Newb needs help!!

[dieseldon]

Hi all, I'm the proud new owner of a 01 2500 ext cab 4x4 auto, I've been lurking around cummins forums for the past couple weeks and came across this one and seems a fair amount of y'all know what you're talking about? Not sure if this is were I should unload all my questions but here goes.

  First off I'm an absolute greenhorn when it comes to diesels in general so I don't even understand most abbreviations and lingo I've come across in most posts here, so please be gentle!

 I kinda thought I knew what I was getting into but maybe I'm over my head? I decided it was time for a power & torque upgrade to occasionally tow my 7k camper + toys and came across this truck that I figured had most big ticket items covered with built trans, new inj pump, lift pump, +50 injectors, nice interior, fairly straight body, etc. But now my head's spinning with the items it still probably needs to get it the rest the way up to speed. Just looking to get some opinions as far as priority on upgrades and such because on my budget I can't do everything at once.

No.1 truck has no gauges

  2. No tuner, I would like a smidge more power, (famous last words) would it make more sense to get something with gauges built in budget wise? Was first thinking edge ez & gauges? I know a nice tuner costs some pretty serious coin! And anything else that goes with it, idle control? Etc..??

  3. Has new stock Carter lift pump, P.O. said he had a fass setup and still fried his second inj pump so he went back to stock! Has bigger fuel hose. I'm liking the looks of that belt driven one but $$$! Leave alone for now?

  3. Steering, was minutes away from ordering a new t-style tie rod setup and just read I have to buy new, bigger wheels for the upgrade?? I'll probably replace with stock if that's the case. $$ Stock style track bar seems pretty tight for now. Was going to get steering box/frame brace, bushings,etc.

  4. Rear is swaying, rear shackles and??

Just happened to find a deal on CL for a low mi. Hx35 turbo so I swapped that intending on elbow and boost foolery but just not sure if I'm going in right direction?

   5. Has stock air filter, 4in. Turbo back exhaust.

  6. Killer Dowl pin issue, P.O. (original owner) never heard of it!?

  Thanks for any advice! Like I said, budget does matter, seriously thinking about keeping my gas truck this just seems overwhelming and expensive! I'm a 30yr retired auto body guy, so not afraid to do my own wrenching. Sorry so long winded, thanks for reading.

Edited March 4, 2020 by dieseldon
typo

[LorenS]

You NEED some way to know if you're losing lift pump pressure. That should be first "upgrade" and I suggest a real gauge, even if you get a tuner (like a Quadzilla Adrenaline) that can display that pressure on your phone or tablet (optional feature). I like my gauges on the A pillar, some don't. I wish I had purchased the 3 hole pillar, in hindsight.

 

I put third gen wheels on my truck and love the look. I put on third gen steering, love that, too. I replaced track bar with a stock unit a few thousand miles ago, and will do so again when it wears out. AC Delco "professional" from Rock Auto, I believe it's the exact same as the better one from NAPA.

 

If you drive like an adult and keep tires reasonably sized, I can't believe a steering brace is needed.

 

Stock air filter with quality filter is very good. Big Honking Air Filter isn't a bad choice, either, as mopar1973man and others have proven.

 

I run a stock pump, but relocated to the frame. When I moved it I also installed a draw straw and 3/8" fuel hoses. I cleaned a lot of trash off of the pickup screen in the tank, like half a beer can full. All of this raised my pressure from 5-7 psi, to 9-14. Also put the required screen ahead of my lift pump.

 

Other than the lift pump gauge, the W-T Ground modification may be the most important. It's an Article for 2nd Gens, just look for it, or open another browser and Google it, it will lead back to this website ?

[dieseldon]

Thanks for the quick response, yeah I'm scared to drive it without fuel pressure gauge, just having a hard time deciding what to get when I know it needs attention elsewhere too, maybe just do single gauge for now, get one at a time and work on other things?

