Turbo Diesel Register 80

4 Tailgating

Recurring Theme

Letter from the Editor

EDITORS

Robert Patton Bob Vallier Jeannette Vallier Bob Pinkowski

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE

Jim Anderson Kevin Cameron Joe Donnelly Polly Holmes Andy Redmond Jeannette Vallier

Mark Barnes Scott Dalgleish John Holmes Doug Leno Bill Stockard G.R. Whale

ILLUSTRATOR Bob Pierce

OFFICE STAFF

6 Letter Exchange

Your Letters

Responses from the Readers

8 10 Back

2003 Engine Intro/Brake Systems

A Look Back Ten Years Ago in the TDR Magazine

12 Member2Member

Clearance Lights

Members’ Solutions to Members’ Questions

14 First Generation

13 Years/Problems

Owner-Specific Articles on the ’89-’93 Trucks

20 12-Valve Engines

No Start/Filters/Wastegate

Owner-Specific Articles on the ’94-’98.5 12-Valve Trucks

22 24-Valve Engines

APPS/No Start/Lift Pump

Owner-Specific Articles on the ’98.5-’02 24-Valve Trucks

26 5.9 HPCR

Neutral Switch/No Fuel Pressure

Owner-Specific Articles on the ’03-’07 5.9 HPCR Trucks

32 6.7 HPCR

Tools/Belt/Codes

Owner-Specific Articles on the ’07.5-’09 Trucks

Tina Pardue

34 Fourth Generation

GENO’S GARAGE

38 Cummins Column

Air Filtration/Technical Service Bulletins

46 Blowin’ in the Wind

Ram 1500/Towing Standards/Emissioins

Robin Patton Andy Bishop Danny Parkhurst Brandon Parks Wendy Poole Scott Sinkinson

ALL DIFFICULT WORK Pam Rose

Brake Controller/Questions

Owner-Specific Articles on the ’10 and Newer Trucks Discussions with the Staff at Cummins

Industry News

54 Technical Topics

Good and Bad of Biodiesel

58 TDReview

The 2013 Cummins Engine

Service/Parts updates on Articles An Article or Product Review

64 Your Story

2 Wild Diesel

Feature Article on a Member’s Truck

A MEMBERSHIP/SUBSCRIPTION TO THE TURBO DIESEL REGISTER IS $35.00 PER SUBSCRIPTION.

72 Ready to Travel

PLEASE SEND ALL SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION, C O R R ES P O N D E N C E , L E T T E R S , R E N E WA L S , ADDRESS CHANGES, ETC., TO:

76 Four Whaling

EV and Reality/Ram’s 1500 Diesel

80 Motor Minded

Crossroads

TDR 1150 SAMPLES INDUSTRIAL DRIVE CUMMING, GA 30041 THE TDR IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY DIESEL REGISTRY, INC. DISTRIBUTION TO MEMBERS VIA PERIODICAL POSTAGE IS IN THE MONTHS OF FEBRUARY, MAY, AUGUST AND NOVEMBER. ARTICLES ARE WELCOMED FROM ALL SUBSCRIBERS. LET US HEAR FROM YOU! WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO EDIT ANY SUBMITTED MANUSCRIPTS. WE WILL ACCEPT MANUSCRIPTS IN IBM ASCII TEXT FILES OR FROM ANY POPULAR IBM WORD PROCESSORS, ON COMPUTER DISK, OR SCRIBBLED ON A RESTAURANT NAPKIN. THE TURBO DIESEL REGISTER IS NOT AFFILIATED W IT H C H RYS LER C O R P., CU M M I N S I N C., O R ANY OF THEIR SUBSIDIARIES. ADVERTISING OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES IN THE PUBLICATION D O ES N OT C O N STIT U T E EN D O RS EM EN T O R A PPROVA L. WE A RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGES, ACCIDENTS, INJURIES, INVALIDATION OF WA RR A NT Y, FAILURE TO PASS EMISSION STANDARDS OR SAFETY INSPECTIONS AND WILL NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE IN ACTIONS RELATING TO OR RESULTING FROM ANY SUCH SITUATION. COPYRIGHT © 2013. A LL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to TDR, 1150 Samples Industrial Drive, Cumming, GA 30041.

