Tbird9140

I can NOT say that that the problem is definitely NOT the ignition switch. But when I have have the no start/everything off problem, I have tried cycling the ignition switch several time and gotten no response. Wait a few hours and it all seems to work again. No, I almost never use the tilt column as I am the only driver and it was set for me 5 years ago.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm not sure however how worn starter contacts would cause everything in the cabin to shut down. Same with a bad fuse. Mopar1973Mans suggestion of a possible bad ground cable is the only cause which I understand would shut down everything when I try to start the truck. . I will use one of my jumper cables to check this possible problem problem next time the truck doesn't start. But as the other battery is also grounded to the block, would this ground have to fail at the same time also? A cracked fuse which could not be identified from visual inspection would likely cause the starter not to function, but would it also turn off all the lights and buzzers in the truck (everything OFF)? How would worn starter contacts would cause all lights to shut off - i.e. no power anywhere? I did inspect the fuses and didn't find any obvious problem. Will ohm test them now. But again I don't understand how any single bad fuse would cause everything in the truck to shut off when I try to crank the starter. (I have no dash lights, no head lights, no radio, no entry light, no courtesy lights, no key in ignition buzzer, nothing!!!!) Sorry, but as you can see I am pretty much an electrical dunderhead.

A few times now since I got my oil leak stopped, I have tried to normally start my truck and got absolutely NOTHING. Before I turn the key to the start position everything appears normal. Dash lights, key in ignition bell, etc. all work. The moment I try to start the truck, ( after checking that the "wait to start icon" is off) , I hear a "click" and everything turns off - no dash lights, no starter, nothing! It is like I have no battery installed. Thinking that my massive oil leak may have caused an electrical connection problem, I cleaned all terminals and reattached all battery and starter cables, and checked battery voltage, and checked fuses. All seemed in order. I got back into truck and turned the key to run. All lights and alarm bells again operated properly. But again when I turned the key to "start", no starter crank and everything turns off. No amount of key cycling makes any difference to dash lights or starting. Sometimes when I go out and bang on battery terminals, wait a minute and get back in truck, I again have dash lights and alarm bells, but turn the key, and everything again shuts down again. Being home, and not needing the truck, I walked away in frustration and used one of my other vehicles. The next morning, I went out to the truck, got in the cab, and turned the key - everything worked and the truck cranked, and started normally. Moved the truck around the house, ran an errand and returned home. When I tried to restart the truck, it would not start and I got the exact same symptoms. Now if I wait some time (i.e. 6 hours) and bang on the battery cables, there is a 50-50 chance it will start. If it starts and I shut it down immediately, it will usually start again. But shut it down and wait and hour, and it is likely it won't start. The banging and such may be coincidental and it only requires time to operate. - I simply don't know. It has gotten so that if I need the truck, I now keep it running the full time while I am using it - for fear that it won't start and leave me stranded. I now never turn off the truck unless I am home and it is parked out of the way. Any thoughts out there from the gurus in 5.9 24v land? Love my truck but this is frustrating.

