Diesel Journal

I have been itching to get my camshaft replaced in my 2002 Dodge Cummins ever since I saw the article in Diesel Power magazine. I researched it and made an appointment with DynoMite Diesel in Monroe, WA to get it done. I also needed some better injectors because the ones I was using gave me really bad Idle and I needed to upgrade to something bigger due to my recent twin turbo installation. DynoMite Diesel specializes in injectors and acually hones and balances their own nozzles. I chose their 150HP Injectors.

The Camshaft that I chose for this project was from Diesel Dynamics in Nevada. I have only heard good things about their camshaft and their camshafts are new, not regrounds. Another sweet thing about Diesel Dynamic’’s Camshaft is that it comes with the gear already mounted to it. Having the gear already mounted to Cam saves the mechanic a lot of time in the process.


The Mechanic working on our truck today is Mike. Mike has been working with diesels for several years now. I really appreciated the care and detail he put into working on my truck. He really payed attention to the little things and did not rush anything for the sake of getting the job done fast. The operation went smoothly and no time was wasted.







The first step that was taken was putting protective liner on the sides of my truck right outside of the engine compartment to keep anyone leaning over my truck from scratching it. The next step in the camshaft upgrade is to drain the coolant, remove the bumper, intercooler and radiator to give complete exposure to the front of the engine. The head cover is then pulled and the rockers removed.






Before the gear and camshaft are pulled out, each of the tappets must carefully be lifted up by sticking wooden dowels in the centers and holding them up with clothes pins. There are other ways of replacing the camshaft, but this is the most efficient way to do it. Great care must be taken though, if any one of the dowels or tappets fall while the camshaft is being pulled, they fall into the engine or oil pan and removing them is a big deal. It is really important to make sure that the wooden dowels are not worn out so that they will hold well.





The front engine cover gets taken off to expose the gears. The big gear in the middle of the picture is the gear with the camshaft connected to it that will be removed. Mike took great care in removing the gear without forcing it so that none of the dowels or tappets fell. This process is almost like watching a locksmith pick a safe. Mike has never had a tappet or dowel fall in all the camshaft installations he has done but we all still hold our breath while the camshaft is out.






The round tray that you see in the picture is placed in where the camshaft was. One by one, each dowel is lowered onto the tray and the tappet pulled out with a magnet. Using the same tray, a system of strings and springs, the new tappets are pulled through the engine on the tray into their positions. Each of the new tappets is then held in place with a wooden dowel and clothes pin. Before the new tappets are installed, Mike places them in a foil tray and makes sure they are completely covered in oil.





Now for the moment we have all been waiting for! The new Camshaft is oiled and gently installed the same way it was removed. The gear on the end of the camshaft has little dots on each side that must line up with the dots on the gears to the right and left. For the picture, we added some white dots where the real ones are so you can see them better. If you look through the bean shaped hole in the gear you can see the spacer that Mike put back there. The spacer keeps the Camshaft from moving back and forth. The Cam bolt in the middle of the gear gets tightened to 85 Ft/Lbs.





Now that the camshaft is installed, each of the tappets can now be lowered back on to the cam and the dowels and pins removed. The old gasket material is stripped from the front of the engine block and front engine cover and new gasket material is installed on the cover. The cover is then put back on the front of the engine and bolted on. The rockers are put back in the same order that they were removed and tightened to 27 Ft/Lbs of torque.






The radiator, intercooler and bumper is now back on and we put the coolant back in the radiator. They dont always do oil changes at the same time, but I figured it wouldnt hurt and I”m due for an oil change anyways. For the oil change I brought 12 quarts of AMSOIL 15W-40. While my pan was draining, Mike installed my fresh off the press 150HP injectors.

After it was all said and done, Mike brought the truck out of the shop and let the truck idle at 1500RPM for 15 Minutes. This allows the new Camshaft to break in.

I took the truck and went for a test drive, and wow, I definitely noticed the difference. Nothing quite as amazing as adding a 120HP chip, but the whole truck just seemed to run better. Between the new Camshaft, my new Dyno-Mite 150HP injectors, and my new twin turbos from BD Power, the truck just sailed smooth. At any given time I can break the back tires loose, but with me, I would rather not and just know that I can.

