JAG1

YankNeck, Thanks for the links. They are very informative. I had no idea.Micheal... you better knock on wood after bragging how yers never goes out :lol:I'm putting a heat shield and spacers behind mine. He he I need things to keep busy anyhow:hyper:.A side note... the ECM housing is all aluminum. I think that conducts heat more than most other metals.

My 02 Dodge 2500 gets loaded with a camper about the same weight (2475 dry). Even with the single rear wheels it does terrific on mountain turns and highways. It is the camper package version. I would not want a camper any heavier than that though. It feels like a real roller at the very first of a turn but, then there's a sudden stop to the roll and a very solid feel from the twin sway bars and air bags. I've had motor homes pull off and wait out a wind storm while I was able to keep going.

That is interesting. I suppose due to the amount of low voltage electronics means things are more sensative. This is a good thing to note and share this problem. Thank you. Dripley, I imagine it can get pretty hot with summer heat and heavy towing. It is really close to the engine block (cannot get finger tips behind it) not enough space for me to think it stays cool that way. I can't tell how much the wiring harness will let you move it. The harness is running in front of the ECM, with a branch going up to the plug above and is attached very tight to the engine block just forward of the ECM. I have to cut that band so I can move it and tell. I think the limiting factor though is going to be leaving enough room for the F/filter. Cap and filter has to come off and go straight up. Got to clear the oild dip stick tube as well. - - - Updated - - - I stand corrected, Cummins did give it some cooling space of about an inch, now that I have the ECM off I can see the spacers cast into the block. However it would be better to at least have some isolation washers in there. Something like nylon washers would telegraph/ transfer less heat. Then run a ground to the battery so the housing is grounded again. Dripley, the wire harness band is held by a bolt 10mm. The bottom ECM bolt was corroded so that I had to use a cheater bar. Probably a good idea to use some dielectic grease on the plug being it's down there too.

That's amazing. I don't understand it but, I have heard something about bundling wires too tightly together. Did you just loosen up the bundle to fix it and put in a new Relay? - - - Updated - - - Good question, good to know.... wonder if it's something to do with exclusive vendor rights that Chrysler paid for 98, Thanks for the picks .... looks like I will need to space the F/filter further out/ away like you did. Glad to know it all fits. I'm probably going to find a way to insulate between the engine and the ECM just cause I'm an anal Cummins owner

I was under the impression you can no longer buy a new ECM for the second gens.So CSM, your bad relay crossed the ECM circuit and the lift pump power from the batteries. Yikes... I'll see if I can do a test for that.98, I can move the F/Filter further away so I'm interested in that pic when you have time. I already isolated the F/F housing off the intake manifold (Special phenolic resin block used in electronics) because the filter housing was getting too hot Heat from contacting the intake manifold. It heated the fuel just before the VP.

I know there has been talk about how few times an ECM goes out, not to worry about the engine heat and where it's mounted and so on. Except isn't it getting harder to find a good reliable one? Getting it flashed properly can be a problem also, I've heard. Then you have a few ECM rebuilders/ repair companies sending off faulty units. Sometimes being a crap shoot trying to get a good one. Some have reported bad experiences while their truck sits for days sending units back and forth till they get one that works.Now I have been Googling engine heat, ECMS and problems... finding reports about how heat does affect them. One ECM supplier reporting that the engine heat is the biggest enemy to the ECM. On a truckers forum they discuss how to keep it cooler with running fuel lines near or around it. I think I remember reading how Cat engine already does this for their ECM's. On the Cummins forum there was a guy complaining about his 24 valve was acting up always after it was up to full engine temps. He then moved the ECM off and away from the engine, mounting it on the original fuel pump bracket no longer used and his trouble went away.So if you are like me and want reliability for the long haul doesn't make sense to move the ECM away from the block? I'm wondering too, if I can ground the ECM housing directly to the battery after it's moved?Thanks for any thoughts

Yep.... around here on the west side of northern Oregon the drivers seem like they are more concerned with annoying other drivers than getting to where they are going safely. It's gettin real weird over here... crime is on a major rise too

Are both of those pumps powered off the ECM?I hope they aren't cause I think that's what Dripley was talking about how it burned up his ECM.

