vineyardmh

Any chance you have the MPG fooler and the switch is set for MPG improvement? That tends to eliminate the need for grid heaters and a Wait To Start function.

The discussion in the past about dropping the tank is getting a reliable measure to the bottom of the tank. If you drop the tank - when the tank is setting on the floor - how do you account for flex of the bottom of the tank to get a good measurement. If you lift the truck bed - the tank is in the correct position. I am fortunate to have a 2 post lift in my garage - so I raise the lift up - back the truck bed under the arms - attach straps to the bed and lift arms and then lift it straight up. Raise the bed up 2 ft and do some safety chocking...do the work on the tank, then remove chocks and lower it back down. Fast and easy!

No noticed problems with vibration, or anything else. It works fine at that location....and you can see the results (the photos showing the crud being cleaned out). And the claim is that the centrifugal filter can pull out finer particles than most any other bypass filter! The 's-curve' shape was to get the top below a level that might interfere with the closed hood. I probably have a few inches to spare....but it tucks the unit down nicely!

Per the request.... One photo shows the installation of the spinner - mounted to the top of the alternator mounting plate. A second photo shows the drain line to the unused 'boss' (that has a knock out plug in it..) that is similar to the turbo drain line boss. (Note - the 12 valve engines don't have a second boss available.) Then - the spinner section prior to scraping the contaminants out...after driving 4K miles. The final photo shows the crud scraped into a coffee filter for weighing. A "DIY" project that is reasonable costs. NOTE - if you wait a day before pulling the spinner off to clean....there is much less mess to work with than a Frantz filter (and I have them and use them also...so I know of what I speak!). Feel free to PM me if there are any questions.

I added a centrifugal oil filter for my 2002 truck. Very happy with it! I did a 4,000 mile trip - and on return, measured the amount of 'debris' it captured in that 'short' distance. The debris weighed about 0.8 oz....Realistically - the spinner doesn't need to be removed and cleaned frequently...I figure I might do it every 12K to 15K miles, but I could probably extend it to 20K to 25K, based on the amount it will capture/hold. These spinners are rated as excellent for removing particles down to 1 micron....and once installed...no cost to buy replacement filters. I bought a Spinner II (before I found a lower cost unit ..). I found some 3/16" plate steel (about 3" wide, 13" long) - and I shaped it into a "lazy s" by using a hydraulic press, blocks, curved pieces, etc., until the top piece curved along the alternator bracket, and the lower piece was horizontal. I put a 1/4" aluminum plate on top ...drilled 4 mounting holes, drilled a larger hole for the drain - including a 1" NPT threading. Install a 1" NPT x 1" barb fitting. Use 1" stiff hose for the drain line, good for 300 psi and 300 deg. (IIRC). About 3 ft. long. At the lower end - a 7/8" Block Oil Drain fitting to go into the block just above the oil pan and just behind the engine mount. (BOD from Vulcan, about $10.) For the oil feed to the spinner, use suitable high pressure, high temp oil line to go from the spare oil port next to the oil line going to the turbo. Let me know if you have any questions.

I had a similar problem...about 470 mAmp continuous drain - and I figured I would post my troubleshooting results here. Per the Tech Manual - the Ignition Off Device Fuse provides power to the very few items that need to stay powered up with the key off...maybe 10 to 20 mAmps. I was way past that, and the truck batteries (both fairly new) would drain down over 3 or 4 days. I hooked up a milliamp meter between the negative terminal of the passenger side battery and then disconnected the driver side battery negative terminal. (This keeps any surging on power on/power off from occurring.) With the meter in place - I saw about 470 mAmps. I proceeded to disconnect 1 fuse at a time, check current reading - then re-insert. I did this for every fuse in the dash fuse block and in the Power Distribution panel under the hood. NO CHANGE. Very frustrating. So - I disconnected all fuses and left them out. Still the same reading. (Actually -when pulling the IOD fuse, the current drain decreased by about 15 mAmps.) I then even disconnected the red lead to the power distribution block AND the black lead from the alternator. Still saw 470 mAmps. Okay - at this point - the only 'un-lifted positive lead went to the engine starter. So - I went under the truck to see if there were any power wires going from the starter main power lead to some other location. NONE. HOWEVER - it was a bit dirty and greasy on/around the starter terminal - so I wiped everything down and cleaned up around the main power lead and the starter terminal. Checked the ammeter - and the current drain was gone. I was more than a bit surprised - oil and grease are not conductive....but with enough moisture and enough dirt, apparently there was a low resistance path (maybe about 25 ohms) for current to flow. After cleaning...the battery drain is a normal 10 to 15 mAmps - as expected, and my battery is not being discharged over a few days. Moral of the story - cleanliness might not be next to Godliness - but it sure can eliminate some bad battery draining resistance!