Was your pump installed in your fuel tank? Mine is mounted on the left rear engine. What's a draw straw? Anything I should be concerned about? What's that banjo eliminator kit do I see in your sig? That steering/frame brace is actually one of the cheaper upgrades and kinda makes sense as far as stiffening up things imho. Any thoughts as far as tuner, best bang for buck? Thanks again!

Edited March 4, 2020 by dieseldon
typo

[IBMobile]

When I got my truck it was bone stock.  The first thing I did was put gauges on it to see what I was dealing with.   

A draw straw is a tube installed in the fuel tank for fuel pick up so ths stock pick up is not used.

The factory banjo fittings restrict fuel flow under high demand.  The kit eliminates that restriction.    

There is a wide rang of thoughts here on which tuner to use.  I have an Edge EZ I bought in 2005 and with the Bosch RV275 injectors gives me all the power I need to tow about 9,000 LB.  Those 50HP are the next size up from the RV275 for power. 

[dieseldon]

Thanks IBMOBILE ,I keep leaning towards the EZ too, I'm not looking to drag race or pull sleds just a few more ponies when called upon. I'll definitely look into those fuel line mods, is that a pretty common mod, mandatory, or? Thanks!!

[Haggar]

Welcome to the site.

 

If it is truly a 2001 engine still (and it should be), KDP is not an issue.  Somewhere along the line, cummins made a change to the timing housing.  They built a retainer for the dowel pin in the housing itself.  My 2001 has this timing housing.

 

Agreed, get gauges on it.   Drive it some and slowly upgrade from there.

 

For power, well I have decided I won't be the fastest.  All of my friends rides are faster.  But I have pictures of their trucks on my trailer.  They have no pictures of my truck on their trailer....

 

Just be ready as you add power, the slush box will be your limiting factor.  One man's built, is another man's "well someone has been in there and messed around...."

 

The 99HD steering does not require bigger wheels. 

 

GL

 

Hag

 

 

[dripley]

Fuel pressure gauge is a must. Even if you have good fuel pressure if the lift pump fails you wont know it until to late and loose your VP44/injection pump. Tranny temp is another for an auto trans. Then start adding 2 stroke oil to your fuel, 1 oz to the gallon. The ULSD is not what the VP was designed to run on. If fuel in your area has bio diesel blended with it at at least 2% you dont need it and if in doubt just add some anyway. You can loose a VP this way also due to the reduced lubricity of the ULSD.

 

I ran a steering brace on mine for a good while. It failed and I removed it about 3 years ago. I just never noticed much difference with or without it. I do not plan on putting another on. The T steering will work with 16" rims but you do have to trim off a little of the tie rod ends so they will fit inside the wheel. Probably going that way my self when the existing Y steering wears out. And if you dont want to trim them, a set of 3rd gen wheels are not expensive or that hard to find. The comprable size tires in 17" are avout $25 more per tire, in my searches anyway. But after seeing what @Haggar posted, that would be a way around trimming.

 

A tuner is a bit tricky. Just depends on the power virus. It is infectious. You have to go with what your heart and wallet tells you on that one. I am running the Edge Comp. I just put a new VP on mine so the pump is not tapped for warranty issues. I in essence have an EZ since I cant use level 4 or 5. I miss it. I would like to have a Quad

but not for now. Thats my wallet talking.

[Mopar1973Man]

10 hours ago, dieseldon said:

.1 truck has no gauges

 

Must get guages... Boost, Fuel Pressure, Pyrometer, and Trans Temp (both manual or auto).

 

10 hours ago, dieseldon said:

2. No tuner, I would like a smidge more power, (famous last words) would it make more sense to get something with gauges built in budget wise? Was first thinking edge ez & gauges? I know a nice tuner costs some pretty serious coin! And anything else that goes with it, idle control? Etc..??

