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

[05PWrockcrawler]

Nice story I like it.


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[gun45boat]

OK... As most of the PW community knows, is that the rear brake caliper stick WAY TO LOW on the back of the rear axle,,,, and nobody make a kit to move them to the top of the axle.. After Numberous times of grabbing rocks with my rear calipers and shearing the lower bolts off the brackets,, I decided to tackle the project myself.. and this is some cool shit!!!!!

I broke down the rear axle today and slide the rear shafts out to access the entire outer assembly, I was prepped up to plasma cut the entire brake bracket off the axle tube and turn it up and re-weld... I decided to (for shits and giggles) take the passenger side over to the drivers side and see what would happen... HOLY SHIT!!!!!! IT WORKED!!!!!! Damn thing lined right up!!!!!! and put the caliper to the top of the axle... I had to briefly grind a little off the bracket to make it fit flush, but holy shit it worked...

Basically I took everything down swapped the passenger side to the drivers,,,and the drivers to the passenger side.. a little love with a grinder (less than 2 mins on both) and bolted everything back together... I should have done this when I first built the truck!!!!!!!"

Here are the pics, and probably one of the best mods to do on a Power Wagon!!!! I cant believe that they decided to hang those Calipers so low on the axle.... I have literally sheared and broken calipers over 5 times in 3 years.. NO MORE!!!!!! One of the easiest mods EVER!!!! I decided to install new rear hub bearing seals while I had them off as preventative maintenance.. Now I got to plumb in everything,,,but am SO stoked to have the brakes out of the rocks....

[gun45boat]

Oh and for the record, (so you all dont think I am an idiot) the flange bolt pattern IS NOT square,,,for some reason Dodge made the lower bolts on the flange on a wider bolt pattern than the top (if this were a Corp 14 it would have been an easy twist of the plate) AND you cannot use your emergency brakes (mine were disconnected a while ago)... I use a line lock in my cab for the front and rear brakes... ALSO,,, for the record,,,, the axle shafts are the SAME SIZE LEFT AND RIGHT,,, so You only need to carry ONE SPARE (if you a spare carrying type of person) Yukon Axle company makes Chromoly upgrades for this axle shaft, (I carry a spare) and both shafts measure out at 36 1/2" from Back of the flange to the end of the shaft. GOOD NEWS>>>>

[gun45boat]

New Calipers and brackets arrived (since the last brackets broke off on the last trail ride) Installed the new calipers and pads, and am plumbing the new brake system using all Hawk stainless steel braided flex brake lines. Wired the rear winch... Installed the new rear brake lights/turn signals, and are completely wired..

Installed the Brand new High flow PSC hydro pump, in preps for the full hydro PSC steering system. Made my own bracket to mount the res. on the drivers side of the engine and it really worked out great, lots of room...

Still waiting on the triple bypass air shocks for the rear

[gun45boat]

Does anyone have knowledge about moving/or adding a radiator to the rear of the truck. like the trophy trucks? I know you all have extensive backgrounds in MANY things... With my stock radiator with the Black Magic cooling fans upgrade, trying to cool down a 6.4 stroker, is difficult to say the least... I have about 7 minutes of WIDE OPEN throttle before she gets hot (like REALLY HOT) as soon as I let off the throttle and let her idle, she cools herself right down. When I was in the Baja, running the Tecate 500 trails (before the race started) I was wide open just messing around on the dirt trails, and after 15 or so minutes of WOT she would heat up to around 220 before I had to let off.. Can you only move the radiator to the rear, or can you run 2 in tandem (the stock unit in the front, then install another in the rear of the tube chassis? Does anyone have any background in desert racing that could help me out here?

THanks in advance

[BigRed2007]

From putting a small block in a VW...we only ran one. Might have to run a beefier fan though

[azracer]

If your going to run a windshield then it gets a little more tricky. Normally a radiator is going to get forced air from forward motion. The air inlet must be of proper aerodynamics to allow for air to enter at speed. We did an extra-cab Ford Ranger and had a hell of a time getting air into the radiator at any speeds over mild legal in town speeds. We replaced the small windows behind the front doors with a scoop that mimicked the GM low pressure scoops but much larger. We even had to put a 3" full width spoiler slanted forward at the back of the cab where we had the roof opened up to let in air.

We fabricated a box inside the cab behind the driver to create an air inlet box to force all incoming air to go through the radiator and not just swirl around inside the cab. It was a bugger to keep the engine cool even with two fans on the back of the radiator. The radiator was a custom welded all aluminum one the full width of the rear window opening and slightly taller. I'm not at all sure our system was of a sound design but can say that a similar truck with the same engine, custom radiator and same two fans but without a windshield, any vents, air box or a cutout in the roof etc. Just ram air flowing through the cab and it had zero problems.

