Cherry 92 Dodge Cummins: Killer Dowel Pin, Brakes, Seals, Etc.

This 1992 Dodge W-250 with the 12 valve Cummins needs the killer dowel pin treatment, front brakes, rear wheel seals, tires, and a few other things.
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[@GeorgeLeite]

That's not an oil leak, that's a rust prevention system.

[@pdee886]

Its great when you don't even need to change em, you just keep adding LOL 😁👍😄

[@victorvillasana3409]

Don’t forget driveway sealer! 👍

[@Derek-pd4fc]

Haha, true story. I have an 18 Ram with a Cummins that doesn't leak a drop of oil. Rear wheel wells are already rusting.

[@mattanderson5821]

He called five fifteen five one five

[@letttttttssssss_gooooooo]

Noice

[@mark63366]

The first thing to do is a Borgeson steering shaft upgrade. Then new kingpins and new tie Rod joints. Next up is the steering box mounting plate. It likes to crack and cause slop. If everything works you can get an identical turning circle to the left and right! A lot of lifted Rams put on a crossover steering conversion. Steering and Dodge have a unique and strained relationship. It often leads to a fight that causes death rattle.

[@nodaklojack]

Agree 💯 on the Borgeson.

[@drakesfear]

I used a redhead brand box, but yea.

[@DieselRamcharger]

@@drakesfear borgeson shaft gets rid of the rag joint.

[@brianh8955]

Might try the steering gear box brace. The brace supports the output shaft of the gear box.

[@aserta]

@@brianh8955 I agree with this. Loose stuff on the outside cause just as much slop as the inner bits.

[@louislouis4221]

You are a great mechanic. I have seen you fixing and resolving mechanical issues where someone else has failed. And still, you are humble enough to ask for help. That by itself shows professionalism because as good as we are, we still have lots more to learn. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

[@bekkiebeans6004]

39 years ago, the man that taught me my trade would say that gentleman and scholar quote to me all the time

[@FarmCraft101]

"Drives like a lumber wagon, it's all over the road, door seals leak...Yep, pretty much tip top." Lol. That's signature Wes right there!

[@nedasher116]

Now that's a Dodge

[@OneCupOfCoffee204]

Seriously, Wess, you've done a great job with this channel and I look forward to each and every episode. Thanks, bud.

[@Vaino_Hotti]

No matter what, that old bearing packer is the coolest tool you have!

[@clintparkison9844]

Ain't no oil under it, ain't no oil in it! That's a beautiful truck!

[@ShouldersMoondog549]

Nice to see you get to work on something that wasn't rusted out!! Thanks for posting!!

[@ts6141]

Pretty hard to get rotors turned anymore, nice to see.

[@andrewsang4688]

Really? You can get them done at some O'Rileys

[@SkylineFTW97]

We do it at the Honda dealership I work at fairly often. A lot of customers prefer the lower price and we get paid more to do it. Win-win. Plus if we do brake jobs on our own cars, it costs $0. Just turned the front rotors on an Acura TL belonging to the valet supervisor here yesterday as part of a side job. Even easier since we have those fancy on-car lathes.

[@carllaniak]

Wes has a video on commissioning that old brake lathe.

[@mph5896]

If there was no pedal vibration I would have pad slapped that job.

[@carsonp8110]

Turning rotors is still a very common practice in my experience.

[@beyondmiddleagedman7240]

If nobody has ever told you, denatured alcohol will dissolve Permatex 2. It cleans your fingers and tools nearly instantly. And removes it from whatever surface it was used on. (I was in my 40's when I found this out. Has made the last 25 years easier.)

[@dpk241]

"now no one can complain" Who are you kidding, this is the internet.

[@leninmi7579]

Sure must be nice to work on a vintage truck without it crumbling apart as you try to repair it 😅👍

[@seanwieland9763]

No structural floor mats on this one. 😂

[@johnclamshellsp1969]

Comment #2. In regarding the 94+ Dodge Ram. 1. Replace the steering shaft with a Borgenson unit. 2. Replace the power steering gearbox with a 1998 GM/Chevy 3500 one-ton Saginaw. 3. Install a steering shaft brace. Mounts on frame and mounts with a bering to steering gearbox shaft. 4. Install Left and right front leveling doughnuts. 5. Install Speedway Engineering sway bar kit. Uses a torsion bar and actual links for the stabilizer bar. 6. Install optional Bilstein shocks. Replace any worn steering components. Problems solved.