It almost makes me sad that I dont tow for a living because the truck is so setup for it now. The EGT’’s on average are 200 degrees lower, and the cool thing is I have a hard time bringing it over 1000 degrees now when I floor it. Even going up a grade on the freeway, and punching it, I have a hard time going over 1000 degrees. Before the camshaft upgrade, I would have a hard time staying under 1000 degrees doing anything.

As far as my fuel economy goes, I”m getting about 2 more MPG better if I keep my foot out of it.

The Cummins Forum Truck now has 456 RWHP, and 910 Ft/Lbs of torque without any chemicals. Dyno-Mite Diesel did a great job on my truck and I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to get new injectors or the Camshaft upgrade. They do really thorough, good, clean work and on things like replacing camshafts and injectors, you cant afford not to have that.

The Cummins Forum Truck was in need of an intake about a month ago to help the engine well fed with cold air. We had already added a Turbo, Exhaust, Injectors and Chip, we needed an Intake badly. Volant happened to call us and when they found out what we were doing, offered to get us a new Intake for the truck. We were excited.

The first thing you need to do for this installation is remove the old intake tube and box. This is very easy. All you need is a screw driver to loosen the tube from the turbo and the box. Then, you need to remove the lid from the box, remove the old filter, and undew the 3 plastic nuts in the bottom of the intake box. Pull the old box out.

You will need to assemble the new box and all of its components before you go any further. Make sure to put the gasket material around the hole where the intake tube comes in. Place the Intake Box in the engine compartement exactly where the old one was and use the original plastic nuts to tighten the box down.

Place the 4″ rubber coupler on the small end of the intake tube along with the 2 - 4″ clamps. Place the large end of the intake tube in the intake box. Butt the small end of the intake tube against the Turbo Inlet and push half of the 4″ rubber gasket over the Turbo Inlet and clamp both sides.

Put the new cone filter in the box, and over the large end of the intake tube. Be sure that it is seated well, and tighten the large clamp around the filter, on to the tube.

Screw the plastic lid back on the intake box. Be sure that all the clamps are snug. Be careful not to over-tighten. You are done!

I really like this intake. I had installed MBRP’’s exhaust but it definitely needed a good intake to make it complete. Now we have plenty of air coming in and out! Definitely feel a power increase. I can also here the Turbo spool up quicker. If you have a 98-2002 24V Cummins, I recommend this intake to you.

Thanks Volant!

The Hypertech HyperPac was probably one of the easiest programmers I have ever installed. In fact, the HyperPac isnt really just a programmer. The Hypertech HyperPac combines the best of both worlds in a programmer and module with something like Edge Product’’s Attitude Monitor. The HyperPac Tunes your vehicle like a normal programmer would, through the OBDII port but everything else is like that of an in-line chip and monitor. I dont even need to describe the installation in this review/article because all you have to do is plug the HyperPac in the OBDII port and it walks you through the rest. Every page has a help button if you are stumped and everything is well described. Hypertech also sends you a very nice installation and user manual.

The HyperPac features a touch screen that is totally awesome! You can adjust the background color and text on the screen, mainly just deciding which one will be blue, and which will be white. The HyperPac comes with a Performance Tuning Section, Engine Monitor Section, Diagnostics, Dynanometer, Drag Strip Section and Vehicle/Hyperpac Options and Information Section.

The HyperPac Performance Tuning Section has 3 Stage’’s of power levels for my 2002 Dodge. Horsepower additions all the way up to an additional 45 RWHP. This obviously not an extreme amount of horsepower compaired to many other chips and programmers out there. However, for the individual that just wants a little quicker throttle response, Performance and Towing Power, its perfect. The important thing about Hypertech’’s HyperPac is the quality of their tuning. I have smooth acceleration across the board and I can tell that it is not being hard on my engine or transmission.

Besides the Performance Tuning Section, the Engine Monitoring Section is by far, my favorite section. On my rig, I was able to select from about 9 different Digital and Analog Guages that are way fun to play around with. Anytime you click on a digital or analog guage it takes you to a section that allows you to set an alarm for that guage. For instance, if I wanted to set the alarm to go off every time I went above 135 degrees in my Air Intake Temp, I could. The Engine Monitoring Section will also tell me things that my trucks guages normally would not, like my boost. Hypertech has another kit that you can purchase with the HyperPac that gives you the ability to monitor the EGT’’s. This is a must!

