gun45boat's Build - 2004 Ram 2500 "rock crawler expedition build"

[05PWrockcrawler]

Awesome! Glad it's all back together and running decent. Can't wait for the dyno numbers and video. Probably just as excited as you are lol

[myoung84]

Sweet! Can't wait for video and dyno numbers either!

[gun45boat]

Hey Scott. I think that I have the old "jig" that we made for the rear Diff plate at the shop. If so, I could throw out a full 1/4" thick fully Tig welded diff plate for you off of my old measurements for the 11.5AAM I will keep you posted, as I am sure the Jig is buried under a bunch of crap at the shop.

[ScottWagon1]

Gun45boat,
That would be great man. Im pritty sure its the same axle in my 2012 as yours is. Just let me know what I owe ya and I'll send you some money! You made my day!

[gun45boat]

Yes. It is the same 11.5AAM rear axle.. Tough as dog shit, so Dodge never change it with something better..
I am going to hit up the shop today, and see if I can find the wooden jig.

[SilverWagon05]

The PW's have the 10.5 rear axle housing, with the axle shafts from the 11.5. He does have a different axle than you, if he has the 11.5.

[gun45boat]

BRAIN FART!!!!!!! Silver is correct.... If it is a 10.5 then there are a ton of companies that have ballz tough diff covers for the 10.5. If it is the 11.5 than it is different. I have the 11.5 rear axle in mine with the upgraded Chromoly 35 spline full float shafts. I ditched the 10.5 and upgraded to the 11.5 (from a 3500 diesel, for the shear fact that it is a stronger rear axle). BUT the 10.5 is also a REALLY STRONG AXLE> When I built my rear they did not have a 11.5 1/4" fully steel replacement cover, so I built my own. They might have a cover now, I am not sure.

I went to the shop and did find the jig to build another if you need me too. I would say time, labor and material prob $150 to build you one. but please make sure it is a 11.5 axle.

[RustyPW]

You got another brain fart going on. Hardly anybody makes anything for the 10.5 axle. The PW 10.5 is a great axle, but limited to what they put it in. For '14, Ram put the stake in it's heart by dropping it, and going with the 11.5.

[ScottWagon1]

So lets all get on the same page here. Gun45boat swapped his 10.5 with an 11.5. My stock 2012 PW has 10.5 with 11.5 shafts. I think this is where we are at. That means that the jig you have is for an 11.5 housing. Correct?

[ScottWagon1]

Looks like its either DT Pro Fab for $225 or Purple Caranium for $154 and stiil dont have a skid like the Iron Pig prototype.

[05PWrockcrawler]

Get DOR (Dodge Offroad) I have them and they are really nice.

[05PWrockcrawler]

Here is a pic of them!

[SilverWagon05]

So lets all get on the same page here. Gun45boat swapped his 10.5 with an 11.5. My stock 2012 PW has 10.5 with 11.5 shafts. I think this is where we are at. That means that the jig you have is for an 11.5 housing. Correct?

Correct. All 3rd and 4th Gen PW's up through this year, have the 10.5 housing with the axle shafts from the 11.5, until '14, as Rusty stated, they are dropping the 10.5 and going with the 11.5 axle.

[gun45boat]

So lets all get on the same page here. Gun45boat swapped his 10.5 with an 11.5. My stock 2012 PW has 10.5 with 11.5 shafts. I think this is where we are at. That means that the jig you have is for an 11.5 housing. Correct?

CORRECT. I didn't have 2 brain farts (I hope) The difference between the 10.5 shafts and the 11.5 shafts are .05" on the drivers side. From my research 2 years ago while I was ordering the Chromo shafts from Poly Performance. I have killed MANY 1 ton rear axles on my past rigs, so I didnt want to cheap out and be hung on a trail because I was lazy, and didnt upgrade the rear as best as possible.

SO Yes. My Jig is for the 11.5 rear axle.

Sorry to question, I had to go off into a daze and scratch my head, since it was 2 years since I did the research. I guess it was all the good Hashish and Opium I smoked during Nam.

Just kidding. I was not in Nam,..

