1994 Dodge Ram - Page 4 - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

if your odometer is working and your speedometer not working they both get there signal form the one unit [transducer] so i would say that you have a internal fault in your instrument cluster [speedometer] you may be able to have it repaired if not you will have to replace the instrument cluster.regards agwbk

Hi, Hope I can help you.
I do not know how you have checked for spark, but lets start from the beginning.
Lets start with an ignition systems check.
1. I want you to remove the high voltage coil wire. ( That's the wire in the center of the distributor cap.) Using a good pair of insulated pliers. I want you to hold it about 1/4 inch from a good engine ground. Now you will need a bit of help from a partner. Get them to turn the key and crank the engine. You should see a bright blue and well defined spark. Ok, If you have spark I want you to slowly move the coil wire away from the engine ground. As you do this I want you to pay attention to the coil tower. (The coil tower is where the other end of the coil wire is attached.) What your looking for is arcing and sparking at the coil tower. If this happens then you need to replace the coil with a new one. If this does not happen then your coil is working fine, and we will have to move on.
Note if you do not get spark from the coil wire replace the coil.

2. Ok if you have spark now we have find out if the spark is making it to the spark plugs. How are we going to do this? By checking the rotor, distributor cap, spark plug wires and spark plugs.First lets remove the distributor cap. This will allow use to inspected the rotor and the distributor cap. What your looking for is, cracks, carbon tracks and wear at the tip of the rotor. On the distributor ,look inside the cap for cracks, carbon tracks and wear on the terminals. If you find any of this replace the distributor cap and rotor. ( Note if you have any doubt of the condition of the rotor or the cap replace them.) Next lets check your spark plug wires. Lets pull off one of the spark plug wires from the spark plug side. Now inspect the wire connection for a white crusty powder. If you find crust replace your wires. Now you should check all of them the same way, but if even one has corrosion replace them all. You are going to have to inspect the wire its self . Going down the whole length of the wire. Holes cracks burn Marks and other damage. Once again if you find any damage replace them all.
I hope this will help you and good luck to all the read this FixYa

Hi,
sound as if you really do have a problem!
From your description I presume that you are confident in doing your own work?
The quickest way to check your system is to use brake hose clamps to isolate each section of the braking system. I would suggest that you rent or buy a set of the clamps.

Put the truck on axle stands and make sure it's safely secured. ]
If possible have an assistant to sit in the cab and depress the brake pedal on your instructions.
Place a brake hose clamp on both front brake hoses and the rear axle hose.
Depress the brake pedal firmly.
The pedal should have minimum movement, and be rock-solid and you should not be able to depress it further.
If the pedal does go down when you apply it, the likely reason is that the Brake Master Cyl is by-passing internally, ie, only one section is active.

You stated that the M/C had been replaced. so we shall presume that the brake pedal is rock hard.
Go to the rear brake hose clamp and release it. Instruct your assistant to depress the brake pedal. If the brake pedal moves a significant distance, then (a) your rear brake shoes require adjustment (b) rhere is a leaking brake cyl, (check for brake fluid in the drum) or (c) you have a "lazy' or a piston (s) which have siezed during a brake actuation. That problem will require removing the rear brake drums for further inspection. Not the problem? Then adjust the rear brakes if required, then depress the brake pedal again. The downward travel should now be noticeably reduced.

If all is well at the rear brakes. refit the brake hose clamp. Go to the passengers side front brake and have your assistant apply the footbrake. Pedal rockhard/minimun movement? Release the brake hose clamp whilst your assist has pressure on the pedal. spin the front wheel by hand, and note if (a) the brake pedal has excessive downward travel. (b) the brake pads are contacting the brake disc, (the wheel will cease rotating and you will hear the pads contact the disc.)

Pedal displays limited downward travel and pads contact disc? Refit the brake hose clamp and go to drivers side brake and follow the same procedure. If the pedal has excessive downward travel then you have found your inital problem.

If releasing both front brake hose clamps results in excessive brake pedal travel, then the problem will be easier to address if you deal with one side first, complete the resolution, test by using the brake hose clamps, then start / complete the other faulty brake.

Whichever side you start to work on, be methodical, boring as it sounds.
remove the road wheel, but before doing so, place a hand on the top and bottom of the tyre and rock the wheel away from you and check the bearing play. If memory serves me correctly, that year Dodge has the discs in one piece with the hub.

You have removed the wheel. Now, have your assistant turn the steering onto full right lock. Before continuing, I would like to remind you that the vehicle is up on axle stands and you have secured it safely, in order to conform with accepted safety parameters, correct?