The HyperPac has so many other features. You can do recording sessions where you can do tests, and then go back and see what all your stats were at what part of the test. I have used this already. Before I installed my exhaust, I did a test run up a hill outside of town at 70MPH. The test records every half second or second(not sure), telling me how many MPH I was doing at what RPM and what BOOST at what EGT and more. I was then able to go back and run the same test after I installed my exhaust so I could see how much my EGT’’s had dropped in the same scenario.

Internet updates are something you can sign up for when you register your product. After an update has been released you can plug your HyperPac into your computer and download the update from the internet.

I really love my HyperPac and would recommend it to anybody that isnt looking to race. The only reason that I would go with anything else is so that I could get more horsepower for racing. As far as everyday driving performance and towing, the Hypertech HyperPac is the way to go.

I was going to upgrade to the BD Twin Turbos so I needed a stronger more reliable exhaust manifold to replace the stock manifold. My stock manifold was just fine, but the problem that a lot of people have is that after they add a certain amount of power, the stock exhaust manifold will crack. In some situations people are not even adding horsepower and their stock manifolds crack.

The ATS Exhaust manifold is designed with a pulse manifold design which eliminates the problems with shrinking and breaking as well as cracking and gasket issues. The ATS design helps to increase turbo spool up faster with less exhaust backpressure with a slight increase in fuel economy.

The installation that I”m doing is going to be a little bit different than a normal installation because I”m going to be installing twin turbos. It is very important to realize before installing the new manifold, that the manifold must be installed inverted(upside down) to accomidate twins. I did not know this before I reinstalled the new ATS manifold and had to uninstall it as soon as I began the Twin Turbo Install. That cost me more time than I wish to admit.

Here is a picture of the old exhaust manifold that I removed. The first step is to remove your intake and then your turbo. In this case, I removed my Volant aftermarket intake and my BD Power Super B turbo so that I would have a clear shot at changing out this manifold. I also removed the clamp that attaches the 2 metal coolant hoses together that run right along the manifold. This will make the job much easier.

Unbolt all of the bolts attaching your manifold to your block. I would make sure that the last bolt that you remove is easy to get to. In fact you may want to unbolt the manifold from the back to the front. The last bolt or two are always the hardest to remove because of all of the pressure that they have on them.

I really recommend that you purchase a new gasket kit. Make sure that you scuff the outside of the block around the holes with some mild sandpaper. This will help the new gaskets seal better and also help scrape away some of the old exhaust crud that might have got in. I would also vaccum out the holes to make sure that you dont have any dust remaining. They say the little dust wont hurt your turbos, but I like to be extra careful and you might as well because you are there anyways.

Before mounting the manifold, make sure you know wether the outlet is to be facing up or down. If you are changing the manifold and still using a stock or single turbo, have the manifold outlet pointing down. If you are upgrading to the BD Twin Turbos like I was, you need to have the outlet pointing up.

Put one of your bolts in with a gasket hanging on it and install the manifold. After you put in that first bolt and gasket go ahead and install the additional gaskets and bolts one at a time. Make sure not to forget any gaskets and try to line up all the gaskets as best as possible before tightening.

Make sure that all of the bolts are tightened to the installation manual’’s specs(I lost mine and forgot). Install your turbo and intake in the order that you removed them.


There you go! Your exhaust temps should be cooler, your turbo should spool up faster and you should maybe even see a little glimps of fuel economy increase. I cant really tell what all this did directly for me because I also installed the twin turbos at the same time.

Thanks!

In my quest for reaching 500 HP I talked to Dave Diaz at BD Power. He recomended that I upgrade to Twins. BD had already hooked me up with a BD Super B Single, all I needed was the upgrade kit. I say “all”, but it is a big upgrade, well worth the money though. I was going to be totally maxing out my effectiveness with my Super B turbo because I had scheduled my truck to get the CrankShaft upgrade and Dyno-Mite’’s 150HP injectors. I gave Dave the monies, and he sent me the upgrade kit.

