Looking at this problem appears to be a real pain to access in order to replace a simple gasket.I grew up doing my own repairs on gas engines, & don't know enough about diesels. I have learned from running out of fuel,how to bleed the system quickly. My main concern is do I have to remove the injection pump in order to do this, or is it possible to replace the gasket with the pump in place? Removing the pump scares me,because it went bad & was replaced 6 yrs.ago costing me $3,600 bucks! The shop replaced it but had to take it to a dodge dealer to time & calibrate it with the ecm,& that Cummins couldn't even do it cause Chrysler had changed the codes & won't give them out. Work has been really slow,& I can't do any without my truck!...Please help? Thanx,Rayce

its not too hard, remove the filter assembly, ecu, basically all the stuff in the way (except the vp)  unbolt the cover, clean the surface on the block and the cover, put new gasket on (make sure it is on properly, the tab that reads forward should be front and facing out) then replace everything. done

The vp is easy to pull. There is a bunch of info on the net on how to pull them. The biggest thing to remember is to get the key-way of the vp facing up so that when you pop the gear off the pump shaft, the key doesnt fall into the front cover. Also when installing the pump, make sure the key is seated and is aligned with the slot in the gear. Im pretty sure the vp has to be pulled in order to get the bolts. But I have never tried since I can have the vp out inaround 15 minutes.

The rest of the stuff is pretty easy to see what needs removed and is easy to take off. Once you have the cover off, lay it agaisnt a flat surface to make sure it is truely flat.

You really got screwed over on your injection pump. It should of been installed for $1500 tops. Also there is no calibration needed or secrect codes. Since there is a key way in the shaft of the pump and there is only one way for it to go into the gear, than the pump will always be in time if the pump was installed right.

I've heard of people doing the tappet cover without removing the VP but I would think it would be much easier to get it out of the way.

The whole job (tappet cover) is simple, it's just a little time consuming. Heres some instructions on removing the VP, once you read through it once or twice I think you'll see there really isn't anything to it.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bluechipdiesel.com%2Fvp44_install.html&rct=j&q=blue%20chip%20VP44%20installation%20instructions&ei=tS5eVMT6MNGNyATiqYCACA&usg=AFQjCNGY_vo793Y3gZXLYim0qen99qhnYQ&sig2=Ri9vg5AMVzrLinBw9BfoVw&bvm=bv.79189006,d.aWw

if you take the vp off, you need to take the entire hard fuel line out.   to me that is risking getting junk in the connections..   take the time to just do it with the vp in there.

If you do it right you shouldnt get anything in the lines. And its not hard to take the return line off the t, since the fuel filter is out of the way.

Might be a good time to find a 12v Tappet cover and get away from the front mounted blowby tube.

I discovered when going to replace the tappet cover gasket on my 2000 ram Cummins diesel, that on top of the metal cover was a foam- backed plastic cover. It was warped, cracked, brittle, & just falling out in chunks. What purpose does it serve,..how important is it, & do I really need to replace it also? If so, where do I purchase it?

I do believe its a sound dampener. I just left mine off.

I discovered when going to replace the tappet cover gasket on my 2000 ram Cummins diesel, that on top of the metal cover was a foam- backed plastic cover. It was warped, cracked, brittle, & just falling out in chunks. What purpose does it serve,..how important is it, & do I really need to replace it also? If so, where do I purchase it?

It's just a sound deadener, when I did my tappet cover gasket I broke mine into a million pieces so I left it off, I didn't notice any difference in noise level.

I agree take the vp off, tappet cover will be easier that way. I did mine about 3 months ago. A friend was going to help, got the parts and use of garage friend got called out of town. To me the hardest part was the fuel lines getting them off and torqued back on. The vp was easy. As stated watch the videos, make sure key way is at 12 o clock. As for the foam mine came off in 5 pieces, threw it away. There is not much change in noise.

I done a 1st gen a few year back and it best to remove all the stuff out of your way. Injection pump, injection line, fuel lines, etc.