Do you love your Dodge, or do you love your Cummins?
Texas82GP's GMT900
- Thread starter Texas82GP
- Start date
Do you love your Dodge, or do you love your Cummins?
They should. They did for the last 36k miles. I just never was satisfied with the ride quality. I had to raise the front end up to "level" with the rear and had to set them on the aggressive end of the "autocross" settings to stop the rubbing. At that point the front end was on the verge of harsh. I'm just really disappointed that at that price point, the Warriors are worn out at 36k miles. They are expensive shocks for that sort of longevity. Hopefully the longer shock and longer/higher spring rate springs will help refine the setup. A fresh start will buy me some time. If we build the new place this year (our plan), then this will be the last year I commute as often to the office. I'll likely put about 10k miles on it in 2023. That will leave me at least 26k miles of life in the new coilovers. Hopefully I will collectively get five years or more out of them with reduced yearly mileage load.
This truck isn't going anywhere. I don't anticipate ever getting rid of it. Never say never but it will likely always be the daily driver. I'll have the Roadmaster (or a replacement) for long trips and the GP for the toy.
Thanks Joe. I've tried to take good care of it. I wish it hadn't had to sit outside it's whole life. I'm losing the paint on the top and on the hood. The top much worse. Otherwise, it's only a few scratches/dings that seem to be unavoidable over nearly 15 years and 210k miles. In general I'm happy with the modifications I've made. When I bought it new, it had Z71 decals on the bedsides, body side moldings on the doors, all of the emblems I shaved, 17" alloy wheels, all terrain tires, lifting blocks in the rear, displacement on demand, cloth seats, etc. I've just battled the front end ever since I lowered it. When I said I shouldn't have bought it, I was channeling my Dad's old adage: "Don't try to make it something it isn't."
We want to do this for a towing rig. In five years, I'm hoping to be flipping special interest cars out of our shop. We'll see. We at least want something to pull hobby cars. I'd be open to a Dodge crew cab, but it would need to be an old one. We want the nostalgia of an old truck. The Square Body is our first choice because that's what my brother and I grew up in. Dad had a 75 GMC Sierra Regular Cab/Long Bed when we were little. He also had a long series of Chevrolet and GMC C60 and C65 trucks for his Borden Milk distributorship. Sean and I logged many hours sitting on the bench seat in all those trucks, looking at the same dash, the same doors, and the same peak in the hood. The C60 and C65 trucks of that era shared the cab, interior and doors with the pickup trucks. The 12V appeals to me for its simplicity and it's hard to beat a 6BT for the job. After seeing what Eric went through, I know I don't want a Duramax.
I haven't done anything on the truck since the last post. I've been pretty lazy today. I think I'll go out and scan the codes. I have the same old EVAP code, but I also had a few other codes in there (non-PCM) that I want to look into. I cleared all codes 6 or 8 weeks ago and I want to see what comes back. Ever since the swap to the 4L85E, the ABS light illuminates if accelerate from a stop too quickly and the cruise control doesn't work. I want to work on both of those issues. That's it for now. Happy New Year, friends.
Here's the results of the latest scan.....
I think I'll start with the smoke test to find the leak on the EVAP system. I'm not Mr. Electronic Diagnostics. I only recently purchased this scanner. I'm going to do my homework and try to address these issues. My suspicion is that the EBCM and TCM codes are related to either how I re-wired the Transmission connector for the swap or with the segment swap in the tune. I'm going to have to do some testing and homework to try and figure it out.
If anyone is interested, this is the guide I followed to modify the wiring for the swap from the 4L65E to the 4L85E....
sites.google.com
After looking at this again, I don't think I made the change at the TCM connector moving pin 45 to 26. I think I did everything under the truck and never got around to the revision at the TCM connector. I hope that's the case. My memory is shot so I won't know until I check. Hmmmmm.....
I think I'll start with the smoke test to find the leak on the EVAP system. I'm not Mr. Electronic Diagnostics. I only recently purchased this scanner. I'm going to do my homework and try to address these issues. My suspicion is that the EBCM and TCM codes are related to either how I re-wired the Transmission connector for the swap or with the segment swap in the tune. I'm going to have to do some testing and homework to try and figure it out.
If anyone is interested, this is the guide I followed to modify the wiring for the swap from the 4L65E to the 4L85E....
Sloppy Mechanics Wiki - 4l80e NNBS T42 swap
4L80e NNBS t42 wiring (thank you chris ortiz for the writeup) Pull your transmission connector, pull the covers and the pinlock out the front of the connector
sites.google.com
After looking at this again, I don't think I made the change at the TCM connector moving pin 45 to 26. I think I did everything under the truck and never got around to the revision at the TCM connector. I hope that's the case. My memory is shot so I won't know until I check. Hmmmmm.....
