Tractorman

If I am understanding correctly, the engine died because the lift pump was not operating. If this is true, then one of two things could be happening: The engine died because the VP44 internal vane pump could not pull fuel through a non operational lift pump. Some lift pumps are built this way, others have a directional free flow when non operational. The engine died because the VP44 internal vane pump was drawing air mixed with fuel from possible leaking fuel line / fuel line connections between the lift pump and the VP44 injection pump. I would be more suspect of #2 since you are seeing it take awhile to build lift pump pressure after the engine starts. I have actually installed a fuel line with a check valve that bypasses the lift pump just in case I have a lift pump failure. If a lift pump failure occurred on a road trip, the fuel supply would not be interrupted - the fuel would be drawn around the lift pump by the VP44's internal vane pump - no performance loss and no damage to the VP44. I could repair the truck when I get home. John

It is likely that you still have air in the fuel system. Do you have an electric fuel pressure gauge? If so, is the sensor remotely mounted? If it is, then there will be trapped air in the line going to the remote mount. Eventually, this air will work itself out of the system. John

I replaced my OEM radiator in March of 2019 at 309,000 miles on the odometer. A small leak developed on the driver side where the upper part of the side tank connected to the core. I replaced the radiator with a Napa radiator - not sure of the brand, but the part number was 2464. Truck odometer is currently at 403,000 miles.

Thanks for the update - will be following. John

So, it seems that the turbo was the fix in your case. At least you got lots of life from the old turbo. Any performance difference noticed with the new turbo? John

Sounds like you are enjoying your new truck. I imagine that the 8 spd transmission with good converter lock-up management and good shift quality would make it an excellent transmission for just about every type of driving situation. If the opportunity should arise, would you mind checking a couple of things and then reporting back? I am interested in how the torque converter lock-up responds under certain specific conditions. What is the lowest gear (in manual shift mode) that the torque converter will lock up and stay locked up with a working exhaust brake? Please give engine rpm and road speed. After defining that gear, will that gear still allow the torque converter to re-lock and the exhaust brake to re-engage, if the converter was unintentionally unlocked? If so, will the converter lock up without having to gain road speed to make it lock up. Does the torque converter lock-up and exhaust brake operate any differently when selecting specific gears in the tow-haul mode? These questions pertain to descending a long, steep down grade with 20 mph and 25 mph curves hauling a heavy load. I am going to be out of town for about four days, so I probably won't have internet access for immediate future replies. Thank you, John

Thanks for the clarification. Still curious as to if you noted any restriction when you inspected the removed oily drain hose from the old turbo. John

I always thought that the "W" is for internal waste gate - no "W", no internal waste gate. Am I wrong? Sounds like your project went well - let us know how the truck is doing in another 500 miles or so. I just crossed the 400,000 mile mark on my OEM HX35W, so I am interested to see if your engine oil consumption was for sure from the old turbo. The photo with the oily return hose - after removing that hose, could you tell if it was causing any restriction to flow? Thanks for posting your fix. John

That is good news. I didn't catch this on my first read. That would definitely be a contributor to "death wobble". John

I am very interested to see if replacing the intake gasket is really the fix, or is it just coincidental and something else got corrected? I can see how a leaking intake gasket could cause delayed power and low boost (your most recent complaint), but I don't see how it would affect idle or cause stalling. Just my thoughts. Keep us posted for any symptoms that may return: low idle rpm stalling John

So, you are saying that the TIRES were pointed straight ahead and you counted the maximum turns of the steering wheel (about 4 1/4 turns stop to stop) and you centered the steering wheel (2 1/8 turns back to center from either stop)? And, after doing this, the drag link does not align with the Pitman arm? This tells me that the steering wheel is not centered in the steering box. If it is centered, the steering wheel can only be turned approximately 2 1/8 turns each way with the drag link disconnected. In fact, it seems like the steering wheel is a full turn off-center. Not sure what you expect to gain here since the Pitman arm is indexed to the sector shaft. The drag link should not make contact with anything. You will need to address this. There are mechanical steering stops located on the lower front side of each end of the axle housing. When your situation is corrected, your steering to full left and full right will contact these stops. John

Something doesn't seem right here. Lots more questions. Can you give more detail about the event (forward speed, position of the steering wheel when contact was made)? Did you perform the T-style steering conversion yourself? Did you perform the alignment yourself? Did you ensure that the steering gear box was centered and tires were in the straight ahead position BEFORE you connected the drag link to the Pitman arm? Typically the Pitman arm is indexed in a manner that would allow for four different directions of installing (90° apart). That doesn't mean that yours is this way. Have you checked that your new steering linkage is not binding on something when you steer to the left? John

