parts locating troubles

[jdurham]

OK, here's the deal. I have received a lot of good info from you guys on my 90 D350, and part of that was related to TSB's on the truck. I looked them up, found that they are applicable to my truck, and tried to get parts, but to no avail. Specifically:



1) Throttle is VERY stiff. Found a replacement part # 83507224 off or TSB that is called a bracket kit. I don't know the specific parts involved, but is 1990 applicable only. Can this problem be fixed by using linkage/return springs from a 91 and up truck? If so, does anyone have the stuff? I called the dealer, and the locator says one dealer in NY has it, but they don't. Called Cummins, no help. Called Dodge Hotline, no help. I am out of options on this as far as I know...



2) Left front of truck sags. TSB says spring spacer (4322629) is in order, but none available through dealer.



Any ideas?????

 

[Philip]

Well no one has responded to you yet. So I'll try to help a little.



#1

Have you unhooked the throttle cable and checked to see if it is free both directions? Have you checked to see if the kick down linkage is sticking. There might be a TSB out with a fix. But I would bet you have a worn/ damaged/misalligned part in the linkage some where. The hard part is find which one it is and doing the mod work to get it to work free.





#2



Sagging left corner is caused by weak spring. Dodge wanted to go cheap. So they put a spacer in. In my way of thinking this is just a stop gap fix. It does not cure the problem of a weak spring. Replace both front springs. You have a D model. Check with NAPA and see what they can do for you. I am not sure if NAPA list springs for our trucks. If they do. I have had good luck with their auto springs over the years. The dealer is the last place I would buy springs.

 

[jdurham]

Thanks Philip, I'll check the linkage, Thierry also said the trans kickdown is worth a look. I will get with NAPA for springs.



Thanks for responding!

 

[Philip]

Now if the throttle cable is tight and doesn't move freely. Replace it. But before you do. Clean all the body grounds on the truck. The throttle cable has a nylon liner. If you have lost the body ground. It will go to ground threw anything it can. If it goes threw the throttle cable. Then it will melt the nylon liner. This will cause a hard throttle/sticking throttle. There used to be a TSB out on this issue. But it was for the 72 / 73 model years. But it still apply's to our years also.







Don't even ask how I know about this old of TSB.

 

[Doug]

Jim

In regards to the infamous "sag" check the archives for leaning truck of dodge (if memory serves me right). I installed Moog heavy duty springs, and they helped some. Others have found that the problem is the frame being twisted.

Hope that helps.

Doug

 

[jdurham]

Thanks Philip and Doug. Warped frame huh? Well, it hasn't been wrecked, so I hope that isn't it. I'll check with the parts store on the MOOG springs. I use them on the race car, and they are really good parts. I'll also check the grounds, can you guys give me an idea of how many/where they are?



Thanks again,

Jim

 

[Philip]

The ground is the small wire that comes off of the negative battery cable Unhook it from the radiator support and clean up the terminal and the radiator support under it. Then reattach.



The second way is to drop another small battery cable from the engine block to a frame rail. Then install another wire from the body to the frame. This will provide another way for the voltage to go to ground.



I prefer the second method. If you have factory cab lights/ tow a trailer/have a winch mounted. It provides a complete path to ground. The small wire off the battery is only around a 10 gauge wire. The second method covers it if there is a problem with the factory setup or you have some high load assy's installed.

 

[jdurham]

Guys,



I took the trans cable off the throttle like Philip suggested, and evrything is free, and the throttle is easy to move. I tried to move the trans cable by hand, and it seems stiff. It doesn't feel tight, but instead feels like a LOT of spring resistance. What have you guys seen as a fix for this? I also got the throttle cable off far enough to lube it, but the trans cable end sleeve won't come off far enough to do that. What next?

 

[Philip]

Unhook the kick down cable from the transmission end. Then see if the cable moves freely. If it doesn't replace it.



If it does move freely then you will need to take the truck to a shop and have the valve body pulled and checked.



I am betting the trans cable is bad. I haven't seen or heard of any valve body problems with the 518/727 series of transmissions. Other than a collapsed spring every once in a while.



At what speed do the up-shifts occur on the truck at light throttle? When I say light throttle. I mean just enough throttle to move the truck and get it to up-shift at its lowest engine speed. So do a test drive and give me the mph it up-shifts at.

 

[jdurham]

Looks like there is no need to check the cable at this point. I was pulling the end of the cable and it's sleeve out to try to lube the cable, and I ruined it



When I got the cable open, the end is a bundle of small wires wrapped around the cable, which frayed out, causing the the sleeve not to fit over the cable end.



Went to the dealer and ordered another one for 75 bucks, so we'll see if it was the problem when I pick it up.

 

[Philip]

While you are waiting on the cable. Grab the lever it hooked to. Pull it toward the front of the truck. It should move with a little amount of Resistance until you hit the end of the stroke. Then it would be hitting the passing gear section. If it moves freely. then the valve body sounds good.



I haven't seen any kick down cables do what yours did. But I have seen many throttle cables do it over the years.



You didn't ruin it eather. This cable is made with a high strength aircraft cable. No way you could have did the damage your self. This is normal wear and tear. The price from the dealer bits to.

 

[jdurham]

Checked the lever on the trans, it seems free. Installed new cable, is hard to push again. This time, there is a little free travel that feels right just off idle, then the throttle linkage hits the end of the slot in the kickdown cable, and it is stiff from then on. Any suggestions?

 

[barkerdl]

Regarding your spring problem / leaning truck. I had a Chevy truck that did that and took it to a professional spring shop. They recurved the springs in the truck for me and added a leaf to the rear for very reasonable money. Truck was fine for years until I sold it to get a truck large enough to tow a trailer.



Dennis

 

[barkerdl]

Regarding your spring problem / leaning truck. I had a Chevy truck that did that and took it to a professional spring shop. They recurved the springs in the truck for me and added a leaf to the rear for very reasonable money. Truck was fine for years until I sold it to get a truck large enough to tow a trailer.



Dennis

 

[Philip]

The small amount of slack you mentenioned is normal in our setup. Here is a pic of mine. I hope you can see the slacl I have.

 

[Philip]

Now here is a pic of the cable. Is yours isn't running straight to the linkage end or is it running at an angle. You might need to tweak the bracket. The outer slieve might be binding on the inner housing. Or the cable might be in a bind somewhere.