1998 Dodge 12v 5.9L Diesel upgrades help
 

Hey guy new to the site here. My name is Mike and I am currently living in Houston TX. I own my first diesel now and have had it for about 1 year. I really want to treat my truck right and I really dont want to make it a drag truck or sled puller, but I want to make it reliable and strong, without dumping a fortune into it. Dont get me wrong I dont mind spending money on my truck as long as its in the right places and not wasteful of stupid. Will ya'll give me some ideas on what I can do. I cant do the programmer and all that because everything is manual and not electronic so my choices are limited. Thanks and I look forward to talking with you.
1998 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 5.9L Cummins 12V 170K miles




Mike

for starters in reference to your sig AFC is the air fuel control. The mods you can do are limited to whether or not you have an auto or a 5 speed. much more than some pump tuning with a stock dodge auto will smoke the trans fairly quick.(i just had to have the trans built in my 1996) The first mods i did to mine where a rack plug so the AFC has full travel, a 4000 rpm governor spring a #10 fuel plate and a boost elbow and slight pump mods. The boost elbow will make your factory turbo build more boost before the wastegate lets go. you will notice an enormous difference with just that alone.

Trans Rebuilt 3 Months ago
 

Thanks that sounds like some good advice, It has a Automatic with OD transmission. I had it rebuilt about 3-4 months ago when it went out on the highway on my way home from work. Well my freaking turbo went kaput on me today so I will be rebuilding the turbo next week it looks like. as well. Do you (or anyone) have any suggestions on the turbo rebuild? What to do or not do for a serious rookie owner.

The upgrades sound really cool and I think it will help alot thank you very much and keep em coming.

Mike

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Another nagging problem I have with her. I replaced the power steering pump when I first got her becasue she whines and would not turn good when cold in the morning. I found that its not a regular power steering pump at all. It is gear driven from the motor. This summer everything seemed fine, but now that it has cooled off it seems like it back to whining and getting stiff when its cold. Can someone give me the breakdown of how these pumps work and how to troubleshoot whats up with it?
Thanks

Your PS pump is, indeed geardriven, which is cool. It's probably also still got the original fluid in it, which means, in our humidity, that there's condensation water in there, too. When you get down to freezing (rare in Texas, I know), your pump will have to grind and circulate chunks of ice. Easy-cheapie fix: Go to WalMart get a hand-siphon and a fresh bottle of PS fluid. (there are several recipes, so get the right one.... friggin' why are there multiple recipes for friggin' PS fluid, anyway)... Get an empty Coke bottle, and siphon as much fluid out as you can, then replace with fresh stuff. Real fix would probably be a more detailed procedure, but, that's what I did last winter, when we had a couple of 20* days down here in Corpus Christi, and I heard the same God-awful noise.

Probably ought to do it again, or have the guys at MinitMan do it next time I get an oilchange.


---added on edit--- there will be orange rustiness. Hasn't seemed to have harmed anything, but, still wasn't pleasant to see.

call this place texas diesel shop this guy is good.....936-337-4333 he is in madisonville,tx and i know several people how have used him and i will when i am ready to upgrade my trans and go with twins