For those of you who have been following my frustrations with a massive oil leak from my 2000 4wd, 1 tn, auto, flatbed Ram, you will be happy to know that I finally got the problem solved. As the problem and its solution are, I believe, somewhat unique, I thought that I should post my experiences here on the Forum for all of you to get a chuckle. My problem developed a couple of months ago as when returning from a cross country trip the truck started losing massive amounts of oil. The entire under carriage of the Ram and even the car trailer I was towing was covered in oil. I was using about a gallon of oil every 100 miles. Anyway I pulled into a diesel shop in Kingman, AZ and got the diagnosis of a leaking tappet cover gasket. They said that they were too busy to get to the job for at least a week, but if I endeavored to keep oil in the truck on the 1200 miles (12 gallons of oil) remaining, I shouldn't do any damage to the engine. With a grin the mechanic also commented that at least I wouldn't have to worry about any rust in the near future. To make a long story short, I limped home putting oil in the truck every 100 miles. When home I went to the local diesel mechanic who said that he couldn't get the job for at least two weeks. So with the help of Mopar1973Man and others, I took on the job myself and finally got it done. Anyway, a week after my tappet gasket replacement, I needed to take a 1000 mile round-trip to the East Coat to pick up some parts I had purchased. I had not gotten 50 miles down the road when it became apparent that I had not stopped the oil leak. As I had no choice. I again pulled into the local Walmart, bought them out of diesel oil, and continued on my trip. When I got back home, I went to a different diesel mechanic and asked for a diagnosis of my problem. He crawled under the truck and informed me that I had a significant pan gasket leak. When I asked him to fix the problem, he informed me that he was booked up for at least 3 weeks. So again with help from members of this forum, I undertook the job of replacing the pan gasket. While replacing the pan gasket, as the truck motor was jacked up and partially torn apart, I took this opportunity to also add a "big line kit" to my VP44 inlet, replace the solenoids and accessible sensors in the transmission, and add "A column" gauges of fuel pressure, boost, and exhaust temperature. While doing all this work I discovered a badly deteriorated engine mount bushing ( from being soaked in oil ) which is now on my to do list. To be able to more easily work in and around the pan and transmission, I also cleaned the entire undercarriage of the truck. You can imagine that I was quite proud of my completed work. I had no more than completed the gasket replacement when I got a call from a friend near Chicago (450 miles from me) who said that he had found a Ford Falcon camper van for me to buy at a ridiculous low price. As he knew I had wanted a Class B R/V, I immediately took off in my Ram and car trailer to pick up the motorhome. Heck, what could go wrong after a pan gasket replacement and a few new gauges? Again, I had gotten no more than 50 miles from my home when I nearly ran out of oil. Now I was really pxxxxsed off! With again no choice, I stopped at the local Walmart and bought 12 gallons of oil. Along the way I stopped at two diesel repair shops and got diagnosis for my problem of a leaking rear main seal and a failed head gasket. In both cases they were too busy to get to my problem for at least 10 days. When I arrived in Morris, IL, I explained my problem to my friend who suggested that I should take my truck to a local repair shop where he had had good results. Anyway I called them, explained my problem. and they took pity on the poor out-of-town traveler and agreed to see me the next morning. The next morning I arrive at D&R Racing before they opened. After hearing my sad story the D&R Manager informed me, that as they had recently hired a mechanic who used to work for Cummins, they would put him on it right away. The mechanic took about 10 minutes inspecting my engine above and below with a flashlight and turned to me with grin on his face. His only comment was "that oil seems to be coming from a strange place." He next got out his tools and removed the bolts holding the diesel filter in place. As I had recently put a rubber big line kit between the VP44 and the filter, replacing the metal fuel line, it was easy for him to move the filter completely out of the way without removing it. He had no more than moved the filter when he called out to the other mechanics, " Hey guys, come over here, you gotta see this!" When they all departed chuckling, he called me over and explained. "The Cummins 5.9 block and been cast for many years and used in many different applications without much in the way of changes to the basic configuration. Early 5.9's and some nonautomotive applications had even used a mechanical fuel pump to provide fuel to the engine. Anyway as a provision for a mechanic fuel pump the basic block had a hole in its side allowing the pump lifter arm to ride on a lobe of the cam shaft. In normal and later applications this hole was covered by a gasket and a cover plate which was held in place by two bot holes machined into the block to secure the mechanical fuel pump. In my case someone had removed the plate, or never installed it originally, and attempted to close the hole with simply gasket material covered in RTV and held in place by the two retaining bolts- only one of which was still screwed into my block." The mechanic comment that in 30 years of working on 5.9's he had never seen this. I may have mixed up his explanation a bit, but sure enough, while I was watching, he started the motor and oil was pouring out of a 1/2 inch diameter hole only partially covered with torn gasket material. As I had purchased the truck with 175K, and I had never tampered with this area on the block, and as it now has 330K on it, it has taken at least 155K miles for the gasket material patch to break through. Heck, the mechanic said with a grin, " They may have forgotten to add the cover plate at the factory." With a 1/2 hour of labor, a new manufactured cover plate, and some new gasket material and RTV, I was back on the road. It turns out that all the gasket repair work I did was unnecessary. Hundreds of, if not thousands of, dollars for oil and replacement parts were spent when only a 2x3 inch plate and some gasket material would have solved the problem. I don't usually mention diesel repair shop names, but under the circumstances, having gone to 5 other diesel mechanics and gotten erroneous diagnosis, I would recommend now that if any of you are in the Morris, IL area (about 50 miles south of Chicago) and need diesel repair help, you know my experience with R&N Racing. The final chapter to my story is that during the nearly 500 mile return trip home, I did not use a quart of oil! Only thing remaining is to get back under the truck now and again remove all the slimy undercoat - aw heck, I might just leave it as a rust preventative. Oh, by the way, I am having a garage sale this weekend, the featured item being a really good price on 12 gallons of unused diesel motor oil. PS. For all you 5.9 owners, you might should get out a flash light and a mirror and look behind your fuel filter, you never know!!

Thanks guys. Next time ? I will buy a gauge (ISSPro?) with a warning light as an included component. This time however I have already bought my Glow Shift gauges. Following your responses, I prepared a 4 inch wire with eyes on either end. One end goes around the idiot light sender 1/8 NPT and the other slips on to the negative pole of my gauge sender. I had to put a washer over the idiot light sender threads between my new ground wire and the "T" as otherwise even strongly tightening the sender onto the "T" did not compress the ground eye sufficiently to always make a good strong contact with the sender housing. Hooked it all up and now I have an idiot light for the idiot. Hurray! One quick question here. Should I be concerned about the air that got into my fuel lines during installation of big line kit and senders? Does cycling my Raptor, turning the key on 5-10 times for a minute without starting the truck likely solve all air problems? Or do I need to bleed the system? If I need to bleed, how so? Cracking my injectors? I'm doing all this to protect my VP44 and would hate to screw it up now because air damaged the injection pump Cracking the injectors would only remove air after the VP44. Again should air be a concern or can it safely be "flushed" through the system? I have not thoroughly checked any leaking on my mods as I am waiting to possibly address the entrapped air consideration before I pressurize the system. One last issue. Since my truck has about 325K on it and I bought the truck at 200K, I have no knowledge of the age, size or type of injectors it is currently running. I do have the impression however that it has lost some power in the last year or so. (Other than loss of power my truck does seems to run/drive fine - no excessive blowby, oil burning, or smoke, etc.) I am therefore considering putting some new aftermarket injectors on it. I may also upgrade the turbo. I'm not looking to make a drag queen out of the truck, only giving it a bit more oomp on those long 5% grades while towing my 28' boat or 5th wheel. I am leaning to putting +75 to +90 injectors on it. Do any of you have any thoughts on my plans, and/or what sizes, brands, or types of injectors I should look for, or stay away from? Similarly, is there any combination of injectors and turbo which you have had good luck with and think I should consider? I did up grade my 47re to twin disk about 75K miles ago. Finally, if I do go with a mild power upgrade as discussed, do I need to add a transmission temperature gauge or other monitoring sensors? Thanks again guys. Thanks Mopar1973Man for your thoughts and advice. Plan to do bleed as suggested before starting the motor. Cycling Raptor without starting motor got my no running fuel pressure up to 18 PSI and thankfully the idiot light turned off. Question for 015point9: Why is 5 PSI alarm light worthless in your opinion? I don't want to start an argument or rehash old posts, but EVERYTHING that I have read says that with the motor in stock configuration, the VP44 can run all day long without damage at 5 PSI. Anything below this - a problem! Several non Bosch companies I see have run tests to confirm this. I understand that an alarm light at 10 PSI gives more margin for error. However it is my plan to immediately pull over and shut down the engine anytime my 5 PSI alarm light turns on while driving. At that point I will immediately look for the common low fuel pressure problems: a clogged filter; a failed lift pump, or a leak which developed somewhere in the fuel lines. Last question. Have any of you replaced the engine mount bushings on a 5.9.? When I was working under the truck to replace the oil pan gasket I noticed that my bushings were in pretty bad shape (325K miles). I understand that is best to do one side at a time and raise that side just enough to take pressure off the through bolt. Remove the mount by removing the three bots which secure it to the block and loosening the through bolt. On the driver's side it might be necessary to raise the engine further or remove the starter to get clearance for through bolt to get by. Plan to use Prothane bushings which I have already bought. Any experience out there with these bushings or this job? MY first reaction is that I am not sure how I am going to access all 3 bolts which secure the mount to the bock. A couple look nearly inaccessible. Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks guys. Next time ? I will buy a gauge (ISSPro?) with a warning light as an included component. This time however I have already bought my Glow Shift gauges. Following your responses, I prepared a 4 inch wire with eyes on either end. One end goes around the idiot light sender 1/8 NPT and the other slips on to the negative pole of my gauge sender. I had to put a washer over the idiot light sender threads between my new ground wire and the "T" as otherwise even strongly tightening the sender onto the "T" did not compress the ground eye sufficiently to always make a good strong contact with the sender housing. Hooked it all up and now I have an idiot light for the idiot. Hurray! One quick question here. Should I be concerned about the air that got into my fuel lines during installation of big line kit and senders? Does cycling my Raptor, turning the key on 5-10 times for a minute without starting the truck likely solve all air problems? Or do I need to bleed the system? If I need to bleed, how so? Cracking my injectors? I'm doing all this to protect my VP44 and would hate to screw it up now because air damaged the injection pump Cracking the injectors would only remove air after the VP44. Again should air be a concern or can it safely be "flushed" through the system? I have not thoroughly checked any leaking on my mods as I am waiting to possibly address the entrapped air consideration before I pressurize the system. One last issue. Since my truck has about 325K on it and I bought the truck at 200K, I have no knowledge of the age, size or type of injectors it is currently running. I do have the impression however that it has lost some power in the last year or so. (Other than loss of power my truck does seems to run/drive fine - no excessive blowby, oil burning, or smoke, etc.) I am therefore considering putting some new aftermarket injectors on it. I may also upgrade the turbo. I'm not looking to make a drag queen out of the truck, only giving it a bit more oomp on those long 5% grades while towing my 28' boat or 5th wheel. I am leaning to putting +75 to +90 injectors on it. Do any of you have any thoughts on my plans, and/or what sizes, brands, or types of injectors I should look for, or stay away from? Similarly, is there any combination of injectors and turbo which you have had good luck with and think I should consider? I did up grade my 47re to twin disk about 75K miles ago. Finally, if I do go with a mild power upgrade as discussed, do I need to add a transmission temperature gauge or other monitoring sensors? Thanks again guys.

