Tractorman

If my memory serves correct, and that is a big if, I think you were cleaning the junk away from the evaporator core since the evaporator core is the next item in the path downstream from the blower box. All of the air passes through the evaporator core and then through the blend door, and then the heater core. I don't think the heater core is accessible for cleaning unless the whole HVAC assembly is removed. You can flog me if I'm wrong.. - John

You cannot get air from the defroster vents with the mode selector in the Max position. The only way to get air from the defroster vents is to select Defrost or select the combination Floor / Defrost. Max air selection will draw air from the cab via the recirculating door position and send that air through the panel vents. The air temperature will be controlled by the blend door position. You can, however, get any temperature of air (from very cold to hot) in any mode (Defrost, AC, Max , Floor, Vent) because that is the function of the blend door. So, if you are getting a reasonable amount of airflow coming from the defrost vents, there really can be only two possible causes for airflow not being hot. One, the coolant portion of the heater core is significantly restricted; or two, the blend door mechanism / ducting is faulty and cannot direct all of the airflow through the heater core. Hope this helps... - John

I think you are going to have to pull the dash. It is sounding like the air flow through the heater core is mostly blocked, unless the blend door is actually broken and blocking the path through the heater core). The blower motor draws air from outside (through the cowling behind the hood) or from the interior of the cab (recirc mode). After that air exits the blower outlet duct, all of that air passes through the evaporator core. All of that air leaving the evaporator core is either diverted around or directed through (or both) the heater core via the blend door. There is no way to clear any air flow blockage in the heater core area that I know of. I am a bit confused because in an earlier post you answered a question about sufficient air flow from the vents. Your answer: Now you are saying "a little heat but no large movement of air"? - John

That's a good question... and I don't know the answer. I fill with bio-diesel (think) on occasion - at a Safeway store in Molalla, Or (in the Willamette Valley) and a busy station in John Day, Or ( small town). I will check the labels on my next fill up. I pulled these definitions from on-line: Biomass based diesel - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has defined biodiesel and biomass-based diesel to clarify their differences. According to the FTC, biomass-based diesel means “a diesel fuel substitute produced from non-petroleum renewable resources that meets the registration requirements for fuels and fuel additives established by the Environmental Protection Agency under 42 U.S.C. 7545, and includes fuel derived from animal wastes, including poultry fats and poultry wastes, and other waste materials, or from municipal solid waste and sludges and oils derived from wastewater and the treatment of wastewater, except that the term does not include biodiesel.” Biodiesel, on the other hand, means “the mono alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from plant or animal matter that meet: the registration requirements for fuels and fuel additives under 40 CFR Part 79; and the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials standard D6751–07b (Standard Specification for Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock (B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels).” - John

I tried two stroke oil once. The engine was real quiet when I poured it in the tank, but as soon as I started the engine, the noise came back. Actually, living in Oregon I get the benefit of the state mandated 5% bio-diesel at the pump so I have never had the need to seriously try two stroke on a regular basis. If it weren't for the mandated 5% bio-diesel, I know I would experiment with adding two stroke oil. Also, I occasionally run 20% bio-diesel and I have noticed gains in mpg on several occasions (both towing and not towing) which did surprise me a little. - John

@dripley, thanks for the follow up. It is nice to hear the details (the good and the bad) after a repair job is completed. I bet it feels good to have a good performing truck again. And it's quieter. That doesn't happen very often. I just towed my tractor to Baker City and I now have over 241,000 miles on the VP44. I am going to continue to run it until I see or feel a performance problem. Hopefully, it won't leave me stranded. You did leave out one detail, however. You did not tell us what else you use your head for if it is not just a place to put your hat. The details are important. - John

Check for codes using the ignition switch. Turn ignition switch on and off three times. Third time "on", leave "on" and read codes in the odometer. PCM first, then followed by ECM. - John

Hopefully, there is no gas in your tank. Your question about two stoke oil has already been answered in a previous post - see below... - John

My son-in-law has a 2006 Ram 3500 Dually 5.9 Cummins with a manual six speed. The catalytic converter was stolen while the truck was parked for awhile. My question is: Will there be any adverse side effects if the catalytic converter is replaced with a straight pipe? Smog testing is no longer an issue with the truck. From what I know, I don't think it would be an issue, but I would rather hear from others who might know differently. Thank you, - John

I believe the OEM setup for Quads (Sport Headlights) is as follows: Outer lamps - 9007 low beam and high beam Inner lamps - 9004 high beam only Please correct me if I am wrong. - John

@sam, if you can get your hands on a radiator pressure tester, you would likely find which is leaking. I would pump up the tester to 15 psi with a cold engine. Personally, I would not use Bars Leak or any other sealant. I did once because I had a leaking heater core and I thought it would be a good fix. Although it worked for a couple of years, it took a few more years to clean up the coolant, even with many coolant changes. I finally added a coolant filter in the to the cooling system which made the coolant very clean again. - John

Interesting about your new transmission mount. I still have the original engine mounts and transmission mount, but a few months ago I replaced the transmission mount with a Napa brand. The first thing I noticed was the frequency of an idling engine was transferred into the frame, which in turn was transferred to the running boards via the running board braces. I could feel / hear the frequency at other engine rpm's as well. Since the original transmission mount was still in good condition, I re-installed it and everything is back to normal and quiet. I will be very interested to hear about the performance of the your new engine mounts. - John