To save your ECM from burning up from a pump going bad, it's good to start out by planning to have the ECM trigger a relay and power the pump directly off the batteries. A jammed pump can burn the ECM and they are getting harder to get.I'd drop the tank or lift the bed as I think you'll find some of the beginnings of clogged screens inside the module by now. I think some inline pumps even had a real clogger situation in which a small cylindrical shaped screen filter was placed in front of the pump.Better to get rid of the screens and put in a changeable filter like the big rigs but installed before the lift pump.The 1/2'' lines create increased flow and gives freedom to add the prefilter.I don't know this stuff I'm just repeating what I've learned on this forum and how my truck's been good this way.

The way people drive I can see this easily happening. On the interstates I typically try getting in behind a Semi tractor trailer. If there's a pile up ahead, he can clear a path for me. :thumbup2:I don't know if it's the safest place, but, at least I know I can stop on time. Most don't want to go trucker speed so they don't cut in front neither.

Yep sweet revenge...... Getting on the freeway with a heavy load once on an uphill ramp, I was too slow for a guy in a rice rocket. He's so close behind it's like he's under my flatbed. Before we're on the freeway, still single lane, the guy decides to pass and speeds on down the freeway. Nice when I saw the state trooper pull out from behind a tractor trailer watching the whole thing from behind. As the trooper goes by with his lights on I give him the:thumbup2: and he pulls the guy over up ahead. That trooper made my day - - - Updated - - -

Thats where mines hooked up too but still get the fluctuation when grid heaters go on and off. Micheal we all get that fluctuation cause we don't all have a pair of 500 lb. 8D batteries in our trucks like you

Sorry for the misleading Dorkweed... it is intended as a jokeKinda like.... "I hate it when those cops pull me over for a ticket, can't they see I'm in a big hurry and just drop it in the mail?

If you run a lot of bio diesel, doesn't that make it necessary to have two fuel filters? One in front of the lift pump and with the factory one? I heard of a VP rebuilder who said one of the biggest problems is the use of biodiesel without enough filtration. Not sure how much experience this guy actually had, but I remember him saying that.

After ea. adjustment you have to keep driving the truck down a straight road to get it exact. Took me about 4 tries to get it real good.

I can't stand it when I'm going 35 over the limit in the slow lane and gettin' tailgated by a car with those stupid looking lights on top.Sent to me by a race car driver friend of mine

TCW3 2 stroke oil. About the single best thing you can do :thumbup2:. Is about what everyone else says around these parts too.

Too bad they don't have a toy snake that pops out when you open the fuel door...... springs out at the wife, almost heart attack speed, but will wake her up to read, 'DIESEL ONLY DEAR' on the side of a bright orange snake.

Well said. It's not that any one truck is better than another.... It's the Cummins engine has become very popular

My stock air box started to leak some dust onto the turbo blades. It was a small amount. I found it one day when I had the intake tube off to make room for changing the oil filter.My filters are always clean so it had to be the air box not holding a good seal against the filter any longer. Over time I know plastic can distort and start to shrink. Especially in the sun, I've seen it time and time again on boat parts, car parts and vinyl siding. My truck is painted black so it gets very hot in the summer. Not only that but the metal clips that hold the air box together weren't holding tightly any longer thus loosing a good seal against dust intrusion.For this reason I would put on the BHAF.I did end up remodeling my stock air box with a block plane (shaved it off some) to squeeze tighter against the filter instead of squeezing the plastic to plastic housing. I have several stock filters from a while back still to go.

Work trucks used for business are considered 100% tax deductable at the IRS as long as it's not a Ford.Bring a Ford truck in for repairs and you get a Dodge for a loaner

That's too bad, they should have gotten the big shiney chrome front grill option...... makes it work better :)Yesterday I had to turn in next to a guy all decked out in his new Ford. He looked like he was ready to show off to everyone and his girlfriend. Here's Me in my 400,000 mile, 20 year old 1st gen. I tried hard not to notice so he wouldn't feel so bad.

Mike, you are right about running a tube up higher to a cross member to avoid the dirt clogging the vent. Much better than drilling the cap.I don't think its a good idea to push anything inside the rollover valve though because isn't it some kind of flapper in there? It lets in air to vent but won't let fuel out in a rollover wreck?

I plugged mine since I have my own custom tank vent. The Rollover valves seem to be unreliable for some. Occasionally you hear about someone with a collapsing tank. Just a piece of hose with a bolt clamped in the end will plug the valve.It's funny, on the one day I decided to really top off the fuel my rollover valve decided to squirt about a quart of fuel before I got it stopped.

Watch your fuel pressure improve also. Just drill the hole thru the white underside only in the bottom of the cap. Drill in between the little wheel spoke looking things.