Which tire was involved with the "bumped into a concrete pedestal thing?" It would take some serious force to strip the spines on the Pitman arm / sector shaft. Personally, I wouldn't drive the truck until the steering issue is figured out. Possibly, the Pitman arm is bent. Diagnosing this problem is going to be a bit more difficult since you swapped to the T type steering before you fixed the steering problem. Is the steering wheel centered when driving straight down the road? I would put the front end of the truck on jack stands and remove the front tires. Verify that the steering spindle "stops" contact the left and right axle "stops". If steering to one direction does not reach the "stop", then the steering gearbox can be over stressed on hard turns in that direction. If either steering "stop" cannot be reached, then something is still bent, or the steering gear box is no longer centered on the steering linkage after you did the steering conversion. John

Observing soot at the end of the tailpipe is normal for this era of truck, especially if you have larger than stock injectors. Disconnect the compressor discharge plumbing from the turbo and inspect for an oily mess. Then, disconnect the exhaust band on the exhaust side and inspect for the same. It is possible. The hone pattern intentionally put into the cylinder walls is used as a mild abrasive to condition the outer wear surface of the piston rings for the first 1,000 miles or so of driving. During this period of time, the best mating of the rings to the cylinder wall will occur, resulting in the least oil consumption and least engine blow-by. Using a slippery synthetic oil during break-in reduces the effectiveness of the abrasive characteristics of honing the cylinder walls - it will have a more likely effect of polishing the piston rings and the cylinder walls, resulting in more oil consumption and more engine blow-by. Try performing the oil cap rattle test for the poor man's method of checking engine blow-by. John

I would wait for him to drive the truck for at least a month plus a few hundred miles before I would consider it repaired. Many people who experienced death wobble have posted the repairs here on this site, only to experience the death wobble again weeks, or even months later. John

👍! John

Same method that I use. I have the engine running as well to allow the power steering to put a maximum amount of force to the linkages. Years ago, I set the caster to 4 1/2° positive. It was the best single steering performance improvement on my truck. John

It almost sounds like the "high idle" is being activated. If you drive the truck with the coolant sensor disconnected, does the idle rpm stay where it should? John Some time ago, I did some research regarding this. It seems to be a bit of an anomaly that occurs on some vehicles when static electricity generated from the rubber part of the harmonic balancer jumps to the oil pan as a spark. The good news is that there is no cause for concern. John

How does the track bar look. How are you testing the track bar or steering linkage? John

P0122 - Accelerator Pedal Position Sensor Signal Voltage Too Low Are you familiar with the W-T ground reference modification? If so, have you done the modification? This modification addresses a potentially poor ground splice for the ECM and many other components. It addresses other wiring issues, as well. The wiring diagram below shows how many components use this splice. Here is the link to the Ground Reference Modification. I recommend to read thoroughly before beginning any work. https://mopar1973man.com/cummins/articles.html/24-valve-2nd-generation/engine/electrical/ground-reference-vp44ecmpcmpdc-plus-tc-lockunlock-r567/?&tab=comments#comment-177452 John

Since only the ECM controls idle rpm, I think that you are going to have to provide some information regarding what your truck is and what repairs and symptoms that triggered high idle rpm. Details matter. John

This is just my opinion here, so do not take this as fact. I have never been real concerned about maintaining a maximum specific AC voltage from the alternator. Nobody ever talks about this when diagnosing problems with vehicles that are not 2nd generation Dodge Cummins trucks. Why would they be an different? I am still running my original Bosch alternator (changed brushes twice, bearings once), but still have original diodes. I have checked for AC voltage at least three times in the last ten years. The readings have never be below .05 volts AC. However, I still am running with my original ECM, PCM, and a second APPS. The original APPS lasted for 289,000 miles until it failed (interestingly, with the same code as yours). The APPS I am now running is a Timbo and it has currently logged about a 113,000 miles. So, I can't say that this is absolutely not your problem, but I don't think that it is. Did you use a mulitmeter to check the idle validation switch activation when you loctited the throttle set screw? John

That is a good way to test. Will be waiting to hear back. Also, have you verified that the mechanical set screw for the throttle cable is in good condition and that the throttle cable always returns to the mechanical stop when operating the throttle? John

Interesting. I copied mine from my 2002 FSM, however your P0121 description actually seems more related to the symptoms that are occurring. What is the source of your information? John

You could do that - it could confirm what your scanner is saying. Also, you mentioned that you are getting the P0121 code. P0121 (M) Accelerator Position Sensor (APPS) Signal Voltage Too Low APPS voltage input below the minimum acceptable voltage. You could check this voltage (5 volts supply) at the same time to see if it is fluctuating while the symptoms occur. The condition of wiring and wiring connections (both positive and negative) are crucial on these trucks - so, yes, it is possible for this to be the problem. John