The upgrade kit comes in a big and little box. The big box has all of the tubes, clamps, gaskets, pipes, fittings, aFe Filter, Filter heat shield, boots, and the little box holds the primary turbo. The Primary turbo is the big one that tucks down and behind your smaller, secondary turbo. The secondary turbo is the BD Super B that I had already been using.

Before you begin the installation I strongly encourage you to look over and study the directions a couple of times. I have a tendency to just rush into things and end up getting myself in trouble. Also, if you have not already upgraded your exhaust manifold before upgrading to twins, you really should consider it.

I will give you a brief of the steps that need to be taken in this installation and maybe give more detail in some of the areas that I found tricky or the instructions to be confusing. Overall, the instructions are going to give you more information on the installation than I will. Whenever I came up against a bump, I found BD to be very helpful and supportive.

Preperation:

Disconnect the battery terminals. I recommend that you put some kind of protector over the passenger side fender so you dont scratch your paint while you work. I used a blanket.

Drain your coolant into a bucket to be re-used later. While your coolant is draining, remove your air intake assembly. Below your air filter, there are 3 nuts that you must unscrew to remove your air box. Next, disconnect your intake tube from your turbo. Remove the two 13mm bolts that connect your downpipe to your turbo flange and remove the cast elbow that is attached to your compressor housing. You will need a 7/16″ deep socket to loosen the V-Clamp. Be sure not to lose the orange O-Ring from the elbow.

Remove the black steel intercooler tube, you will need a 7/16″ deep socket for this. Remove the turbo oil feed line(top of the turbo). Place the line to the side because you will be using it again. Unbolt the turbo oil drain tube by removing the two 10mm bolts. Loosen the clamp on the bottom end of the oil drain and remove the oil drain tube completely.

Remove the 4 nuts holding the turbo to the exhaust manifold with a 15mm wrench. One of the shortest descriptions in the instruction manual, but I really found this to be a bugger. Definitely doable, because I did it. Not really sure that there are any tricks except that its probably good to have skinny tools because some of the nuts that attach the turbo barely allow for nut to be there, let alone your hefty wrench. After you remove the bolts, remove the turbo. If you are removing a turbo that you are not going to be using for the twins, like a stock turbo for instance, you can probably sell it on eBay, or maybe even Cummins Forum.

Remove the stock downpipe and intermediate pipe. I had a MBRP 4″ exhaust that I had to cut into. If you have an aftermarket exhaust, save the cutting for later when you can match the new downpipe with the new, primary turbo, and where it will meet your exhaust system.

There is a steel heater core line that is clamped in various places in front of the exhaust manifold. I removed this whole thing because it kept getting in my way. Remove the bolts and spacers from the exhaust manifold. Be sure to clean the surfaces of the engine block and the exhaust manifold so that they will seal good once you put them back on.

Now for the good stuff! We are at our first “Critical Step” in the instruction manual. The Primary Turbo is going to need its own oil drain and to make that happen, we need to tap into the engine in a new spot. About 6″ from the rear of the engine block towards the bottom, there is a frost plug that caps an oil drain port. To remove the plug, you will need to drill a small hole, using grease to coat the bit to collect any shavings. Then, insert a sheet metal screw into the plug and pull the screw, with the plug out with a pair of pliers. The only hard part for me with this step was knowing for sure where the plug was. I have taken some better pictures to help you future installers to know what you are supposed to do.

Coat the lower portion of the supplied block adapter(see the parts section of the manual) with loctite or anaerobic sealer and gently tap the spout into the block. I remember thinking, “what the heck? how is that going to be secure?!”, but remember its just a drain, you dont have to worry about any high pressure going through there and pushing out your adapter.

Reinstall the exhaust manifold in an inverted manner so that the manifold outlet faces upward. Be sure to put the new, provided gaskets back in. Torque at 32 ft. lbs.

Turbo Preperation:

Make sure that no packaging or anything are left inside of the turbos.

Be sure to loosen all the support bolts, housing bolts, and clamps on the turbochargers just enough to rotate the housing. This way, when you go to install them you can move them around and into the positions you want without too much hassle. You may find that when you put them back on you will have to adjust them once or twice.

