diesel4life

This sparked my curiosity so I went through all the TSBs and recalls from 98-02 and did not see anything about a headgasket. I would be interested if you could find that notification.One thing I did find of interest that I had never heard of was TSB-09-002-02 for all 98-02 Cummins engines. It was a R&R of the tappet cover with a provision for the breather like the 12 valves had. I did not know such a TSB ever existed. I do know that if I ever have to remove my tappet cover for any reason I will be replacing it with a 12 valve style cover. I wish I could get my hands on one for a templet to modify mine, I'm sure it isn't anything a hole saw and a little TIG welding couldnt handle.

To kill the swimmers in the water??

An APPS or TPS problem would cause a fluctuation in RPMs and generally does not affect transmission functions. The shudder you mentioned in your first post is hard to be duplicated by anything else other than a TC. Not to say it cant be something else. Like mentioned earlier a competent trans shop would probably be your best bet at least for diagnosing, then you can decide what you want to do from there.

A synthetic would take all the concerns you have away. My brother in law in Wyoming has an 08 6.7 and I have personally seen him leave his truck parked for several days at the cabin and go out, cycle the grid heaters 2 or 3 times depending on how cold it is and fire it up. This is at just shy of 10k feet elevation where temps easily reach into the -20s to -30 and might or might not break 0 during the day. He has run a full synthetic 15w40 from day one and an anti gel in the tank and has never been stranded.One thing I have seen him do if its really windy (his and my versions of wind are different,the wind ALWAYS blows in Wyoming, especially at that elevation), is build up a snow wall with the loader and park the nose into it without physically parking in the snow, this helps keep the wind off the truck some, and he claims helps a little.Good luck with your big move, and try to keep in touch now and again. I would be interested to hear how your making out up there.

Just don't go too far south, I hear the water sucks down there! - - - Updated - - - You can keep it! It was 17 here last night but the 35 mph winds were eating through my shorts in no time. Turned my outtie into an innie.

Building a box is not a bad idea and one I've been considering. That or find a good OEM box to put back in (mine was cracked). For every 10 degrees you can cool the intake air temp you gain 1% of your net horsepower. On a 250 horse engine that is 2.5 HP. In colder weather this probably has no bearing but in the heat of the summer on a 90+ degree day I could see the under hood temps easily reaching 30 degrees (or more) above ambient temp. If your running your engine hard under a heavy load and/or in stop and go traffic I don't think your doing it any favors at this stage of the game. JR

I made one out of some extra stainless sheet metal I had laying around. Bent it 90* and drilled holes in the bottom so that it bolted to the platform where the stock box mounted and then 90s up around the filter. I cut it so that it sits within a quarter inch of the hood when it is closed. I have touched it in the summer time on a hot day after working the truck and it has been hot to the touch so I think there could be some merit for one during the hot months.

It seems to be the opinion that performing an actual flush nets bad results although I have never personally experienced any. Just performed the 60k mile service interval on our Mountaineer. I did everything except the trans service which required a "fluid evacuation" as they call it on the sealed units these days. I looked into doing it myself but it is nearly impossible without the proper tools. We have experienced no issues with it, shifts just as smooth and crisp as before the service. I think they are not as bad as they are made out to be as long as proper service intervals are followed from day one. I believe it is more likely to be the vehicle that has been severely neglected that gets a flush for whatever reason and then experiences problems....I am no expert this is just my take on the matter. The procedure I listed above is by no means a flush, it is just a thorough replacement of fluid and will not cause any issues. If you were to just drop the pan and replace the fluid you lost, you would have to increase your service intervals by 50% or more to keep up with OEM recomendations.How many miles on this transmission? I don't know of any ways to visually inspect a valve body, usually the damage occurs from within. If the trans has a bunch of miles on it or was abused, it may be time for a new TC and valvebody. This is where finding a competent diesel trans builder that is not out to clean your wallet out is worth his weight in gold.

Did you pop off the dash bezel first? It hides lots of screws required to remove for disassembly of the dash.

Yes, I have used those piggybacks before with no problems. Just make sure you don't overload them. If your just using one to light a few gauges you will have plenty of amps to spare those little lights draw next to nothing for power. Can't really comment on the wiring of the gauge light without seeing it. Maybe a picture would help a little. Do they look identical in the way they are connected to the back?

Let me know how it works I may change up to it. I tucked my wire behind the dash bezel so it isn't getting tangled up everywhere.JR

I spent a week in Sanford at the Crane Institute of America. Spent a little time at Disney at night and Universal the day before I had to leave, but didn't have very much free time. Classes were 10 hours long and generally had an hour or 2 of homework each night.JR

I have been using the cassette adapter for several years in my truck and don't notice a difference in sound between it and an FM station? It is actually quite a bit louder than FM radio, I have to turn it down when switching from radio to Sirius. The wifes Mountaineer came factory equipped with Sirius and it does sound much better but thats more of a refinement between vehicles so not exactly a fair comparison. Part of me would like to buy a nice stereo system for the Dodge that is Sirius compatable, but I have a hard time justifying the cost when what I have is still working...