Greetings Guys. Back again with more fun. Just completed replacing tappet cover gasket, upgrading transmission solenoids et, al. and pan gasket replacement with help of the site. Thanks guys for all the assistance. If these three projects were not enough pain in the ***, I decided to replace the engine mount bushings and add a big line kit and a set of A Column gauges (egt, boost and fuel pressure). Yeh, I know, a real masochist. Anyway my truck (2000 flatbed, extended cab, 1 TN, 4WD with 325K miles) currently has an idiot light for fuel pressure which I originally installed a couple of years ago when I added a Raptor lift pump. I would like to keep the idiot light just in case I don't happen to notice a falling needle on my new pressure gauge. (See - they named the light after me!) Everything went fine with the big line kit and gauge installation until I got around to testing my handiwork. The gauges work fine, but the low fuel pressure light does nothing. I tested the light - good. I tested the (+) lead to the light - good. I tested the (-) lead to the light - NO GROUND. Then it occurred to me. When the Low Fuel Pressure light was originally installed it was attached to the Banjo Bolt and got its sender ground through the metal contacts to the engine. Now the sender is attached to a "T" in the middle of the rubber big fuel line between the filter and VP44, hence, no ground. My big line kit replaces the Banjo bolts. (As I understand it, the low pressure sender internally is normally grounded but when it sees 5PSI (in my case) the pressure opens the contact and you have no ground contact between the sender threads and the wire attachment point to the low pressure light.) In my case now since there is no ground to start with, my light never functions. Then it occurred to me. What if I can provide a ground to the sender threads then it would function normally? So, now if I got a large ring wire connector that would fit over the threaded end of the sender and run a wire to the (-) battery terminal or another ground source, would not I solve my problem? The new fuel pressure gauge sender 2 inches away has a ground lead and I might just tap into that. I would only have to be sure that when I tightened my sender into the "T" in the big line it made good contact/compressed with the wire ring and did not leak. Has any of you gurus out there in Cummins' land faced this problem? If so, how did you solve it and does my proposed solution make any sense? Regarding the fun of my engine mount bushing replacements, I will have to get back to you on that. I may be over my head on this one. If I get these done, I'm thinking of moving on to injectors and turbos. Never a dull moment.

Thanks dripley. Any thoughts on the vacuum line or is that plastic circular thing on the end just the way they normally block off unused vacuum hoses?

While replacing the tappet cover gasket on my 2000 4WD 3500 Ram Automatic (VP44) (Thanks Mopar1973Man as I used your 2 great "How to" posts extensively to replace the gasket), I came across two lines near the back of the tappet cover which are currently not hooked up to anything. Before I complete the installation, and before I seal everything up, I thought that I should ask the Forum if these two lines should be connected to something that I have overlooked. I have attached a photo with a yellow note pad as background. One line appears to be an electrical plug with up to 4 connections. It stands out in the photo. The other, at the top of the photo and barely on the yellow pad, appears to be a plugged or broken vacuum line. It seems to have a black 1 inch piece of plastic around the end. It is not obvious what these lines are supposed to be connected to. I guess it is also possible that during my removal of the tappet cover, I somehow broke or disconnected one or both of these lines. I certainly was careful and tried not to do this, but I must admit that the tappet cover was a bit difficult to remove as I chose not to disconnect the 3,5, and 6 injection lines from the engine. I am hopeful that these two lines are simply a function of Chrysler using generic vacuum and electrical harnesses to accommodate all vehicles, some with options that don't apply to my truck. If anyone knows the answer, or use of the two lines, I would appreciate knowing. I feel that it will be a bit disconcerting driving down the highway knowing that there are to lines under the hood which are not connected to anything! Maybe one of them is necessary for a panic break stop.

