diesel4life

I sure hope the left sees this rebellion for its face value and puts the blame where it belongs, but I have a feeling this is gonna be just another black eye we can't afford. Hookin up to a sled or running a 1/4 mile is one thing, but the whole "Rollin Coal" gig is a sure sign of immaturity, or maybe a lack of education? I dont know... Can't tell ya how many kids see me in my truck and think they gotta give me the ol black cloud salute... ahhhhh!! I've given many of them a reprimand if I get the chance, I even got my kids on board (thank god, cuz my oldest is begging me for a diesel for his first vehicle) CSM hit it on ther head, stay classy diesel community!

I have pieced together a "booney kit" over the years of all the important sensors that can leave you on the side of the road. They're easy enough to carry around, generally all you need is a basic few tools to change any one sensor out.. I spent the extra money and bought all OEM sensors...everything except my APPS is original so I look at it like this I would rather spend the extra few bucks and get something that will get me several years of service compared to some chinese junk that realistically will probably last a fraction of the time the OEM sensor lasted. Buying OEM doesn't guarantee it will last as long as the original but your odds are definitely better. I helped a friend change a crank sensor out on his Dodge a year or so ago and he bought one from Autozone, I can tell you it wasn't near the same quality as the Cummins sensor in my tool box. I compared them side by side and even offered it to him under the terms he replace it but he didnt want to spend the extra coin...hopefully it holds out for him but i have my doubts...

I really envy you southerners, it took a rose bud on a torch and More than 6 tons on a hydraulic press to get my bj's to pop loose... Boy, he must of worked pretty hard to crank the top of the cab corner like that! That would have to be quite the steep angle, at that point you'd THINK he would be paying attention to where the trailer was!

If your not using the pre- diluted antifreeze or mixing your coolant with distilled water you might want to consider doing a pH test on the water your using. A pH that's not close to neutral will eat the entire cooling system. Also water with a high mineral content will bake off inside the system overtime and plug all kinds of stuff up. I would bet my money on that over a cleaner that you may have used for a few minutes or even a few hours.

Yes I do! You still coming this way soon?

Been working 60+ hours (normal), and trying to enjoy the summer now that it's finall here. The good thing about my job is I can slam some 14-16 hour days and then take 3-4 days off. The days I spend working are pretty well shot but it's nice having some days off with the boys now that they are on summer break. We just got back from primitive camping in Chataqua NY. We find somewhere to camp along the top of the gorge and typically spend a few days there. We hike down to the river and swim or we can go the other way and fish at the mouth of the lake. Very quiet peaceful place to go. Two weeks ago we loaded the 4wheelers up and went to west virginia and spent 4 days in the mountains camping and 4wheeling. Great time and beautiful country. The ol Dodge did pretty good and showed up my buddies 2012 Chevy with the 6.0 gasser. Pulling my 22 ft tilt trailer with 5 machines with a combined weight of about 6k lbs I averaged 13.4 mpg. Could have done better by slowing down but it's a long haul and we wanted to get there so I ran right at 75 the whole way. My buddy drove his truck solo (couldn't fit everyone plus gear in one truck) and averaged 14mpg. That was empty as in no trailer no nothing, with a light load of camping gear and tools in the bed. His $30k dollar investment didn't look too hot next to my 16 year old beater!

Did he buy new clamps along with the boots? Is this a 6.0 by chance? They are notorious for blowing boots. The 2 main reasons I've seen are the CCV blowing excess oil all over the front of the intercooler and the veins in the vgt sticking causing excessive boost. You would think the control valve on the turbo would open when the boost got too high and under normal circumstances I think it would, but they are prone to sticking when the turbo gets gummed up from the EGR. Combine that with the already oily/stretched boots/clamps and you have a recipe for disaster. Every 6.0 owner I know carries the necessary tools to tighten/replace a blown boot. Just another perk of owning a powerstroke!

