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Picked up some last pieces to finish off the general appearance of the vehicle. Dash trim that is all on one piece, tailgate trim around the handle, new glovebox (but a corner broke during shipping), original ash tray, extra trim for the doors (the gold strips), driver's inner door latch, and new retaining clips for the rear window trim.

Does anyone happen to know the composition of the gold trim pieces that are around the glass? Are they annodized aluminum, electroplated steel, etc? I need to strip them bare so I can electroless plate them copper then nickel. I'll be using nickel as my accent metal as opposed to chrome. It doesn't rust or tarnish when done properly. It also looks better in my opinion, being slightly warmer in color than traditional chrome plating.

On another note entirely, I'm beginning to finalize a lot of design aspects with what I am going to do with the Wench. Anyone who may want to help with certain aspects, feel free to PM me so we don't hijack the purpose of this thread. And nothing is set in stone until the whole truck is complete. Maybe not even then...

Design categories are:
-12V 5.9 Cummins with NV4500 trans.
-Dana 20 t-case and tandem rear axles for 6x6. (May just do R4WD).
-Driver and passenger fuel tanks below door will much like semi trucks, but proportional to her size.
-Frame build for much needed chassis strength.
-Removeable truck bed crane and hidden outrigger leg.
-Custom front end build.
-Tail light conversion. (This I could use some recommendations on. No idea what kind of tail lights I want to make work with it.)
 
I have another annoyance I can't seem to find the answer to. Has anyone had to replace the bearing in the steering wheel? Mine is chirping loudly and I couldn't find a thread that actually have a solution. Only others with the same problem.
 
Still having a hard time finding a replacement bearing for the steering wheel. Worst come to worst though I can just take measurements and utilize any one that fits.

The part that is proving more difficult to find is the lamp socket for the license plate lights. If I knew what they looked like, I'm sure I could find replacements easier; however, upon removing the clear lenses, mine just sort of fell out in dusty pieces. Basically, after sitting for all those years, somehow dirt, moss, whatever just ate away the plugs. I don't quite understand how they even worked before I pulled them.

Long story short, if someone knows the license plate socket replacement part, help would be appreciated. If not, could someone snap a photo of what one of their own looks like? RockAuto shows it being the same as the rear marker lights, but I don't think that is correct.

On a side note, I decided to do some touch and go rust removal behind the rear wheels... Well, that turned into half of the car now primered. The next half should be done by Monday I suppose. While I am doing all the prep and parts removal correctly and slowly, I don't intend on the job being perfect or permanent. I just got tired of the rust, the five different colors of paint and all the chips/scratches.

In addition, I finally found the cause of my water infiltration. Turns out it was the weatherproof seal between the body and the door seal retaining trim. At first I didn't even realize that there were two layers there. But I water tested all the seals and uncovered it. I removed the trim; scraped the old seal off; cleaned both the trim and body with ZEP cleaner, mineral spirits and alcohol; then put on a new 1" closed cell pvc strip. No more water droplets frustratingly putting out my cigarettes while driving. No more puddles in the floor pans. Thank goodness for that.
 
Wes, those sockets are unobtainium. They don't exist anymore. I looked for close to a year while restoring my Scamp, and never found them. The actual Mopar part number is 4174379.

Here is what I used in their place: https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...iniature-rectangle-led-accent-light-black/25/
It's a simple and compact LED light that is waterproof. I wired the original connectors to the new lights and put them in place of the originals. They work great, and really light up the rear of the vehicle. They go on with double sided trim tape, and so far, after 4 years, I've not had an issue with them coming loose.
Hey, I appreciate the help but I was blindly searching"Mopar license plate light and came across 94 dodge ram ones that look almost identical to the lenses. The base, instead of being push-in, is a surface mount, but I think it might be a perfect fit. Any thoughts?

I guess I'll be looking for marker lights too... The PO put actual nuts on the front ones somehow and they just ripped apart upon removal. The rears just had the bulbs held in by some type of glue. Fortunately I have part numbers from them though. However, my part number is 3587438 and every identical looking one is 3587436 for the Amber.
 
Dorman 68164 for license plate lenses.
Dorman 645-748 for license plate socket/pigtails.

Success! They work great and look almost identical to the originals. There is only one difference with each. The lenses are designed to be coplanar with the license plate, given the angle of the cutoff. However; despite ours being on a perpendicular plane, they still produce enough light. The sockets are soft rubber and still press in, but also have a flange that works as a gasket as well. I feel that, if anything, this is an improvement. Lastly, I did have to drill the lense mounting holes with a 3/16 bit to use the original size screws. Hopefully this helps someone.
 

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Two things for today:

First, I found out that a 7/8" shallow mount nylon snap bushing from your local hardware store will replace the failing window slide bushings quite well with the appropriate grease..

Secondly, I noticed a gradual loss of power it seemed. Well, given that it could have been any number of things, I was procrastinating troubleshooting... Until my mpg dropped to about 13. Replaced the O2 sensor and all is well. HOWEVER, with running that rich, it was washing down and contaminating the oil, lowering the oil pressure. Fortunately it hasn't been for very long, but just a reminder that running rich requires more attention to lubrication. Oil change is done and the pressure is back to where it should be.