[@pinwizz69]

I've said it before and I'm going to say it again. If you've got negative opinions about Wes"s work you're clueless. As far as I'm concerned he's an ultra professional mechanic with lots of knowledge about the various vehicles he works on. Plus he doesn't rely on the old 1 click of the wrist stupidity that way to often causes serious damages on pretty much everything mechanical. As a Veteran Coast Guard Aviation Machinist Mate I have absolutely no doubt that if he had chosen to enter the Aircraft mechanic profession he'd have been a top notch one Aviation companies would have been trying to scalp hire him. One thing awesome about being a Aircraft mechanic for an airline is free air travel for you and your immediate family.

[@randyhall2135]

Always loved the simplicity of manual locking hubs.

[@lorrinbarth1969]

Riding with my cousin in his binder and it had manual locking hubs. Out hunting on a snowy day on a back road, fump, we are in a snowbank up to the headlights. He casually said, "Want to lock up the hubs?"

[@randyruppel6727]

The best thing I did was add the pillow block bearing support, and then do the "rock solid ram" delrin steering shaft bushing in the column. The steering linkage fix can be done on that truck but you have to cut new tapered seats for that early generation of 2nd gen. 2010 steering linkage of a 2500 will be what you need to order. But those 3 things will make it as good as it will ever get. Note on the delrin bushing, it is affected by temperature, so make sure there is clearance in the warm shop, cold will make tight spots since the shaft is not round stock but rolled tube.

[@jdretiree2433]

Earl Scheib painted that hood in 1996 after a hailstorm damaged it. All in all it held up pretty good.

[@gregggeissler7441]

Dude I love to see rotors turned, like the old days. You did a great job on your brake lathe.

[@douglasmayherjr.5733]

What an awesome old Dodge Truck. I had a red version of that truck back in the late 90’s. It was not very quiet in the cab, but would pull whatever you wanted. They were impressive for 1992. Thanks for the Videos, Wes. Always a treat.

[@Johnny_Guitar]

The only 'awesome' part was the 'awesome piece-a-junk' in it's day!

[@Watchyn_Yarwood]

@@Johnny_Guitar My company ran a fleet of them with flat beds in our hot shot division all over the lower 48. Not once did one fail on the road. I admit they were a hand full to drive but stout and dependable. When I left in 2000 they still had one of the first Cummins powered running with over 400,000 miles with the engine never touched. Probably 4 or 5 front suspension rebuilds but nothing else. One man's junk is another man's treasure and we did treasure our Cummins powered Dodges.

[@rogerjustice8835]

Love love love my 97 dodge Cummins, owned for 24 years and can say the absolute best truck I’ve ever owned. My son drives a 92 dodge w150, he’s driven it for 8 years now trouble free. My neighbor ownes a 93 dodge Cummins with over 800,000 miles on original engine, he drives it everyday as a contractor, lol truck has plenty of battle scars.

[@daviddroescher]

Don't forget the lower steering column bushing. To rid yourself of the last ¼ of slop.½million miles and the crank bearings are still minimum tolerance .0037".( back 4 tapered to max new clearance .0047 due to a bent crank when the KDP went through the gearset, retardingthe cam/ injection timing 5°)Rods within new spec.

[@FliesLikeABrick]

A trick I used on a crankshaft pulley recently, to hold it while breaking loose and later torquing it. I took an old accessory belt, wrapped it around the crankshaft pulley such that it was pinching itself. Then looped it up and around the most-stout nearby idler or accessory, and clamped it around that with vise grips. Basically a static, improvised strap wrench. Worked a treat and I will probably do that from now on

[@SteelheadTed]

Or use the starter to break it loose… 😮

[@MotoRestoFL]

@@SteelheadTed did that on a Dodge Neon once. Worked great.

