The V8 Bike Bus
Discussion
I noticed there was the occasional bit of damp in the cab from the headlining. The truck has no sunroof so there weren't too many places to investigate. A search quickly led me to the 3rd brake light that sits at the top of the back of the cab. On these truck this is a red brake light and also a white cargo light that illuminates the bed for loading / unloading. A quick inspection showed it had condensation in it and a small crack in the plastic.
With it removed it was apparent someone had been here before me and attempted a disgusting bodge with loads of silicone sealant.
I fitted a new LED unit that lights the bed up better for loading and more discretely blends in with the bodywork along with a new gasket to ensure a proper seal.
While I had the tools out I swapped the discoloured numberplate lights for some new LED units too.
All was good, until the truck suddenly developed a misfire. I scanned for codes and got nothing more useful back than 'cylinder 5 misfire'. I undertook a compression test which proved the engine seemed healthy and consistent across all 8 cylinders. I then decided to swap all 8 coilpacks, all the leads and fit 16 new spark plugs (Hemis have 2 per cylinder).
Hoping this would solve the issue I took a drive up the road, in fact, I set off to the soft launch of the new Caffeine and Machine at the Hut, but didn't make it as the truck had other ideas. With not even a bang or any untoward noise it just cut out and was uninterested in starting again.
A quick boroscope down the plug holes quickly revealed a slightly less than ideal view...
With it removed it was apparent someone had been here before me and attempted a disgusting bodge with loads of silicone sealant.
I fitted a new LED unit that lights the bed up better for loading and more discretely blends in with the bodywork along with a new gasket to ensure a proper seal.
While I had the tools out I swapped the discoloured numberplate lights for some new LED units too.
All was good, until the truck suddenly developed a misfire. I scanned for codes and got nothing more useful back than 'cylinder 5 misfire'. I undertook a compression test which proved the engine seemed healthy and consistent across all 8 cylinders. I then decided to swap all 8 coilpacks, all the leads and fit 16 new spark plugs (Hemis have 2 per cylinder).
Hoping this would solve the issue I took a drive up the road, in fact, I set off to the soft launch of the new Caffeine and Machine at the Hut, but didn't make it as the truck had other ideas. With not even a bang or any untoward noise it just cut out and was uninterested in starting again.
A quick boroscope down the plug holes quickly revealed a slightly less than ideal view...
Yep, broken valve spring, dropped valve and a big mess.
I looked into a full rebuild and was mildly tempted at one point to go silly and get one of the companies I spoke to to build me a copy of the 570bhp Hemi they'd built for their shop truck. Sanity prevailed though and I was lucky to source a very good condition standard engine with only 42k on it. A look into the bores showed the honing still visible and everything nice and clean.
I had RVS Services in Andover do the swap for me.
While there it also had a full gearbox, transfer case and front axle service too (it had the rear axle completely rebuilt recently when I had the locking diff fitted).
The work only took them a few weeks and it was great to collect it, complete the obligatory £170 fuel stop, and drive it home.
It's now driving better than ever and has gone back to lugging the bikes to and from the trails a few times a week.
I looked into a full rebuild and was mildly tempted at one point to go silly and get one of the companies I spoke to to build me a copy of the 570bhp Hemi they'd built for their shop truck. Sanity prevailed though and I was lucky to source a very good condition standard engine with only 42k on it. A look into the bores showed the honing still visible and everything nice and clean.
I had RVS Services in Andover do the swap for me.
While there it also had a full gearbox, transfer case and front axle service too (it had the rear axle completely rebuilt recently when I had the locking diff fitted).
The work only took them a few weeks and it was great to collect it, complete the obligatory £170 fuel stop, and drive it home.
It's now driving better than ever and has gone back to lugging the bikes to and from the trails a few times a week.
Edited by 573 on Thursday 16th May 14:50
Yeah, really though without a load in the back it will spin the back wheels as it is. It's probably quick enough for something as big as it is with so little steering feedback.