[gun45boat]

OK. I just did the Synthetic change in the new Hemi. Took her out last night. Here are the issues that need to be resolved. It is a BULLDOG off the line at WOT, all the way through 4k then she shuts down About 5 seconds later she will fire back up like nothing ever happened. Still running the break in tune. Flashes a check engine light. But HOLY JESUS, she is fast, Cut the tires loose Fully locked rear axle dry pavement at 90% throttle with a dash of black smoke (which is telling me that she is running rich) AS stated on the break in tune. . At full throttle, she will spin them all the way up till she shuts herself down. At a 75% throttle she will wind all the way up to redline, so I am thinking it is a fuel issue. My Hemi junkie is not answering the phone, so I will have to update next week when we get to the Dyno for a final dial in on the tune.
I will say, that if it is anything like I see so far, this thing is going to be a BLAST to drive. I will say however that the first 500 miles I have put on the rig, I was averaging 8 to 11MPG mixed city/highway driving, which is worse than the 13-16mpg I was averaging on the 5.7L Hopefully with the new tune, it will improve a little

Pics and vids as soon as I get them.

[05PWrockcrawler]

It should improve when engine breaks in and the tune gets leaned out some for sure. Sounds like a fun truck now! How does the cam sound in it? Can't wait too see some videos! Keep up the good work. Because I don't ever plan on getting rid of my PW and will eventually be putting in a new engine with more power down the road and making it my all around play toy in the future.

[jeepxj13]

Stupid amounts of mods and Fab work Here is the build thread on Expedition portal (sorry mods) just easier that way.

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/t ... tion-build

Good to meet you folks. I flog the F$%K out of my rig,, Ex-military Navy Demolition . Served some tours overseas.... Loyal as hell!!!


Live in Florida now. Looking forward to wheeling with some other PW's

Where in Florida, I'm about to be moving to Tampa.

[gun45boat]

Orlando. I have a ton of buddies in Tampa that I go wheeling with all the time. Great Place, and Good people.

[gun45boat]

OK. FIrst Dyno was good. We got a regular tune on this engine, and so far the numbers are lower than I expected. On a first pull we were at 462hp at 445tq Came in strong at 1800 and died at 4500 (that is exactly where I want the power to be. We adjusted shift point to shift at 5000rpm Not bad running the size tires and the heavy big drivetrain that I am running. THIS IS WITHOUT NITROUS>>> Everytime we did a hard pull as soon as we let off the throttle she would backfire (not a load big one, just a TON of small backfires) , and as soon as we would hit idle, she would die with hard restarts. We are still scratching our heads with that one. Once she fires back up, it was like nothing ever happened, and she was ready to go again.

She pulls like a bull off the line, wicked power from early, Just like a diesel engine. I LOVE IT. Will cut the tires loose all the way through first gear, and into second gear WITH OUT NITROUS. Honestly, I am scared to spray N20 I took out the 225 shot nozzle and put back in the 125 just to be safe. As I got a feeling this truck will cut loose the rear end in 3rd, and she WILL go out of control. So I am just going to get used to the power first before I start playing with N20.

My programmer is going to work on another tune for the backfiring, and the shut down, but other than that I am VERY happy with the results. I have video and pictures, that I will post soon But wanted to give you the update as soon as I got back to the house from the Dyno this morning. I will do a dyno pull with N20 next week, just to see what a 125 nozzle will do to the numbers.

Cheers.

[ScottWagon1]

Well glad you got a regular tune! Bet you are too. Sure hope the back fire and shutoff isuues dont fight ya to hard. I would think that the more miles you put on the motor that those numbers might still come up some. 462 and 445 sure sound good to me! N20---wicked! Cant wait to see the video! Boring night at work. Back to surfing the web for 35'' spare tire mounting solution!

[05PWrockcrawler]

Great to hear you got it tuned. Pretty good numbers. Sorry to hear about the back firing and hard starting and engine dying. Hopefully you will figure everything out in the next 2 years so all the bugs will be worked out for my swap lol! Can't wait to see the video.

[gun45boat]

ENJOY!!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1VdXTTkllU

[gun45boat]

OH,, ANd the fire was minor... Nothing a fire extinguisher couldnt handle.. The power steering fluid ejected from the res. and caught fire on the exhaust manifold LOL

[ScottWagon1]

Sounds great and looks like you had fun!

[05PWrockcrawler]

Sounds damn good. Question are those 40" Goodyear tires and if so how do they do Offroad and on road. Looking for an aggressive 37" to 40" tire to put on my Dodge Power Wagon. I drive it on the street a lot. Will be driving it from Texas to Moab next spring. But want the most Offroad performance I can get with still being able to go down the road good. Thanks and love those videos and keep them coming.