@joeld779, I hope your problem is fixed when you get everything resealed behind the head. I'm sorry, but I don't know the part numbers. Some time ago I recall someone mentioning on one of these forums that he had similar symptoms and it turned out to be the input shaft seal on the VP44. After awhile I think he figured out that fuel was leaking into the engine oil as well. I hope this is not your problem. - John

We think you need to be honest here - we are pretty sure that you used that hose as a handle to lift the head from the block during your head gasket replacement. I know, it only lifted the head out once.... - John

If something broke off of the end of the filter minder, then it might be safer to have the filter minder located at the end of the air filter as it would have less of a chance for a piece to be drawn into the intake tube. Also, you will probably have a noticeable pressure drop with the filter minder located in the tube as opposed to being located at the end of the air filter. As the air flow accelerates in the tube, the pressure will fall, even with a clean air filter. My '02 Dodge has a 3" pipe connected to the BHAF with an in-cab mounted analog air filter restriction gauge sensing from the 3" pipe connection at the air filter. I see 10" of water at 2200 rpm and 27 psi boost with a new air filter (When the gauge was located at the end of the filter housing, the needle barely moved.) If and when I see 20" of water under the same conditions, I will replace the air filter. - John

Well, no wonder you blew the intake manifold gasket!! - John

Just for clarification, does this mean you are cracking open high pressure injector lines to get the engine to start? I don't know that pinching off lines is a reliable test since you can't actually see if the line is completely closed off. Did you use a soapy solution to check for the leaks? I know that you are trying to resolve this, but many times fuel lines will leak air in, but not fuel out. The fittings on the back of the head probably need to be taken apart and properly resealed. I personally have never had trouble at that location, but many owners have. Your symptoms do match fuel draining back to the tank, especially the nose parked up hill part. - John

3 VP44 failures: #1 - 87,000 miles P0216 code, fuel pressure 12 psi at idle and 7 psi at WOT at 2500 rpm during many test drives before replacement. Dealer replaced VP44 and installed in-tank lift pump under warranty. New lift pump fuel pressure 6 psi at idle and 3 psi at WOT at 2500 rpm during test drive. 215,000 miles - retest lift pump pressures - still reading the same under the same test conditions. 249,000 miles - install Smarty S03 251,000 miles - remove in-tank lift pump and install used frame mounted FASS DRP-02 lift pump - 12 psi at idle and 6 psi at at WOT at 2000 rpm during test drive. I performed this work because I wanted an easy roadside repair in case of lift pump failure. 303,000 miles - install RV275 injectors 325,000 miles - currently still running 2nd VP44 injection pump and same used FASS DRP-02 frame mounted lift pump. I do expect to have a VP44 injection pump failure sometime in the near future as the VP44 now has logged 228,000 miles. Who knows, maybe it will last much longer. Probably, the mandated 5% bio-diesel in Oregon has helped with the pump's longevity. I have never had a lift pump failure. - John

Set your waste gate to 10 psi and then you won't have worry about pushing out the gasket again. Plus, you will have less wear and tear on your truck and you would never have to worry about towing in sixth gear. Ok, seriously now, could you hear the boost leak when you were under load? Or, did the truck just seem under powered? - John

From the FSM.... P0216 (M) Fuel Injection Pump Timing Failure High fuel supply restriction, low fuel pressure P0382 (M) Intake Air Heater Relay #2 Control Circuit Problem detected in #2 air heater solenoid/relay circuit (not heater element) @Twistr71, have you tried to clear the codes? You should verify lift pump fuel pressure at the inlet port of the VP44. You should have at least 6 psi at idle if it is a factory retrofit in-tank lift pump. This pressure is adequate to charge the inlet of the VP44. Some will say that you must have at least 14 psi under all operating conditions, but I do not agree. There is a gear pump inside the VP44 that pushes fuel over the 14 psi overflow valve under all operating conditions. Hopefully, the P2016 code was caused by the fuel restriction and no damage has occurred to the VP44. It is possible that the timing piston has be damaged. - John

Personally, I don't think so. In the past I have just used the exhaust brake at regular idle and the engine warms quickly. And, it is certainly much quieter. - John

Leave it to Smarty to keep everything a secret. Mine didn't ramp up to 3 cylinder high idle until 2 or 3 minutes after the engine was started. I am going to try to figure out a way to fool the software into eliminating the 3 cylinder high idle. I did notice that once I depressed the clutch pedal or touched the throttle, the feature was immediately disabled. - John

I would be happy to have no high idle, but a six cylinder high idle would be acceptable. Can either modification be done and how would you do it?

Thanks to this forum, I have heard about the thee cylinder high for very cold days. However, I have never experienced this occurrence until last week during an overnight low of 20 degrees at my property near Baker City, OR. I fired up the truck, turned on the exhaust brake, and went inside. A couple of minutes later I heard the engine slowly increase in RPM. Then all of a sudden it started making such a wild clatter that I thought I was going to have to shoot it and put it out of its misery. After thinking about this for a couple of minutes, I realized that this must be the three cylinder high idle feature. I touched the throttle and the engine went back to a normal idle. I had to do it again a few minutes later. I have had the Smarty S03 programmer on the truck for about three years, so I'm guessing that it has the high idle feature included. I actually do not want this feature. Is there a simple way to disable the three cylinder high idle? Thanks in advance for any help. - John

Check all of your battery connections - especially on the driver's side. With that many codes, you may have a loose wire or a ground problem - again, inspect wiring near the area where you were working when you repaired the fuel leak. Coincidences happen, but are rare. Many times I have repaired something and then found that I unwittingly created another problem. - John