[@lloydmarche7263]

Seeing that old style truck brought back some good memories. Got my drivers license back in 1994. Learned to drive on that style truck. 1989 dodge similar color. 318 gasser. It was grandpas work truck. That thing had around 400k hard construction miles on it when it was retired. It wasn’t a perfect truck , leaks and rattles. Always got us to and from the job site . Hauled everything we needed .

[@Tuba_Dave]

I wish my 2006 looked like this. I’m constantly fighting the rust… frame, body rot, you name it, it’s got it. Props to you for being able to do it!

[@pnuttheclownh2254]

i spray my fleet undersides with drain oil yearly, works in WVa.

[@samholdsworth420]

@@pnuttheclownh2254 I love the Southwest!

[@robbalinski1606]

My 02 cummins thats driven year round in canada is basically as rust free as the first gen, my frames actually less rusty then this first gen's. Washing the truck thoroughly sometimes twice a week is even more effective the spraying oil over it.

[@I-watch-at-2x]

Dang, you weren't kidding! That's probably the only dodge I'd drive. She's purdy!

[@jonlarusson]

Friday night, pizza and Watch Wes. Let's get this weekend started! Regards from Luxembourg 🇱🇺

[@millerfawaz151]

Biggest improvement I had on a 01 dodge 2500 was to drop the tire pressures to something reasonable. The truck wandered all over the road at 60 psi but dropped to 30-35 all around and it drove way better. Pressure up when towing of course. That was on general grapplers, I believe they were load range E tires calling for 80 psi. Driving like that empty was nearly impossible.

[@larrytalley117]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family Wes. Your videos have given me a ton of joy and happiness this past year and I wish you and yours the same.

[@goenitzlopez2076]

Been waiting for the newest vid Wes you're the man!

[@daviduglem3213]

Wes, you are an amazing man! No wonder a lot of the big KZbinrs refer to you with reverence.

[@michaelweatherhead9470]

Thanks for the video Wes great job on the old truck. Take care of yourself and family ❤️❤️👍

[@wm12ga]

From one Wes to another thanks as always for the great content. The sunset drive really took me back. Miss those IL sunsets. Cheers

[@derajyellat102]

Thank you for taking the time to put this together

[@AnonymousEuropeanDriver]

Yes!! Missed you last week!

[@danielheartsill4269]

I hope enough people in your area watch you to spread the word how you work for them. Some of the things you do to prevent future problems that most don't do saves them many problems in the future. You are truly one of the good guys. Not many left.

[@Republic_ofTexas]

Sweet ride for sure. Keep the great vids coming!!!!!!

[@josephking6515]

*Thank You* for the video Wes. Enjoyable as always. 👍

[@pauldiesel4582]

Wes, thanks for a great video on the old Dodge diesel pickup! The two tone paint on the upper and lower of the truck was a very rare option chosen, just a couple of percent made. I can remember seeing that same color option on a new truck in Wisconsin back then on vacation, beautiful!

[@Chr.U.Cas2216]

👍👌👏 2) Pretty nice looking pickup truck. I absolutely loved to see the restored brake disk and drum grinding device in action again. Although it was only for a short time. Best regards luck and health to all of you (including Max of course).

[@johnnybgoode6466]

Love the satire and wit in your videos Wes. Great stuff !

[@mikehynes6632]

As always - you make it look easy. That's what the best do!

[@peteraitken6494]

Always get a good laugh at your videos Wes you have the patience of a saint mate cracking job you done on the truck it’s in good condition for it’s age brilliant content as usual take care to you and the family and max all the best from here in Scotland 👍👌🔧🔧🔧😉

[@TheSae24]

Well, finally the white stripe! Pure creativity and skillful hands!

[@garyhawthorne4599]

Great video, as always, Thanks Wes

[@nferraro222]

Heh - you should've seen the auto-locking hubs on the old IH Scouts. They weren't really locking hubs, they were roller-bearing sprag clutches, for light duty, emergency 4wd but nobody ever bothered to manually lock the hubs, so those clutches would get the balls beat off them. When you pulled'em off, a dozen worn out rollers and busted springs would just fall all over the floor.

[@crisprtalk6963]

Do you ever just go running around the corn field at night, pretending like you're in a horror movie?