That P0422 code was constant on my '08 Silverado when I had it. No mater what was done it always came back. Part was electrical with those too thin wires & part was the "quality" parts they decided to use at that time.
ahhh, the old infamous p0422 EVAP code. still got my '08 Silverado and I got that code. replacing my purge stuff down below by the fuel tank fixed it
It's a very clean looking truck. Most trucks sit outside their whole lives so I wouldn't feel bad about it. A hood and roof repaint are no big deal. I like the sport truck theme and the V8 RWD shorty is the right platform for it.
The 12 valve is incredibly simple to work on. No electrical issues to be had with a 12 valve and mechanical lift and injection pumps that are dead reliable. If you look at post #51 in my Dodge thread, check out the pictures of the fuel filter I pulled out of it. That filter would've been a death sentence for a lot of diesels. The 12 valve didn't even notice. Easy and cheap to make more power with some simple pump modifications as well.
On the P0442, I found that it was frequently the tank pressure sensor. It's essentially just a MAP sensor in the top of the fuel pump assembly. You can test them by viewing live data while opening the cap and/or blowing compressed air inside and watching for value change. That will show a dead sensor but not one that's just out of range. Every once in awhile I'd run across a faulty purge valve but by and large it was typically the pressure sensor.
The book says you need to drop the tank to replace it but that may not be the case. On GMT800s I remember reaching up the side and doing it in place. Can't remember for sure on GMT900s, but I kind of recall them being the same. Sorry, it's been a few years.
The book says you need to drop the tank to replace it but that may not be the case. On GMT800s I remember reaching up the side and doing it in place. Can't remember for sure on GMT900s, but I kind of recall them being the same. Sorry, it's been a few years.
Thanks for the tip. I will definitely follow up on it. I'm still less than a novice at running this more sophisticated scanner. I think it is a leak though. When I fill the tank full, I smell gas, and not just at the gas station. For example, the last time I fueled it up, I drove down the street to the drug store and smelled fuel when I got out. I still smelled it when I came out from the store to get in. I think it is going to take a smoke test or an inspection mirror as the tank is never wet and I can't see any indication of a leak from below. I can say I did try to run an EVAP test on it with the scanner a month or so back. You enter the test and I think the scanner asks you to give it 1500 rpm. When I tried it, it immediately kicked me out of it. I could be doing something wrong though.
I did work on the code list on Monday and made some progress. I Googled P0573 and P0724 and came up with this Youtube that was very helpful.
https://youtu.be/hPWqVyP10gI
My brake light switch tested bad in exactly the same way. I replaced the switch and now, after a little over 40k miles and 3.5 years, the cruise control works again. Neat. Next I dug into the TCM connector under the hood. This really wasn't a bright thing to do on a Monday (think Sunday because of the holiday) late morning but it worked out. I fiddle farted around with pulling the auxiliary battery tray for access but in the end, I ended up pulling the left front wheel and the fender liner. As soon as I started getting into it, I knew I hadn't swapped the wire in PIN 45 to PIN 26. I didn't enjoy working on that connector. I couldn't figure out the lock to save my life, right up to the point I broke it. Somehow, in the process of moving the pin, I crushed it closed. Great. Sean (my brother) saved the day with a magnifying glass and a safety pin and we got it opened back up. It took some patience, but it got done. I just put the broken lock back in it. I don't like it but same function.
When I recently rotated the tires, I must have really had the tunnel vision going. I now know why the front end is diving. The left front Viking Warrior is blown, beyond dispute. 36k miles. Disappointing.
The new Warriors are on the bench. Still waiting on the springs and the right time to tear into the front end. When I got it all buttoned up, I took it out for a spin. First, I confirmed that the cruise control was functional again. Then I accelerated aggressively from a stop up to about 40 mph. The ABS light illuminated. This was disappointing. These two codes were stored....
Based on my limited research the -5A code is a plausibility code. I think it could have to do with the high stall speed of the torque converter. Not sure. Have to do more research and testing. Still, I think I got rid of a few codes. This doesn't look right though.....
That's looking at the TCM. The truck was moving, yet no output shaft speed is shown. Also, it seems strange that Ignition Voltage is 0. I found that fuse and checked it. It checked good. So, more work to be done. At this point I'm going to put some miles on it and let my wallet recover. I'm going to follow up on the tip that DRIVEN provided with watching the tank pressure on the scanner and probably follow that with a smoke test. If the tank is coming down, I'll likely replace the fuel pump module. It doesn't seem like a good idea to leave it when it has 210k miles on it. I don't want to spend that money right now. I guess that's it for now friends. Thanks for the interest and replies.
Last edited:
For any who might be interested, I found time today to put the scanner back on the truck and learned how to use it to test the evap system. What a luxury it is to have a scanner with this much power. I was able to command the vent valve closed and then command the purge solenoid open and watch the fuel tank pressure drop. Then I commanded the purge solenoid closed and watched the pressure. It did not hold. There is definitely a leak. I guess it's all perspective. As quickly as the pressure comes back up, I'm surprised the code is for a "slow" leak. Anyway, the smoke test is the next logical step to find the leak. No codes stored yet. I'm glad I bought this scanner!
