Doubletrouble

That was my thought @Tractorman, not discounting at all what @Mopar1973Man stated. I'm thinking the interposer may be worn ir maybe a slight crack to where it doesnt quite close the door fully allowing a bit if cold air to mix with the hot air. Last time i checked (ill check again today) the vent temperature was around 140°F. A 20°F difference from what Mike shows could be explained by my theroy i believe. When i pulled the HVAC to chenge the cores i cleaned everything before reassembly and checked all the gaskets and seals. I think this winter i will be oredering a winter cover as well to help keep the heat under the hood during the colder days.

Like the title says, is there a foolproof way to tell if I need a heater treaters? I looked at the blend door motor yesterday, it does move when the temp knob is turned but I can't really tell if the door is moving at the same rate. Am I going to have to take the motor off and remove the little piece just to see if it's cracked? I'm asking because I like some others on here have heat, it's just not as hot as it should be at the vent. A year or so ago I replaced the heater core and a/c coil and inspected the door seals. That should all be good. Seals were in good shape and everything seemed fine. Since then (and before) I just don't get piping hot air coming out of the vents even with the engine twmp gauge reading 190°. So I figure it's time to check the little plastic thingy in the blend door. Any thoughts? Wish I had a laser thermometer to check heater hose Temps. I know one gets pretty darn hot, can't hold onto it. The other is slightly cooler. You can hold onto that one.

The truth of the matter is, it's a 20 year old truck. The engines will run a very very long time when properly maintained. The rest of the truck the same holds true but, the trans, axles and so on just don't last quite as long as the cummins will. All these parts are trying to hold up to the torque the cummins runs through them. Yes, it can get expensive sometimes depending on the issue. The trick is to fix it right the first time or find a good rebuilder to do it for you. Some rebuilders have seen it all and know what to do, some just tear it down, slap the required rebuild parts in and send it out. Not to mention it's getting harder to find mechanics that take pride in their work and really know what they're doing. I would agree with @Mopar1973Man and think the bearing is probably bad and causing a wobble of sorts that is eating away at the seal. Good luck and keep us posted. ( sorry for the long winded reply, coffee is kicking in )

Got the seals replaced today. Have to say it was much easier than I thought it would be. I removed the valve cover (and the one heater hose to allow pulling the valve cover off easier) So far no leaks apparent, I used brake cleaner to spray off the top of the bell housing the best I could. I'll check it again after a few days.

Well, I think I'll be looking at winter fronts for my truck. @Genos Garage has them on sale right now, $89 for a 2nd gen winter front/screen system. Blocks cold air in winter and has a sceen to keep bugs out of the fins in the summer. I didn't realize this could be done. I mean I know the trucks have pretty large radiators and efficient cooling systems but didn't think you could run with no fan at all. I'm sure they do in say Alaska but in the climate in my area I don't think you could get away with it. Maybe where your at you could though. The past couple years I have put cardboard in between the radiator and intercooler. It helped some but not much. That's why I'm thinking much harder about the winter front from Genos. Seems like it would be a better option and easily adjustable if the Temps swing wildly like the sometimes do.

So @Mopar1973Man, do you run a winter front in your truck to keep the IAT up? Ive been contemplating one but I'm still on the fence abiut it. I put cardboard in front of the radiator last year but on the real cold days I don't think that did much

That's spot on. I like the scaled down example with cotton.

Me to @W-T! Things need to start turning around fast! ......me hiding from @Mopar1973Man's tracking system .

I've been trying to prepare fir winter somewhat. This year we went back to using the propane furnace as our primary hear source since I'm not guaranteed to be home everyday with work. I will be burning firewood on weekends when I'm home to save propane. This past weekend was busy. Had to change front hubs on the brother in laws caddy since his wife hit a dear with her van. They were down to 1 car and having some financial issues so thought I'd help them out. Also dug and poured 1 concrete footer under the house in the crawl, 1 more to go then I'll be able to slowly jack that part of the house up. It's been settling the past several years so time to do something about that.

That looks like fun. @Mopar1973Man said it would help to remove the valve cover also. I'll be doing the seals this coming weekend. Last weekend got jammed up working on everyone else's cars again. Ugh

Received the seals the other day. Haven't installed them yet. They're cummins brand seals, got the above mentioned Cummins decal and a couple extra freebies, and a Dodge ram/cummins catalog for Genos. Shipped fast and goodies, impressed so far. Thanks again @Genos Garage!

Just a quick update, so far no bad vibes. I always assumed the valve stems had to be 180° off for balance, guess I was wrong.

I have used it year round with no antigel additives with no problem. Maybe in a much colder climate I would but in ohio our winters aren't as bad as say north Dakota or somewhere like that. We don't normally see below zero much anymore.

I just picked up a used cushion from a salvage yard for the time being. I want to get new foam but my issue is I have vinyl seats, not the typical cloth. My driver side was ripped pretty bad. Today I found a decent used one for $15 so for now this is what I'm using. I can't seem to find the correct color vinyl replacement cover to renew the seat. Old vs new (to me) @Threadzy, could you maybe post a reveiw of your Geno's purchase in their vendor forum? Like to give our vendors props when we can.

2 stroke oil, most of us run 1oz per gallon of fuel.

Is it to bright? Do you get a glare? It might be something you could adjust on your phone. Myself, I find the dark background with white text easier on the eyes. Just my opinion. With the dark background it also will be easier on your phone battery.

Will it be possible to give a teaser of the article, say write it with an overview as first paragraph then continue with the process and details but, only show the overview to non members?

Props to @Mopar1973Man, I like the new theme on the site, digging the new colors too! I find it easier to read and like some of the new features as well. Has anyone noticed the spider web in the top left? Kinda cool for the season! Great job! I'm sure Mike will be along and explain in more detail what the new features are. So far I'm impressed.

Just ordered a pair of fuel return seals for the banjo bolt on the rear of the head for my 2001 3500 cummins. Geno's site is easy to navigate and they had the parts I needed at a good price. I was also looking at several other things on their site. I created an account, they have a wish list you can add parts to for future purchases so you don't have to keep looking them up. I found that convenient. I'll also be receiving a 6"x6" cummins "C" decal free with my order, kinda cool. Thanks Geno's!

I will also do one on their site as well for that specific part.

Just ordered the banjo bolt seals from @Genos Garage.

I'll keep that in mind. Maybe pull the valve cover and clean it up and paint it? Been wanting to anyway. Should I just do the seals or is it common for the line itself to go bad?

I tightened it once a while back just as a precaution. I'll try again. I'm always afraid of snapping them banjo bolts.

I'm talking about the line on the rear of the cylinder head. I was under there fir something else yesterday and noticed it's wet on the back of the engine and down the bell housing. A small drip was handing on the bottom of the bell housing. It was fuel. Could see the light green color. I took my phone and tried to get a pic behind the head (it's tight back there) and it looks wet. Can't tell if it's just the copper washers leaking or if it's the line itself. So far its a small leak, just a drip. Could this cause a slight hard start issue? I noticed yesterday morning she seemed to start a bit harder than normal. (Temp was low/mid 40's) Thinking of just replacing the line, banjo and washers also whatever seals at the "T" as well. Any thoughts? See pics, best I could do in that small space.

With the temperature fluctuations here this time of year I don't know if a 200° would be good or not. We sometimes see 40-45° swings here this time of year. It was nearly 80 two days ago, tonight's low is 36.