[@keithmatthews1673]

I thought Wes was saying "Killer Dolphin" until I finally saw the dowel pin 🙂

[@kevt5090]

I learn a lot watching your videos. Thanks for sharing!

[@markhuston6816]

The best fix is to install a 94 Ford truck in its place.it’ll work.great show Wes. Thanks.

[@TT-qo9dv]

Beautiful first gen. I had a 1991 that was from Wyoming and was rust free. Thanks for the video 😊

[@davidblaauw1806]

Absolutely great video’s Wes, I learn something every time, thank you!

[@brian2687]

You are a true craftsman working on this old stuff.

[@AntonioClaudioMichael]

Wow at how clean the undercarriage is That is impressive for a 31 year old rig from Illinois @Watch Wes Work

[@bluedodge1994]

Steering box stabilizer kit. I put it on all of mine. It replaces the pitman arm nut with a shaft and the brace holds a bearing on the shaft. Also triple check the track bar.

[@beachtimehawaiibth7222]

Always great videos! Keep on posting videos like this and 24V’s. Much appreciated and big tummy scratch to the 4 leg mouse 🐭 trap mouse trap!

[@markferrick10]

Nice old truck. Great condition. Thanks for sharing.

[@robertbullcarmichael9856]

Great video on that old beast. Dodge had a period of time there in the late 80s and early to mid 90s where they couldn't design a front end to last. The only advice I can give is be ready to change out most of the frontend components. Tie rod ends, ball joints all of it. And don't forget to check the steering gearbox and its mounting. Stay safe my friend.

[@moalleboanne]

What a car .... love it 👌👍.

[@dave4803]

Those old things will run forever.

[@brianhayes7618]

I always liked that Dodge body style I had a 78 half ton 4x4 loved that old truck and worked it hard on the farm without any major issues thanks for sharing

[@brolle87]

Heard about some kind of steeringbox-stabilisation kit some years ago. I think the material flexes, so you need to stabilize it with some bracket

[@c0c0asauce]

That truck deserves to have a pair of driving boots. What a sweet friggin truck.

[@tekvax01]

lovely sunset Wes!

[@jasonguzman564]

I love this channel it's like therapy

[@alanrobison3298]

We were kind of worried about you Wes. We haven't heard from you in a while.

[@tracysellman1562]

I use to work on our 1999 250 Cummins turbo diesel trucks. We rebuild the front end on one at about 200,000 miles and we still had slop. I tightened up the steering gearbox per load about 1/8 to 1/4 turn to get about 5-8mm of play in the steering wheel from the center point then set the locknut. and it took care of our 10 trucks, but that was after every front-end part was checked to be within specs. If it was too touchy I loosened it to about the same play 5-8 mm. Good luck Wes. :)

[@gayle4804]

Great job with the Dodge pick up You have patience of an angel when it comes to working on vehicles

[@Nderak]

i just love the paintwork and pattern on these older trucks. two and three tone with nice striping and accents. just gorgeous. would look good ont he 5th gens as well

[@davidcolesr.8628]

Good to see you

[@WelpNopeYep]

Basic solid front axle stuff to make it tight. A big thing no one probably does but people who Jeep/offroad do is a steering box brace, in my Jeep there was a night/day difference when I braced the steering box, took a lot of the slop away. Still A LOT of slop, but theres only so much you can do with SFA

[@michiganporter]

Best looking shipping crate I've seen in a while!

[@jdmccorful]

Nice wrenchin! Enjoyed watching, thanks.

[@maddyjakeups6469]

For the 97, If the steering slop is in the box try a red head steering box. Those original boxes are know to wear out. Also the make a steering gear stabilizer kit that braces everything.

[@CLRracer42]

If you have to pull the rear shafts again, the two nut and tab washer spindle nut system on the front axle will also work on the rear. Much better system than the single nyloc nut and wedge keeper. Great video, always entertaining!

[@hutch0515]

Super videos, Wes! Glad I'm subscribed. I have a 2nd Gen Dodge 2500 24v Cummins -(2002). My steering/front end was loose and there was play in the steering and it wandered on the highway. Couple things I did was to add an aftermarket steering brace and replaced the steering box with an aftermarket box (RedHead) and then got the thing aligned. This was a big help.

