New toy
 

Just picked up a 1995 Dodge Ram 3500 with the 5.9L Cummins in it today. :jump: Drove it home (100 miles) and it seems to run well. I've found a few things I want to fix:

- Safety recall on the headlights
- Killer dowel pin

I'll also be putting new tires on the front, and it kind of needs a new exhaust system.

Beyond that, I'm contemplating doing some power upgrades, but I don't really need them and I'm worried about the transmission and torque converter if I do (it's an automatic). Drives fine now, would like to keep it that way. :humm:

I'm going through older posts to learn more about these trucks, but if anyone has tips or experiences they'd like to share, I'd appreciate it. :tu:

Don't buy a killer dowell kit make your own and save your self 100 bucks

Theirs some easy and CHEAP mod you can do to get you more power but not give you a lot of extra things to worry about. I have a 1996 dodge cummins 3500 with the 5 speed transmission and my setup is just a fuel plate ground down some (i dont know how much because the guy i bought it from did it and i haven't looked at it yet), the afc is fully loosened, and i have a homemade manual boost controller set at 30 This setup works very well and cost about 5 bucks. I dont like blowin smoke all over the place so when idrive, my foot acts as an afc but if i want and/or need to i can step on it at low boost levels and she will roll the coal. You will also want a boost gauge witch i have and an egt gauge witch i dont have yet:w2:

Good luck to you and if you want to know more jus let me know

Before you get to carried with the power end of it you will definately want to upgrade the tranny TC and a valvebody. and give the front end a good looking over. bushings, tie rod ends, etc

3k gsk, fuel plate, EGT, Trans temp, and boost gauge, upgraded intake, upgraded air filter, and upgraded tc. Oh yeah, upgrade your exhaust. I suggest straight piped. Loud, throaty, and aggressive sound, but not so loud you can't hear your radio or someone next to you even with factory speakers. Hope that helps man!!!

Dont waste your money on GSK, or fuel Plate. Dont bother buying a branded intake kit.

These are all things you can modify the stock or buy off the shelf parts for dirt cheap/free.


As for Torque convertor. If you do that, buy it at Autozone. Oddly enough they have the lowest price of ANYONE SELLING ON THE MARKET currently. ANYONE.


As for upgrading exhaust. Just get rid of the catalytic converter and straight pipe the muffler. Leave the OEM tubing there for the moment, as long as its all not rusted to hell and back.

If you put a good torque converter in it along with a valve body you trans will be okay :tu:

FOX, I wasnt saying buy a fuel plate, I meant slide or grind his current one. Did I ever say buy an intake? I said upgrade it.

Hey... wasn't accusing. But many people jump to the conclusion of buying things first, when they don't know the tips and tricks that they have not picked up yet...

Good point. Also, I agree with joryg on the kdp kit. Some are ok, some are like tin foil. Even if you don't have the material for a tab, get a piece of off the shelf steel for less than 5 bucks and bend it to shape with a vice and hammer. Let us know!!! If you don't mind, post up some pictures?

There's no catalytic converter as far as I can tell, just a muffler. It's not badly rusted, but it is cut off right after the rear axle. The previous owner said he did that to keep from getting soot on a trailer he was pulling, but I'd prefer to have an actual tail pipe.

Good tip on Autozone, although there seems to be nothing wrong with the torque converter I have now. I suppose that could change with power upgrades, though.

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How do I make one? Is it basically just a piece of metal in front of the dowel pin and a screw to attach it to the block (which I guess I'd have to drill a hole for)?

More to the point, I'm a little nervous about digging that far into the engine (not very experienced working on vehicles). Any gotchas or things I need to look out for if I try to tackle this myself? Should I just take it to a shop?

I'll take some pictures of mine tomorrow but all it is is a 1/16 thick metal tab ,there is already a bolt right next to it use that bolt for the fasener .the tab is about the size of a pop tab

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Ram Diesel KDP retainer .... try pulling this up awesome article that will show you everything you need

Take the silencer ring out of the turbo it seemed to help my truck alot

Valve body and TC will be a good choice for upgrade, but another thing to do is every 50-70K is change the fluid and adjust the bands in the transmission, it will keep it alive. I have 244K on mine no issues what so ever.

Changing fluid is easy enough. I have no idea how to adjust the bands. I saw another article on here about that, gotta find it again.

I also discovered the undercarriage is a bit rustier than I thought, gotta find a way to keep that from spreading. The receiver hitch is rusted through and will need to be replaced before I can tow anything. :ouch: