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2001 Durango R/T frame off restore

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2003 build durango frame mounts
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301 - 320 of 361 Posts
Discussion starter · #302 ·
Blown rear axle seal

blown rear axle seal. Replaced both. never took an axle apart before. Found a retainer clip for spiders broke. Going to have to rebuild the rear end. ( Hopefully next year). Got both fixed, new gasket, RED rtv, waiting for it to cure 24 hours before adding gear oil.
 
Discussion starter · #303 ·
body bottom primed and painted


body is going on tomorrow. I might get a second coat on bottom in morning. That axle seal and not being able to find rear parking brake cables with the proper return springs is a bitch ( 2001 drum brakes parking cable)
 
Discussion starter · #308 ·
automotive frustration. Now with moar dash removal. Wiring hardness cut by wind or critter. Also huge unit for air and heat is shattered, so whole dash must come out. Just for a frame of reference There are this many screws in only the dash
 
Discussion starter · #310 ·
The saga continues.... todays update... Wiring harness swap


So I discovered that I have killed the 2003 "d3" donor wiring harness for the engine bay. I wrapped it in such a way that the wind of travel 2 hours, and a winter with a tarp over it caused the harness to get cut.
Then I discovered all of the wiring harness inside was cut to install a remote starter, and a tracking M2M transponder with 3 antennas. I don't want to know why this crap is on my body, it's got to go.
as a result I determined that the whole wiring harness inside and out must be swapped. Lucky me. I printed the FSM pages and went to get breakfast this morning and RTFM ( read the flippin manual).
 
Discussion starter · #311 ·
Dash spaghetti monster

Oh yeah, then I get into the cab and discover that heater/airconditioning unit is cracked, probably from the accident the "d3" donor was in. So this has to be swapped too. Enjoy the Durango spaghetti monster.
I was able to get the whole wiring harness swapped and run out front. And the swapped inside dash harness screwed in and ready to be installed.Then the last two parts arrived.....
sound deadener and sound and heat blanket for the firewall. https://www.b-quiet.com
 
Discussion starter · #312 ·
Sound barrier and heat barriers installed

first off if you need sound and heat barrier, please go to http://www.b-quiet.com. There products work at room temp, no heat gun required. The additional heat blanket ( rubber covered foam), you use spray adhesive. I found that 3M 77 is adequate to hold the firewall and sides up once placed.

I was able to get the wiring harnesses inside and out swapped, the aircon/heat unit swapped, the dash installed, and ready to hook up.




 
Discussion starter · #313 ·
Steering wheel ready to go in once I get all the plugs plugged. Put the seat in cause I had it around.
dash prepped and ready to install with 2001 wiring harness. Boo. I won't be able to add the remote disc changer. ( was in the 2003 radio, have wire, harness doesn't match ).
heat and secondary barrier installed.
 
Discussion starter · #314 ·
- Dash in check
-steering wheel in check Had to swap bracket for shift cable, cause I am using the 2003 shift cable. it fits, but had another switch of some kind on the shifter cable that my 2001 wiring harness doesn't have. AND since I swapped out the bracket on the other end at the transmission to the 2003 bracket, I am fully committed to making this work. other wise swapping that bracket on transmission is going to be a bitch now with that body in the way...now.
rear hatch latch changed, check
rear door handle fixed, check.
all interior plastic parts cleaned, check
windshield ordered, check.
carpet getting the baking soda and babypowder treatment, a day in the sun, then a vacuum and re-install .. no time for pictures. lots more coming in my next 3 days off.
 
Discussion starter · #316 · (Edited)
Steering wheel, interior trim and rest of head/sound shield installed

 just wanted to see a seat in there. won't be using this one. I have not so ripped up.
 carpet installed. INTERIOR completely installed. Just need seats

 finding all the white guide pins and getting the clips centered and pushed down before putting whole side cover in.
Rolled up carpet, took to front and unrolled into position
 All sound deadener installed
 Dash complete, steering wheel kick panel installed, Steering wheel cover installed.
starting to install over wheel wheels.
steering wheel installed.
 
Discussion starter · #318 ·
Two weeks of updates.
Got the interior completed. Did not install the console as I have other plans. I don' t like the headliner, the air/heat in the back with all the controls in ceiling, and further since whom ever owned this must have been a stripper ( ceiling of liner still smells of cheap perfume). I am going to go air conditioning delete until I can get all the parts to put it back on. I want a new condensor, o-rings, dryer, and expansion valve. All that can wait. I have all these ( 4 ) pipes going to back. I am going to try ( again) to get them off intact, or just leave them there. it's a mess.

So I threw a battery in the truck and tried to start it. All the lights and buzzers horn flashers were going off. It was freaking out. had to remove the key and battery.

I realized that since everything was 2001, I needed to swap the airbag module and the CTM back to the 2001 versions, which were the only two parts back on the black beast body, except an hour away at my parents.
 
Discussion starter · #319 ·
Getting the front clip on and ready

 front clip on
 had to drill a hole to match the fender. I covered it with new and old metal.
test fit for the 5th time, and to use a 12 ton bottle jack in the end to line it up. donor body off 1/4" in two directions.
Hard to believe you can dump parts out and I can call out what they are, just by looking at them
 last new fender!
 Here you can see on the donor body how the hood perch was twisted and bent. I decided to drive back out to parents and use the saws all to cut them off the 2001 body. I got one of the two hood hinges cause the right side was very bent.. Well once I got the hood on, I now know the left one is twisted as well. Going to have to get that off the 2001 before I wreck it.


so gradually I worked through getting the fenders on. Because people are theives, I bought fender clips m8-1.25 clips supposed to be three in there I needed, someone ganked one.
 
Discussion starter · #320 ·
CTM and air bag module swap


so after work i met my father with the parts, I had to remove the dash for the x3 time. In order to get the bottom four bolts out. I was able to do it all around that horrible center support pillar using every tool I had in the book. Took two nights after work to get this all swapped. In the process I located the 2001 radio antenna cable and installed that. I still can't find the 2001 antenna mount. The ctm, and airbag modules are all tied to the key, immobilizer and computer.


took forever to figure out what this was. This is the little switch that rides on your rear hatch lock. don't break it. You can super glue or use hot glue to put it back together.
 
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repoman
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