LorenS

Finally tested the old injectors, they varied from 3,000 to 3,600 PSI pop pressure, one did not sound like the others. On most, only 3-4 holes of the seven sprayed fuel. Of course, I change the injectors and set valves, and wind up losing over one MPG, hand calculated. Overhead gizmo says this tank will be even worse. Same weather, same commute, driving the same way. No fuel leaks, engine "smooth" for an ISB - a sewing machine it is not.

Woo hoo! I hought that's what the fitting at the rear is for. She ran smooth as butter on the 30 mile drive home last night, so I'll assume none are leaking and down on pressure.

...Wish I'd remembered this yesterday. Do leaks wind up in the oil, thus destroying my engine? I'll check oil level every 30 miles or so for the next few days, is that sufficient?

An hour?! I think it took 10 minutes to get the valve cover off, fighting the heater hose, worried I'd tear the hose. I also took all the lines off, clear to the VP44. I had your directions printed off, I thought that's what I was supposed to do... I hope I never have to do that again, but I know next time would go WAY faster.

What's the normal time to change injectors for those of you who do it all the time? Yesterday I changed injectors, set valve lash, and installed a Vulcan banjo bolt eliminator kit from filter to block mounted pump. Took about nine hours, though had Dirty Jobs and Strange Inheritance on in the background to distract me a few times.

I fall into the more MPG camp. With MBRP 3" exhaust, HY35, DDRP lift pump (on a relay, and yes I know you folks hate them), 3/8" hose to the filter, 1/2" hose to the VP44, I have a set of stock rebuild injectors that are set to go in this Saturday, along with setting the valve lash. I bough the adapter to test pop-off pressure of both the new ones and the old ones. What can a guy do next to safely aid MPG? I already drive slowly and have no substantial brake drag, etc. Mid 17s to upper 18s is my norm. I also have an Edge EZ that my dad used on his NV5600 dually, but I have no idea if it can be used on an auto. I am willing to purchase a Quadzilla and injectors or nozzles that are EDM'd/honed, etc., if that will help me get better MPG. Even buy a HX35 or similar. The most I see me ever towing is 12k pounds, and with an auto transmission believe me I will baby the thing. I looked for an article in the 24V section outlining a logical build sheet for guys starting out, but didn't find anything. Time spent on DAP's website didn't yield much, either. All the hole number and size ratings in the world don't do me any good if I have no idea what stock is!

I found this earlier while looking for real Cummins (not molested by Dodge) VP44, 6-cylinder trucks mated to Allison 5/6-speeds. Thought I'd share. Not sure if it's what I consider an ISB, or if it's the common-rail variety. https://quickdrawbrand.com/product/cummins-isb-3-9-frame-cut-with-allison-1000-5-speed-overdrive-transmission-prewired/

That's what Guinness Stout is for.

Boy howdy, if that was oak and hickory imagine how many briskets and slabs a guy could smoke...

@trreed was certainly on to something. The plug with the white gizmo was fine, but the other one had a white and black wire that had worn through the insulation and was grounding out to the dipstick. Can't fix today, but wrapped with electrical tape and put wire loom on the dipstick. Will see tomorrow if it makes a nickle's worth of difference. That wire seems to be a neutral, so who knows if it was a problem grounding to the dipstick.

No plastic, I was incredibly mistaken. What I thought was black plastic was the (aluminum?) case. I thought it was a plastic case with an aluminum cover. The grounding all makes sense now, as long as I clean up the case some. My mention of a washer was also a mistake; I "misremembered" there being a fender washer (I removed that ground a few weeks ago to clean it up). Wrong, it's just a really big ring terminal!

trreed, no I have not. But I will tomorrow! Agreed. I have three more battery terminal to replace (already did one), and the G100 ground under the passenger battery I know needs attention. I have materials for the W-T mod, though my alternator AC reading is well below mopar1973man's recommended limit. Today I had a few minutes so removed the air filter box to clean the PCM connections. However, they are in great shape and had dielectric grease in there. All connections shiny on PCM, no idea on wiring end of course, but in bright bright sunlight I saw no signs of corrosion. HOWEVER, there is a ground there that I think a previous owner has modified in some way, because it currently appears useless. What I see is a screw with a ground strap, the screw goes into the firewall or a plastic part mounted to the firewall, I believe. It's as if the big ground strap is to press against the metal case of the PCM, but a black plastic piece prevents contact. Is that washer supposed to be curved so that it makes contact with the PCM case? I'll try to run out and get a photo and edit this post. Edit: well that "black plastic" seems to actually be the very oxidized aluminum case of the PCM. Will clean tomorrow. The PCM cover is shiny, so was thrown off by that.