 

Quadzilla Adrenaline is the best option. I use it more for MPG than power. I will admit I'm running 7 x 0.010 injectors and completely smoke free on level 3 and getting awesome MPG at 20 to 21 MPG now. Crank up the tuner with wire tap and this thing is a serious animal. I managed to wipe out 5th gear at 80 MPH. That top gear had over 400k miles and broke the teeth off to metal fatigue. To this day wide open could spin the tires in 3rd and 4th gears. That is a another trick I went down in tire size from 265/75 R16 to 245/75 R16 to change the final ratio to 3.69:1 to the ground this puts more power to the pavement but the tires are small enough to spin free when too much torque is applied and reduce the stress on the transmission.

 

 

10 hours ago, dieseldon said:

3. Has new stock Carter lift pump, P.O. said he had a fass setup and still fried his second inj pump so he went back to stock! Has bigger fuel hose. I'm liking the looks of that belt driven one but $$$! Leave alone for now?

 

 AirDog 165 are good pumps. I ran my AirDog 150 for over 250k miles and 13 years then last upgrade to a 4th gen AirDog 165 and still rolling at 410k on the clock miles. 

 

10 hours ago, dieseldon said:

3. Steering, was minutes away from ordering a new t-style tie rod setup and just read I have to buy new, bigger wheels for the upgrade?? I'll probably replace with stock if that's the case. $$ Stock style track bar seems pretty tight for now. Was going to get steering box/frame brace, bushings,etc.

 

I went back to factory tie rods after 350k miles on the factory steering stuff. All NAPA steering. The Steering box was upgrade to quick ratio but should only be done with 31" or less tires DO NOT use a quick ratio with oversized tire or lift! I'm running Blue Top Steering box. Again 410k miles still rolling.

 

10 hours ago, dieseldon said:

4. Rear is swaying, rear shackles and??

 

Rear I left all factory just replace links on the swap bar gain NAPA parts. 

 

10 hours ago, dieseldon said:

5. Has stock air filter, 4in. Turbo back exhaust.

 

Upgrade to BHAF and leave the 4 inch exhaust alone. This is just perfect!

 

10 hours ago, dieseldon said:

6. Killer Dowl pin issue, P.O. (original owner) never heard of it!?

 

Maybe... 2001 is the cut off date but there has been mix bags of people finding old and new gear case designs in the 2001. Making tab is easy and super cheap just need a fender washer. Grind to tear drop.

 

10 hours ago, dieseldon said:

First off I'm an absolute greenhorn when it comes to diesels in general so I don't even understand most abbreviations and lingo I've come across in most posts here, so please be gentle!

 

Heads up the forum automagically creates a dotted underline for acronyms ans then if you hover with your mouse (desktop) it will show the meaning of the acronyms for you. If some thing you don't understand just ask all the crew here is extremely helpful and will dig up any information you might need. 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Mopar1973Man

[JAG1]

 You need the fuel pressure gauge so you can watch that your feeding the injection pump optimum fuel pressures at 14 and above. That keeps the fuel overflow valve open, getting maximum cooling to the VP by the return fuel flow back to the tank.

 

I'm like Haggar, Im old stick in mud and don't do power mods. just bulletproof it for the long haul to keep it off the trailer. I also seem to notice a lot of those trailers can head for shops that are best to stay away from. Start learning how to do your own work. We can help you get thru a lot of it. Just ask questions.

 

BTW, all I have on both my trucks, an 01 and an 02 are fuel pressure gauges decent aftermarket lift pumps with an added fuel filter and getting rid of the factory banjo bolt fuel line system. I have the Vulcan big line kits on both because Vulcan has a good system for reasonable price and the owner is an honest guy. I want my trucks to do the work of hauling as a cummins needs to last, but never overworking them.

[NIsaacs]

3 hours ago, Haggar said:

 

The 99HD steering does not require bigger wheels. 

 

GL

 

Hag

 

 

 

 

Just to be clear, does this include installing on the '01 2500 4x4? I have all the numbers for the switch but am holding back because of posts like this:

 

("Just get all of the parts for a '99 HD Steering except the inner drag link end that hooks to the pitman arm use off a 2002.

With factory Alloy Rims the Tie Rod ends hit the inner rim at full lock left or right. After 3 years with this setup I have chewed off about a 1/16 off the inner lip of the rim. No longer hits.")

