Any tips for new diesel Ram owner?
From : funky trilobyte
Q: drove home with a 99 ram 2500 last friday 5.9l 24-valve cummins td quad cab long bed auto trans 3.54 rear end 4x4. 116000 miles engine replaced by the factory at 93000 under warranty by previous owner. this is my first truck and my first diesel. on monday i went to the local mechanic to get the truck checked out and get some routine maintenance items to a known state. changed oil air filter and fuel filter replaced a busted tailgate cable and had the bull bumper tightened up. trans coolant and differentials all came up clean. to add some context i live in a rural dairy/alfalfa area so this shop works on plenty of pickups many diesels. these guys appear to tell it like it is and arent out to rob me. for example i asked if they could install the 2nd tank option and while they assured me theyd like the business they saw no reason for me to do so whats this thing hold anyway 35 40. the comments from the guys who worked on it indicated that the truck appears to be in really good shape. the one thing they harped on was the auto transmission preparing me for when -- not if -- it fails. the archives of this group seem to show that this opinion may or may not be warranted squeaky wheel abusive drivers etc.. the advice i got was to get the trans fluid pan with the extra capacity and toss in a trans temp guage for good measure. this seemed like sound advice to me to keep the temp as cool as possible. so ill probably do that when i go in for my next oil change. i tried to get as many pointers as i could from the guys at the shop. after thinking things over i have a few questions for you folks. mostly about the care and feeding of the vehicle. 1. i was told not to drive it too hard while cold. when i asked if i should let it warm up in the driveway i was told no. what does that leave me driving around my block a couple of times at 25mph 2. i was told to not ever tow non-trivial loads with overdrive see complaints of auto tranny above. also dont rev too high. given that w/o overdrive driving 55mpg gets me to 2000rpm does that mean i cant tow faster than 55mph also what weight is considered non-trivial for this vehicle 3. various sources indicate that the sweet spot for the engine is about 1800 rpm which is about what i get cruising at 65mpg with overdrive. this seems to contradict advice ive heard to turn off od while driving around town as the engine revs higher more often. could someone get me up to speed on the use or lack of od and types of driving 4. the cummins online faq states that the injectors should be adjusted at 150000 miles. is that miles on the vehicle or on the engine itself. and when that time comes around should i trust my local shop or take it to the nearest certified cummins site as indicated in my lengthy intro above i changed out the fuel filter and plan on getting the larger trans pan installed at my next oil change. for the following oil changes i was going to get a cooling system flush-n-fill and then get new fluid into the differentials. any other items i should get done any particular order i should do them i figure every $1 spent on preventative maintenance will save me $10 in repairs in the long run. i plan on subscribing to the turbo diesel register and i will soon order my proper owners manual from dodge the one the truck came with was for the *gas* version of the 2500 ram. any other good sources dead-tree or online for me to keep tabs on i do love driving this truck. it gets better gas mileage than the 93 navajo i traded in for it. that was a pleasant surprise. and the sound of that cummins purring is music to my ears. thanks a bunch! .
Replies:
From : nosey
i plan on subscribing to the turbo diesel register and i will soon order my proper owners manual from dodge the one the truck came with was for the *gas* version of the 2500 ram. any other good sources dead-tree or online for me to keep tabs on alldata - tsb and recall listing for the 99 cummins ram 4x4 http//www.alldata.com/tsb/17/991780eg.html diesel truck resource - various info http//www.dieseltruckresource.com/ fritzs dodge ram site - various info http//www.dodgeram.org/ genos garage - info parts accessories http//www.genosgarage.com/ .
From : tl
one thing i will tell you that maybe you dont know and it seems alot of others dont either get your anti-freeze checked to see what the ph level is! if your anti-freeze is acidic it can eventually cause piting of the liners in the motor and ruin your engine. if the ph is low you can add something called dca4 made by fleetguard its a anti-corrosion inhibitor.its only a couple of dollars and it can save you alot in the long run. its not a bad idea to check it every once in a while. .