Remove the old oil feed adapter from your stock turbo and put it on the new secondary turbo. Install the oil drain adapter onto the bottom of the secondary turbo with the supplied gasket and 2 lock washers and bolts.

Install the 90 degree brass oil feed adapter in the primary turbo and make sure that it points toward the engine with the compressor housing faced forward.

Install the short oil drain adapter to the bottom of the primary turbo with the supplied gasket, bolts and lock washers. This is the end of step 23 in your instruction manual.

Be sure to squirt fresh oil down the oil feed ports(where you just installed the fittings) of both turbos while slowly rotating the compressor wheel.

Remove the 1/8 NPT plug from the top of the oil filter head and replace it with the supplied JIC fitting.

Mount that secondary turbo to your exhaust manifold! Yahoo! Now we are getting somewhere!

At this point, the instructions give you some mounting instructions depending on wether you are using a stock or aftermarket exhaust manifold.

Using the appropriate, supplied V-Clamp, loosely mount the Primary Support elbow to the secondary turbo. Make sure that the bolt/nut part of the clamp is on the bottom side to allow you to put the heat shield fabric between the support elbow and your truck body/wiring harness.

Use the supplied bolts, nuts, gasket, and attach the primary turbo loosely to the bottom of the primary support elbow. Before tightening anything, install the primary turbo support bracket as the picture and the installation guide show. Now you can tighten the four bolts, the v clamp and the support bracket.

At this point make sure that the center of the exhaust housings are vertical so that the oil feeds are pointing up. Tighten the exhaust housing bolts on both turbos. Install the oil drains and 4″ rubber sections to both turbos and connect them to the engine drain locations.

If your heater feed tube runs below your exhaust manifold, remove it and cut off the support bracket. Then, using the hardware provided and mentioned in the instruction manual, cut the tube in half and splice it like the pictures below.

At this point, install the oil feeds on both turbos to their appropriate places pointed out in the instruction manual.

Remove the boot and horn from the factory intercooler pipe and put them on the new one. Most of what you will be doing now is just installing all of the new tubes and spring clamps. Everything should fit well. Make sure that nothing will be hitting when the engine is actually running.

The only tricky thing that I experienced from here on out is the pipe that goes from the primary turbo into the intake. This took me a while to figure out and I believe I had to adjust the secondary turbo and some other tubes to make it work. One hint: the side of the tube that has a bend toward the end goes into the intake and holds the filter. That took me a while to figure out. If it feels like you are forcing something, slow down, go back and see if there is something you need to adjust. Everything should fit well.

I”m actually very surprised by how much room there actually is. I thought everything would be cramming in there super tight but its really not that bad.

As far as your downpipe goes, I kept going under my truck, making marks and then cutting my exhaust pipe and downpipe to fit. Then, I used the supplied 4″ exhaust splicer thingy to connect the 2 together. I actually went to NAPA and got one of theres that was 4″ on both sides. The clamp that BD sends is slightly larger than 4″ on one side and is too loose when I try to splice the two.

After you finish the installation be sure to put your coolant back in!

After Installation:
When you start your truck, dont hammer it right away. Listen for any funny noises. If you hear a farting noise, dont be worried, its not your turbo, its the chili dog that you ate for lunch. Dont be surprised if there is some slite smoking and even a weird smell after you run your truck for a while. This is the turbo breaking in and all of the factory oils being burnt off. The heat shield also burns a little after it is first installed.

My Review:
The first thing you will probably notice is the sweet spool up. It spools up quick and it sounds like a big jet turbine(if there is such a thing, I think that makes sense). I love the sound. Its almost relaxing to me. Another thing you will notice is the cooler EGT’’s. My EGT’’s lowered a lot. Its hard to tell exactly how much with just the twins because I hadnt pushed my truck very hard before I installed the aftermarket camshaft. I can tell you that with the 2 combined, I have a really hard time going over 1000 degrees, even when I floor it going up a mountain. In fact, when I get up to a certain boost, those turbos really kick in and start lowering my EGT’’s!! Its amazing to  watch your EGT’’s actually start lowering when your boost is raising

As far as the power goes, I have not done any racing yet, but I TAKE OFF. When I want to get somewhere fast, I can. It seems that when going up slight hills, my truck just sails up them instead of downshifting first. The turbos from what I hear, should also last me the life of my truck. If you need some more power to tow or just want to make your truck more powerful and faster, I highly recommend BD’’s Twin Turbos.