Can I get cavitation in a VP44 pump system with the frame rail mounted Raptor? If possible, how do I tell, as I sense no vibration or reduction in performance?

My truck is a 2000. Another question for you guys out there in never never land. Do you feel a diesel - air separation system is worth the expense? I am running a VP44 to which I added a Raptor frame rail lift pump some time back to insure adequate fuel pressure to the injection pump. I asked if I could retrofit my Raptor with an Air Dog separation system. Bit so far have got no answer back. Presuming an air - diesel separation is warranted, is there any reason to choose Fass or Air Dog? Not looking to spend $600+ unless there is some real benefit to my system. Any thoughts?

All your comments were spot on. The problem area was in fact the positive terminal on the driver's side battery and/or the cable to the starter itself. I only found this out after paying $650 for a new starter installation that the repair shop insisted was the source of my problems. As they had agreed to work on my truck on a Sunday to get me back on the road, and the fact that I had no alternatives available to me, I was reluctant to get into a argument with them.. I did suggest a voltage drop test and trying to jump start the starter before doing anything else. It was obvious that they did not appreciate "my interference" and suggested that I stay at the hotel while they completed their work. What is a guy to do when I had already had my truck and attached car trailer towed to their shop? I was afraid that they would say something like " Hey we're doing you a favor by working on Sunday. If you don't appreciate our leaning over backward to help you out, then get your truck and auto trailer off our property!" I only found out about the misdiagnosed repair some 300 miles down the road when the same "no start, no juice anywhere" reoccurred. I was able to get the truck started again after an hour of banging on every electrical connection on the truck at 1 in the morning, at 25 degrees, in an all night truck stop. Needless to say, for the next 800 miles, I never turned the truck off - for diesel, for oil, for food, for bathroom breaks, to walk the dog, for nothing! When I got home I turned the truck off and it would not start. Lucky me. I later tested the old starter (I had decided to pay the core fee) and found it to be OK. One thing I did learn about my truck on the way home. Because I could not turn the truck off to check the oil level, and because I knew I had a significant oil leak around the tappet cover, I kept a close watch on the oil pressure gauge. I made sure that the needle never got out of the "safe zone" even when the truck was idling. What I found out during the first 300 miles was that if I filled up oil up to the full mark, it would leak from the tappet cover very rapidly until the level was at the add mark. After that it would leak much more slowly from the tappet gasket. Even at the add mark the oil pressure gauge read clearly in the "safe zone" By watching the pressure gauge, I thereafter waited until the needle approached the lower line of the safe zone and then and only then added a gallon of oil. The needle immediately rose to above the mid point of the oil pressure gauge. I followed this procedure all the 1000 miles back home and ended up using about half the oil I leaked out on the way to Las Vegas. Maybe you more diesel-mechanically inclined can give me an explanation for this uneven leaking from my truck's tappet cover but it is not apparent to me. I assure you that this was real for my truck and I am glad I discovered this, for not only did it save me extra oil expense, but when I could not turn off the truck and read the oil gauge accurately, it allowed me to know when to add oil safely. To the best of my knowledge, I did in no way damage the engine as it ran fine all they way home, and even now back at the "corral." it runs good and no check engine lights, ever. Before you guys beat me up, yes I know that I should have corrected the leaking tappet cover gasket before I started out. I offer a couple of explanations in my defense. First, I was planning to correct the problem. I had ordered a new billet tappet cover thru Amazon but either the USPS, or UPS, or Amazon had lost it in transit. After waiting two weeks for delivery, Amazon finally cancelled the order and refunded my money. Second, my emergency trip to Las Vegas came up with about 12 hours notice. The guy storing two of my classic cars told me that he was going to put them out on the street and let the cops deal with them, if I did not get them by the upcoming weekend. (Long story here, not my fault.) Lastly, the tapper cover gasket was only seeping when I started out and it got worse by the mile. Responding to some of your earlier comments, I did ask three repair shops along the way to get the tappet gasket issue fixed. The first shop, Albuquerque, wanted $500 labor to do the job; the second shop, Las Vegas, wanted $600 labor to do the job, and the third shop, Kingman, AZ, wanted $450 labor to do the job, but I would have to wait 24 hrs as the gasket had to be ordered for next day delivery. You can buy a lot of leaking oil for $450-600!!! On more than one occasion I did buy Walmart out of its cheapest 15-40 oil. In the final analysis I used 22 gallons of oil for my trip (14 gallons out, and 8 gallons back) for a total of approximately $230. I only spent about $500 for diesel on my trip! And guess what, I now have the addled benefit of a completely rust proof truck under-body, car trailer and 1993 Allante, I was towing back from Las Vegas. Well til next time, thanks for all your help. Larry