From : tom lawrence
1. i was told not to drive it too hard while cold. when i asked if i should let it warm up in the driveway i was told no. what does that leave me driving around my block a couple of times at 25mph no - easy doesnt necessarily mean slow. dont use more than 1/2 throttle until the water temp needle starts moving ie. comes off the peg. cant tow faster than 55mph also what weight is considered non-trivial for this vehicle the general rule is that if the transmission hunts between 4th and 3rd or if the torque converter is locking and unlocking then turn off od. along with that i wouldnt use od with loads over 6k. could someone get me up to speed on the use or lack of od and types of driving i leave od off whenever ill be driving at speeds below 45mph or so. ill run the engine between 1500rpm and 2200-2300rpm. 4. the cummins online faq states that the injectors should be adjusted at 150000 miles. injectors you mean the valves. theres nothing to adjust on the injectors. is that miles on the vehicle or on the engine itself. on the engine. since you have a recently-replaced engine its like youre starting over. and when that time comes around should i trust my local shop or take it to the nearest certified cummins site the local shop you have sounds more than competent. valve adjustment is a piece of cake - no special tools required just a set of feeler gauges. change. for the following oil changes i was going to get a cooling system flush-n-fill and then get new fluid into the differentials. all very reasonable to do with a newly-acquired used vehicle. any other items i should get done how are the brakes brake fluid brake fluid will absorb moisture over time which could lead to reduced effectiveness as the moisture in the calipers boils and creates steam pockets as well as promote corrosion in the system. general practice is to flush the brake system every few years. drain and re-fill the transfer case as well. it should take about 2-3 quarts of atf unlike your transmission regular dexron-iii is fine for the transfer case. never use anything but atf+3. atf+4 or mopar 7176 fluid in the transmission. make sure the people who will be changing your trans fluid understand this. .
From : brian a irwin
mr. trilobyte. youre in the exact same position i was several years ago. i purchased a 1997 dodge cummins diesel lb ex-cab 12 valve 2-door. i want this vehicle to be dependable and last as long as possible so the same as you i figured a dollar spent wisely today may save much more down the road. i did alot of my own research and made some decisions. for what its worth ill answer some of your questions and make some suggestions.... the one thing they harped on was the auto transmission preparing me for when -- not if -- it fails... the advice i got was to get the trans fluid pan with the extra capacity and toss in a trans temp guage for good measure. the reason theyre suggesting a larger trans fluid pan is larger capacity means lower overal fluid temperature. im sure youve heard the expression from trans repair shops that for every 20 deg increase in temp above 175 deg the transission life is cut in half. this statement is not made because the transmission actually melts or something its related to failure of the petroleum transmission fluid...more on this later. the 47re transmissions in the dodge diesels are tough basic transmissions but suffer from several problems biggest being an extremely loose fluid coupling designed for high reving gas engine not a high torque low reving diesel low line pressures possible premature failure of 4th then 3rd gear clutch packs. if towing large loads and the torque converter isnt locking up the engine side torque converter fluid impellor is turning much faster than the trasmission input shaft fluid impellor. this shearing action generates alot of heat. when petroleum atf starts rising above 200 deg it begins to oxidize starts to evaporate causing an increase in viscosity and the additive package begins to lose integrity. as a result the wear protection properties of the fluid fails allowing metal to metal contact the thicker fluid starts to cause erratic shifting and because of the oxidation and evaporation stuff like varnish sludge/crud begins to form and gets stuck in the valve body fluid ports and also plays havoc with transmission operation. to make a long story short the transmission fails....if youre pulling extremely large loads the larger pan definitely wont hurt. however i think your best advise would be to install a high quality synthetic atf. synthetic atfs naturally have slower oxidation/evaporation rates and resists temperature related breakdown up to approx 100 deg higher than petoleum atfs. synthetic fluids also have much stonger film strengths preventing metal to metal contact and also allow much longer drain intervals. so when your petroleum fluid is rapidly failing at 220 deg the synthetic fluid is still laughing. bottom line a larger pan wont hurt but definitely invest in synthetic atf first. trans fluid gauge is also good info when towing. it gives a you info how much load your towing compared to standard driving etc. 1. i was told not to drive it too hard while cold. when i asked if i should let it warm up in the driveway i was told no. what does that leave me driving around my block a couple of times at 25mphi think what theyre suggesting here is a diesel lacks power until its all warmed up. if you start a diesel on a winter day 0 deg and try flooring it immediately youre not likely going far very quickly. when the engine is cold the fuel doesnt get burned completely all that white smoke coming out the exhaust. also because its cold and everything contracted there is possibility of unburned fuel blowing by the piston rings and entering the engine oil. a bit of this will naturally occur but definitely will by working your engine hard when cold. fuel in oil dilutes it decreasing lubrication properties. my advise you own a diesel dont be cheap and plug it in. itll help you start quicker & allow less warmup time. when still cold and load permits drive conservatively until engine warms up. alternative is to warm up in driveway but this will take take a very long time. 2. i was told to not ever tow non-trivial loads with overdrive see complaints of auto tranny above. also dont rev too high. given that w/o overdrive driving 55mpg gets me to 2000rpm does that mean i cant tow faster than 55mph also what weight is considered non-trivial for this vehicle see above explanation. whn pulling heavy loads with the od not kicked in the loose fluid coupling generates alot of atf fluid heat. atf heat + trans = failure. buy the synthetic atf. this will protect you from alot of this. however if the load is that large use some common sense. your trans will last longer regardless of fluid type when the torque converter is locked up. if the load is large definitely consider driving with od off and 55mph. ok engine speed dont worry up to 2200rpm. 3. various sources indicate that the sweet spot for the engine is about 1800 rpm which is about what i get cruising at
From : nosey
mike simmons wrote in our shop a fully certified l1 tech gets $24.00/hr plus benefits. mike but will your shop pay for the schools .