USPS number 014234 ISSN number 10888241

Maze District of Utah’s Canyonlands

TDR Member Travel Adventures Journalist G.R. Whale talks about all things Diesel

Reflections on the Human Side with Psychologist Mark Barnes

82 Idle Clatter

20th Anniversary/Problems

86 Ranch Dressing

Industry News/2013 Trucks

A Review of Frequently Asked Questions by Jim Anderson Esoteric Dissertations on Manure Shoveling by John Holmes

92 Polly’s Pickup

Hello Members/Truck Repair

A Feminine Perspective by Polly Holmes

96 Have Ram Will Travel

Joe Donnelly’s Truck and Travel Stories

106 Back in the Saddle

Sensor Problems/HPCR Injectors/Dana Diffs

Radio Upgrade/Transmission Upgrade/Heater Repair

Truck Accessorizing with Scott Dalgleish

122 Backfire

Emissions Boondoggle Update

The Other side of the Story

125 Chapter News

Local Contacts

Happenings at Local Chapters

126 TDR/R/R

Referrals/High Mileage

Referral/Recognition/Reward

130 TDRV

Tampa RV Show/Ping Tanks

Turbo Diesel Perspective on RVs

135 From The Shop Floor

$942 Fuel Filter

Tips From Turbo Diesel Repair Shops

138 TDRelease

New Products

Vendor Press Releases

142 Exhaust Note

Thought-Provoking Discussions with Kevin Cameron

About Those Bolts

146 Advertiser Index

On the cover: Nicholas Hettel’s Fourth Generation Dodge Turbo Diesel truck.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 3

MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE

JOURNEY OR DESTINATION

Like every media subscription (think your local newspaper, periodical or—dare I say it—cellular contract) there is a yearly “churn” of members. In those years of growing truck sales and vibrant economy we at the TDR would cover the churn and then some.

As a membership group we grew in numbers. Weren’t we great?

For this issue I gave the writers a lot of latitude and suggested they write a sentence or two, a paragraph or two or and entire column on “Is it the journey or is it the destination?” You’ll find their thoughts scattered in the magazine.

Kinda yes, kinda no. As it turns out, our membership pretty much mirrors that of truck sales; and the graph of good times (and not so good?) was printed in Issue 78. Here it is again.

What’s the bottom line, Mr. Editor?

As a membership group we must become more self-reliant.

Background information: we can no longer purchase a mail list to help us grow like we could up until 2002. We can no longer count on our internet presence to help us grow like we did in the early 2000s. There are too many websites and the cost to enter the market is minimal. Finally, we can no longer count on increasing truck sales to help us grow.

Yes, self reliance.

My challenge to you: sign-up at least one new member this year. (“Mr. Editor, is that realistic?!?” No, but for all of us it certainly would be nice. Realistically speaking, we have to find 25% new folks each year just to cover the churn.)

So, the bottom line: get busy.

TDR members ARE the number one Dodge/Ram/Cummins information resource. Be proud of the reputation that you’ve built in the marketplace and thankful for the opportunities to share our truck knowledge.

4 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

It was my intent to tie this theme into the 20th year anniversary of the TDR and do a full 20 year recap. However, it was mentioned last issue, big events and fanfare aren’t what this membership group is all about. I’d rather point you to our “TD/R/R/R” section of the magazine and the TcDR grill badge that we’re sending to John Dobmeyer for helping another member that was having a service problem. Or, point you to the list of 50 names in our “TDR/R/R” section that have signed up and educated new owners. Next, I would point you to our “Chapter News” area and encourage our involvement in a local chapter. Likewise TDR members on a the internet continue to educate by the “best of the forums” columns that TDR writer Bill Stockard writes for us.

Looking back 20 years ago, this endeavor started with 36 pages of cut-and-paste material laid out and pieced together on the kitchen table. The newsletter went out to 636 folks that wanted to share their knowledge through the conduit of this magazine. Like the truck sales graph, we’ve had some years that were bigger than others. There is clear sailing ahead (hey, we’ve got a 1500 diesel audience to incorporate?) and I thank you for your participation and involvement with the TDR. It has been quite a journey.

CUMMINS PLANT TOUR/OPEN HOUSE At the very last minute of the release of the last issue, the folks at Cummins’ Columbus MidRange Engine Plant (CMEP) extended an invitation to an open house even on Friday, June 7. Without any fanfare or hoo-rah marketing, the event sold out in short order.

We have called this event a get-together (GTG in internet club lingo).

Even though it does not have the same scope of entertainment as previous TDR national rallies, we’ve got people coming in from afar to visit and share good times in Cummins’ hometown of Columbus, IN. To those that could look past the escalating fuel prices, you’ve been rewarded with a ticket to a fun event. I look forward to meeting you in Columbus this coming June.

Robert Patton TDR Staff

TRUCK LUCK

OLD AND NEW

I was very lucky when I bought my truck. At the last minute, the seller asked if I would be interested in this large box of magazines.

From doing my research on the web, I knew immediately I was being handed a box of golden rocks. The box contained about ten years of the TDR. After sorting through the back issues, I called my friend Ray to tell him of my new prize. Then I begged him to help fill in some of the missing issues. A few months later, a box arrived and it was just like Christmas. From his own collection, Ray supplied most of the older missing issues. The rest I got from TDR back order.

