Dave is 20 and works 7 days a week as a carpenter M-F, helps a family friend on his farm S-S since last fall. He's a go getter, all game, all heart. The other difference is he's his father's son, innate sense of right from wrong, takes the road less travelled even when the going is known to be tough. I was honored he took on the plug change all by himself because we both knew it wasn't gonna be straight forward simple. Everything on this Dodge has fought us, everything. So when I came in to the barn it was my turn to show what I know so that one day he'll be teaching his kids. The big thing was being patient, persevering, and enjoy it even though it was tough. If you can smile in the face of adversity you can shine through on the darkest of days. Who doesn't want to be around somebody who can handle that?

Wheelgarage, you WILL enjoy it. I was told by an acquaintance I'd make a million bucks one day, I looked at my sons and said I'm already wealthy beyond my wildest dreams. We all smiled.

 

And thats why my oldest son is a mechanic in the US Army.
His dad made him buy a POS Dodge pickup for his first car, $500, the floor board was a actual board, a 2x6 the exact width of the trucks floor.
A 318 with a 2BBL carb, 3speed auto and a 8ft bed.
AM radio, no a/c, cruise, etc.
It got stop lights to the gallon not miles to the gallon.
He learned he could not sleep in and leave for school with only 5min to spare, especially in the winter time.
With that truck I got him off of the couch and away from the Playstation and into the driveway.
The very first thing he did was change the gear oil in the rear end, he wore his good jeans.
He drove that thing for a year before it went to the crusher.
Now he calls or sends me a text when he is working on something cool.
He sent me a pic of a radiator for a 5ton truck.
He told me how they heat up Chef Boyardee beef ravioli in the field.
He now loves working on cars and trucks and is seriously thinking of making a career out of the Army.

 

The 5 ton's radiator is probably from a FMTV and I'm all about Chef Boyardee as long as there's plenty of hot sauce on it.......heck you'd be hard pressed to get me off the PS3, GT fiend. I still fire up the PS2 too.

 

When they go out in the field its either MRE's or Chef Boyardee.
Tie parachute cord around it, lower it into the exhaust stack of a 5-ton and fire that puppy up.
5-10 min later...nice and hot food from a black can.

 

Checked out the circuit board and connectors, no problem found. Fault remains. Will probably start looking at the TPS and ECU. I'm certainly forming a relationship with this vehicle, I'm just not sure what type........

 

Love/hate...love/hate...

 

Hang in there Aus-trek. I just received my replacement ECU. As soon as this pesky hurricane moves out I am going to the shop to program it with the immobilizer, then I will report back. No question, with the speed sensor disconnected the highway problem is solved. I drove it 100 miles the other day with no issue. More to come

 

I'll be fitting a new TPS this week after work, fingers crossed. So, where exactly is the ECU located?

 

fenderwall underhood passenger side (NAS) - black box

 

It's a Rest Of World truck, 3.9L, might be under the drivers/passenger seat or passengers side fender well against firewall.