I received the 'dread' P1688 - but when reviewing the various threads, it is often accompanied by a number of other fault codes and usually the poster is stating that the engine won't run. My CEL came on ....but other than a code that can be reset (engine off) - but returns when engine is running - the truck drives and the VP pumps. I expect I will have to replace the VP.....but I don't want to rush and replace it if there might be something else to check and maybe something else might be the problem rather than the VP. I did read discussions about alternator problems where a bad (shorted) diode could create an AC component on the DC - and 'fry' electronics. I checked - and had 14.10 VDC output, and the AC component was around 16 - 20 mV (or 0.016 Volts). So- that rules out alternator problems. Anything else to check? Is it unusual to throw a P1688 but the pump still keeps on keeping on? (Is a zombie...still operating but it doesn't know it is supposed to be dead??) As said - I am not too worried about having to replace it, if absolutely necessary; I just replaced the injectors on my other 2002 truck - so I have some experience is much of the work to access the VP for removal, so I can do it more quickly. The affected truck is my 2x4, and the Raptor FRRP is working fine, with about 16 PSI always available as shown on the fuel pressure gauge. Thanks for any help.

If you get an in-the-truck bed type camper (vs. a towed trailer) ....the one major thing I would do is to consider trading the 2500 in for a 3500 Dually rig if the camper will be 3500 to 4000 pounds. IMHO - that is a lot of weight unless your truck has a "wide stance". And a 3500 would comfortably carry that camper weight.

Have you tried using water filters that include charcoal filtration that will remove chlorine, etc., other trace chemicals? We use these fairly successfully to clean up water when our original supply has been depleted.

Crush gaskets for banjos??? Get rid of the banjos - go to the full flow fittings - Big Line Kit or equivalent! (Those banjos and crush gaskets suck - bad design, obstruct fuel flow, etc.!!)

Some quick comments to correct mis-statements. Catalytic or ceramic - the goal is to get CO hot enough that in converts to CO2 (not water). Most fuels are complex Carbon and Hydrogen chains....and when burned, the H burns to H20, the C burns to CO2. (No way to convert CO to H2O.) CO can be a fuel....read up on how to run a gas fueled vehicle on wood....so burn in in an oxygen deficient atmosphere to make CO...then pipe the CO into the engine and combust it. Next - CO has an atomic weight of 12 + 16 = 28. Nitrogen exists as N2 ...and has an atomic weight of 28. Oxygen - again - O2...atomic weight of 32. All those are ABOUT the same, and due to 'brownian motion' - mix nicely and don't settle out. So CO will be anywhere/everywhere in the air if it is being created, and it won't 'hug the floor.' IIRC - the hemoglobin in the blood will suck up a CO molecule faster than an O2 molecule (it has a higher affinity)...so a 1% or 2% CO concentration can act like an O2 starved environment....causing serious carbon monoxide poisoning....and death if the blood gets saturated. (As noted earlier...the hemoglobin grabs on...but the CO doesn't get released...so the blood can loose its ability to transport O2 to the body.) Always ensure some fresh air. Several years ago - I lost 2 friends (and they had a small baby who also died) due to Carbon Monoxide poisoning....an overly tight home (no ventilation) and a mis-adjusted PROPANE heat system. Saving a few dollars on heat by not having proper ventilation....well, let's just say it isn't worth the risk!

