Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Today I killed the KDP by doing the tab fix. To be honest, it isnt that much work, and you get to kill two problems with one fix.
Here is what I did that made the job easier.
First, I didnt remove the fan by jacking with the big fan nut. Instead, I unbolted the whole fan housing and idler pulley from the block. There are only 4 bolts holding the fan pulley to the block, and only one of those requires a little work to get to. You have to grind down the end of a 10mm box end wrench making it thin enough to get between the pulley and a bolt head located right behind the belt pulley. I then unbolted the plastic fan housing from the radiator, and took the fan and housing out together. The windshield washer bottle has two small dents that sit in the fan housing. All you need to get the washer bottle free, is to drive a screwdriver between the bottle and fan shroud. This will provide enough clearance for the bottle to come right out. There are no fasteners holding the washer bottle to the plastic fan shroud, but the two have to be seperated in order to take the fan shroud off. HINT... put a piece of cardboard between the fan and radiator to keep from tearing the radiator fins up. (thanks Pfeagin)
Once this is removed you have all the room in the world to take the front housing, and harmonic balancer off. In order to take the harmonic balancer off, you need to use the barring tool to lock the flywheel in place. Once the barring tool was in, unbolting the 4 bolts that hold the harmonic balancer in place was a piece of cake. Once the 4 bolts are free, it comes right off with no effort needed. I pulled the housing and discovered that the front seal had been leaking. The KDP had not moved, so that is good news. I made a tab, and then bolted the tab in place. Replacing the front main seal was a pain. A little heat, and freezing the seal made things a little easier. I also discovered that I didnt have the correct front gasket (thanks Bryan Freightliner
) Off to the Dodge dealer I go... They had a gasket in stock, and I was able to bolt things back together tonight.
The only pieces of the truck I removed were the fan, plastic fan housing,and upper radiator hose. If you have the correct parts
This should only take about 4 hours, but I took my time, and made sure everything was sealed and locked in place. Most of the time was spent figuring out what needed to come apart, and what was the easiest way to do this.
For those of you worried about your KDP, and waiting for the jig, I highly recommend doing the tab fix. This is an easy one day job, that does not require rocket science to do. You only need the following tools.
Metric socket set,
Barring tool
Screwdriver
10MM box end wrench
Pliers for taking the raidator hose clamps off
Silicone sealer
Loctite
Tools and some metal to make the tab
Front seal Dodge part number 4429353
Front gasket Dodge part number 4638719
Cost for the parts at the Dodge house is $60. 00 Not having a pin come out and leave you stranded with your family on some deserted highway... . Priceless
Here is what I did that made the job easier.
First, I didnt remove the fan by jacking with the big fan nut. Instead, I unbolted the whole fan housing and idler pulley from the block. There are only 4 bolts holding the fan pulley to the block, and only one of those requires a little work to get to. You have to grind down the end of a 10mm box end wrench making it thin enough to get between the pulley and a bolt head located right behind the belt pulley. I then unbolted the plastic fan housing from the radiator, and took the fan and housing out together. The windshield washer bottle has two small dents that sit in the fan housing. All you need to get the washer bottle free, is to drive a screwdriver between the bottle and fan shroud. This will provide enough clearance for the bottle to come right out. There are no fasteners holding the washer bottle to the plastic fan shroud, but the two have to be seperated in order to take the fan shroud off. HINT... put a piece of cardboard between the fan and radiator to keep from tearing the radiator fins up. (thanks Pfeagin)
Once this is removed you have all the room in the world to take the front housing, and harmonic balancer off. In order to take the harmonic balancer off, you need to use the barring tool to lock the flywheel in place. Once the barring tool was in, unbolting the 4 bolts that hold the harmonic balancer in place was a piece of cake. Once the 4 bolts are free, it comes right off with no effort needed. I pulled the housing and discovered that the front seal had been leaking. The KDP had not moved, so that is good news. I made a tab, and then bolted the tab in place. Replacing the front main seal was a pain. A little heat, and freezing the seal made things a little easier. I also discovered that I didnt have the correct front gasket (thanks Bryan Freightliner
) Off to the Dodge dealer I go... They had a gasket in stock, and I was able to bolt things back together tonight. The only pieces of the truck I removed were the fan, plastic fan housing,and upper radiator hose. If you have the correct parts
This should only take about 4 hours, but I took my time, and made sure everything was sealed and locked in place. Most of the time was spent figuring out what needed to come apart, and what was the easiest way to do this. For those of you worried about your KDP, and waiting for the jig, I highly recommend doing the tab fix. This is an easy one day job, that does not require rocket science to do. You only need the following tools.
Metric socket set,
Barring tool
Screwdriver
10MM box end wrench
Pliers for taking the raidator hose clamps off
Silicone sealer
Loctite
Tools and some metal to make the tab
Front seal Dodge part number 4429353
Front gasket Dodge part number 4638719
Cost for the parts at the Dodge house is $60. 00 Not having a pin come out and leave you stranded with your family on some deserted highway... . Priceless