Thanks BD!

Welcome to Line-X of Coeur d\\”Alene at:

6680 N. Government Way Suite 202
Coeur d\\”Alene, ID 83815
208-762-4547

Josh and his crew at Coeur d\\”Alene Line-X™ treated me really well and explained the process of installing the Line-X™ spray on bedliner as well as all of its features. Line-X™ of Coeur d\\”Alene is also a great place to buy accessories and undercoating for your truck. They use the Insulmastic™ product for undercoating your vehicle. It is a durable asphalt cutback, fibre reinforced underbody for cars and trucks.


The Cummins Forum Truck bed and tailgate are scuffed up with an orbital sander to give the Line-X™ something to bond to. The sides of the truck are taped to protect while the bed is being sprayed and all the hardware in the open is removed.


The Cummins Forum Truck is backed into the Line-X™ cave so that the spray only hits the bed and not the cab. It seemed to be a half hour process to spray the bed.


After the spraying is completed they pulled my truck out of the cave, tore off the tape and paper protecting the outside of my bed, and put back my external hardware and tailgate. At this stage, the Line-X™ material is dried, set and ready for use. They only ask that you not take a forklift to it within the first 24 hours.


(Whistles) Yeah baby! Thats beautiful! Not only is Line-X™ the tuffest, but it also looks the best. It just made my truck look twice as good and I\\”m so glad its the first modification that I did.


For more information on Line-X™, please go to www.line-x.com. To locate a dealer/applicator in your area call (800) 831-3232 or use their search tool online at: http://www.line-xdealers.com/dealer.php.

I never liked the look of the old, boring, black and red RAM 2500 and Cummins 24V Turbo Diesel name plates so I bought the new style ones off of eBay! The Upgrade for the 2 - RAM 2500 and 2 - Cummins Turbo Diesel nameplates/decals were close to $100.

I dont know if there is one correct way to remove the old ones but I tried a combination of different things at different times. Some things you might need are, clothe/rubber gloves, chisel(or something solid that has a flat/pointy end), Goof Off, a good bug and tar remover that wont hurt your paint, tape measure, and heat gun.


The first thing I did was take that flat/pointy chisel and get right behind the old plastic nameplate. Try to get it right into the foam. Be careful not to scrape your paint or pry and dent your truck. Patience is key here. Gently Pull away from the truck, dont pry. The old nameplate may come off in chunks which, takes away all hope of ever selling it again on eBay.





After you remove the plastic, more than likely your still going to have most if not all of the old foamy sticky stuff on your truck. For this I recommend the heat gun and the heavy duty plastic gloves. The gloves do a good job of sticking to the foamy material and give you a good edge on pulling or pushing the foamy/sticky away. The heat gun will help to loosen it up. See the picture.

After you get the bulk of the sticky/foamy stuff off, you will probably need to wipe the rest of the residue off with goof off and a rag. Now, I dont know if Goof Off is supposed to be really bad for paint or not, but it seemed to be fine with my rig. I was sure not to leave any goof off residue on my though. I wiped the whole area thoroughly with another rag and some cleaner. Make sure to get all the little goobers off your truck.

Now, for the installation of the new ones, you want to mark out with a pencil where they need to go. I pretty much marked it out so that the new nameplate would be exactly where the old one was. I measured 1-1/2″ from the door front of the door and about 3/4″ up from the crease in the metal right under where the old nameplate was. Make sure to mark along the bottom in several places so that you get the RAM 2500 even all the way across. I made a dash with the pencil every 3-4 inches.

Take the backing off of the new nameplate and line it up carefully along the top of your pencil marks. After you have it where you want it, sweet across the front with your hand and make sure that it sticks good. Now, take the front plastic off. Beautiful! Well, at least mine was. I hope yours was too!