Last summer while visiting Stanley-Lynn Dodge in Cameron, Texas, I snapped this picture of a new Ram 2500 with my ’99 2500 in the background. Thought you might get a chuckle about this, as my truck still looks like new and is just as pretty as the new one. I love my truck and I am still enjoying the Turbo Diesel Register!

With your help, I will now have a complete collection from issue 20 to present. You’ve got to love that box of golden rocks. Thank you very much.

Michael Henry Peoria, AZ Michael, on behalf of the TDR members and magazine contributors, thank you for your kind comments.

NEW MEMBER I’m a new subscriber and I just want to say what a great publication the members collectively produce. I consider it to be far more than just a magazine. The inclusion of member how-to’s and the camaraderie of TDR folks at the website has already helped me solve some problems with my truck. I have been subscribing to and reading auto/vehicle magazines since I was eight years old (I’m 65 now) and I think TDR is simply stellar. My main interest is technical/how-to information, since I try to do all of my own repair, maintenance and modifications but I read each issue cover to cover.

Leland Busbee Lorena, TX EARLY MORNING PHOTO Attached is a photo that was taken in Charlotte in front of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I shot the picture very early one Sunday morning before the traffic. I considered pulling into the NASCAR courtyard, but was afraid I would be arrested.

I just purchased a ’96 Ram, 2500, 4x4 with over 204,000 miles.

This is my first diesel vehicle and your publication (and of course the TDR Buyer’s Guide) has been a gold mine of information for me. I would still gladly subscribe—even if TDR was printed in black and white on newsprint quality paper!

Sheldon Bates hamilton, MT Sheldon, it wasn’t too long ago that we only printed in black and white. Thank you for the kind comments. Helpful members like you make ours a valuable information tool.

6 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

Charles Topp Charlotte, NC

LETTER EXCHANGE . . . . Continued ’07 RAM This is a picture I took of my ’07 Ram, Quad Cab, Laramie. My grandson Tylor is in the photo that was taken when we were hunting mule deer in Eastern Washington. The truck has 79K miles and I use it a lot in the summer months to pull my 8100-pound travel trailer. I drove big-rigs for over 32 years with Cummins engines, so this truck was a logical choice for me.

quality of these kits from EGR would be a major understatement.

I am no stranger to third party performance upgrades, as my TDR website signature will testify.

The rear disc brake conversion kit is fully backwards compatible with the original parking brake assembly, which was looking a bit tired. EGR Performance also provided an additional service, fabricating complementary parking brake cables based upon my measurements.

The braking performance increase all round is truly impressive and I am very pleased. I would recommend the EGR Performance Disc Brake upgrade kits, front and rear, to other TDR members without any hesitation. The quality of after-care, customer service and follow-up support I have received from EGR Performance has been nothing short of exemplary.

John McIntyre London, England NICE TRUCKS

Bob Hall Bonney Lake, WA EGR BRAKES - ISSUE 77 I am the owner of a 2000 Ram 3500, 4x4 truck that I purchased new in Montana. This is my first letter to the TDR magazine.

During my travels through the USA and Canada, I have found both the TDR Magazine and website indispensible sources of information, which has always stood me in good stead, especially now that I am permanently based in Europe.

My oldest son is a factory-certified Cummins technician and convinced me to switch from Chevrolet to Ram eight years ago. I am glad I did. I bought the truck new in 2007 and have driven it 109,593 miles so far with no problems. It is stock and still runs like new.

At the last minute I photographed my dad’s truck that I inherited after his passing. It is a 2009 Ram 1500 with a Hemi motor and is fully loaded with options. This truck also is a dream to drive and with 390hp it does not waste any time getting up to speed. My dad died at 82 years of age and had owned many trucks through the years.

He told me that Ram makes the best trucks and this particular was his favorite one. I can see why it was his favorite! In memory of my dad, I will never sell this 2009 truck. I sure miss him.

I’m currently based near London, England, and my truck has almost 184,000 miles on the odometer.

In TDR Issue 77, “Back in the Saddle” section, I read with great interest the article about the EGR rear disc brake conversion for my model of truck.

Several long distance telephone conversations and emails later with EGR’s Glenn Maurer, I purchased the rear disc brake conversion and also the high performance front disc brake upgrade. Fast forward a few months and both upgrade kits have been installed and are up and running.

I elected to go with the optional, brand new, rear wheel studs and the special rear wheel hub-nut removal tool as these parts and tools are not items readily available in Europe. To say I’m pleased with the

I love reading the magazine. I always get helpful information from TDR members in every issue.

David Meckel Greenfield, IN

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 7

I have often lamented that as a society we don’t properly honor the inventiveness and achievement of our elders. So let us give that bygone achievement some proper and regular observance in our pages in the “10 Back” column.

