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"newbie Check In"

2K views 19 replies 4 participants last post by  NitromanDan 
#1 ·
Actually not new, have had mine since Jan of 09 and had it lifted (Daystar 2" spacer kit ) since shortly thereafter. The vehicle and I have a love/hate relationship, it loves to hate me. Other "mods" are JBA upper control.arms with the replaceable balljointd which went in when the lift wore out the original balljoints/nonservicable upper control arms (stupid dodge) thankfully those solved that issue but if it ever happens again at least I can replace just the Ball joint and not the whole arm but it's been close to 100k and no problems yet. I've had all.four calipers replaced due them looking up (thanks again for that dodge) as well as a r/f front axleshaft and r/f output shaft from the diff (recently) that issue had been haunting me for years but no-one could pinpoint the noise until the axle shaft literally just about fell out stripping out the mating gears on the output shaft with it.
So if anyone gets a intermittent grinding noise out of the front end at low speeds when turning or hitting a bump beware the c/v shaft may be falling out thus roasting it's mating gears in the diff output shaft.
I've also had multiple tpms sensor rebuilds due to corrosion as well as rim leaks from the alloys. Perhaps the most frustrating issue I've had ( aside from the front diff noise) was the lack of remote entry from the factory and the door lock cylinder seizing up ( at first just in cold weather then altogether and permanently ) which led to a remote start /entry system being inatalled so I could actually lock my doors and be able to unlock them . Now the only issue with that is if my battery dies I cant get in so i always leave my hood popped when parked for an extended period. Side not on this last issue sitting in a grocery store parking lot with a generator and a hairdryer in January when it's 10 degrees outside isn't fun nor is tenting the truck in plastic with salamandor heater to defrost the lock (again in January), but I've been in both scenarios the latter at my (now wifes) mother's house 40 mikes from home.
 
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#4 ·
Forgot to mention I have the same interior door handle issue that many have experienced, but only on my l/f (driver's door) the pthers rarely get used. being that mine is an 07 and has the old style handles that are prone to breaking I never replaced mine i just put some small screws in to hold the handle back together the repair has held up well for years now and the only issue I had was when some gorilla handed servoce tech broke it again and didn't bother to tell me, but that was nothing a little patience couldn't fix.

I also have a custom fabricated front hitch receiver for a winch or other recovery point but thankfully have only had to use it once for it's intended purpose.
 
#7 ·
BAH! Be proud of those dents & dings, Dan. I'm sure it looked pretty sharp when you first bought it, but heck! You already said it is a working truck. A few "character" marks are to be expected. And, I'm sure you remember how most of them happened. That's what make your Nitro YOURS, with a unique story that only you can tell. Be proud of that, man! ;)

Even my Nitro is not perfect. I now have a small ding near my gas cap cover from a bored neighbor kid. He was walking down the sidewalk randomly hitting cars with a stick. I caught him in the act and threatened to break the stick over his backside. Then I marched him off to his mother & explained what he did. Needless to say, I kinda felt bad for the kid. His mama wasted no time tanning his hide. But, he doesn't mess with anyone's vehicle now. o_O
 
#8 ·
Hello and welcome NitromanDan,
to the Nitro “Z” family!
All Nitro come with remote unlock and lock. So I find it strange yours does not work.
My Trō is a working ride as well. IMO it is what they were made to do.
I'm looking forward to your future posts & Pics. We love Pics here!
We also like new Mod ideas.

Enjoy the forumZ.
Scar

BTW;
If you could please go to your personal-details and fill in the “Vehicle:” info about your rig, then it will be easier for us to answer your questions down the road, without us having to ask a bunch of questions.

As you can see at the left of every post I make;
This is what I drive:
Vehicle: 07Lifted,4X4,6sp-man,3.7L
 
#9 ·
ScarO I certainly didnt get a remote when i purchased the vehicle used with 2200 miles (lease trade in out of S.C.)in Jan 09, what's more Is the dealer only gave me 1 key, chipped of course. After dealing with this for years I had a remote start/ entry installed about 3 years ago as I was moving to SoFlo( back in Ny now) and needed to be able to secure the vehicle
 
#10 ·
Maybe we are getting our terms mixed up.?
Remote start was an option, but remote lock/unlock was standard on all Nitro.
Did the key you received not have the lock/unlock buttons on it?
 
#11 ·
No, it was a generic chipped Dodge key (grey emblem)no fob attached like the black ones of the same era and I only got one, I was fed up with the dealer shenanigans and was young and naive (first real car purchase) so I didn't think to make a big deal out of it, in hindsight that was a mistake
 
#12 ·
Ah, gotcha.
My father in law only got one key for his 08 Ram. We ended up buying some keys from fleebay ($12 each) and took them to a local locksmith to have them cut and programmed into the system. We both now have 3 working keys with fobs. https://www.nitroforumz.com/threads/spare-key.44128/
 
#13 ·
I looked into secondary keys but never took the leap if i had two from the get go making a third would have been easy peesy, but after thoroughly researching the options to get a second ive just been extra careful and for almost 8 years that has served me well I did have a couple non chipped keys cut from the vin back when the door lock cylinder was still operational when I locked myself out several times. However once the lock cylinder stopped working completely I just went with a aftermarket remote kit installed for around 300$ not bad for two remotes and being able to start the vehicle from inside, with the added bonus of not dealing with the dodge dealer ( yes I understand a locksmith could have done extra keys as well) but since my door lock cylinder doesn't work anyway and I have 1 good ignition key I killed two birds with one stone
 
#14 ·
Ya, some dealers can suck the life and $ out of you. My local one wanted $285 for one key. Can you believe that!?
At that $, the way you went was the only way to go.:cool:
 
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#17 ·
My phone has an edit option once I am looking at the Pic. But I usually upload them to the computer first. Better software on the PC makes it real simple.
 
#19 ·
If you have extra around the edges of the pic, maybe you can crop it down a little.
Other option would be to set your Pic size smaller before you take a Pic.
 
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#20 ·
Yeah the second option there seems more feasible I'll have to shoot some new ones with the pixels turned down (just have to remember to do that before I point n shoot) I didn't leave room for cropping on the ones I took the other day and don't have anything in my archives
Thanks again Scar
 
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