There is an ongoing thread on another forum of a long time diesel mechanic that recently acquired a new job which required the purchase of a new full size pick up. His needs were a 4x4 that was capable of towing 10-12k pounds occasionally while hauling 1k+ pounds payload. Half ton was out of the question so it came down to a 3/4 ton or srw 1 ton and was heavily contemplating either the 6.4 or the Cummins. . I can't remember exact commutes but I know he puts several hundred miles a week on his truck. After weighing his options he decided to go with the 6.4 Hemi for most all the reasons W&F mentioned. He has given a very honest opinion over the last several months which is essentially this in a nutshell: horsepower is phenomenal for light to moderate towing but in his words being used to owning and driving diesels for so many years torque quickly falls off under heavier loads. Empty mileage is 15-16mpg depending on driving conditions and has seen as low as 8 and high as 12 towing depending on weight, speed, etc. He is already considering trading it in on a baseline Tradesman or ST with a Cummins when money permits. He is doing quite a bit more towing than what the OP is discussing so the trade off may be worth it. I know of a retired couple that bought a 13 Ram SRW 1 ton with the HO Cummins/Aisin trans and 3.42 gears. They use it to haul their 5th wheel and get nearly identical fuel mileage as their former 05 Cummins. He has done a few empty highway trips from the Carolinas and mileage with the 3.42s have been netting him consistant 18mpg. He has showed me his log books so I know this to be fact. Pretty dang impressive for an engine with 850 ft lbs torque. You certainly aren't going to get that out of a 6.0 gasser or likely any Hemi. I have no idea what maintenance intervals are for the Hemis, but 15k mile oil and fuel filter change intervals and the ocasional air filter change and EGR cleaning every 60k are about it for the Cummins. DEF is an additional expense but pretty minimal at that. The maintenance costs wouldn't scare me anymore than what I'm doing with my truck but the initial cost is the hard pill to choke down. Then again, when you look in the classifieds and see 10 year old trucks selling for 25k-30k I don't think your actually losing out on anything. It really all comes down to the end user and what his needs are. A gasser will certainly be cheaper up front and cheaper in a daily driving situation. As much as the gas engines have evolved so have the diesels and you aren't going to find the same capabilities in a gasser, it's going to be a give and take relationship. Just gotta figure out what you will be happier with

http://media.chrysler.com/download.do?id=13670&mid=2 Heres the tow specs for 2013 models. The 6.4 wasn't available until 14 (I think) so the only way your going to get that is by buying a brand new pickup. You say your interested in a 10 or newer, I personally would avoid the 07.5-12 Rams. They use frequent EGR cycles which pollutes the oil, I know people changing their oil as frequently as every 6k miles. That gets expensive. 13 and newer SCR equipped Rams (or 07.5-12 CC trucks use the DEF fluid and IMO is a better cleaner approach. Less invasive, better mpg's, 15k mile oil changes. It is a fairly proven technology and I wouldn't hesitate to own one but you have to use them as intended. Not a good daily driver or grocery getter. There seems to be a general consensus on here that the new trucks are to be avoided like the plague and I honestly disagree. I have seen enough of them in action to see that they are powerful reliable trucks, and very roomy and comfortable to boot. Truth is, our beloved 2nd gens won't hold a candle to them in any category including towing mileage. The big downfall is price, hard to justify 45-50k for a plain jane model but if you can afford it or need it you won't find a more capable and comfortable pick up in my opinion.

What exactly are your plans for the engine? If it runs good and you don't plan on modifying it I would be hesitant to tear it down. Maybe do a compression test and if it's all to spec I probably wouldn't touch it. 150k is nothing for those engines given they weren't run hard and put away wet. I would definitely regasket anything that looks questionable, IE oil pan, front gear case, tappet cover, etc. Tab the kdp if it hasn't been done (you will know as soon as you remove the gear case).Would be a good time to throw a reseal kit on your vacuum pump while its out as they are prone to leaking. It would also be a good idea to check the oil pan for corrosion if it has seen any salt over the years, they are pretty well known around here for rotting out. Just a few ideas off the top of my head, I'm sure others will chime in.

That would work!

That's a real bummer. Not sure if anyone here other than Tom is from MN, maybe he knows someone that would haul it for you? Especially if his buddy is close by? If I were close we could work something out, good luck and I'm sure you will get it all figured out.

It looks like you completely block it off, but I'm not sure. Hopefully someone that has done it will chime in. Think I'm going to give it a try this summer.

The jb weld is to enable 2nd gear lock up only. Once you do the jb weld you will be able to acheive lock up with the switch. You can install the switch without modifying your valve body and you will be able to hold lock up in third and OD but not second.

