FlatTwin

Have had the "Check gauges" idiot light come on and stay on several times recently. Cannot find anything under the search so has anyone else had this and/or an idea whats going on? Thx, FT

Have been looking at the 1500 with this engine and my heartburn is as noted above the cost. Am limping along trying to keep my 3rd frigging VP44 alive and simply tired of replacing injection pumps, so trading it in might be my best option...

Well the good news is that they are off and the headliner is down. The not so good news is that these are not anything like what you mentioned and broke apart when removed. These are two piece but after getting them in my hands I cannot see anyway to get it off of the vehicle without breaking them. There is a tang that is attached to the bottom part of the hook that goes into the center of the base part. That sticks into a square slot on the truck's body/roof. Hope I can buy these new or used in good condition... Thx, FT

Ha! Thanks very much! Never would have thought or looked for something like that but will go out and give it a try! Thanks!!!

So no one has ever pulled the "coat hangar hooks" off of their trucks? Guess its time to just yank on them and see what happens... they are the last thing holding the headliner on so they have to come off.

All right guys.... need some help! Have everything loose and down except for the "coat hangars" on both sides which I cannot figure out how the come off. Do not want to just yank on them and destroy them. Suggestions? Thx, FT

Tom, Using spray glue? Seth, Thanks and almost the entire rear part of the headliner is coming down so if its really not that difficult might just take it down. Thx, Joe

Tracy, Thanks for this and any tips on removing it? Where do you start and so on? Mine is the two door with rear seat version of the truck so wondering how to get the critter out of the cab and in one piece. To the others, did you remove the headliner when you used the spray glue or just shot it up there while it was in place? Thanks much guys, really appreciate the help! Joe

JR, Codes that I have right now are listed above. I have been having a "Camshaft sensor" issue for a long time now and lose the tach reading fairly often. Can live without that as its a bear to get to and change. Michael, I totally agree and thats my next step. I am going to give the seller one last chance to do the right thing and if not then go after him in any manner I can legally do. I am even a friend of his on his company Facebook page and thats the first place I would post, then every diesel board I am a member of and finally take him to small claims court. Problem is that he is on the East coast and I am in Arizona... is that allowed? Agree with you on the electronics... or do I just get another VP and sell the truck... just not sure. Am so perturbed at this situation. Thx, Joe

Randy, Thats a new one for me. What type of noise are you referring to? If its Air Conditioning mine works fine but have no idea how that would effect the VP44... Joe

Michael, I put two stroke motor oil in EVERY tank of fuel no matter where I get it or how long its been. My VP has not lacked from lube and between that and all the extra pumps, filters and fuel pressure gauges really perturbs me that its dying again... JR, Thanks and no problem... well I might have to look at Blue Chip again... I simply cannot do this again... Thx, Joe

JR, Please tell all of us where we can buy a new VP-44? They simply are not available... The last pump I bought was from Jacob at Diesel Auto Power, supposedly a great seller. Pump died at 13 months... they would not even talk to me... would not even answer my emails. This was June of 2012. Then Sept 2013 I went to this new place as a 35 year friend of mine (Ford F250 owner) raved about how great this guy and shop was. Paid $1112 for the pump, hardly the cheapest one on the market. My friend called to see if he could do any good and the guy was friendly but "its been 12 months, the warranty is over" so he is also perturbed at the seller. I am an aircraft mechanic so pretty good with electrics. Got tired of the 12 year old stuff a while ago and replaced the cable ends with marine lugs and new battery terminals with wing nut fasteners. In the old days turn the key on and the voltage was 12 and change. Fire the engine up and idle it would go to 12.9 or so then finally 13.5 while running. It was just fine... Now with the new terminals and lugs its at 12:5 when I turn the key on and the second the truck starts the voltage goes up to 13.6 and stays there. Its MUCH better now and power is totally stable. Will check the connections but they were fine the last time I looked... and have deleted the codes and tried again but they keep coming back. Will try again... JR I want what you have, a reliable truck that when taken care of does not break down. I do maintenance before its needed, not after things break yet after wasting so much money trying to get a reliable VP44 it pukes again. Would love to have someone give me an option I can afford (like Mike) but I cannot do the PPump, its just too much $$ and I have no place to do it in. Thanks guys... Joe

Also, anyone have any ideas on how to tell how much longer I have before this thing dies all together? I have some things that I need to get done with the truck and do not want to be stranded... Thx, joe

The headliner in the 2002 Ram 2500 that I drive is coming loose in several areas. The back seat area has fallen down in a big way and now in front of the drivers side (front of the sun visor) its now loose as well. Is there any way to glue it back up that will hold for a while? I really do not want to take the entire head liner down unless its not that difficult. Thx, Joe

Sorry for the delay on this folks, have been out of town and simply too busy with work to fuss with truck stuff. As well things have gotten worse and it appears that I am losing the 3rd VP44 in 4 years! Please see this thread: http://forum.mopar1973man.com/index.php?/topic/9024-looks-like-i-may-have-lost-another-vp-44-looking-for-options-and-ideas/