Having said that, I 'invested' in a K&N intake for it. They claim 20+ bhp increase from this and it even comes with a dyno graph and a guarantee. It does away with the convoluted airbox, intake elbow and resonated, restrictive box and replaces it with a massive filter and a straight shot into the throttle body. I bought it solely for the sound and it does sound glorious. It has definitely perked the truck up as it gets up the rev range though.
Recently I gave the truck a really proper clean and it comes up very well. I see other gen-3 Rams that are really tired and have rusty rear arches and beds, the years this one hid in Japan seems to have done it a lot of favours.
This last weekend I did a 900 mile trip up North to drop off an R53 engine I'd sold, to go and view an F150 Raptor that I thought may replace this, and to visit some bike parks in Wales. Didn't miss a beat and returned 13.3 mpg average which I think is pretty good. Generally the cruise is set at 70mph for the motorway and I get almost 300 miles per £170 fill up off V-Power.
Having said that, I 'invested' in a K&N intake for it. They claim 20+ bhp increase from this and it even comes with a dyno graph and a guarantee. It does away with the convoluted airbox, intake elbow and resonated, restrictive box and replaces it with a massive filter and a straight shot into the throttle body. I bought it solely for the sound and it does sound glorious. It has definitely perked the truck up as it gets up the rev range though.
Recently I gave the truck a really proper clean and it comes up very well. I see other gen-3 Rams that are really tired and have rusty rear arches and beds, the years this one hid in Japan seems to have done it a lot of favours.
This last weekend I did a 900 mile trip up North to drop off an R53 engine I'd sold, to go and view an F150 Raptor that I thought may replace this, and to visit some bike parks in Wales. Didn't miss a beat and returned 13.3 mpg average which I think is pretty good. Generally the cruise is set at 70mph for the motorway and I get almost 300 miles per £170 fill up off V-Power.
573 said:
Yeah, really though without a load in the back it will spin the back wheels as it is. It's probably quick enough for something as big as it is with so little steering feedback.
Having said that, I 'invested' in a K&N intake for it. They claim 20+ bhp increase from this and it even comes with a dyno graph and a guarantee. It does away with the convoluted airbox, intake elbow and resonated, restrictive box and replaces it with a massive filter and a straight shot into the throttle body. I bought it solely for the sound and it does sound glorious. It has definitely perked the truck up as it gets up the rev range though.
Recently I gave the truck a really proper clean and it comes up very well. I see other gen-3 Rams that are really tired and have rusty rear arches and beds, the years this one hid in Japan seems to have done it a lot of favours.
This last weekend I did a 900 mile trip up North to drop off an R53 engine I'd sold, to go and view an F150 Raptor that I thought may replace this, and to visit some bike parks in Wales. Didn't miss a beat and returned 13.3 mpg average which I think is pretty good. Generally the cruise is set at 70mph for the motorway and I get almost 300 miles per £170 fill up off V-Power.
Weirdly I was driving (on either m62 or m6 at the time) at the weekend and I saw your truck coming in the opposite direction. I had seen this thread previously (I’m a MTB’er, have a bike van and have a Lotus - so perked my attention) and thought truck looked good, so when I saw number plate I assumed you were local to me (West yorks) but actually a southerner! So its random that I saw you.Having said that, I 'invested' in a K&N intake for it. They claim 20+ bhp increase from this and it even comes with a dyno graph and a guarantee. It does away with the convoluted airbox, intake elbow and resonated, restrictive box and replaces it with a massive filter and a straight shot into the throttle body. I bought it solely for the sound and it does sound glorious. It has definitely perked the truck up as it gets up the rev range though.
Recently I gave the truck a really proper clean and it comes up very well. I see other gen-3 Rams that are really tired and have rusty rear arches and beds, the years this one hid in Japan seems to have done it a lot of favours.
This last weekend I did a 900 mile trip up North to drop off an R53 engine I'd sold, to go and view an F150 Raptor that I thought may replace this, and to visit some bike parks in Wales. Didn't miss a beat and returned 13.3 mpg average which I think is pretty good. Generally the cruise is set at 70mph for the motorway and I get almost 300 miles per £170 fill up off V-Power.
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