mariner

Hi Guys, My 2002 truck still has the original batteries in it. While the weather is mild they are still giving good service - but coming up to winter I am not so sure this year. Those of you that have replaced your batteries, what did you use and how have they performed. I am considering going to Costco for the new batteries as I have had good results with their batteries on other vehicles and applications. Any info or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I meant the Fuel Pump Pressure Gauge which I have the my steering column of my 2002 Ram 3500. I have had exhaust manifold leaks before and this "tick" sounded just like it. Anyways, all is good and I thought this post might stop someone else from having doubts about what he was hearing and experiencing.

Hi Guys, Just thought I would mention what I have just recently gone through. My fuel gauge line is connected to a small needle vale on the fuel pump and over time, the gauge needle valve has vibrated open. I started to hear this tick while driving and thought I had an exhaust manifold leak. Kept looking and checking and found nothing out of the ordinary. This went on for a while and I was getting frustrated and concerned due to the exhaust burning metal away at the gasket area. One day I happen to watch the fuel gauge as I booted it to pull away in traffic and the gauge needle jumped in time with the "tick" - ahh I thought, has to be the gauge line valve. Adjusted the needle valve until it was almost closed - still the same. Finally adjusted it until the needle valve barely lifted off the seat and that fixed it. It appears that the needle valve spindle had moved (turned) from the fuel pump/engine vibrations to the point that I found it. I guess close to half a turn of movement I finally got. It sure had me concerned for a little while and I can see how someone would think there was something more serious happening - even to the point of taking it to a shop for a diagnosis - could be an expensive mistake if the wrong shop was picked. Thought I would post this in the hope it might stop someone else from making wrong assumptions. Truck runs great and no more apparent engine "ticking" :-) Thanks

My truck has 116,320 km - which I think, comes out at 69,792 miles. Was only used for towing trailers for quite a few years but has now become my daily driver.

Just thought I would add my experiences on gauges to that already expressed. My take on electrical gauges are that they can be good but need to be verified/checked on a regular basis. Gauge used for verification are usually a mechanical gauge. I understand that electrical gauges can be preferred for particular applications outside of our trucks, where a mechanical one would not be so useful. I recently had my mechanical gauge in the cab register a sudden low pressure reading of 4psi when it normally read around 16psi. Having had to previously re-adjust regulating valve twice because of falling pressure (I assumed the regulating valve spring on lift pump was failing) I decided to put in another spring in regulating valve - very close to original in size. Tried and found no improvement. Decided then to check the pressure at the VP44 inlet where Schrader valve used to reside. I used a spare 120 psi gauge I had laying around and adapted to what I needed. When I ran the engine I got 25psi at idle !!! This proved that the lift pump was fine - what to do ? I had a gauge isolator between the VP44 and the gauge in the cab. I decide to take the isolator out of the system and connect from VP44 (at needle valve) to the cab gauge direct. Ran the engine and I got an immediate response on the cab gauge - still too high though. I then removed the second spring and installed the original spring back in the regulating valve and checked again. Again I got a quick positive response on the cab gauge and after a couple of further adjustments, have idle set at 20 psi and 17psi at 60 mph on level highway. The engine runs very well (all stock) and nothing out of the ordinary evident. If anyone has a gauge isolator installed between reading point and cab gauge, it might pay to remove the isolator from the set up. In my case, the isolator seems to have failed for some unknown reason and caused me a few anxious moments. I don't know how long the cab gauge has been reading inaccurately because of the isolator. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I haven't been running with excessively high pressures over the last year or so (new VP44 installed December 2013). I do feel better knowing that there is nothing between the VP44 and the cab gauge that can fail. Whether electrical or mechanical, gauges that need an isolator/sending unit, introduce another level of errors. For my money, where possible, I will stick to the mechanical gauge without an isolator. Just my $0.02, but it sure caused me some un-necessary work. Hope this helps someone else with their fuel pressure problems.

UPS will get you every time with their "extra's". If at possible ship using US Postal Service. I refuse to buy anything that the sellers ship BY UPS or FedEx.

I too have the flip up rear view mirror and think they are excellent. I also know that the edge of the mirrors (flipped up ) will clear the bulge on the rear fenders for when driving through tight spaces.

Thanks for the comments thus far. I didn't realize that the different truck makes require the different approaches - so thank you very much for the manual. Still have to remove the L shaped brackets from the F250 frame - not a lot of room under there to work. Really appreciate comments - Thanks. Yes, the 3500 has the 8ft bed on it. mariner

Sorry - I posted this in the wrong section. Could someone please put it in the appropriate section for me. Thanks mariner

Hi guys, I was wondering about the installation of 5th wheel hitches on the 2002 3500 duallies - are there any specific problems to watch out for? I have taken a barely used hitch out of my '86 F250 and want to install it in the Dodge. I do have the spray in Rhino liner in the box if that matters at all. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance mariner

I am having the same trouble with my Raptor pump. It was new in December and it has been adjusted twice so far. Each time I adjusted it to 19psi idle and it gave 15.5 at WOT. Now it has dropped to 15.5 idle and around 11.0 WOT. I also changed the fuel filter thinking my filter was dirty but it made just around 0.5 psi difference is all. Am now back down to having to adjust it again, one more time. Need to check with the manufacturers to see what they say re warranty. At least I know it is not just me that is having this problem.

Hi Guys, Just came across another Bosch authorized VP44 pump rebuilder - here is the link. http://www3.jasperengines.com/blog/2011/12/02/jasper-remanufactures-vp44-diesel-injection-pumps/ The link shows the actual "diaphragm" that is installed in these pump that fails regularly - so Jasper claim. Anyway, I just thought that this link might be of some interest. Thanks

If you contact Timbo, I hope you had better luck than I did. I Emailed regarding testing the new Timbo I installed and heard nothing back. I too had some problems but they cleared up fortunately - possibly connection not fully contacting. Anyway, no more problems with my Timbo APPS just yet.

I have started to buy sensors etc. directly from Cummins Canada. They are very reasonable (so far) and they have been able to ship the same day (usually by Greyhound bus) resulting in very short wait. To compare, Cummins is usually 1/3 to 1/4 the price of what autoparts store and dealers charge.

speed sensor in the transmission need cleaning ?