Picked up the truck, tech was gone for the day. A connection got cleaned and tightened, that's all I know - no new part was installed. Also, no charge!!! My dashboard still randomly lights up like Christmas tree (abs, airbag, CEL) , no bus, ccd, tach goes to zero, all that fun stuff.

It was definitely a power issue - I wasn't getting any power. Turns out there was a bad connector of some kind under the hood. This is according to the service writer who strikes me as not knowing a lug nut from a walnut, so who knows. I just know for certain that when I went to pick up my kid's car seat that the truck dinger was going off when I opened the door (key in ignition), and it wasn't doing that before. Service writer said that tech had found the problem and that a part had been ordered. Hopefully will get full scoop this afternoon. I've gone through all my grounds except the G100 under the driver's battery, which I know needs serious attention. Also on my list of to-do's is the W-T mod, and replacing the rest of my cable terminals. However, in this case the odds of it being a battery terminal issue were about zero since two lights worked (underhood, glove box), but everything that had anything to do with the Integrated Power Module (see service manual pages 8W-13-3, 13 and 26) were dead. By the way, borrowed the company's 2005 Duramax/Allison pickup with 658k miles. What a nice, quiet, ride. Having a 5 speed sure was nice, too, and it handled the shift from direct to 0.711 far better than the 2nd Gen Dodge shift to 0.69. Being 2WD and with the customary GM featherweight steering was nice, too. Felt like driving my old G-Body. I sure wouldn't want to have to work under the hood, what a mess!

Turns out the Accessories position must not have been working correctly, either; I think some items it may have been getting SOME power backwards through the grounding circuit, because things like the radio would start to light up, but wouldn't play, then would go dark like a capacitor was being drained. If I kicked on the headlights, the Central Timer Module would stop clicking. Even my ISSPRO fuel pressure gauge dummy red light would flash weird, then go out if I attempted to draw lots of power (LIKE turning on the headlights, though not sure that was an actual example I tried). The Front Control Module (8E-115 in manual) says it controls "headlamp power with voltage regulation". Checking pages 8I-2 and 8I-4, looks like it could be fuse #50. Or it could just be some wiring connector to/from the ignition switch! I sure wish this had happened at home on a beautiful autumn Saturday morning so I could've at least tried to diagnose the problem myself!

No run/start power. Accessories position works. Timer module(?) under dash ticks about 4 times per second when door is open. No fuses seem blown, though we all know that means nothing. Sitting outside kid's baby sitter's house so any help appreciated! Have not had any prior issue with switch, behaves as brand new. Even the headlights don't work, but batteries are juiced. Under hood light works great, hitting hazards sounds like a cheap fart machine by emergency brake pedal. No brake lights. Changed out 50 amp Battery fuse, no help.

I got 99 problems, but access to professional tools generally aint one.

I'm pretty gentle on my machinery, so breaking a u-joint is something I've not experienced thus far. However, I've had a lot "sealed" u-joints installed by others that have gone dry during normal use. I also tend to over-lube rather than under. My K5 Blazer and this truck are so easy to climb under that they get grease on a very irregular but frequent basis. Same goes for my tractors and mowers. In instances where preventive maintenance access is difficult, I do like a quality sealed bearing.

NAPA has a couple of different model numbers that have "NAPA" in the name; one is the Proformer line made by who-knows-who, the other also says "NAPA", then is followed by SKF. Spicer has everthing from econo-line joints at $8 apiece, to the $28 apiece models I'd likely buy, to the "extreme" models at $100 apiece - I will not be using those! Prices from Rockauto, "extreme" price from somewhere else. I'll likely pick up the SKF NAPAs since I need to get a few things from there after work. Easier returns if I happen to screw up!