Here ya go. Best write up you'll find regarding flushing the power steering system. The truck in the article is a third gen so the fluid will be different than what the second gen is specd for but other than that everything else is very similar. http://articles.mopar1973man.com/3rd-generation-dodge-cummins/53-engine-system/119-power-steering-flush

What gear ratio do you have? With 35s your going to want to keep the rpms from dropping too low as this will increase the egt's as well as increase the stress on the trans and drivetrain. Whenever I am pulling heavy I will keep OD locked out and run the engine to 2100-2400 rpm depending on terrain before I allow the trans to shift into OD. This keeps the engine in the power band, egt's will be lower and it will be easier on the trans.

Yes, but that's more of an instant mpg number. My truck can get 25mpg under the right circumstances, but when you look at an average number over the course of a tank of fuel no way. I just like to look at the overall average numbers when considering a vehicle, and for them to claim an "average" 50mpg seems suspicious. That would mean at cruising speeds like you mention it would have to achieve well north of 55mpg and I don't see that happening.

You must manually shift the gear selector to 2nd gear, allow the truck to shift into 2nd gear, and then throw the lock up switch. You are right in saying you must first disengage the lockup BEFORE allowing the transmission to upshift to prevent lock to lock shifts. The lock up switch will lock the TC in whatever gear you have selected regardless of speed and which gear the transmission is currently in so you must make sure you are in the gear you want to be in and you have means of holding the transmission in that gear before you throw the switch. For 2nd lockup, gear shift selector in "2", allow the trans to shift into 2nd and then hit the lock up switch For 3rd lock up, gear selector in "D" with the OD button on the shifter pressed in, allow the trans to shift into 3rd and then hit the lock up switch For lock up in 4th (OD), gear selector in "D", allow the trans to shift into OD and then throw the lock up switch. ALWAYS disengage the lock up switch BEFORE allowing the trans to upshift.

With the lock up switch the transmission will automatically go into lock up in OD if you leave the shift selector in "D" regardless of which gear the transmission is currently in. If you accelerate from a dead stop with the selector in "D" and throw the switch the TC will lock and hit 4th instantly. You have to manually select the gear you wish to be locked in, allow the transmission to reach that gear, and then throw the lock up switch. So for 2nd gear you will have to manually shift to 2nd and once the truck downshifts (or upshifts from first) then and only then do you flip the switch. For lock up in 3rd you simply lock out OD with the button on the shifter, allow the trans to shift into 3rd, then flip the switch. You never want to throw the lock up switch until the transmission is in the gear you want to be locked up in or the TC will lock up and dump the trans into the gear you have selected. You also must disengage the lock up switch BEFORE allowing the transmission to shift into the next gear. Shifting gears while in lockup, especially under heavy acceleration/load is bad ju ju.

Hey Tom, how old is your nephew? Does he live around here?

Funny you mentioned this because I have been noticing the same thing. I was putting along at a slow pace yesterday on a side road checking out field conditions and a car came up on me out of nowhere so I got on it to get up to speed a little. Convertor was locked in 3rd at about 30 mph with virtually no boost and I all but blacked out the guy in the fancy Camaro behind me. Not only did I piss him off for driving slow I also pissed him off for filling his car up with soot!! He went flying around me and gave me a dirty look, like I did it on purpose. Oops! Like you I'm going to hook the Smarty up and tweak the settings a touch to clean it up. Shoot, I finally pulled my 200* stat yesterday and swapped it back for the 190*...summer is finally upon us.

My question would be just how different are these cars? How about parts availability and service? I didn't know VW even had a 25 gallon tank available? Our Beetle is a roller skate compared to that body and doesn't clear 50 mpg, I would be a little suspicious of those claims. Sure, under the right conditions it will do that and better, but I'm talking average as in over a tank of fuel of everyday driving...

VM Motori builds the engines, which happens to be the same manufacturer of the engines Chrysler is using in the new Ram Ecodiesel, the Grand Cherokee, and Liberty. I'm sure there are quite a few minor changes to the emissions and fuel systems but they have been in use in Europe for a while and seem to be very capable and reliable engines.

That's the difference between high humidity and almost no humidity

Hey now, the walleye weren't biting that day until AFTER I sacrificed the phone! But seriously, I'll be watching for your call, we'll have to get together for some breakfast one morning. The diner in Andover has some good food, or how about that little resteraunt in Wayne? Rt 193 and 322? Cross Roads I think? It's been a loong time since I've even been out that way. Isn't that close to your mom?