LiveOak

Your compressor should come on when you turn on your defroster.

Just make sure you have a savings fund going for that VP-44 that you will eventually have to be forced to replace once the rotor seizes up. With P0216, it can go on for years running fine with degraded fuel economy but it can also die tomorrow. I am sure you already know this but just in case.

My speculation is that you are smelling possible mold of some type. Make sure your evaporator pan drain is open. I blow some compressed air through the drain where the condensate water exits. This is my opinion. On truck like we have that are this old, you can and should expect leaks of some kind in the A/C system. Depending when or if you have ever added refridgerant, it may have taken MANY years for the system to leak down to its current status. I am speaking from the hard learned experience of my wallet. The first time my got low, I took it to the dealer thinking it would be a fairly quick diagnosis and repair. HAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! It was just an expensive "diagnosis" (notice the sarcastic quotes ) All they did was put more refridgerant with dye added in my truck's system and told me to bring it back. I did and they still could not find the leak. Long story short, the first time I bought a bottle of the refridgerant with oil and sealant at Walmart. It worked for almost 2 years. The next time I just added more refridgerant. As long as the leak is reasonably slow I think it is much cheaper in the long run to just top off the system when it gets low. Now, if the system leaks down to ZERO, that is an altogether different story. You need to evacuate the system and recharge it with some dye mixed refridgerant and find the leak and fix it. Having to add a can of refridgerant to bring the system up to par every few years is not a big deal and the best way to go overall in my opinion. Yes I realize that the book method is to have the entire system evacuated down, recycled, and have a measured amount of Freon and oil added per the manual temperature tables. The cost of doing this will buy cases of refridgerant, gauges, and an evacuator. Eventually, whatever is slowly leaking will probably turn into a big leak and you will have to replace/repair the part/leak. Until then, I would just keep it going. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. Hope this helps.

Out of an abundance of caution and curiosity, by chance, have you checked to see if you have any codes latched?

Yeah. My fuel hoses won't win any beauty contest either. They are full of cracks in the outer layers but they are not leaking. I have some spare fuel hose for small repairs but eventually I will have to replace all of the fuel hose lines from the fuel tank up to the injector pump.

Great to see that you got this beast working right. I am scratching my head on this injector issue as it could be a number of things that was causing it. For now, it is working and that sure beats a stick in the eye. Go with it but I would keep a watch eye AND ear out for this issue in the future. Hopefully it will not recur. Nice job getting the truck back together.

I am inclined to agree with W&F on this. I understand that money is tight. The point being that you do NOT want to throw good money after bad. Who does? Think of it in these terms: For Want of a Nail For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. Think again about the money you may save and what that injector or injectors may ultimately cost you. Just don't want to see the possibility of all of your hard work and money spent be lost.

I SERIOUSLY doubt there is much if any chance of grass growing under your feet on this job! LOL! Looks real good so far.

I strongly concur. A much better course of action that will ensure other issues are addressed that could bite you in the *** later.

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NOT the type of knock or noise I was thinking of. That does NOT sound good at all. I concur with W&F as well as taking the head off. Very sorry you are having to go through this.

This thread reminds me of a problem I had with a Sea Ray Cabin cruiser I used to own. The fuel would get hot and vapor lock. The boat had a 110 gallon tank and even that was not enough to keep the fuel cool enough on really hot days with that 454 running hard. What I finally did was to buy a Moroso Insultated Cool Can. The concept was pretty simple. The can held a good bit of ice and was well insulated. the ice would last about 4 hours give or take. Once the ice melted enough to create a liquid chilled bath around the fuel heat exchanger, maximum cooling was achieved. Once I installed the cool can, I never had another problem. I did not use is all the time, only when it was really hot and humid. I would think this might be a very cheap and VERY simple alternative for cooling the diesel fuel right before it goes into the VP-44. During cool times of the year, you don't fill it with ice and just run the engine like it is not there as it is plumbed into the fuel system. Probably not what you guys are thinking of but I figured I would throw it out there. Simple is better in my book. http://www.jegs.com/i/Moroso/710/65125/10002/-1

Try to identify any bad cylinders by using a IR heat gun on each exhaust manifold outlet runner. If you see a cylinder that is notably cooler or hotter. Pull the injector on that cylinder and see if you can find a 7mm borescope to put down the injector hole and inspect that cylinder. Or buy one. http://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Inspection-Borescope-Endoscope-Attachment/dp/B006SNRUL0 https://www.google.com/#q=7+mm+borescope&tbm=shop http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/351125482641?lpid=82 http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2054897.m570.l1311.R1.TR4.TRC2.A0.H0.X7mm+borescope&_nkw=7mm+borescope&_sacat=0 The image on the cheapee bore/endoscopes may not be great but hopefully good enough to tell you whether you need to pull that damn near 150 lb. hunk of cast iron which is at least a 2 man job in my book although I suspect it can be done by one but he needs to be really careful.

Unless you disable the fuel filter canister fuel heater or bypass it, you would be heating and cooling the fuel at the same time.

