it all back down. I drove home with 3 brakes (plenty), but stayed off the brakes, which wasn't too hard with a 6 speed manual. Ordering the replacement caliper today ($35.99 after sending back the core).

Chris - what a smart dude. He's my local Fummins.

[Fummins]

I've done something similar a few times on the back of two trucks on the same section of road. Actually, only about 40 miles away from where my car took a swim...Was heading out to camp in my fummins with the camper behind. It was late, after midnight..

Hit the brakes coming down a hill and the pedal went soft and to the floor. Trailer brakes worked and we found a spot to pull over, found the brake line going to the left rear caliper broke off the diff at the t-fitting. I pinched the rubber line from the frame to the diff off with some needle nose pliers and wrapped haywire around the handles to keep them tight. That was fun. No cell service, 2hrs from the nearest town. Then a year or so later the same line broke off on my current 05 Dodge. This time some Jb weld was used.

I should really start carrying more spare fluids around when I head out that way.

[7milesout]

Tools and spare fluids, yes. I had that left rear brake line bust open just as I was about to pull out of the driveway with our 9,500 pound 5th wheel camper. Sure was glad it did it in the driveway and not on the road with that behemoth strapped to its back.

[Wallythacker]

I've done something similar a few times on the back of two trucks on the same section of road. Actually, only about 40 miles away from where my car took a swim...Was heading out to camp in my fummins with the camper behind. It was late, after midnight..

Hit the brakes coming down a hill and the pedal went soft and to the floor. Trailer brakes worked and we found a spot to pull over, found the brake line going to the left rear caliper broke off the diff at the t-fitting. I pinched the rubber line from the frame to the diff off with some needle nose pliers and wrapped haywire around the handles to keep them tight. That was fun. No cell service, 2hrs from the nearest town. Then a year or so later the same line broke off on my current 05 Dodge. This time some Jb weld was used.

I should really start carrying more spare fluids around when I head out that way.

Am I reading this right? You managed to create a hydraulic fitting in essence using needlenose pliers and some baling wire? It created a good enough seal that fluid didn't pizz out the rubber line when braking?

[Fummins]

Am I reading this right? You managed to create a hydraulic fitting in essence using needlenose pliers and some baling wire? It created a good enough seal that fluid didn't pizz out the rubber line when braking?

The metal line broke further down the line. I pinched the rubber hose that went from the diff to the frame. It held. I have a crappy picture somewhere. I'll try to dig it up.

Edit: My bad, it was a steel braided line. Truck had a 8" lift so had extended brake lines....



And it looks like the vent line was mia and the fitting full of mud... The line on the left of the Tee broke off. So i pinched off the rear brakes altogether. Mostly used the trailer brakes all the way back home but it was mostly highway anyways. Who needs brakes.

[Wallythacker]

Who needs brakes.

Certainly nobody running Talledega in a hemi superbird @ >200mph. It's only a 3800 lb. car. It will roll to a stop. They all will.

[Fummins]

I'm going through some pics on my old laptop. Found some of my old Dodges. Figured I'd dump them here before this thing crashes for good.
Here's the 02.



The 97 I bought after the transmission cratered for the second time in the 02...It was an old oilfield pilot truck.

you can't see it well but I had a blue honda 300 4x4 like Marks.

[7milesout]

Both are nice trucks!