[@tomtheplummer7322]

Already a foot of Snow in Denver. Thank goodness my truck fits in the garage. So no melted snow to lay in. 😎🎅🏻💪

[@TgWags69]

My backyard hillbilly method to hold a smooth crank pully is to use an old timing or other flat belt (even v belts work) wrap it around the pulley then reflect it back over something round like a screw driver handle , socket ratchet handle...basically anything within reach lol. Then anchor the other end either with a ratchet strap or even a pry bar. Once you get it tensioned up it will hold the world without marring anything up. Basically it's just a make shift strap wrench but works well. Seems like you always run into this after the car is up on jack stands and there's no way to keep the motor from turning. Always a pain!

[@sabbath7081]

Just like a strap wrench, good ingenuity.

[@FliesLikeABrick]

I do the same thing (actually commented right around when you did). I anchor the other end by wrapping the belt around something and clamping it with a vise grip

[@just_a_guy_doing]

To mostly cure death wobble and shit front end on 2nd gen 3/4 and up trucks, upgrade your sway bar to a third gen. Also look into the power steering stiffener bracket, those two things alone will change the whole driveablitly of those 2nd gen, oh and one last thing, as others suggested, upgrade to the borgeson steering shaft. That was one of the 1st things I did on my 97 ram 2500. That was a huge improvement alone

[@locustbay7594]

Love the Goldwing. Can’t wait to see you working on that.

[@K3NnY_G]

I dream of old iron like this someday; but up here in Canada even seeing one rotted into the ground is a treat. 4x4 with the cummins? Nah the body's all turned to dust in work life and the power/drivetrains were salvaged. This thing's a unicorn being ridden by a golden goose up here. xD Only ones left were hiding away like this one.

[@BrodieBr0]

Me and my dad bought a 1990 Dodge D350 5.9 Cummins 5 spd and a 1993 Dodge W350 5.9 Cummins auto for the farm. Replaces a lot of ''Dodge stuff'' over the years but they're both still used daily. That there is truly a unicorn though, ours are beat up, scuffed up, and got some rust even though they've been POR-15 treated since new. Thanks for this awesome video Wes! Love the nostalgia!

[@mikem5475]

Painting over rust was a horrible idea

[@BrodieBr0]

@@mikem5475 POR-15 is designed to be applied to rust. It won't even adhere to bare metal.

[@mikem5475]

@@BrodieBr0 yeah and how did por15 work for you?...

[@jmac1099]

Come on Wes, don’t you have seal drivers?! I remember doing this for ever, then I’m like why the hell don’t I just get seal driver kit. Edit.. we’ll there you go! Haha

[@infocpctrainer]

I know its sad, but I missed you last week. great to see a nice long video, thanks.

[@zynxmynx69]

Accomplishment = A vital part of feeling good about yourself, your abilities and being proud of what you do. It’s the essence of why we do things and what we gain from our hard work.

[@timothymilam732]

Track bar where it ties into the frame will get wallowed out there, due to the gear box flexing the frame horn that holds it. They sell a new addional crossmember that ties both frame horns together allowing for proper support of the gear box.. It has an extention that goes through a block bearing mounted on the crossmember that extends down to allow for proper alignment of pitman arm that pivots every time you turn the steering wheel, and supports the lateral load of the suspension. The track bar mount on the frame itself gets chewed up for the excessive movement of the gear box and has to be cut off and a new higher grade steel mounting plate welded on, are at least added to the original plate to repair the damaged hole The other end of track bar that attaches to the passenger hub assembly typically is also worn out by the same thing. New steering gear box New addional crossmember added Replacement of track bar Addional repair of mounting plate of track bar at frame driver's side. And typically tie rods, if it doesn't have the stabilizers dampers for the steering It's usually a good idea to install the set with two stabilizers even if it has just a single one mounted, and especially if none at all in place. Also found that while shocks appears to be good its mainly just the springs doing majority of the work, and a good set of bilstines helps greatly control the death wobbles along with the above mentioned items. I've rebuilt 97, and 95 one a 2500 the other 1500 both 4x4's. But they share the same parts as well as the f'ed up design all the way up to 3500's. Not really all that expensive to buy, but fairly labor intensive, except for the benefit of actually being able to drive it like a normal vehicle instead of you constantly chasing the direction the truck is going, are then sudden attack of severe case of death wobble its not really that much labor considering the benefits and longevity of the truck was doubled are even tripled it's normal life span.