The steering is now on full right lock and you can see both disc pads. Now, very carefully check the position of the caliper in relation to the disc pads. Is there and equal spacing on each side? Now, have your assistant release the brake pedal and very carefully observe the travel of the disc pad pistons. They should retract and the hub should turn freely by hand. A very light drag is allowed between disc pad and disc, but it should NOT be discernible when you rotate the hub by hand.

With no pressure on the brake pedal, and using an appropriate tool, attempt to have the caliper pistons retract into their cylinders / bores. Completed? Use caution as it is very easy to break / damage a disc by using undue force when retracting the pistons.

There is now an obvious gap between disc pads and disc (or rotor..sorry) Now, carefully check that the pad guide pins are not deformed and that the pads ride easily on them. if a pad jams when the brakes are applied, then, when the piston retracts, when force is removed from the brake pedal. There is an appreciable gap to close, upon the next application of the brakes!

Some types of disc pad retaining /guide pins are a tight fit, and it is very easy to tilt a pad when fitting the pins, causing the disc pad to fail to retract fully, and again, displayed by a brake pedal with excessive travel.

When the brake pedal is applied, the brake fluid has to fill the caliper piston bores, then exert pressure on the piston to force it against the disc pads, and they in turn are forced into contact with the disc. If the piston has to move an appreciable distance before contacting the disc pad, that takes more brake fluid to fill the bore of the piston, and the master cylinder piston has to travel further,resulting in a brake pedal that displays excessive travel .

I notice that you did not mention the type of effort or number of applications of the brake pedal which resulted in a firm pedal.

If you fitted replacement calipers, can I presume that you fitted new guide pins to the calipers?
Last but not least, (a) are they the correct calipers for the vehicle as regards piston bore size? The brake Master cyl will not be able to fill the bores of the calipers with enough fluid to drive the pistons out to apply the disc pads, if the bores are oversized. The pedal will also display excessive travel.
(b) If the brake master cyl is overfilled, when the brakes are applied, the master cyl will force fluid to the calipers, expand the caliper pistons, but will be unable to release the application to the pistons due to the fluid being unable to return to the master cyl as the allotted reservoir space has been filled with static fluid. When the brake pedal is depressed again, the Master cyl cannot service the caliper pistons on the first stroke as the pistons are locked at full stroke / travel in the bores, resulting in the brake pedal going to the floor, or giving that impression.
HOWEVER, that condition, if the vehicle is driven any distance, will result in the obvious odor of overheated disc brake pads, and the vehicle struggling to display any state of acceleration.
(c) Are they in fact the correct disc brake pads? It would be wise to remove a guide / retainer pin and check for free movement of the pad on the remaining pin. All ok, then refit the pin which you removed and test again. The pads have to be free to move on the pins, and thus align themselves with the face of the disc / rotor when the brakes are applied. Some people coat the pins with never-seeze or hi-temp grease when fitting them, others prefer them to be dry.

In closing, I would recommend that you check the full travel AND RETRACTION of the caliper pistons in their respective bores. It is not unknown for re-built / new parts to be defective.

It would be interesting to hear if any of the above proved to be beneficial in resolving your problem.

why do you need the oil pressure switch what kind of prob u having

take a look on your fuel rail driver side, look to see if there is a test port. If so get yourself a fuel pressure guage and hook er up. fuel pressure should be Min 35 Max 45 PSI if so that rules out fuel pump, Otherwise wait till dark and get a spray bottle full of water, mist your spark plug wires so they are wet and start the truck, if you see little sparks jumping from the wires replace em. last common cause that comes to my mind is check the voltage on your Throttle position sensor black should be ground, purple should be the reading from the sensor and whatever other color should have 5Volts constant aprox. Check your codes too. key on off on off on without starting engine then count the flashes of the check engine light, pauses mean next number... post em and ill let you know what they mean

THE ONLY ALIGNMENT YOU HAVE IF THE HINGES ARE WELDED TO BODY POST ARE NEW DOOR PINS AND BUSHINGS. YOU CAN GET THEM AT ANY PARTS STORE.