If there were any stations around here selling 2% bio I wouldn't even be using any type of additive. It will be treated with the proper winter additives just like any diesel fuel so unless your filling your truck up and its sitting for months at a time I wouldnt use anything. If I were going to use something it would be a fuel stabalizer for long term storage (in the situation I mentioned above) or possibly an anti gel if you were to experience any real cold snaps. I can't see where adding 2 cycle oil to bio would have any benefits at all.

I was able to get 10-11 quarts when I serviced mine over the summer so yes there is still quite a bit of old fluid in the system in your case. I removed the cold side trans cooler line from the cooler, placed it in a bucket and had someone start the truck in neutral. The fluid now is coming out of the line into the bucket at a good rate, the second you see the flow interrupt it is time to shut the truck down to avoid cavitating the pump. Then it's time to drop and clean the pan, I removed the hot side trans cooler line and drained everything out of the cooler and the lines. Also if you still have the factory check valves in the transmission heat exchanger (follow the trans lines up to the passenger side of the block) there is likely some fluid left in there as well. I removed my checks long ago, so everything was able to drain back out. I left mine drip overnight and gained another quart or two by doing that. It is a little time consuming, but in the end I was able to evacuate most all of the fluid, which is the whole point in the first place....With that being said I don't know that doing this would help you in any way, if the torque convertor is in deed toast. Any good transmission shops in your area? It cant hurt to just drop by and talk to someone and pick their brain, shouldnt cost you anything unless you agree to let them do a formal diagnosis.

Tranny shudder is almost certainly a sign of a slipping torque convertor, and the fact that your fluid was burnt smelling re enforces that. What type of fluid did you use? I dont think I would be getting too carried away with anything else until you can get a professional opinion on the health of your transmission.

The jumper in the PDC under the hood was just a bypass for the lock up switch. So with a relay in there you will not have the ability to manually lock the converter anymore. Also there should have been a wire tapped near the PCM for the lock up switch, you may want to remove that if your doing away with it all together. If he was manually forcing OD, I'm guessing there was a problem somewhere along the line...the PCM commands OD, it is a bit odd you replaced it and no difference in shifting. If he has the wiring hacked up, return it to OEM form, maybe something is disconnected? If your positive the PCM is good and all your wiring is sound you may have to look at the solenoid pack in the valvebody.

Glad to hear all is well Robert. A true miracle they are OK! Puts a new perspective on life when you nearly lose those dearest to you. I was on my way home from work one night when I came across my wife wadded up in a ditch. She too was on her way home from work. Hit head on by a drunk driver in an old Ford pick up. (She was in a Civic). Took EMS an hour to get her out of the car as the engine was shoved back into the passenger seat and the dash had her legs pinned. Broke her legs in several spots, huge laceration from the top of her skull to just above her eye (thank god it didnt go ANY further), and brain trauma. Lots of corrective surgury, plastic surgury, and months of PT afterwards. Worst experience EVER. I can't remember how many times I puked in the ditch that night, but it was alot.

Its easy, everyone that is already on the cash cow is afraid to get off the ***. Unfortunately we are already into consecutive generations of blood that has collected welfare and it is accepted practice to depend on the government fat. All we can do is look out for our own, and teach our children core values and a hard work ethic. Because one day when big brother falls only the independent will survive. JR

I sincerely hope this is not real but im afraid i already know the answer...JR

That reminds me of the time we had to go down into a mineshaft under lake erie to repair an elevator they used to bring equipment down into the salt mine. We got to the bottom and low and behold a CAT 988 sitting in the corner of the mine abandoned. It looked like it had been through a nuclear holocaust. Rims rotted to the point the tires were flat, hoses extremely dry rotted, cab looked like swiss cheese. It was sad to see such a magnificent piece of equipment left to rot like that. JR

I wish this thread would have come across a month ago I would have taken pictures when I pulled my flares off to clean them. If installed properly they fit nice and tight to the body I have yet to pull any stones or mud out of them yet in 3 plus years. This with lots of dirt roads, oil well leases and running through the fields during harvest time on the families 1100 acre farm in New Lyme. When I bought the truck it had not been subjected to salt but had lots of chips from 13 years of use and abuse. No rust anywhere but if left untreated I literally would have no fenders or rockers by now. You either have to be proactive about rust protection around here or your vehicle will rot in front of your eyes. So I bought a gallon of chassis saver and monsta lined along the fender wells and bottom of the rockers as well as the bed rails. I added the flares because I didn't care for the looks of the bed liner along the fender wells. JR

LMAO! Never heard that one before! Love it! Get yer swing on! JR

Looks like a great trip. Nothing better than getting out into nature in another part of the country. Thats my idea of a true vacation.JR

JR