Maintainence questions

[ViperPete]

Hey all,

My truck just rolled over 83k yesterday.

What is the normal maintainence time period for plugs, wires, and the coils?

I'm thinking of getting the demon coils and wires/plugs from stinker and wanted to make sure that I wasn't buying them too soon.

I do not know if they have been done before so let's assume that they are factory still.

Also,

The rubber boots on the lower ball joints in the front of the truck are torn. There is no part number to replace them. They are riveted into the lower control arm.

I just replaced the upper ball joints on my 1973 lincoln which were riveted in, and the replacements had bolts and nuts.

Are new ball joints available anywhere? Or do I have to find an entire lower control arm???

How long do the starters last in these trucks? My experience with Dodge vehicles has been such that every dodge i have owned has been a serial starter killer.

How long will the alternator last?

Any other maintainence stuff I should look into replacing?

Thanks all

 

[VPRPWRD]

Quite the list you have there. First, the spark plugs are recommended at 30k, spark plug wires at 60k. My personal opinion, I pulled the plugs out of my first 10 at 30k and they still looked brand new. If you are going to replace the wires you might as well do the coils since the intake has to come off either way. Ball joints should be available seperately and I would only recommend getting Moog parts. You will have to grind or chisel the rivets off and bolt the new ones in place, just like you did with the Lincoln. As far as starters, I can't say I've seen one fail. The starter button failing is more common. Maybe some others with different experiences can chime in. Same with alternators, not very common, at least in what I've seen. For additional maintenance, check your oil cooler lines, check your power steering cooler lines, rear differential fluid, trans. fluid, when was that changed? Just spend some time looking everything over. I think I covered it all.

 

[VENOMOUS1 RACING]

Hey all,

My truck just rolled over 83k yesterday.

What is the normal maintainence time period for plugs, wires, and the coils?

I'm thinking of getting the demon coils and wires/plugs from stinker and wanted to make sure that I wasn't buying them too soon.

I do not know if they have been done before so let's assume that they are factory still.

Also,

The rubber boots on the lower ball joints in the front of the truck are torn. There is no part number to replace them. They are riveted into the lower control arm.

I just replaced the upper ball joints on my 1973 lincoln which were riveted in, and the replacements had bolts and nuts.

Are new ball joints available anywhere? Or do I have to find an entire lower control arm???

How long do the starters last in these trucks? My experience with Dodge vehicles has been such that every dodge i have owned has been a serial starter killer.

How long will the alternator last?

Any other maintainence stuff I should look into replacing?

Thanks all

We can't tell you how long parts will last bro, but other than your control arms and plug/wire change, I would service the tranny and let her roll. These engines are stout!! A guy just posted he hit 200,000 on his 06 yesterday with only a few issue. You can beat that!! Your starter and alternator are good till they just don't work. No need to replace till it breaks. Your battery should be checked and replaced, but again, you'll know if its needed. Wouldn't worry about replaceing coils as they make no difference whatsoever and coil packs will outlast the metal the body is made of, lol. :rock:

I believe you can get ball joints and we have a couple guys here that can steer you right on those.
Enjoy your truck and don't be paranoid of things breaking, just drive it like you stole it and do your oil changes

 

[NSDQ]

My plug wires lasted until about 121k or so and only had to be replaced because they fell apart from dry rot when they came off to replace spark plugs. As far as I know, my truck was running the original plugs, wires, and coils. Still running the stock coils, will likely replace when I get home from overseas. Probably not recommended to go that long before replacing, but hey, the truck ran fine, I just wanted to freshen things up. Still running factory alternator as far as I know along with an aftermarket stereo and HID lowbeams and fogs, no issues there. Still on the original starter as far as I know. I have the same problem with the upper and lower ball joints, gotta get those replaced when I get back. Your stock dyno numbers are like the opposite of mine lol, I dyno'd at 403hp/436tq bone stock (w/CAI).

 

[VENOMOUS1 RACING]

Quite the list you have there. First, the spark plugs are recommended at 30k, spark plug wires at 60k. My personal opinion, I pulled the plugs out of my first 10 at 30k and they still looked brand new. If you are going to replace the wires you might as well do the coils since the intake has to come off either way. Ball joints should be available seperately and I would only recommend getting Moog parts. You will have to grind or chisel the rivets off and bolt the new ones in place, just like you did with the Lincoln. As far as starters, I can't say I've seen one fail. The starter button failing is more common. Maybe some others with different experiences can chime in. Same with alternators, not very common, at least in what I've seen. For additional maintenance, check your oil cooler lines, check your power steering cooler lines, rear differential fluid, trans. fluid, when was that changed? Just spend some time looking everything over. I think I covered it all.

What he said, minus the coils!! I wasted my money on them years ago and don't recommend then to anyone

 

[ViperPete]

Already replaced:

Power steering pump
Power steering lines
Power steering rack
Rear main seal
Drivers side front wheel bearing
HVAC "flap"
Drivers seat carraige power motor assembly
Serpentine belt tensioner and belt.

Had tranny fuild replaced around 5k ago

The reason I ask about the starter and alternator is because I have a pretty newish battery (6 months old) and when I start the truck the gauges are slightly dim when its cranking. I have only ever noticed that issue whenever the battery is either on it's way out or the starter is on it's way out.

I know on my Avenger I built a massive upgraded grounding kit for the engine bay and that made a huge difference with headlights dimming because of a big car stereo ect...

Has anyone done anything like that on the SRT-10?

 

[NSDQ]

Already replaced:

Power steering pump
Power steering lines
Power steering rack
Rear main seal
Drivers side front wheel bearing
HVAC "flap"
Drivers seat carraige power motor assembly
Serpentine belt tensioner and belt.

Had tranny fuild replaced around 5k ago

The reason I ask about the starter and alternator is because I have a pretty newish battery (6 months old) and when I start the truck the gauges are slightly dim when its cranking. I have only ever noticed that issue whenever the battery is either on it's way out or the starter is on it's way out.

I know on my Avenger I built a massive upgraded grounding kit for the engine bay and that made a huge difference with headlights dimming because of a big car stereo ect...

Has anyone done anything like that on the SRT-10?

There's a additional wiring harness that came with my HID kits that the site said the Dodge vehicles need specifically that prevents the flickering or "dancing" with the bass.

 

[ViperPete]

OK. I'll go to Advance auto parts and buy 30 feet of 2 gauge wire and some copper ends. I'll ground the block, tranny, both heads and upgrade the factory stuff. That should make a difference.

Hell that cable is only 2 bux a foot.

 

[caveman]

What he said, minus the coils!! I wasted my money on them years ago and don't recommend then to anyone

Agreed. There is absolutely no reason to replace functioning OEM coils. You will gain NOTHING by replacing them. I'm not touching the factory plugs until absolutely necessary either. There is an 04 on this very forum, with 36kish miles, that runs mid 11's, using the OEM plugs. He has noticed the gap on the plugs opening up a little, but the truck sets new best ET's almost every time out.

 

[ViperPete]

Well dang, I guess I don't need to spend money on my ignition anytime soon then... lol

 

[NSDQ]

Might be worth replacing the plug wires depending on their condition. Like I said, mine were dry rotted and fell apart when they came off to replace the plugs. If they look in good shape, leave them be until spark plug changing time.

 

[redice2]

i had a slight issue with stock coils/wires and i replaced both with stinks upgraded coils and his wires. they work great. but had 2 points on the coils black and partially melted so definitely an issue.