I lied... One more thing. Finally hit 1,000 miles, including a 250 mile trip today, since the engine rebuild and all the work I did to all the other systems. She is running better ever day. Plenty more to come. I'll post pics/video of my HIDs and Halo turn signals soon as well. Makes the little trucklet oh so sexy.
 
You did this for the entire perimeter of the doors? what product did you use exactly to replace the seals? 1" closed cell pvc strip, dosent ring any bells for me. and a quick google search didn't help.
I did this where the window seals to the body. If you remove the factory weatherstrip there is a channel it fits into. That channel is fastened to the body with a strip of foam between the two.

If you are looking for a replacement, look at your hardware store (Home Depot here) where you can buy window weatherstrip rolls. I used the 1" x 10' and had about six inches left over.
 
Ugh... I spoke too soon. Hopefully NAJ saves me. All I did after my round trip in the aforementioned post was a test drive around the neighborhood following the oil change. Went to start her up and a code 13 came up for a few seconds before disappearing. The following morning no start, code 13. Double checked my vacuum line didn't come loose but it was still how it should be. The strange thing to me is that it won't start even though I believe that the computer should be in limp mode off of the TPS (new <1k miles) and engine speed sensor (new <1k miles). If I crank it for about five seconds, she will sputter for maybe five more before dying. I didn't have time to look into it much further because I have been consumed between a Naval exercise I am coordinating and my wife being in and out of the hospital due to pre-term labor coming and going with our fourth. Help would be greatly appreciated if only for the simple fact that I have so much going on and not much time.
 
Right after I posted that, I found NAJ's Code 13 Diagnose thread. I'll try to look into it tomorrow, but I'm still confused why the limp isn't letting it start atm. I'll follow up further when I can. Lastly, I disconnected the negative to see if I could get it to come back, but now it won't. *Scratches head*...
 
Very odd whatever is going on... The code 13 disappeared after removing the negative. But my code 22 came and went. Switched back to my stock cts and it was still there until I left it disconnected, started the car, reconnected while running and then disconnected the battery negative. She's starting up again with no codes, but I'm not certain why. I just hope she doesn't break down on me. No offense guys, but I can't wait to put a fresh Cummins in her.
 
So I figured out the cause. Not sure as to why exactly, but it's my HIDs. When firing up the ballasts within the first minute or so of starting her up, it triggers the code for the MAP. I wired it with its own power wire and in-line fuse, but if I were to guess, I would say it is because of the battery being a cheap AutoZone one that's about five years old. Hopefully dropping in an Optima will fix the issue. Or just remember to wait before kicking them on in the meantime.

A question though... Has anyone converted to a different kind of door latch. I've had two different sets in the doors, but both seem to be stretched. I know it's not the rods, but the latch itself has stress lines in the levers. And being grade 8, trying to correct them just results in the metal shearing. I would love to have latches that I can actually replace over time. But ours are weird in how the actual bear claw is outside the door, but the lever assembly is inside it.
 
One more thing... One of my front springs has sagged quite a bit and I would like to level it out and get it back to the correct ride height. I can find struts, but none with springs. Before I buy shocks all around though, I wanted to know if I needed to convert the fronts to some other kind; like the neons or something. Or is there another make with springs I can order.
 
I noticed that there were different parts for w/ AC and w/o AC, but I wonder how important that really is. Furthermore, mine had AC but I removed it. So I suppose I should buy ones for w/o AC.
 
*Sigh*... Has anyone changed the door latches to some other kind of setup? The two piece mechanism and bear claw is a pain. My latch mechanism is stretched and the only temporary fix was to weld small beads onto the tabs that press other levers. Trying to bend them back normally just breaks them. I would love to put something in that swaps in rather easily without having to do much welding on the door. However, if I have to, I may just use a universal bear claw latch setup.
 
Hello fellas, I have been looking at an 84 rampage for nearly 20 years and it finally looks like the owner is willing to part with it.

Does anybody have any tips for finding replacement glass for tge rear window. Also any general knowledge about these cars would be appreciated.

Loved looking through the old posts and seeing the pictures.
Yes, the back windshield can be easily made for the truck, with or without a slider. It's flat glass and I've spoke to a few shops about having one made myself. Personally, I want a sliding rear windshield instead of the solid piece.

Parts unique to our truck are VERY difficult to come by sometimes. I would check certain sites that monitor yards. After about two years I FINALLY found a driver side fender and many other parts are just as hard to come by. However, don't be discouraged. Just start early. If you have any questions about repair, finding parts, or anything just let me know. My '83 sat for about twenty years before I got it and I've slowly gone through her top to bottom. Now she's my daily driver.
 
So... I have a strange issue. Hopefully someone here can shed some light. My check engine light just came on, no big deal. Except when I turn the key on-off-on-off-on (as I previously have) nothing happens. No codes, nothing. Any ideas?
 
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