As far as the new Cummins Logo goes, I placed it about 1/2″ above the RAM 2500 and lined it up with the front. Other places to put the Cummins Logo are toward the front of your truck by the corner lights just like the new Dodge Cummins” have them, or I”ve also seen it in other locations on the front corner panel. Its up to you. I looked at all locations and thought right above the RAM 2500 to be the best.

Well, its all done now and it looks GREAT! I hope this article was a help to those of you looking to do the same thing. I purchased my nameplates from Avondale Automotive on eBay. I have purchased from them before and from the time I order, till the time I recieve, it usually takes about 3 days. I am VERY satisfied with their service.

Here is the link to the Cummins Turbo Diesel NamePlate
Here is the Link to the RAM 2500 NamePlate
If you have a 3500, here is the link for that: RAM 3500 NamePlate

NOTE: After reading this article, one viewer recommended using Fishing Line to cut off the nameplates instead of prying.

Things To Look For When Buying A Used PSD

Turbo:
You might take the air tube off the back of the air filter and look inside of it. If there is dirt build up, that is a very bad sign, so are the turbo fins looking sand blasted or bent. A little oily film is normal since the valve cover breather exits inside the tube. Also, check the shaft outside of the fins for any signs of scuffing. Too much play in the fins so that it hits the shaft is NOT good.

Airbox:
Check the two bolts holding down the airbox lid. If they are plastic with a square recess, it is a recalled part. The recall is expired, but without the updated lid the risk of dirt infiltration is greater, the lid was updated with more supports and the updated bolts are metal with a straight slot.

Tranny:
If you buy a truck with an auto tranny, finding out if it’’s been maintained is essential, as the E4OD is an expensive transmission. Also, (if auto) seeing if the truck has an auxiliary transmission cooler would be worthwhile. For sticks, listen for clunking when shutting off or small vibration while operating. It could be an indication of a dual mass flywheel going out. Many have replaced them with single mass units.

Rear Gear Ratio:
4:10 will pull better, get slightly lower mpg’s and run a higher RPM compared to 3:55.

Coolant:
Ask the previous owner about the coolant - have they been adding FW16 or DCA4 to keep a proper SCA level? It is very important for stopping cavitation. You can get test strips to check the SCA level from NAPA, International, or Ford. I would test the current condition while looking over the truck, the SCA level should be between 1.5 and 3.0. Also, see if it has a block heater (it was an option on 97′’s).

Front end:
Check the front end for wear, or have an alignment shop check out the ball joints and steering linkage (tie rod ends). If they are shot, it is spendy (all four tie rods are around $400 just for parts, ball joint labor is also very spendy)

Oil:
The questions to ask are how often the oil was changed (at least every 5,000) and what kind of oil they used (diesel rated)? An oil analysis could tell you if there might be an engine problem or not.

Aftermarket stuff:
Seeing if the truck has got an aftermarket downpipe would be nice, a chip, or gauges (pyrometer, trans temp, etc.). Ask about any added items and who installed them.

Glow Plugs/Relay:
Find out if the glow plugs are in good working condition as well as the relay. Ask if either has been changed and when. You can check the glow plug resistance through the valve cover connector if needed and the relay should have power to both large terminals on top when the key is turned on, and one of the terminals should go out before ~2 minutes.

CPS Failures:
Some of these trucks are notorious for eating CPS’’s. They can leave you stranded anywhere anytime intermittedly. Finding out if it has been replaced (maybe more then once) might be a good idea. You never know when they”ll go out, so it is best to carry a spare. These can often be had for under 60 bucks shipped on ebay, and can easily run in excess of 200 dollars at the dealership!!! It is a simple fix that is described in the “tech files” for the 7.3 forum.

Injector o-rings:
The injector O-rings have been known to be a problem. The new o-ring sets have a pink middle seal. If the truck has an o-ring problem, one of the signs can be a discoloration of the fuel in the filter bowl. There is a drain on the passenger side front of the filter bowl for draining water (the filter is also the water separator) and you can catch some of the drained fuel in a jar – it should be dingy yellow and not blue or dark.

