2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission tough truck

[LTsmoke]

well just learned the hard way that the 3500 is tougher than a house... . unfortunatley the barking brake didnt hold while idling

 

[fest3er]

well just learned the hard way that the 3500 is tougher than a house... . unfortunatley the barking brake didnt hold while idling

Left to our devices, we TDR members will make assumptions. Some might cry, "This instructional thread is worthless without pics!" but I won't be so crass. It sure sounds like your truck rolled against your house or tried to roll into it. Worse, it rolled into a neighbor's house. Either way, the house came out worse. (I'm picturing the Ram jubilantly prancing about the ring, and the house reeling and moaning like Larry, "It was a great fight Ma, but I lost!")



How bad's the damage? Do you need assistance repairing the house? If the damage is minor-ish, it shouldn't take more than a day or two to rebuild part of a wall, close up the house and make it structurally sound again. I sure hope the damage isn't worse than that.

 

[WestTN]

You might want to check the axle seals. When my parking brake got weaker I set out to adjustit and found both side wet with differential lube.

 

[LTsmoke]

insurance is takeing care of the (forgot to mention earlier) ex wifes neighbors house... . thanks for the tip on the axle seals never occured to me to look at those... also thanks for the offer of help to repair the house..... i will definatelty remeber that the next time a stranger needs some help. . THAT MEANS YOU FEST3ER... much appreciated... ... . so where else can a person make an off hand comment about something that happened in his / her life and have someone they never meet before offer assistance without much hesitation. . ? In the few short weeks if been on this forum i find it truely worth the small monetary fee to be a member... truely amazing

 

[Grizzly]

Our Dodge Cummins are tough with that low end torque. I recently pulled a tree stump for my brother-in-law. He had cut the older mature tree down and was digging out the tree root. He had a heavy chain ready to hook up to his Chevy gasser 4WD. I stopped by his house for something else he wanted me to see. I offered to take the stump out for him. He said no, he still needed to do much more digging. My truck can do it right now I said. I hooked up his chain, put my truck in 4WD low, put the gear shifter in granny and let my foot out of the clutch at idle. The stump popped out without even spinning a wheel. My brother-in-law's mouth flew open and couldn't believe what he just saw. No acceleration, just idle with 6 wheels on dry pavement.

 

[HBarlow]

George,

The 4wd Low position in a 4x4 Ram transfer case would sure be helpful on rare occasions.

 

[DIESELWRKS]

sorry to hear of this. I did the same thing in my truck it blew through the foundation/block wall and steel storm doors. went in the house and stopped just a couple inches of the windshield. this was prior to my 6 lift. but this gave me a reason to replace the other crappy mirrors to the better fold out and replaced my hood with a aftermarket cowl hood. so something to think about. if it is just cosmetic on your truck there are many places you can get new plastic, bumper etc. and do it yourself and keep some insurance money. hope it all turns out for you.

 

[SSolderitch]

We should carry a set of chocks... . and use them.

 

[SRath]

The earlier 2nd gens have very badly designed parking brake pedals. I came up with a simple fix for that a couple years ago. I was fairly new here then, and it turned into a debate on whether or not a parking brake was even necessary (!!!??), and I deleted it for awhile. But a few other members saw the value of working, reliable brake that would not pop off by itself, so I reposted it.

Your post here confirms my position that it is an absolute necessity and needs fixed on older Rams like my '96. Mine continues to work 100% reliably since I did this modification. It would pop off by itself before I did it, and I had no choice but carry and use wheel chocks if parking for even a couple of minutes. Let me know if you need any help if your brake is like this and you want to cure it with this modification:

https://www.turbodieselregister.com...188511-parking-brake-fix-how-post-photos.html

 

[icman95]

My parking brake sucks, too. It doesn't pop off, it just doesn't hold well. I've had it adjusted, etc, and no luck. As SSolderitch says, I do carry a wheel chock and use it any time I'm on an incline. Pick up a good one for $10-20 and you'll never worry about it again. Glad you weren't hurt in the crash.

 

[LTsmoke]

thanks to all who were concerned . . no i was not hurt and no one else was injured either... praise the lord..... no damage at all to the dodge . . not even paint blemishes... . not sure if thats good or bad... upgrades paid for by the insurance would have been nice..... the park brake is a must for me as i do volunteer fire and ems services which equal long idol times with emergency lights on..... thanks for the link to upgrade the brake pedal ..... although i believe the failure was in the wheel cylinder not the pedal itself. . trying to get pics of the house from the city P. D. Pics of the hulk (my 3500) soon to follow... . not that you will see anything other than a normal 3500 tailgate!!

 

[kenny61]

I would never, NEVER, rely on my Dodges p brake to hold it in place. If you have to leave the truck running ALWAYS use a wheel chock. Between the brake pop and the need for constant adjustment the thing is worthless. Also make sure the truck is fully in gear when parked if not the brake pop can dislodge the gear and take out your BMW

 

[LTsmoke]

lol bmw ... not for for this guy or his wife... thanks for the info kenny and thank you from one service member to another for doing your part

 

[DIESELWRKS]

forgot to mention my parking brake problem finding out down the road after my accident. my peddle bracket If I remember is held with 3 bolts the main 2 on the front side fire wall ended up being cracked the fire wall split and this was giving me a symptom of a loose peddle so no matter who much I adjusted for a firmer peddle all I was doing was cracking the mount area worse. I have my brake peddle and bracket off my truck now. a body shop wants 400-500 to fix the cracked fire wall. just another spot to check.