Like this but much deeper and larger.

[TwinStick]

How much room between the fan and radiator now ? Can you go with a custom made radiator w/1 or 2 more rows ? I think most vehicles have enough room for at least 1 more row.

This one is expensive but says it is a direct fit for my 08' Power Wagon & is a 2 core vs the factory single (or 1) core. 2x the # of rows & says 25% more cooling capacity than stock.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/mishimoto-alum ... 2008g497j1

[adeluca73]

Yeah, there's nothing to say other than I can't believe your grasp of how this truck goes together & the skill to make it perfect. Oh, & how did you like Army-Navy??? Best game in college football!!!

[gun45boat]

AZRACER VERY true,,, I didnt think about that. I just always see the desert runners running the radiator in the rear of the truck with MASSIVE cooling fans on the rear, Yes, you are right, that they do have the "scoops" forcing are into the radiator from the top of the rig etc.etc. Great Point. Although I bet those cooling fans are fierce on the electrical load required to keep them spinning... Yet another thing that "could" fail, and stop you dead in your tracks if you only rely on electric fans to cool your rig.

Currently I am running the Black Magic system on the front of my radiator, and noticed the fans only come on during slow moving (rock Crawling) But they DO NOT come on when I am rolling down the highway,,,the air from going 70mph tends to be enough "cooling" for the truck. as soon as I am heavy on the throttle, those fans light up, and stay on the ENTIRE time.

Twin stick,,,, Damn,, I didn't think of that!!!!! Maybe a Diesel Radiator out of the same year truck would slide right in to my rig,,,, Willing to bet it is 2x's the size of the stock Hemi Radiator.... After reading this post I walked out to my truck in disbelief that my radiator is only a 1 core,,,, It IS a one core (a big 1 core) but DAMN!!!!!! I figured it would have been bigger,,, No wonder my truck heats up fast!!!!! I will be researching options, and like your suggestion of custom made too... PLENTY of room in the front of my engine,,, so much room that in order to install a new front main seal,,took me only 20 mins to replace with the puller etc.etc. didn't have to take anything out to get to the front main seal

Adel,,, thanks for the props!!!! The Army/ Navy game was yet another epic beating of ARMY.. 13 years straight we hold the title. Got to give Army credit,,,they were fierce in the beginning of the game (I was slightly worried LOL) As a Navy Graduate,,, It is always THE game to be a part of.. The union between both sides, and the spirit of both sides run deep... We were also there to give my Son a tour of the Academy, and see if he is interested in attempting a career.. SO TRUE>>> I don't care who beats Navy,,,,Just as long as we beat Army


Thanks for the heads up on the ideas,,, I think I am going to research the larger radiator alternatives,,, Lets see if we can fit a Diesel Radiator into a Hemi truck

That Mishimoto radiator is BAD ASS!!!!!! Looks to slide right in!!!!!!!! KILLER FIND

[Pit Slave]

Hemi/gas engines are totally setup differently than the diesels are. Hemi/gas engines have the radiator on one side and the AC condenser on the other side where as with the diesel setup, the radiator and AC condenser are "one in front of the other" including the intercooler.

In another note, I have a factory dual row radiator in my PW that is about 2" thick at the cores. About half of the cores are starting to leak pretty bad now and I'll be replacing it with an aftermarket direct fit all aluminum unit soon.

[TwinStick]

Yeah, when i looked at my radiator, i thought too. Another FAIL by Dodge, IMHO anyways. NO HD TRUCK should have a single core radiator---period. What WERE they thinking. I have had no issues yet, but still, . A 4 row would be great.

[gun45boat]

FOr sure!!!!!!!!!! After spending a ton of time researching, a diesel radiator will not fit on my rig without significant changes to the entire factory system. The only way to pull it off would be custom, or to find a 2 core radiator, but am having trouble finding a 2 core radiator (factory or OEM) I also noticed that in looking at my rig, that the transmission cooler AND the power steering cooler are mounted to the factory radiator (in the front) via "slots" in the front of the radiator to support those items,,,, PITSLAVE does yours have the mounting slots on your 2 core for the Tranny cooler and the PS cooler??

Pitslave, So what you are telling me, is that your PW has a 2 core radiator??? if this is the case, then I could call the dealership, and see if there is a part # difference between the factory 1 core,,,as opposed to the factory 2 core.... Why would they run a 1 core on certain Ram's and a 2 core for others?? I think a 2 core would just buy me time before the inevitable happens with heat build up under full throttle (continuous high RPM runs across the board) Maybe buy me another 15 minutes before she gets hot enough for me to have to pull back on the throttle.