 

This mod seems to be all over the place. Mostly the thread will say aftermarket wheels or 17" 3rd gens or works on '94-'97 models.

 

I do have the factory alloy wheels like the above poster had.

[dieseldon]

Thanks for all the replys! Mopar1973man, that's a great looking right you got there! I see you're a fellow Idahoan, I may have passed you the other week when I made a trip up to Orofino to buy my truck, it was a pretty clean one owner, (father and son) hopefully a keeper . just glad to see I have a nice neighbor to help me work on my truck LOL!

[Mopar1973Man]

Hence why I just went back to factory parts which lasted over 350k miles before failure. The biggest thing is no lifts or oversized tires and this will make the front end last much longer. The oversized wheels, wild offsets and lift kits tend to screw with the geometry of the axle causing part failures to occur faster. 

 

 

1 minute ago, dieseldon said:

Thanks for all the replys! Mopar1973man, that's a great looking right you got there! I see you're a fellow Idahoan, I may have passed you the other week when I made a trip up to Orofino to buy my truck, it was a pretty clean one owner, (father and son) hopefully a keeper . just glad to see I have a nice neighbor to help me work on my truck LOL!

 

Not a problem I've got two shops and work on Dodges and Chevy trucks quite a bit. Even a few Fords now and then...

 

[01cummins4ever]

10 hours ago, dieseldon said:

Thanks for the quick response, yeah I'm scared to drive it without fuel pressure gauge, just having a hard time deciding what to get when I know it needs attention elsewhere too, maybe just do single gauge for now, get one at a time and work on other things?

 

Well I think a lots been covered in the above post so I won’t elaborate to much, but If your starting out simple on the gauges get a fuel pressure gauge first, A single gauge steering column mount would be a good place to start, and easy to install and they are not to restrictive on viewing your instrument cluster. Genos Garage and Vulcan perfomance both have a good selection of gauges and mounts, you can always upgrade to more gauges with pillar or dash mounts which ever you prefer, the isspro gauges are very popular, a little pricey but well worth it.

[dieseldon]

Thanks again y'all! So is it popular opinion that the glo shift gauge kit is a waste of money? Kinda what the budget was leaning toward, or just get quality gauges one at a time and build my own kit?

[01cummins4ever]

I agree, glow **** is a waste of money, start out right with quality gauges 

[Mopar1973Man]

ISSPro EV or ISSPro EV2 gauges are you best bet.

 

I did the ISSPro EV2 they are USB programmable and do much more. Set warning lights, set the illumination, set a control relay, set the needle reaction speed. Etc... 

 

[dieseldon]

By the way, to each his own but I'm with ya on the lifted monster truck look! In my earlier yrs I actually owned a 97 chevy diesel, jacked up , tires, etc.. A joke and a nightmare! It was dubbed the black hole!

[NIsaacs]

18 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Hence why I just went back to factory parts which lasted over 350k miles before failure. The biggest thing is no lifts or oversized tires and this will make the front end last much longer. The oversized wheels, wild offsets and lift kits tend to screw with the geometry of the axle causing part failures to occur faster. 

 

 

Yes, I am aware of all this. My truck is stock other than one larger tire size, 340k miles on all original front end. However, I have seen many threads on this upgrade so I was thinking of doing it. If an upgrade is in fact an upgrade I am interested, if not then I will just replace with oem stock.

[Mopar1973Man]

Just trying to give another view that is workable and doesn't require swapping wheels, or looking for special parts. Too many people bad mouth the front axle steering and most of this is self inflicted damaged by other modification that people do that creates the failure. 

 

[dieseldon]

I actually pulled the trigger last night and ordered the supposed t-style tie rod upgrade, mopar# 52122362ah for $288 ,probably not much more than stock? I'll take a look at when it gets here and evaluate, I just kept hearing good things about. P.S. mines wore out anyhow, so.

Edited March 4, 2020 by dieseldon
clairity