Plasti-Dip Protectorant - Protecting my 20" Rims

So I was noticing my rims and how they were looking. I tow a Boat and a Jet Ski, No matter how much I try to keep from getting in the salt water I noticed they were still getting some oxidation on the edges.

So in order to protect them I started looking for something that may not be permanent but would help protect them. I found Plasti-Dip it is a spray rubberizing coating that is becoming very popular due to its temporary (if you want it to be) nature. It can be peeled off if you so choose.

I painted them today and it was very easy and watching some videos on Youtube and other places really helped. I left the Tires on the vehicle and covered all the brakes rotors and other components of the wheel that I did not want over spray on.

You can see it totally transformed how the vehicle looks and with the rubberizing aspect of the spray on it has no streaks, dripping, running or other defects. I put 5 coats on my wheels and used 3 cans of the spray. I bought them at Home Depot for $5.98 each.

Malfunction Indicator Light on 2005 Dodge Ram - PART 3

OK I found the Location of the Crank Shaft Sensor. It is on the Passenger Side of the engine just to the front and up from where the transmission bell housing attaches to the engine. It is on the ENGINE Block. This first picture is of the truck front end and the part in relation to where it is on the truck if your facing the truck. You

You Actually don't need a jack to complete this work but you will need to disconnect your battery since there is an electrical connection on this part. Disconnecting your battery serves two purposes. ONE it makes it safer for you to work with the electrical connection. TWO changing out the part with take about 30 minutes (maybe faster) but it will reset your Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL).

So now your ready to crawl under the truck and find the part. Here is the picture to show it under the truck. The red ARROW points to the ONE 10mm bolt that holds the part in place.  The next picture shows the part with the rest of the truck grayed out. which also highlights the 10mm bolt that holds the part in place. The actual Crank Shaft Sensor is a very simple part with a piece that inserts into the engine block and the hole for the 10mm bolt and the Connection for the electrical hookup. That is all there is to it. This next picture shows the part and the electrical connection WHICH has a red piece on the electrical connection which secures the connection in place. You can do two things here to remove the electrical connection. ONE, you can slide the red securing thing out which will allow you to remove the connection. Or TWO, you can remove the 10mm bolt and then the Dodge Hemi Crank Shaft Sensor will dangle down a little and give you easier access to slide the red securing thing out and remove the electrical connection.  I recommend OPTION TWO this is much easier and I actually could not get my hand into the are to slide the red securing thing out. SO if you go with OPTION TWO it is easy to accomplish this. NOW you are ready for the final step.Reinstalling the Dodge Hemi Crank Shaft Sensor. This is accomplished by attaching the electrical connection, Sliding the Red Securing thing back in place. then inserting the SENSOR portion of the Dodge Hemi Crank Shaft Sensor into the engine, then replacing the 10mm bolt and tightening it down. THAT is all you should have to do. NOW you can reconnect your Battery and start your engine. It may be a little rough to start but should fire right up your MIL should turn on initially then shut off and you should be able to take it for a test drive.  A good indication that this is fixed should be under hard acceleration the engine should not bog down or misfire. I hope this article helps someone and saves a few dollars in the process.

Malfunction Indicator Light on 2005 Dodge Ram - PART 2

Ok So I took my truck into Autozone to find the Code. First off it was very simple and the guys there were super helpful. They hooked up the little code reading tool and after a few seconds had a good idea of what "might" be the problem. I had three codes. P0300, P0335 and P0339. I'll explain these in a few and ALSO it didn't cost anything to have them read.
- P0300 - Multiple Cylinder Mis-Fire Misfire detected in multiple cylinders
- P0335 - crankshaft position sensor circuit
- P0339 - crankshaft position sensor condition

SO with these codes now Identified I can move on to fixing the issue. FIRST, i need to research what the codes actually say and What some of the Internet Forums are saying about them as far as a Fix. SO I searched for "dodge 2005 hemi engine code p0335" and found multiple links to some forums and how to's.
FORUM LINK 1
FORUM LINK 2

So with this info I know believe it is the Crankshaft Sensor so I went down to Autozone had them look up the part and I bought it. $24.68 After tax and I know need to FIND where it is located and then install it. Most of the forum posts are in relation to "WHERE IS THE dang thing" I have an idea it is on the back bottom of the engine on the passenger side. I will take pictures and post when I find out more info.

First real issue with My Truck - Malfunction Indicator Light on 2005 Dodge Ram

Last night I towed my boat to where I store it, on the way home I noticed the Malfunction Indicator Light come on. The Malfunction Indicator Light on a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 looks like an outline of the engine and is in the upper left corner of the instrument panel cluster and is lit in yellow. Normal operation should be that it comes on when you turn your key on, as a bulb check, then goes off. I learned all of this after I got home and researched it a little in the owners manual and online. There are multiple reasons this light may come on. The dealer here in Tampa told me that there were about 55 reasons. I am not sure so I just believed him and then started to research it more as to the reason for the light. First the symptom were as follows:
1. The light came on and was steady.
2. The light seemed to flash under acceleration but at a stop light would go to steady on.
3. NO CHANGE in the motor function or sound.
4. Under heavy acceleration I did have a hiccup in the acceleration....(not sure if I should have floored it but I did to see)
No other symptoms were noted.
SO now know the symptoms and talking to the dealer I did some searches on the internet. "Malfunction Indicator Light on a Dodge Ram" the results came back with a bunch of DODGE forum answers and JUST ASK answers that pointed me towards two things.
1. there are a lot of different reasons for the light
2. Go to a local parts retailer like "Advanced Auto" and have them read the engine code.
So that is where I am at and I will be going tonight to have the code read. Look for PART 2 of this post with the results.

My 2005 Dodge Ram Hemi

I am starting this Blog to hopefully help people with issues that may arise on their Dodge and to Post info about my Dodge Ram Hemi. First of all what is m truck? It is a 2005 Quad Cab, Thunder Road edition, Charcoal Gray Dodge Ram 5.7L Hemi. It has about 75K miles on it and is in pretty good condition. It has a few dings from careless idiots. But other than that it is a great "truck". I bought it to pull a 2004 Trophy Pro Center Console Fishing boat in Tampa Florida. It has a 7700lb towing capacity which is perfect because the wet weight of my boat is 5,028lbs, so pulling it out of the water is pretty easy and it drives nicely when on the highway and at highway speeds up to about 70mph. Well that's my truck and when something goes wrong I'll Post the issue, symptoms and what I do to fix it to hopefully help people do the same.