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For the most part, this website details the enjoyment I get out of working and modding my Dodge Durango while transforming it into my ultimate personal exploration vehicle in The Garage.
The Ultimate Durango Project featured here on the SnowDigger.com website, was designed to create a well- rounded extraordinarily vehicle capable of meeting a wide variety of transportation needs, from running everyday errands to serving as a rolling base for adventures trips in the harsh winter conditions found here in the Michigan UP, and yet still has to offer all the amenities you'd expect to find in a luxury SUV.
A capable Survival vehicle with excellent around-town maneuverability,
serious road and off-road capability for the short summers but especially
for the long winters in snow and ice.
You can read all about this project here.
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The first generation Dodge Durango equipped with a stroked 6.7l Chrysler Magnum V-8, plus the project vehicle has an excellent all-wheel-drive system which can be switched to four wheel-drive on the fly! |
SnowDigger.com goes into it's 5th year and I would like to thank you for the many feedback emails and the support I have received in the past years from so many of you!
Please keep coming back, it makes all this worth doing.
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Stay
if you like, leave if you must, enjoy while you're here.
In
any case, thanks for stopping by!
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What's new at SnowDigger?
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05-03-2012 Making the ProParts Triple Pillar Pod fit the Durango!
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A gauge pod is an easy solution to add some gauges to any truck or car but there is none currently in the aftermarket available for the 2003 Durango.
A closer look at the triple gauge pod from ProParts which is manufactured for the Dodge Dakota (2000-2004) made me wonder if it could be modified to fit my 2003 Durango SLT+ and thus I decided to take on this new project. Check it out here. |
03-28-2012 Winch Cable Conversion!
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I recently discovered a kink in the winch cable and instead of replacing the steel cable I went all out and converted the winch to the more desirable synthetic rope. The main reason for me to switch to a synthetic rope instead of just replacing the steel cable has been safety. You can read all about it here.
Furthermore, I have started a new section named "Recovery Gear" to include all the equipment installed or carried along in my Durango for that purpose. Check it out here. |
02-10-2012 Outside Mirror Replacement!
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Coming back from my last trip to Detroit, I realized that the automatic dimming day-night feature which is incorporated into the driver side outside mirror did not switch back to full reflectance but stayed at full dim. I also noticed a small band on top of the mirror glass which appeared different then the rest. It was clear to me that the dimming feature has died and a replacement was needed.You can read all about it here. |
01-16-2012 Oil Change!
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Today, I felt good enough to take on a desperatly needed oil and filter change on the Durango which was almost overdue. This normally small maintenance task was actually something I have been looking forward to for a while especially after all this time in the hospital without having my garage.
Now, after completing this without too much fatigue, I am seriously planning to get back into some more involved things within my current capabilities, that is. Stay tuned!
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12-28-2011 Random revving issue fixed!
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When I was cruising in my Durango I started noticing that the engine began revving randomly while driving between 50 to 60 mph at a steady speed. This was especially noticable while I had the cruise control activated. The revving and assoiated sound did go away when I reached a driving speed below or above. The tranny did always shift on time, but the noise was somewhat similar to a transmission which was low on fluid.
You can read all about it here. |
12-08-2011 Back Home!
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I am finally back from the Detroit Hospital with my new transplant in place and working! I am feeling quite well considering what I have gone through! It wasn't a cake walk and there were times I thought I wouldn't make it, but I did. My family and I had a really nice Christmas at home and I would like to thank all of you which wrote emails of encouragement and especially those which helped me through the process with their donations!
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Postponing Projects: I am in no condition to tackle any big projects at this point as I will need a bit more recovery time. Some of the planned projects need to be placed on the backburner for a few month. However, despite that bit of a setback, rest assured that I will do my best to tackle all of the planned projects within this new year. They are in no way forgotten, so keep on checking back for more!
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04-30-2011 Injectors and aluminum fuel rails for a starving Magnum!
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As soon as I hit the pedal I felt a bit of decreased throttle response and a big dead spot when I nailed the gas at low rpms especially in 1st or 2nd gear, simply said, I could feel that the engine wants to go but it didn't!
After some lengthy chats with a few guys which really do know their stuff about engines (one of the guys is a repeat contender in the Engine Masters Challenge) pretty much everyone came to the same conclusion that I needed larger injectors! |
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This project got a start with a new set of 24 lbs.injectors which replaced the OEM Bosch 19 lbs. injectors which I was running in the engine before. Followed by the installation of some nice aluminum fuel rail billets to match while I was at it. After it was all done, the engine started up without a single hiccup but had a bit of a rough idle. No leaks and no other issues to report but the mpg's went down quite a bit... You can read all about this interesting project here!
02-16-2011 Garage Improvement Finished!
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Well, it's finally all done and finished! All of my equipment is back into place and I moved the tools and other stuff back up from the basement and returned them into the garage. I fixed the faulty garage door opener system which now works 99% of the time and hopefully it will keep working.
I got plenty of lights now and all are on individual switches and thus I am not wasting electricity when not needed. I have been feeling a bit frustrated not have been able to work on my truck while this garage improvement was under construction but now I can get finally back to the planned projects on the Durango. Check out the entire project here! |
07-29-2010 Window Regulator/Motor issue fixed!
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When jumping back into the Durango after sitting out on the lake enjoying a beautiful sunny afternoon last weekend, it happened, closing the driver door and without touching anything, the window just went down without any warning and wouldn't work anymore at all. Not cool!
After getting home and short of trying about anything I could think of, I came to the conclusion that this wasn't fixable without ordering a new part. Well, today the part arrived a day ahead of schedule and it was such an unbelievable easy fix that it was done within an hour. You can read all about it here. |
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