I asume you are talking about the transfer case, bolted to rear of the trany you will see to big blots the top is the fill and the bottom is the drain and then the the front and rear differentals have fills also on the side of the meatball there a square plug that is removed with the end of a rachet it fills there and same as the transfer case you need to fill umtil it starts to come out fill hole then its fill, hope this helps.

if it still does that with a new pump sorry to say the crankshaft bearings are worn and thats why you are loosing oil pressure hope this helps

did you check you fuse's and your grounds some times a bad ground could do that

the sender is in the tank ,replace it .

adjust the throttle pressure cable properly, see service manuel

there was a recall that invoved addind a relay and repairing melted parts and new switch. the factory wire guage is to small. check dealer to see if your truck is involved. some arent for some reason [money i supose] but the recall kit will fix your truck, ask to buy one at the dealer parts counter,[be nice they arent supposed to sell them]

a bad crank sensor will cause your alt not to work.also wild tach problem. those alts never go out, its always the sensor

take off the plasic covers on the steering column using a torques screwdriver remove the screws the unplug wires.turn key to accesory and with a punch push roll pin back in hole enough to clear the casing for the key lock cylinder.pull out clinder and put it in the new switch then turn to on to lock pin.

a bad wheel bearing or worn to the metal brake pads

simply disconnect the battery cable for a few seconds then reconnect.

Fuel Filter REMOVAL & INSTALLATION CAUTION
Never smoke when working around gasoline! Avoid all sources of sparks or ignition. Gasoline vapors are EXTREMELY volatile! All 1989–93 Gasoline Engines and 1994–96 2.5L Engines The fuel filter is located in the fuel line on the inside of the left frame rail, just ahead of the crossmember. Fig. 1: Fuel filter location for gasoline engines

1. Relieve the fuel system pressure as described in Section 5.
2. Unfasten the filter retaining screw and remove the filter from the frame rail.
3. Wrap a shop towel around the hose connections to catch fuel spillage. Loosen the fuel hose clamps and disconnect the hoses from the filter.
4. Remove the old fuel filter and replace it with a new one.
5. Connect the fuel hoses and tighten the hose clamps. Position the filter on the frame rail and tighten the retaining screw to 75 inch lbs. (8 Nm).

1994–96 Gasoline Engines — Except 2.5L The fuel filter is integrated into the fuel pressure regulator which is mounted in the fuel tank. This unit is not controlled by the PCM or engine vacuum. It is calibrated to deliver approximately 35–45 psi (241–310 kPa) of fuel pressure to the injectors. If the pressure exceeds the maximum of the specified range, an internal diaphragm closes to route fuel back into the fuel tank. This system eliminates the need for conventional return lines from the engine bay and accounts for the name of the "Returnless'' fuel injection system employed in these vehicles. NOTE: Fuel tank removal is required for this procedure. Also needed will be external snapring pliers and proper hose clamp pliers, such as No. C-4124 pliers (available through Plymouth/Dodge dealers), or equivalent.

1. Relieve the fuel system pressure as described in Section 5. Fig. 2: With the fuel tank removed, twist and pull the fuel filter/regulator for removal from the rubber mounting grommet
   
   
2. Drain the fuel tank and remove the tank.
3. Remove the fuel filter/regulator (which is pressed into a rubber grommet) by twisting and pulling it straight up. Fig. 3: Use snapring pliers to remove the retainer securing the cover tube to the base of the filter/regulator
   
   
4. Remove the snapring retaining the cover tube, then slide it down to reveal the clear plastic fuel tube and its retaining clamp. Fig. 4: Cut off the old tube clamp without damaging the plastic fuel tube
   
   
5. Gently cut off the old clamp without damaging the tube, then discard the clamp.
6. Carefully pull the tube off, then remove the filter/regulator from the fuel pump module. To install:
   
7. Install a new clamp over the plastic fuel tube and attach it loosely to the filter/regulator. Rotate the unit in the line until it is pointed to the driver's side of the vehicle.
8. Tighten the clamp using hose clamp pliers such as No. C-4124 (available through the Plymouth/Dodge dealer). NOTE: Do not use conventional side cutters to tighten the clamp.
   
9. Slide the cover tube up to the bottom of the filter/regulator and install the snapring.
10. Carefully press the assembly back into the rubber grommet by hand. It should be pointed to the driver's side of the vehicle.
11. Install the fuel tank.

rhe headlight switches and wireing on those are undersize from factory. this really crops up whenn cab lights or extra lighting is added to circuit. there was a recall on that problem. consisted of a new switch,addition of a relay, replacing melted wires. pull switch and look for heat damage and go from there. check dealer hav vin handy to see if yours was covered by recall

Rent a fan clutch removal tool from the parts house. Pull the whole unit out of the truck. There are 4 little bolts holding it on.

when the light switch is turned on, it supplies a power to the circuit to complete the circuit. perhaps the switch contacts are faulty and in turn supplying power to the circuit. you can remove the switch, obtain a wiring diagram to identify the contacts, and with a mulitimeter confirm that the switch is bad. you can also replace the switch and hope it solves the problem. the switch connector is another possibility. i've looked up the price for the switch and it's about $20.