Any diesel builders out there

[64BEL]

I can get 20 mpg on the highway (not towing). Maybe about 15-16 normal driving. Lately about 11-12 because of all the warmup idling and 4wd this winter. I have 3:54 gears and 4wd.

daredevil - if you don't already have one, install a fuel pressure gauge. I'm on my 4th lift pump. I would have fried my VP44 long ago without my gauge telling me the lift pump had taken a dump.

Nice truck, GP. 12 valvers are plenty good. Heck, all generations of Cummins engines in Rams are superior, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Cranky]

17-19 in town and around 22-23 on the road running empty but have touched on 25 before the low sulfur crap came on line. 97 3/4 ton Extended cab LWB with 3.54 gears auto. Got to be nice to it and the weather has to be right to get the better numbers...

 

[ZR9B]

I average 13 with 3.55 gears and a lot of weight.

thats about what Im getting in my 04...same gear

 

[Cranky]

I can get 20 mpg on the highway (not towing). Maybe about 15-16 normal driving. Lately about 11-12 because of all the warmup idling and 4wd this winter. I have 3:54 gears and 4wd.

daredevil - if you don't already have one, install a fuel pressure gauge. I'm on my 4th lift pump. I would have fried my VP44 long ago without my gauge telling me the lift pump had taken a dump.

Nice truck, GP. 12 valvers are plenty good. Heck, all generations of Cummins engines in Rams are superior, as far as I'm concerned.

Mine does not warm up while idling so I plug it in for an hour and go. Even if I don't plug it in, it'll build heat once under load plus I block the radiator 90% in cold weather. Dang radiator is huge and if I don't block it, the stat just searches.

 

[64BEL]

I plug it in at night. When at work and it's cold, I let it go into the high idle warm-up (which was installed when I had a fellow TDR member's Smarty on it once). That's a nice feature. When it's really cold it'll kick 3 cylinders off and really make a lot of noise. It'll warm up very nicely like that without driving it. I also let it warm up a bit on the -10 or lower mornings - even after being plugged in. That helps the tranny work a lot better than just starting and going on those really cold days - which we've had too darn many of this winter!

 

[daredevil]

I plug it in at night. When at work and it's cold, I let it go into the high idle warm-up (which was installed when I had a fellow TDR member's Smarty on it once). That's a nice feature. When it's really cold it'll kick 3 cylinders off and really make a lot of noise. It'll warm up very nicely like that without driving it. I also let it warm up a bit on the -10 or lower mornings - even after being plugged in. That helps the tranny work a lot better than just starting and going on those really cold days - which we've had too darn many of this winter!

Wonder how that works. Seems 6 cylinders firing would make more heat than 3.

 

[64BEL]

Having just 3 cylinders firing puts a load on the engine which warms it up faster.

 

[ZR9B]

Having just 3 cylinders firing puts a load on the engine which warms it up faster.

how do you turn them off ? ...when its cold my truck sounds like its warming up on 3 until I tough the throttle...

 

[383 a4 runner]

My truck took a dump today on the interstate. It just quit with no warning. It will not restart. The lift pump is working but will not fire. When I crawled under it the lift pump was just hanging there. ( aftermarket) it's a dad's bolted to the frame rail. The bolts snapped off but it is still pumping. I think it may be the cp3. It's a 2004. I had it towed to the dealer but the service dept is closed till Monday. I hope it's something simple like a sensor. No engine lights though.

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By the way. I just switched to Cenpeco oil. Y'all should check them out.

 

[440ronnie67]

yep.View attachment 173786

 

[64BEL]

That's a drag, 383 - hope you get it back up and running with little expense.

ZR - it goes into the high idle mode (1200 rpms) on it's own when the temperature is below a certain point (maybe 20 degrees?). Same with the 3 cylinder idle - that's dictated by the temp, too. It has to be even colder than whatever the high idle threshold is to get the 3 cylinder idle (probably closer to 0 degrees?). It will come out of these modes itself once the engine temp comes up or if you touch the brake pedal or shift the transmission (which you shouldn't do without the brake pedal anyway).