I have seen write-ups for modifying the IAT - where 3 DPDT switches were used but where a 4 position switch would work nicely (normal-use IAT, substitute a resistor for 143°. substitute a resistor for about 35°, and substitute a resistor for about 10° ...2nd position gives MPG improvement, 3rd gives high-idle, and 4th gives the high idle + 3 cylinder ops.) I have seen write-ups for modifying the ECT - substituting a 3.3K resistor to simulate very cold conditions....but the write-up isn't quite specific as to whether or not the ECT low-temp fake is required for high-idle or high-idle+3 cylinder ops.A question for Yankneck696- Does the new design switch off the ECT sensor and substitute a resistor for the 3rd or 4th or both positions on the rotatable switch? Is the ECT 'fake-out' even required to get high idle or high-idle+ 3cylinder ops?Thanks

As I said ...I am a simple engineer who likes to do ''back of envelope" calcs and simplified modeling that perhaps closely models what we CAN do in the real world without expensive lab tools. Your thought experiment is too complex to do in the real world. But we do make assumptions - during piston compression cycle, we assume minimal heat of compression lost to the piston and cylinder walls, we assume minimal leakage past rings....and the compression is nearly instantaneous enough to 'approximate' Boyle's Law. My P1xV1/T1 = P2xV2/T2 gives results of 388 psi ...and if we subtract 15 to go from PSIA to PSIG ....we are in the ball park. But the error of calculation is that maybe the gas is much hotter than assuming T2 is only at the ignition temperature of diesel (483 deg K) ...maybe it is hotter. But it is hard to reliably measure without a nice science laboratory. But - if we work reverse and assume that a 388 psi is reasonable at a minimum to give good auto-ignition of diesel ....then compression test values of under 250 psig would be problematic....and your statement that "Maybe the dude just needs to rebuild his engine" is likely very correct! (I have read of some college students performing the advanced measurements on a diesel engine - heavy instrumentation so that they could show real measurements and compare to theoretical modeling. Piston speed (speed of compression) and chamber pressure (before and during combustion) were fairly straight-forward to measure, but getting pre-ignition gas temperatures were more complex and required several methods of getting reliable/accurate temperatures (and they need to be both high speed and high resolution)! Of course - as backyard mechanics - we don't have the time/tools or money to run these science experiments - nor do we want to!)

Ah..yes...I forgot to use Boyle's law. (P1 x V1)/T1 = (P2 x V2)/T2 Assume P1 = 14.7 PSI, V1 is 16 and T1 is ambient - 20 deg. Celsius or 293 deg. Kelvin Assume V2 is 1/16th of V1 ...or 1 ....and assume T2 is autoignition temp. of diesel - which is 483 deg. Kelvin - and solve for P2. P2 comes to 388 psi.

RE: Compression testing ....I am a simple engineer ...and I like simple concepts that can be done 'back of envelope'.If I have a piston moving up and down - and it has about 16.3:1 compression - then I would expect a compression buildup to be 16.3 x 14.7 psi - or about 240 psi is the pressure in the cylinder when the piston reaches TDC - and it won't go higher unless there is burning/combustion of fuel. {For a High Output HO engine with 17.0:1 compression ....then 17.0 x 14.7 = 250 psig. ] That number is assuming that the turbocharger isn't really spinning fast enough to add any real boost.If I got a mere 1 psi boost - then my air in as 15.7 psi - and I would get 256 psi. (But the starter motor is spinning the engine at maybe 200 rpm, there are no exhaust gases to expand out and spin the turbo - so I don't expect much boost!)When doing a compression test, it is necessary to turn the engine over 4 or 5 times - because on the 1st or 2nd stroke - there is some small bleed off of the pressure past the rings, and the compressed air volume now needs to include the volume of the gauge and air line to the gauge - and therefore it takes several cycles to get a reliable measurement. BUT - after each cycle of the piston - the pressure is trapped in only the compression gauge - the cylinder pressure will bleed off as the exhaust valve opens - so it is difficult to have the compression gauge get a much higher reading than what the cylinder pressure can build up to....I haven't done a compression test on my Cummins - but on my old (and long gone) GM with a 6.2L engine that had a 22:1 compression ratio - I saw about 320 psi on my compression tests...matching my simple concept analysis. (And for my gasser 4.3L V-6 with 9:1 compression - the compression checks give me about 130 - 140 psi...which is what I have seen when doing compression checks.)Bottom line ...I am not sure that 350 to 400 psi on compression checking a Dodge 5.9L engine is reasonable...but I remain open to alternate explanation!