Leaks and Drips:
You can check the valley between the heads of the V8 for moisture and/or fluid. It should be dry not wet. Most leaks will run through this valley and down the back of the motor dripping off by the tranny/engine coupling.

VIN number:
If you take the VIN to any dealer, they can tell you when it was built, when it went into service, and some of the work that might have been done on it. You can also run prospective VIN’’s through Carfax.com to see the title history.

Stopped in at Buckstop Bumpers down in Newburg Oregon on my way back from Dyno-Mite Diesel in Monroe, WA. I had arranged for a Front and Rear, Non-Winch bumper painted in white. Buckstop is one of the few aftermarket bumper companies that make bumpers for my 2002 Dodge. I believe that they are the only company that makes a Non-Winch bumper for my truck also. I wanted something that did not stick out much farther than my stock bumper and Buckstop’’s Non-Winch bumper met that requirement.

Buckstop has been making bumpers for Ford, Dodge and Chevy for several years now. Their bumpers have the perfect blend of tuff and show without making trucks look like they need to be completely overhauled to match the bumper.

Installation
I must say, I was very disappointed in Dodge’’s bumper, and even more when I removed it. Half of the stock bumper is plastic and after seeing how Buckstop mounts their bumpers, was very sickened at how poorly the stock bumper tied in with the frame.
The first step is of course removing the front bumper. Not very hard at all. If you look under your truck you will see all the bolts that need to be removed. I believe you may have 8 on each side at the most.

The next step is mounting all of your hardware to the new Buckstop Bumper. Your new bumper will come with all of the nuts and bolts that you need. There are some eye sockets for the 6″ lights that need to be installed on the bumper as well as the Brush Guard if you ordered one. On a sidenote, I very much suggest that you order a Brush Guard. At first, I did not really want one. I wanted my truck to stay simple looking and just have a nice white bumper. Well, Buckstop recommended that I try it out and I”m glad that I did. It really cleaned my truck up, made it look more custom and now I feel like I could hit a moose and live to tell about it.

After your bumper is all setup, which only takes about ten minutes, you need to mount the new brackets onto your trucks frame. No drilling needs to be done. Buckstop uses a few holes in the frame that Dodge did not. I really appreciated how the new brackets tied the whole front end up. After installing the new brackets I really felt like my trucks frame was a lot safer. These new brackets are designed to help hold the bumper while you secure it. Be sure not to to only tighten 2 of the 4 sidebolts on the brackets until you have the bumper installed.

At this point, its nice to have a friend to help you lift and mount the new bumper. I suppose it could be done with one person with a strong back, but I wouldnt suggest it. Once you have the bumper seated, one person can go under and start bolting the bumper to the mounts. After you connect the bumper to the new mounts, I recommend half tightening everything, getting up and aligning the bumper exactly where you want it, and then finish tightening everything. double check and make sure that all of the bolts are secure.

Thats it! Your new Buckstop Bumper is all set up for 6″ lights in the front and tow hooks in the oval slots. Installing lights in the bumper makes it look 1000 times better. These can be purchased directly from Buckstop or at your local Truck Accessories dealer.

Installing the rear bumper is easy. Simply remove the bumper, take out the guts and put the old guts in the new bumper. The new rear bumper will also come with some diamondplate material, custom cut for the top of the bumper. Rivets are supplied to bolt the diamond plate down, all you need is a rivet gun. After you put the old guts back in the new bumper, put it into place and bolt it down. This is also easier done with 2 people. If you are wondering wether or not that plastic piece in the middle that holds your license plate gets removed, it doesnt. The rear bumper is setup for 4″ backup lights, which can also be purchased from Buckstop. I went to the local NAPA, and just picked up some of their $13.95 4″ utility/tractor lights with the rubber sides and they worked just perfect.

I thought the new bumpers would look kinda goofy with my stock 245 tires, but they look great! They will look even better when I get some new tires and wheels.

For more information please contact Buckstop Bumpers and please tell them that Andy with Cummins Forum sent you. Buckstop makes winch, and non-winch bumpers for several different models of Ford, Dodge, and Chevy Trucks.

BUCKSTOP TRUCKWARE
1125 Industrial Pkwy
Newberg, OR 97132
1-800-431-6978
www.buckstop.biz