 

[Budnicks]

My truck took a dump today on the interstate. It just quit with no warning. It will not restart. The lift pump is working but will not fire. When I crawled under it the lift pump was just hanging there. ( aftermarket) it's a dad's bolted to the frame rail. The bolts snapped off but it is still pumping. I think it may be the cp3. It's a 2004. I had it towed to the dealer but the service dept is closed till Monday. I hope it's something simple like a sensor. No engine lights though.

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By the way. I just switched to Cenpeco oil. Y'all should check them out.

Yea along with the pump falling off...LOL..., pinched/crimped fuel lines, it could also be primary or secondary fuel filters bad or clogged, water in the fuel etc... good luck, it won't be cheap, that's the one thing you can bet on...

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yep.View attachment 173786

cool Altered Drag car... thinking outside the box for sure

 

[Gpuller]

Cool I have an A and a 730 gas.

Gotta like the 2 bangers!
That is my brother's '51 A, stock stroke with a Power Block that's bored 6.125 & M&W pistons. Has a Heisler head and manifold, DTLX51 big nut off of my G. Makes right at 60hp.
The 720 diesel on the back is mine. Has 13.5mm pumps and custom injectors, makes 85hp. Pull it from 7500lbs up to 10,500lbs.
Also have a '52 G that is .090 over, bunch of head work done, gas manifold and bored out DTLX71 carb.

Last time I had my truck on a long tip it got 19, (3:54 gears). Pulling a 20,000lb trailer and 6500lb tractor it will get 13. It gets parked in the winter now days, but back when it was my wife's daily driver we would keep the heater control on warm (knob straight up postion) amazing how much faster the motor will warm.

Uncle has an '02 3500 HO, his VP44 took a dump and it was $2600 for the fix. OUCH!

 

[383 a4 runner]

Yea along with the pump falling off...LOL..., pinched/crimped fuel lines, it could also be primary or secondary fuel filters bad or clogged, water in the fuel etc... good luck, it won't be cheap, that's the one thing you can bet on...

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cool Altered Drag car... thinking outside the box for sure

. I'll find out how expensive in the morning.

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The filters are good. I just changed them. I would say when the pump fell down it lost pressure to the cp3. The lift pump still works fine though.

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If I had a set of high gears in my roadrunner I would just drive it. 4.56 aren't too good when you drive 90 miles one way to work. So I had to rent a car.

 

[daredevil]

thats about what Im getting in my 04...same gear

I,m 4wd or 6x6 whatever you want to call it. Would make a great plow truck but we aint got snow.

 

[ws27]

I took a 12v drive train, front half of a Ram frame and stuffed it all into a Ford Econolone. Best van I ever had. Drove it for 15 years. not one break down, 300K on it. I finally retired it due to rust. Frame is still good, but I'm gong to build a heavier one next. An other not so great picture, but you get the idea:

 

[daredevil]

Was hoping for some tips or easy recipes for a little more power.

 

[Budnicks]

Was hoping for some tips or easy recipes for a little more power.

Computer Programmer tuner {not really cheap}, a better/less restrictive intake tube/airbox & free flowing gauze filter, larger free flowing exhaust... are the easiest way to pick up some power & mileage too...

 

[383 a4 runner]

Well a grand total of 3300 dollars. New injector pump and 6 injectors. All caused by a $2 inline fuel filter. Only 1 injector was bad but I'm doing all of em. My cp3 is still working but very weak. Only 20k psi at full throttle. The dealership let me get my own parts and they install. I called mountaineer diesel a local shop. $550 for the reman cp3 and $316 each injector. I am out of town right now so they actually delivered the parts to the dealership for me within 30 minutes of the order over the phone. Can't beat that kind of service. Best prices too. Mountaineer diesel.com for their phone number.

 

[daredevil]

Wish you could get a vp44 that cheap.