Hello I am new to dodges and the cummins engine. What are some things I should look out for and consider when buying one? Thank you for the input.

 

Depends what your looking for. 89 to early 91 were non intercooled, the non intercooled ones had slightly bigger injectors and a smaller exhaust housing which allowed them to fuel faster and build boost quicker. The mid 91 to 93 were intercooled they had a smaller injectors and a larger exhaust housing. If your planning on modding the truck for power i would recommend a non IC you can get pretty good power out of them with the larger injectors just by turning up the pump, with it being non intercooled i recommend an egt gauge beacause it will run hotter than a non ic. Besides you can intercool it later. Find a intercooled cummins turbo take the turbine housing off of it and put it on the non ic exhaust housing you kind of get the best of both worlds. Stay away from autos unless you have the money to build up the trans to handle the power even at stock levels they dont last long. 12 valves are a solid engine get great fuel economy and will outlast the truck if taken care of.

 

As far as pump modding goes theres the power screw the smoke screw and fuel pin, the truck has to be running to turn the power screw dont go to far or you can create a runaway situation especially on the non IC, theres protective cap over the screw you have to pry off first, on the top of the pump theres a smoke screw and 4 bolts holding the cap on, under that cap is the fuel pin and the star wheel, you can turn the pin i believe 180 degrees for a bit more power or you can get one from Denny T or M&H INC, you can adjust the star wheel as well. In order to play with the pump you have to be somewhat mechanical and mechanically confident, if your not confident dont touch it have it done for you. The old 12 valves in these trucks are 100% mechanical, you cant throw a programmer and tune on it like the new ones, its hands on action. anyways hope this helps.

and btw on my first message i said get a egt gauge because it will run hotter than a non IC i meant to say if you get a non IC it will run hotter than a intercooled, and either way any time you mod a diesel you should have a way to monitor egts intercooled or not!

 

I got a 90 with auto, have 300,000 miles
fuel pin, 3200 spring, pump turned up two turns. runs great. Banks Stinger kit, pull a 37 ft trailer with no problems, just watch EGT's

 

Find a 5spd truck. Or buy auto at a low enough price to budget for a rebuild or 5spd swap.

The 92-93 (intercooled) fetch the big $$$ but in many ways the non-intercooled is actually better.