Ilikeoldfords

Antifreeze should be done every 30k miles. I try to do the brakes every couple years and its a good idea to rebuild the calipers right away when you do that. A lot of people try to do the gear boxes once every year or two depending on how you use the truck and how much. As for oil labs, I have heard good things about Oil anilyzers Inc, and I think fleetgaurd has a program now too.

Check out Diesel Auto Power. As far as price and quality goes, they are hard to beat.

I know on a lot of the fords and GM's if you actually ground that signal wire it will peg the gauge. Havent tried it on the dodges before but I would maybe try grounding it first. lot easier to find ground then it is to get power back there.

Yes and that is an expensive bug too. It is good to hear the big improvement with your upgrades though! Always makes a guy feel good when you can improve a truck on all levels with some simple upgrades like that.

All I can say is I am so glad to not live in a smog controlled area. Seems like such a hassle to just have the vehicle that you want and have it the way you want it.

Welcome to the forum! First off, I think you might want the 24valve forum. The 3rd gen dodge cummins trucks dont have a VP44, but rather a CP3 injection pump. They are common rail (CR) injected engines vs the old mechanical style individual cylinder injection like the VP44 and P-pumped 1st gen cummins motors.

So would it be beneficial to fool the battery temp sensor like we do the IAT?

I think for a diesel that this is a little ridiculous. Even when these things were brand new Ill bet they smoked at least a little bit when you revved them up quick.

That thing is brand new!!! I have over 225k on my 01 now. Over that last few months, I have had 4 weekends where I covered over 2000 miles in the span of the weekend. Doesnt take long to build up them miles that way.

I agree. If the clutch is working fine then I would leave it. The stock hydraulics do not have any kind of adjustment but if you go with an aftermarket set up like valair or SB then you will be able to adjust the pedal.

I have heard of bad/dirty grounds causing issues with holding RPM and also bad APPS causing the same issues. It sounds like they checked the important things but what has me stumped is why there was a lack of power after the flash they did. Makes me wonder if the flash didnt agree with the ECM or maybe the ECM is fried and wouldnt take the flash? Another reason I think you might have a ECM issue is the fact that the APPS is loosing power. As far as I know that power comes from the ECM.

I say if you were going to be pulling the trailer a ton, then I would look at getting a DRW. Since you dont pull it hardly ever and you know that a SRW truck will handle it, just go for the SRW. Cheaper on tires, and not to mention it will ride nicer than the DRW when empty.

I am looking at sending a sample of my used oil in on my next oil change. I have never done it before and am curious as to where my truck stands. What is the process for doing this? Do I need to use a special container? What is the best oil analysis lab to use and why? Thanks for any info!!

Glad yoo were able to get it figured out. Not very many APPS goes out without throwing codes. Mine did and it was a little hard to figure out at first.

Any trouble codes? What is your exact fuel pressure when this is all happening? It also could be the APPS going on you but we will need the codes to verify the issues.

I am sure if you wanted to go with a different type of cushion material you could work that out with whatever shop you are dealing with. They must have different densities of foams and what not I would imagine.

That is why I had mine re done. This guy even had the OE cover material which I though was discontinued years ago. Put new foam in and recovered with all new material. Just like a brand new seat!!

If the pump tap is just done with one of those scotch lock connectors, you might either redo it or look at getting a stealth plate. My comp was on my truck when I got it too and they had use the scotch lock that comes with the comp new. Mine had lost connection over time and it would cut in and out. I got the stealth plate and all the issues went away.

Just to add to this mess of VP vs CR.... I just made a trip to Missoula, MT from Grand Forks, ND this weekend. I set the cruise at 70 the entire way and stayed on the interstates. I checked my mileage by hand with the trip meter and with a GPS just to make sure. I averaged 22-24 the whole weekend and that included the drive to Missoula and the drive back. About 2000 miles round trip. I left the comp on 4X4 so I did have some extra timing and fuel but I was also running my IAT fooler the whole way as well. I consider these numbers pretty good considering the fact that I am running 35in X 12.50in tires and 3.55 gearing. I figured going 70 through the mountains between Billings and Missoula would bring it down but it never did. This was with a pretty much empty truck apart from my fiberglass topper. I bet that I would be able to get close to Mike's records if I dropped to 60 mph instead of running 70 the whole time. The only problem is you really cant afford to go any slower when you need to cover 1000 miles in a day. Just wanted to throw my .02 in there

I was a bit surprised that you didnt say anything about that in your first post there Mike. As soon as I saw it in the OP I was a little concerned.

Going through a set of pads in 10k miles is a little ridiculous. I would definitely look at getting some kind of exhaust brake or something else before wasting money on more brakes that will just wear out in short order again.

Sounds better than "getting on the diesel" I think. LOL!!

Did it just start making the noise? Mine will kind of ping if it is cold. Usually goes pretty much away when warmed up. I think that if the pistons were hitting the valves it probably wouldnt run very good. Just my opinion though.

Depending on the lift kit plus tires, thats only adding to the stress on the already stressed front end. Any word on what was setting the CEL off? I would probably also get a hold of a mechanical fuel pressure test gauge and see exactly what fuel pressure its running.

Is the noise there all the time? Does it get louder/faster when getting on the gas more?