Or just pull my factory radiator, and bring it to a place that builds "race" radiators and tell them to match all the mounting holes/ mounting slots/inlet,outlet/ dimentions etc.etc. and build me a big ass 4 core monster radiator $$$$$$ prob a fuck ton of money.....thinking over $900

I will be calling the dealership today and see what the deal is with these radiators. I will keep you all posted.

[gun45boat]

No luck at the dealership in search of a factory 2 row radiator...

looks like a custom is the answer to this problem. I am going to get a custom 3 to 4 row radiator that will go into the stock location using ALL the factory mounting points AND the factory mounts for the power steering cooler and the trans cooler. I will be pulling my radiator towards the end of the week to make this happen.

I have to ask,,, Is there anyone that is up for one of these radiators? obviously cost is the factor here,,,, but if I am going to go through with the trouble of making a custom BAD ASS/Never overheat radiator for the PW's I figure maybe one of you are interested?

[adeluca73]

Adel,,, thanks for the props!!!! The Army/ Navy game was yet another epic beating of ARMY.. 13 years straight we hold the title. Got to give Army credit,,,they were fierce in the beginning of the game (I was slightly worried LOL) As a Navy Graduate,,, It is always THE game to be a part of.. The union between both sides, and the spirit of both sides run deep... We were also there to give my Son a tour of the Academy, and see if he is interested in attempting a career.. SO TRUE>>> I don't care who beats Navy,,,,Just as long as we beat Army

Well it looks like we are destined to be arch enemies. I graduated from West Point in 95. So I'll respect your PW skills, but know deep inside I'm rooting for the demise of Navy. This run of yours is destined to be over soon, then it's payback time. I've been going to the game about every other year. This too shall pass.

[BigRed2007]

I am an 05 WP Grad. My plebe year was the last time we won. We have played some good football the last few years, I know it's cliche but this is our year. GO BLACK KNIGHTS!!!

[gun45boat]

Hey,,, It's ALL LOVE!!!!!!! Hell, I will even buy you a beer at the next Army/Navy game,,,,,, As I think you will need it when we get our 14th ;);) Just kidding..... It truly is the BEST college football game to attend on the planet earth.. My respect runs deep for all services and service members in the U.S. Armed Forces, past and present.... My son was BLOWN AWAY at what he saw the entire weekend. Army/Navy,,,,,,we all fight for the same team,,, If ARMY keeps up their playing, they will be a REAL FORCE next year!!!!!!! Cant wait to attend next years game:)

[TwinStick]

No luck at the dealership in search of a factory 2 row radiator...

looks like a custom is the answer to this problem. I am going to get a custom 3 to 4 row radiator that will go into the stock location using ALL the factory mounting points AND the factory mounts for the power steering cooler and the trans cooler. I will be pulling my radiator towards the end of the week to make this happen.

I have to ask,,, Is there anyone that is up for one of these radiators? obviously cost is the factor here,,,, but if I am going to go through with the trouble of making a custom BAD ASS/Never overheat radiator for the PW's I figure maybe one of you are interested?

I would LOVE one. But alas, my cash is depleted after the holidays, as is most everyones. Sorry. No can do. Keep us posted please as to who did it & how much money.

[Graveltravels]

I'm throwing Dana 60's under my jeep right now!! There goes the better part of 13g up here in the cold white north, with our dollar in the tank!! I would be interested in the future, but the jeep takes precedence right now!


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[gun45boat]

13g's for axles?? WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will keep you all posted:)

[olyelr]

13g's for axles?? WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will keep you all posted:)

If I had to guess, that probably also includes a new suspension setup, tires, wheels etc...

[Pit Slave]

And no the radiator I'm looking at is not over $900.

[TwinStick]

And no the radiator I'm looking at is not over $900.

[gun45boat]

The gentlemen at Ron Davis Racing quoted me $920.00 for a custom 4 row all aluminum radiator with custom tabs/ and factory mounts to keep it as close to stock as possible. He showed me an example, and it is pretty bad ass... Basically it is about 3x's the size of the stock radiator +/- We will see how this turns out. I really don't like spending $900 on a fucking radiator...

[Pit Slave]

The gentlemen at Ron Davis Racing quoted me $920.00 for a custom 4 row all aluminum radiator with custom tabs/ and factory mounts to keep it as close to stock as possible. He showed me an example, and it is pretty bad ass... Basically it is about 3x's the size of the stock radiator +/- We will see how this turns out. I really don't like spending $900 on a fucking radiator...

OK what is the cost if I go in with you on one? The one I was looking at was from griffin.