From : ty
inline.. nice to see someone else talk about dodge automatic transmissions not making the grade over the long haul. thats the one reason i would steer away from the dodge. ive had several transmission mechanics tell me the same thing. we my employer have a 98 ram 2500 w/ the cummins and the auto its got 134k on it and the trannys been rebuilt twice...along with the entire front end i absolutely hate driving the thing the guy who drives it regularly loves it but hes a mopar guy through and through hes so bad that if you took a pile of cowshit and stuck a dodge symbol on it hed claim it was the best thing since sliced bread. i find it interesting that this is a chevy truck group but more people seem to favor dodge and ford over chevy. maybe just on this particular question. alt.trucks.ford. the only diesel i have much experience with aside from our caterpillar is the dodge. i much prefer driving our 98 gmc c2500 w/ a vortec 350 it just doesnt have the school bus-ness that the dodge does plus it can legally carry and tow a hell of alot more weight than the dodge our dodge can legally only haul 1600lbs the truck weighs 7200lbs w/ a 8800 gvwr while the gmc can haul 3200lbs weighs 5400lbs w/ a 8600 gvwr. being commercially registered vehicles were screwed if were caught hauling heavy. we also have a 90 f-250 that can haul just as much as the dodge but with a 6600lbs gvwr. my favorite is by far the gmc. -bret .
From : gf
well the cheapest performance add on is nitrous. the downside to doing this is a few fold. besides the obvious of installing all the hardware always filling the bottle and it should only be used at wide open throttle. so if you where to use it for passing another car or drag racing will really give you some huge numbers. remember where horsepower and torque are applied you need to beef up the entire motor. you maybe can get around this if you have a newer motor and you keep the power in the bottle at 100-300 hp shot. i will say if you go this direction please use a separate arming switches that the deploy button. the best trigger button is having it under the gas peddle so you cannot accidentally trigger it at idle for an example. i would also suggest one more safety item please leave the bottle blue. if you are ever in an accident heaven forbid every response team will know exactly what is on board. the other dollar for dollar is indeed a supercharger. most are expensive but it will give you good hp and tq. on average you should be able to get a 100 hp with just bolting on. not knowing what motor i cannot give you more hp@rpm. most places give out numbers of 30-40 percent increase over what you make stock. when looking for more power there is a double edge sword. the hardest thing to do is figure how much money you want to put into your motor as a supercharger can bolt onto any motor in a weekend but remember a motor is nothing more than a air pump so the more air/fuel that will be pushed into your motor the better. when you are getting the air/fuel stuffed into each cylinder the more power is made. one last thing going back to the motor what needs to be considered. you really should keep your compression ratio to 81-8.81 or your motor if you any detonation there is a really good chance of putting a hole in a piston. just on a reminder on what should be areas of concern 1low compression 2a camshaft with very low overlap like a stock or rv cam 3use very high quality gaskets such as felpro off the top of my head this should cover the major parts. the motor in my chevy was built for a blower but after getting some bad gas i decided not to put it on. if you do decide to use a supercharger i am very impress with the centrifugal blowers like paxton for a very slick look and it does not heat up there air coming in. when all is said and done my approach would be cubic inches. so you might find a big block will give you all the power you want. if this is going on or in a newer truck and you are still in warranty you might just have to wait or they may except certain blowers that legal in all the states. i do believe most of the centrifugal are. regards chuck 78 chevy 1 ton 4x4 van what is the single most thing you can add to a truck to give it peak performance other than nitrous im guessing a supercharger but is there a cheaper way to get good budget horse that makes a noticeable difference cheers remo rosati author divine intervention http//www.geocities.com/newnovelann now available at over 50000 bookstores .
From : trey
my 01 shows no evidence of what you are talking about. must be an 03 thing like you said. james .
From : jwlbal
i installed rancho a year ago. the bushings on the bottom went bad. the shock would chatter within the mount. made it sound like a bad ball joint. they are trash now. jj steve meyer wrote i have trailmaster ssvs they have been great... on and off road with and without a slide-in camper. from iamgoode@aol.com iamgoode organization aol http//www.aol.com date 20 aug 2003 141525 gmt subject re better shocks edelbrock/trailmaster/rancho so no ones tried the trailmaster ssvs i too had an explorer i ran rancho 9000s with a 2 inch home made suspension lift. i didnt care for the ride... sean rec.bicycles.marketplace .