EGT temperatures in the 1250 degree range don't necessarily = melted pistons. Unless a piston cooling oil jet is plugged or some other issue restricting piston oil cooling jet operation is occurring, the Cummins B series engine should be able to handle this excluding excessively extended periods of operation in this range. If a piston was melted, partially melted, or damaged, I think there would be other symptoms like a dead miss, and possibly extreme crank case blow by to the extend of blowing extreme amounts of engine oil out the crankcase vent tube. The engine oil may exhibit diesel fuel contamination. Do a compression check or at least scan each engine exhaust port where the exhaust manifold joins with an IR heat sensing temperature gun to find a cold cylinder or a substantially different EGT temp on a particular cylinder or cylinders. Verify internal engine damage BEFORE you tear it apart. The engine operation envelope you were operating the engine in when the knocking noise occurred is exactly the operation envelope that Cummins/Dodge outlines in their TSB. http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2002/09-008-02.htm Dodge did not have a lot of complaints about this issue but from those who towed heavier loads for extended distances. Checking and changing a thermostat takes about a 1/2 hour, an hour tops. Do the other tests and checks and if your results are inconclusive, try replacing the thermostat with the thermostat listed in the TSB. Might save you a lot of money, time, and effort.

Judging from what information you posted, severe engine damage may or may not have occurred. A compression test will quickly tell you whether you have serious damage. From what I read, yes, you were operating at the outer edge of the performance envelope but not neccessarilly so much so to have definitely caused engine damage. If the excessive engine knock by you mentioned is severe, I suspect engine damage along with everyone else. BEFORE you pull the engine you may want to consider this TSB: 09-008-02 10/21/02 http://www.turbodieselregister.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=88693&d=1401901093 Engine knock or rattle sound when climbing a long grade and towing a heavy trailer. This bulletin applies to 1998-2002 Ram trucks equipped with the 24-valve Cummins diesel engine (sales code ETC or ETH). Owners may experience an engine knock or rattle sound when climbing a long grade while towing a heavy trailer. If the condition exists, replace the engine thermostat as outlined in the service manual. Note: Mopar 05015708AC is to be used exclusively for this service bulletin. Use thermostat 05015708AB for all other 24-vlave Cummins thermostat repairs.

If may constructively point out and I think this subconsciously threw me off track too. If you look in the upper left hand corner of the original article linked to in Mike's original post. There is a particular word that stands out with respect to the section of the Business Insider Magazine this article was posted in. That word denoting the section of the magazine says Politics. I didn't mean nor intend to throw a grenade in the cesspool. I posted this very article on my website venting just like Mike was. I guess great minds think alike. I guess I didn't realize what section this was in but presumed it was a venting type of post.

Don't feel bad Mike, this has happened to me on more than a few occasions. I read something that really gets me fired up and I set a forest fire. LOL!

For anyone who thinks that FEDZILLA is not moving towards radical, fascist, over reach, read this: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/09/epa-claims-it-has-power-to-garnish-wages-without-court-approval/

When the VAST majority of AmeriKans DO NOT want freedom nor a democratic form of government but a "JUST MASTER" this will always be the case whether it be diesel trucks, guns, ATV's, the size of your home, etc. The concept, value, and reason of and for VOLUNTARY SELF GOVERNANCE (a CLOSE relative of COMMON SENSE) is TOTALLY lost on these moronic sheep. Hence why there are so many ridiculous laws for every little thing in our society. Sorry for the rant but this just REALLY pisses me off!

Whatever fluid you decide to go with, I recommend as do many others to over fill the transmission by 1 quart. Some recommend 2 quarts: http://highgeartransmission.wordpress.com/tag/nv5600-6-speed-transmission/ to ensure the #5 aft shaft bearing gets adequate lubrication which seems to be one of the worst points. Here is a good read on what goes on inside the NV5600 requiring rebuild: http://blog.genosgarage.com/wordpress1/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/TDR67_MyNV5600.pdf

The green stuff may be cheaper and easier to use in the long run. Really can't be sure on that but the Shell ELC coolants are Cummins approved and have worked well for me thus far. (knock on wood) http://s07.static-shell.com/content/dam/shell-new/local/business/rotella/downloads/pdf/rotella-coolants-brochure.pdf

I second what Mike said. You should try to remove the fan and fan shroud and blow compressed air through the radiator to blow out all of the crud that builds up in it or if you have the time and wear with all, remove the radiator and pressure wash the radiator but keep the pressure washer pressure at a reasonable pressure so as not to damage the radiator core. While we are on this note, the radiator coolant if using the green stuff (ethylene glycol) should be replaced every 2 years in some fashion or other. I use a Mity Vac to suction out the radiator and replace about 4 gallons of coolant on the wife's truck (uses the green stuff) and about every 5 - 7 years on my truck. (it uses the Shell ELC coolant). If the coolant is not replaced periodically, it can cause corrosion. This could cause the early demise of your heater core not to mention the eventual rodding or replacement of your radiator.

I read this article and my blood pressure shot off the scale. These are NOT conservatives.......they ARE MORONS with diesel pickups that will ruin owning a diesel pickup for everyone.

Nice job! Nothing better than gettin' done yourself. At least you know it was done right and to your standards.