[@dutchmetalmaniac]

very nice truck. it just needs a couple of bright headlights to go through the dark. man that was scary.😜

[@lawrenceengel3330]

What a sweet old rig 👌

[@craigsowers8456]

Kuddos to you ... your previous "professional Life" shines thru ... NOBODY else would have checked (properly") the end play ... tip of the hat Cowboy !!!

[@ILOVEBACONBOY2018]

Love the videos! Happy Holidays.

[@AlaskaMike72]

One of the best things to do with the brakes is to replace the wheel cylinders on the rears with larger ones. The stock ones I think are 1" bores, and you can go up to either 1 1/8" or 1 3/16". It really improves the rear brake performance.

[@andrewhansen4179]

Correct you are. I replaced my rear wheel cylinders with ones from a one ton chevy, exact fit, better braking pressure. I load my Dodge with a camper and disconnecting the rear brake proportioning valve linkage also also results in more pressure to the rear brakes so that the front brakes aren't doing all the work. The addition of Hawk super duty front pads is another way of getting better stopping power.

[@zmotorsports62]

Nice work Wes. I have the same Alemite bearing packer, although it doesn't get used nearly as much these days as it did a couple decades ago. I'm glad you see you double check the end play with a dial indicator vs. merely backing off the nut which is what I see most people do. I have a client that has an old 1997 Dodge W-250 that is also in pretty nice shape for its age but it has nearly 200k miles. Mike

[@Watchyn_Yarwood]

In my 1960s high school shop classroom, our instructor had a sign hanging above the blackboard the said "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over". About the only thing I remember from high school!

[@zmotorsports62]

@@Watchyn_Yarwood my dad would tell me the same thing repeatedly when I was growing up. "If you don't have time to do it right the first time, when will you have time to do it again?"

[@Watchyn_Yarwood]

@@zmotorsports62 And you never forgot it. Young people today are taught "Don't worry about it, I'll get you a new one".

[@HogshooterHotrods]

Great video showing how simple it is to fix the killer dowel pin! you guys have it rough with all the rust for sure keep on truckin'>

[@mikejerrett7354]

Great video Wes, my old 79 f-150 had calipers like that, what a pain they were.

[@RobertKohut]

I think it has a recirculating ball steering box. On top of the box is a allen fastener with a lock nut holding it's position. Loosen the nut and tighten the allen head fastener to remove slack from the mechanism. Retighten the lock nut. Do not over tighten, there still should be slight back and forth clearance when moving the steering shaft, as this might cause binding when steering. 🙂

[@ericpaul4575]

Then check steering wheel alignment. I think some mechanics mess with that to align the steering wheel.

[@hvy1ton]

2 unicorns in the shop.

[@samuelw.3992]

Just sold my 91 this summer. This vid makes me miss it now.

[@ottoneidlinger4938]

Wes I’m so glad I found your channel! I have a childhood friend who has his own shop just like you. He has some customers who say repair what you think needs to be repaired and he has the ones that say only repair this. I think of my friend every time I watch your videos. Not sure why I’m telling you all this, but I had to tell someone. Love your work ethic and your commentary. Stay well my new friend.

[@18robsmith]

That truck's so clean I hope you dusted off your overalls before starting to work on it.

[@tchads_57]

Thanks Wes. Got a good chuckle from the editing of the cover removal/reinstall. Is Max ok? Looked like he was limping at one point. Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

[@LAactor]

That's guy's a limper. I swear he does it for attention. But he's also old too. Still likes to chase the squirrels.

[@thomasbradley4868]

You do the best work I ever seen I wish we some people like you here .

[@mikahakkinen5651]

great video wes.winter is here on finland,-15 and little bit snow today and ofcourse salt on te roads again