Alrighty, if you guys can grease front axle joints then so can I! Since mine are currently the sealed variety, I've never tried to get a grease gun in there. I was reading last night in the Spicer catalog that the sealed variety are not shipped with sufficient grease for use, only for storage, and they are to be packed before installation. Seems weird, but I would hope their reasoning is something like the grease may go all over hell in the package, not that they're trying to save a few cents worth of grease cost.

When you fellows replace u-joints, do you have a preferred brand and series? And most importantly, on the front axles do you use greasable joints? I believe the Spicer SPL55-4X has the zerk, but how hard would access be? For my rear driveshaft am leaning toward Spicer 5-1410-1X, the greasable model. Do you all change the center bearing at the same time? Mine seems to be in good shape. All [good] advice would be appreciated!

When I get to mid-Iowa and farther north, the stations I frequent actually post when it's been treated. Here in the fairly warm KC area, I've never seen a single station state one way or another - I don't EVER see #1 diesel for sale in KC like I do even in southern Minnesota. So, I treat it like you say when I'm going somewhere cold with Southern fuel. Out of habit, it sometimes get treated when bought up north, too. This tank got a shot because I was supposed to be going north this week!

The engine gets to temp a lot faster when plugged in, so I can jump on the highway almost immediately; that really lets the heat come on quick compared to sauntering along at 35 mph and sitting at stop lights because I can't get on the highway while still super cold. Plugged in for 3 hours (soon to be 2 hours instead) the Wait To Start lamp doesn't even come on. At these temps I start the truck, put transmission in neutral to flow some fluid for maybe 15 seconds while I put on my seat belt and sip my coffee, and then proceed as if it was a July cold start. At less than 10 cents per hour of plug-in, it's really a no-brainer to me - especially when it means the defroster works just that much faster. Any savings on the battery life is a tiny bonus. The engine just spins over like it's summer time and starts super quick - and a lot less clatter. If that aids in cleaner combustion right off the bat with less carbon buildup or washing the cylinder walls with diesel, I'm all for it. Our power came back on last night, and starting the truck this morning was noticeably different than starting it yesterday. Same weather, just plugged in. If it cost me a dollar a day, I probably wouldn't plug in until the twenties, but it's cheap. I've only had the truck for 7k miles, so am unsure of how old and worn the injectors and VP44 may be; maybe well-worn parts are part of why my truck likes to be plugged in. I also have not yet set the valves, though it's toward the top of the list. Stock injectors, gaskets, and tools are ordered - when they arrive, a day under the hood will be scheduled. Back to the original topic of Amsoil, I now run the "All-in-One" Amsoil fuel treatment ($$$ holy smokes!), as I thought I was heading to Minnesota this week. Maybe my computer is just being optimistic, but so far it thinks I've gained 1 MPG over what I'm used to seeing. We'll soon find out. My dosage was closer to 8 ounces per 25 gallons. @AH64ID does Cold Flow get ruined if it's stored too cold, or does it just need to thaw out? Seems silly to have to take it ALL into the hotel or house if it's below 0 degrees if I don't need to.

Thanks for the advice, I'll take all those suggestions.

AH64ID, thanks for the response. Been without power since Saturday, and have been too busy to check forum. I bought the truck and the previous owner had just changed the oil. I ran it for a while, and 5,800 miles ago changed the oil with NAPA 15W-40 and a Fleeguard Stratapore. I really don't know how long to run the new oil, I use the truck mostly as a commuter vehicle, but every once in a rare while might pull a 8-10k pound trailer. Most of my trailering will be a couple thousand. Pretty easy life for a Cummins. I also run my block heater 4 hours every morning that it's around 35d degrees or less; my kid appreciates having heat in the truck! I also only live a mile from the interstate and prefer to use it rather than taking the slow roads 'til I reach temperature. If I could run this expensive oil 9,000 miles by changing the filter and adding a quart every 3k miles, that's what I'd do, though 12k and 4k sounds even better of course! I bought the Amsoil Oil Analysis kit, figured at worst I'd change the filter at 3k, then run to 6k and pull a sample. Hopefully hear back from them quickly to know what need to do. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I don't mind paying for Oil Analysis more often than normal here at the beginning. $28 is cheap compared to 11 quarts of Amsoil!