I even thought the same thing, so I put a new clamp on the ground terminal of the driver's side battery (+ side looked good with no movement). Did not change the truck symptoms at all. How do I do a voltage drop test accurately to diagnose the source of my problem? Step by step please so I can make sure shop does it right and what would various readings specifically tell me about the source of my problem(s)? Back to leaking tappet cover. Could oil soaked wires to starter or starter result in my symptoms?? Thanks for your thoughts guys. With the leaking tappet gasket, earlier bad diesel fuel and now this, it really as been a trip through hell. I just had another thought that I would like to run by you. As my ECM is mounted to the side of the tappet cover, could an oil soaked ECM in any way cause my problems? Heaven forbid as this is around a $1000 bill! The leaks on the tappet cover appear along the bottom of the gasket, and while the ECM is a bit oily, most of it is above the bad leaks. Is the ECM not normally sealed against water, debris, diesel and oil?

Help!!!! Traveling cross country with truck and car on trailer. Trying to limp home 1500 miles with a badly leaking tappet cover (1 gallon oil leaks out per 200 miles!) Pulled in to get fuel. Went to start truck, heard click then nothing! All lights, dash lights, windows, cabin lights, etc. DEAD! Checked batteries, terminal connections, grounds, fuses, etc. all seemed good. Removed terminals from batteries and reinstalled them. Heard door open alarm so turned key to run. and had dash lights, windows etc. Tried to start, heard click again then nothing. Lost all dash and interior lights, windows, etc. again. Waited a few minutes and dash, interior lights reappeared. Put booster packs on both batteries and tried to start again. Same result, click then nothing. This time however thought I saw small puff of smoke coming from positive terminal of the battery near fuse box. Got under neath truck with key in run position to see if I was getting power to starter solenoid. Could not detect any 12 v at starter. Area under truck quite wet from leaking tappet cover. Could this in some way cause my problem? Towed truck to local diesel repair shop. This being the weekend they can't get to it until Monday. They didn't know what is the problem. They want to pull starter on Monday and replace it. As I noticed that several wires underneath were wet with oil and missing some insulation (?) I want to suggest replacing these wires first and second run a jumper wire from the positive battery terminal directly to the positive terminal on the starter, this way to check if starter is indeed bad before they pull it. Has anybody out there experienced these same problems or have any ideas on what might be my problem. Would you perform the first two procedures I want to have the shop do before pulling the starter? I really need some help. I really, really need some help/ideas!!!

To Mopar1973man. I just spent some time reviewing your article on removing the tappet cover, Really fine article and I intend to use it step by step to remove my leaking tappet cover. If I read correctly you took off the old cover, newly gasket-ed it and replaced it. If I saw correctly, the tappet cover did not have a vent. You had the opportunity to replace the old cover with a vented cover but chose not to do so. As I don't plan to remove my timing cover breather, how do I decide to replace my old cover with a vented or non vented cover (i.e. add a second vent)? Is there any advantage to a second vent on a basically stock engine? Thanks again. To Haggar. Thanks for the clarification. I am curious though, why didn't you simply route the discharge from the timing cover breather back to the location you now have with the tappet cover breather, or perform the Mopar1973man PVC routing mod. Seems like one of these would be easier to do and would address your oily front of engine problem. Thanks you two for having patience with this cummins-challanged newbie. One additional issue which I haven't mentioned before: My truck has about 325K. It runs good but I feel like it doesn't have the power it had when I got the truck at about 225K . As I don't know the history of the truck before I got it, I am thinking that maybe I have worn out original injectors. I am therefore thinking of replacing the existing injectors with +75-90 HP new injectors. Hopefully this will give me a little more power when pulling my heavy 5th wheel up long grades. (Don't do this but maybe once a year) I don't plan to change my turbo or trans as they seem OK. Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Or do any of you have thoughts on what I should do first?