Well folks, for the 3rd time in 4 years my VP-44 is throwing codes. Both the PO216 and P1698 now... Was hard to start for a bit but now thats cleared up but its now smoking badly when I put my foot into it and thought I saw some white smoke while driving it home yesterday. This is after I spent over $1000 to help prevent this from ever happening again. An Air Dog 165 fuel pump with dual filters along with the Vulcan big line kit from the tank to the VP pump, as well as an Edge W/Attitude to monitor the fuel pressure and an alarm should the fuel pressure ever get below 15 psi. The fuel pressure has never gone below 12 psi (it usually sets at 18-19 psi) and the filters have been changed several times in the last year. To tell the truth I am at the point of about being ready to sell the truck and go with something else. I simply cannot afford $1000 for a new/overhauled VP every year. Added to that I cannot have the thing strand me out on the road somewhere. Love the Cummins, like the truck but if its not reliable then its not for me. Now I bought this last VP from what I was told was a reliable pump place and they told me that they would "stand behind their product" for the full 12 month warranty, but "should anything happen in the 13th or 14th month, we will take care of you" (and I have that in writing).... Well I was two weeks over the 12 month time period and he just emailed me back saying "the warranty is 12 months, your coverage is done!" ... Great service isnt it? I just love liars... His idea of "standing behind his product" was telling me to either "PPump or VE pump" the engine and that he would be happy to buy the old VP core from me. I have seen several posts on the PPump conversion but never heard of a VE pump conversion for my 24 valve engine. I simply cannot afford the $2500 costs that everyone says it costs on the PPump conversion, plus what I can see its a pretty involved process. As well I am working out in the open in the driveway of my house so am not going to be able to yank the entire front end of the truck apart and leave it setting like this for weeks. The homeowners group would not let that happen... I can change a VP in 5-6 hours and they are fine with that but there are limits. Any suggestions or ideas? Or should I just put another overhauled VP on the truck and get something newer that does not have a VP on it? Or is it time to buy a Power Stroke and be done with it? Friend of mine has a 7.3 Power Stroke with 300,000 miles on it and the original injection pump... Thx Joe

Link did not come through... http://s876.photobucket.com/user/joeaksa1/media/Dodgeturbocharger_zps46c54479.jpg.html

Well everyone, was hoping that this was not the case but... Two mornings in a row I got in the truck and started driving. Truck drove fine to about 30 mph then stopped accellerating. Did not matter what I did with the throttle and I had zero boost. I turned around and started to head home then it picked back up and drove fine. Next morning no issues. Following morning it did like above but after driving a bit longer the boost came on fine and truck drove ok... Still this is not a good thing and finally this morning pulled the intake hose off of the turbo inlet. No real noticeable movement in the turbine up nor down but when I tried to turn it it sure seemed stiffer than normal and did not spin around as easily as I seem to remember. Am wondering if its started to coke up? Truck has about 160,000 miles on it and this could very well be the original turbocharger. Have attached a photo of the turbo as I am not even sure if its the original model or an upgraded version. Anyone ever overhauled these? I have done them on aircraft and its no big deal but have never done this model. Next question is, if I do need to replace this unit, is there any sort of upgrade that I should look at? The truck is just a driver, not really hot-rodded and I want good reliability more than more power. Thx, Joe

Will, Thanks MUCH for the photo! Can now take that with me and make sure that there are no hassles. Mike, I just towed a 10,000 RV trailer so know that the truck will do it but the people at U-haul can be difficult at times so wanted to do this first and make sure! Thanks everyone! FT

Great, thanks much! Now I know that the big filter on the AD is the main fuel filter but is the one with the petcock (the water separator) also a removeable screw-on filter? If so did not realize that and thought that you just replaced an element inside like the stock one on the engine. Just got the AD recently and have not changed out the filters yet. Appreciate the help! FT

Assuming that you mean "main" as in the stock fuel filter element and the second one for the Air Dog? Or am I backwards? Thx, FT

I have a 2002 2500 with the factory towing package. The truck was used to tow a 5th wheel all over the country before I got it. Now I am about to tow something with the truck and the place I am renting the trailer from (U-Haul) is asking what are the ratings on the tow hitch. Cannot find anything about it on the net... Anyone have any ideas? Thanks, FT

While on the subject of water and filters, I am running an AirDog ll-165 on the truck. What is everyone using for a replacement filter on this? Buying them from AD or ?? And how often do you guys change them? Thx, FT

Excellent thread and learned a lot about the VP and fuel pressures. Glad that I am now running 18-20 on my system and it only dips down to 17 at WOT so no issue there. Thanks guys! FT

Thanks all and I ran the Vulcan big line kit to the stock housing and then back out and to the VP-44, so yes its still inline with the fuel. Sensor should still be connected. Will check the housing drain for moisture tomorrow, had forgotten about that. Thx, FT