ISX

Will do. He's gonna be 52. Too bad he was bald by 24

Thanks. It was a pretty good day other than getting on my dirt bike and a tree running into me. Also ripped a radiator shroud off :banghead: I was surprised how with enough layers, 25F doesn't feel too bad at 55mph My dad's is tomorrow hahaha. Tell her I said happy bday.

So what does that have to do with it not getting to -20F here? I realize from -20 to -44, you need synthetic, but if it is over -20, then what. I have been speculating that because the amsoil "flows so well" that when you let the engine sit for a long time, a lot of oil goes to the pan. Now the other oil being thicker will surely not go to the pan as easily. So when you start it, the engine has no oil pressure, but the engine with the thick conventional oil has more oil up on there since it never drained off, therefore allowing it to spin easier. I can't prove it, but it has been starting up faster than amsoil ever did in the cold, consistently.

You say it stalls unless you step on the pedal a little, if you bumped up the idle, you wouldn't have to hold the pedal since it would be idling higher.. It has nothing to do with the issue but will keep it running. You would have to hook up a fuel pressure gauge to know for sure if the overflow or fuel pump was causing the low power. There is also other concerns, do you have any gauges (Egt, boost, etc.) if so what do they read going up these hills?

Mike, are you just going by that thing or are you hand calculating the tanks also? Liveoak, you are right and all of this is well known fact, which is why I am trying to understand why mine never notices it. I don't know what tests I need to do to find out what makes mine run the same regardless.

I've actually wanted something like that too. But it would be a little interesting if it sprung a leak.

I never skip a day cause my beard starts getting too long and the razor goes into tear mode. I find it very interesting that you know what young folks are doing down "there", you must be on pedolist 23

I thought just yesterday it was Mikes bday, time is going way too fast. I think I will start test fitting some coffins. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, any redheads?

Thanks stodg! We will see how it turns out I'll remember to give you the same ration of confidence when you are 41 Mom even came in and told me I looked old I told her at least I wasn't bald, yet

And what I am saying is the "on and on" seems to just be an excuse.. Why am I not seeing it? I was going into a 20mph headwind on the way there at 75-80mph and still got 19.5mpg, which is what I get on a calm 100F day in the summer going the same speed. On the way back at 70mph, on level ground my EGT was 490F since I had no winter front. All of this equals degraded mileage, but I got the same 21.5 that I get in the summer, why is what I want to know. I always thought my odometer was wrong but I checked it for once with the road signs saying sedalia 74 miles or whatever it was and 74 miles later I was 4 miles into sedalia, so the odometer is dead on if not a few miles short of what I have actually gone.

I just canned amsoil and went to valvoline premium blue 15/40 non synthetic, starts up faster than amsoil, have tested it down to 20F so far, works flawlessly. I live in sedalia, MO and doubt it will get to -20F here. I have seen down to maybe -10F. In any case you should have it plugged in if it is in the negatives, no matter what oil you run.

I talk about it here: http://forum.mopar1973man.com/threads/3002-Common-Rail-Issues

Hmmm, give me 10 min and I will show you how to mess with it. --- Update to the previous post... Well they did a better job than I could since it is night here. Anyhow, on the back of the pump, pretty well straight down from where the starwheel is, you will see all the levers that pivot for fueling. On the back of the on that is directly under the starwheel is a screw that stands straight up. You loosen the locknut then start the truck and turn the top part of the screw until it is where you want the idle to be, then hold the top of the screw so it doesn't move and tighten up the locknut. If you need more info, let me know and I will make a youtube of it tomorrow.

Have you tried messing with the idle screw? Just get the truck warm and set it in between the 1000RPM line and the line below it. If it is cold and you set it in the middle of those 2 marks, it will be at 1000 when warmed up.

The water temp is accurate, I have the stock gauge and a mechanical one. The oil pressure is the thing that is an idiot, always showing 40 when it varies a lot if you hook up a real gauge. Fuel pressure is an idea though not really a 12V concern, but definitely neat to watch and find when the overflow valve/fuel pump/clogged fuel filter conditions are occurring. The redneck way to notice is just by feel, mine will even cease to smoke if any of those 3 things go bad. Right now I have EGT, indoor (in vent)/outdoor (zip tied to air filter for actual intake temp so I can see it compared to actual ambient), boost, water temp. Water temp is identical to the one on the dash so skip that one.

How high of RPM do you have to go to get it to not stall? Mine idles around 550-600, or between the 2 middle lines. Mine also has the issue with not starting right away if I don't step on it a little, otherwise it takes maybe 5 cranks, I changed the overflow and it didn't change a thing startingwise, still have to step on it to get it to light instantly. I am wondering if this issue can go both ways though, like you changed your lift pump but not the overflow, I changed the overflow but not the lift pump.. So maybe it will solve the issue if I changed the lift pump, but I am not sure. Fuel pressure is up to normal with the new overflow so I didn't see the need for a new LP, but I am thinking it might be a little worn so at cranking speeds it doesn't pump much, whereas yours would pump but the overflow would just be relieving it all.

Alright Mike, not trying to prove you wrong but I want to figure this out.You say cold IAT drop MPG big time on yours.You say Winter Fuel drops it.So why is it that running winter fuel with no winter front whatsoever at 25F ambient at 70mph, do I get the same 21mpg (actually 21.54mpg) that I get on a 100F day? I get consistent mileage all year, summer or winter fuel, rain snow sleet or hail. I know everyone here seems to have this "it's winter fuel, so it's ok to see 2mpg loss" but why am I not seeing this loss! I am thinking if I could figure this out, I could help you all not get a loss either.

VTCUMMINS sent this to me, figured you guys could jump on it as well since I seem to be losing time available to me. i have a 96 dodge cummins with a #100 fuel plate and the star wheel backed off. the truck doesn't want to sit an idle it just stalls, but if you keep the RPM's up it will continue to run, it also seems to have a problem driving up hills, I've changed the lift pump because i thought that might be the problem but turns out not to be, hopefully you can give me some direction....? p.s. the problem came well over a year after the fuel plate... As for the stalling thing, you need to adjust the idle set screw. I imagine if you let off it tries to idle at 400RPM or something. That thing should run really good up hills and since you replaced the lift pump then the overflow valve could be shot. Could also have a clogged fuel filter. Does it smoke at all? Is it an auto or 5spd? The more info you can give or symptoms you can describe, the better we can assist

I will do more testing.

There is no issue with tubing/overflow it is purely the cap. I can hear it sucking in air. The tube going to my overflow is clear and I can "prime" it and watch air come into the tube straight from the radiator cap, pushing all the coolant back. It does this after I top the radiator completely off and have the hose full of green. The cap is brand new, didn't change anything.

My radiator has been doing this for a long time but I have not been able to fix it. I got a new radiator cap and nothing changed. It draws in air whether heating up or cooling down. I don't know what I need to do to fix it. Any ideas? I know for sure the overflow hose isn't leaking.

I have yet to see a 3 in quite some time. $2.95 in Sedalia, MO.

Cummins wanted $88. Napa didn't seem to even carry them anymore. I was trying to dig up the elusive 1000W ones.

After going out and messing with it I found out it pulls out. The 2 pins keep it from turning.But, looks like I will be buying both :banghead: The pin on the element is all fried/melted same with the cord.

Does the cord just pull out of the element? Seems like it would but I am not sure and don't want to try it till I know for sure. Here is what mine looks like if you need to see it to be sure