In each installment of this column I review the accomplishments of TDR trailblazers as I summarize the old articles to reinforce that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Here is my look back at what was happening in Issue 40, May, June, July 2003.

ISSUE 40 Wow, the first thing I noticed about Issue 40 was the page count – 172 pages – as well as the list of advertisers that was on the final page of the magazine. The 172 page count was the largest in our first 10 years of publishing. Obviously the 53 ads plus business referrals is greater than the 26 or so advertisements that you’ll see in today’s magazine. Yes, this magazine is smaller, but if you were to factor the difference in advertisements found in Issue 40, the page count of feature material would be comparable.

Thinking back 10 years ago, the TDR was one of the few places a vendor could use to advertise his product. Such is not the case today! From Facespace, Mybook, Google, YouGoob, Yahoo, Tweeter (misspellings intended) and the plethora of newsstand magazines, well, you get the picture.

This advertising thing ties in with my editorial on page 4 about the TDR and our membership having to be more self-reliant. Thanks in advance for your help in growing the magazine by adding new members and increasing the page count with member-to-member helpful commentary.

As I reread the editorial, I was reminded that the country was still recovering from the 9/11/2001 tragedy. Let us not forget the heroes from that disaster and our armed services personnel.

Looking today, one can say that we’re still recovering from the bust, boom and bust that have happened over the last 10 years.

Oops, this could easily slide into a political rant—carefully choose your side and get ready to alienate half the folks you know. (Well, maybe not half the folks. Don’t we all tend to hang-out with like minded people?)

Back to the topic, Issue 40. The outline that I need to follow: Industry News Feature Articles Parts/Service problems Topics of Interest And, before I get started with my retrospective on 10 years ago, here is a reminder that our Issue 40 magazine marked the start of our digital magazines on the web. Does this mean I could simply put a notice, “Go to our web site and download Issue 40,” under the 10 Back header? Perhaps. However, here are the summaries of what we were doing way back when.

INDUSTRY NEWS Fuel Prices The average cost for a gallon of diesel fuel back during the week of 3/17/03 was $1.83.

Jeep Diesel This past January at the North American International Auto Show the Chrysler Group took the wraps off the 2014 diesel-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee.

There is further information about this vehicle in our “BITW.” The tie-in to the Industry News column for Issue 40, ten years ago? At that time Jeep was quietly introducing a 2.4-liter engine for use in the Jeep Liberty vehicle. TDR writer and Jeep Liberty owner John Holmes gives us a brief update on his Jeep Liberty ownership experience in his column on page 89.

Other Diesel News

Okay, so Issue 40 was bigger. Content-wise, what was happening in May 2003?

8 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

Elsewhere in TDR’s pages 10 years ago there was further news about the Jeep Liberty, reflecting the likelihood that upcoming 2007 emissions regulations might lead to only a two-year production run of the vehicle. We read, “Unless Chrysler Group engineers come up with a breakthrough in technology that reduces emissions....” Indeed, today we know that the Liberty was offered for only two years.

10 BACK . . . . Continued The news about the 2007 emissions standards received two pages of our BITW column. You have to remember that those standards were still 3.5 years off in the future. So you can see how important the discussions about emissions were, and continue to be.

FEATURE ARTICLES The New 2003 Turbo Diesel Engine Found in the “Technical Topics” section of our Issue 40 magazine is an article about diesel exhaust emissions and what the numbers mean to you. Here we tried to make the tedious subject of emissions more obviously relevant by showing how the laws and regulations translated to changes in engine hardware.

The article took us back all the way to the ’91.5 engine and the addition of the intercooler to help control diesel particulate emissions. Owners of the ’94–’98 vehicles had seen a catalytic converter and stipulation of low sulfur fuel to reduce particulates, as well as a Bosch P7100 injection pump, and revised fuel injection timing to address oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Owners of the ’98.5– ’98 vehicles again saw changes to the fuel injection system, the electronic VP44 injection pump and ignition timing to address the ever-tightening NOx guidelines.

This brought us up to the then-present-day 2003 truck and introduction of the high pressure common rail (HPCR) engine. The balance of the article detailed the parts carryovers and internal changes in the engine. An interesting note: the write-up on the ’03 HPCR engine is much like the current issue’s “Tech Topics” on the 2013 engine and its hardware changes. Owners of the ’03–’07 HPCR engines may wish to re-read this article.

P.S.: This article proved to be so useful that it made it into the contents of the Turbo Diesel Buyer’s Guide. So you can reread it by pulling up Issue 40 or TDBG, pages 26–47.

Braking Systems in Plain English Here is a quiz for you. True or false: To shorten the stopping distance of your truck (or car) one has to make upgrades to the brake system.

Kinda true, mostly false.

In Issue 40 I was fortunate to have brake guru, James Walker (author of “High Performance Brake Systems” and former engineer for Delphi, TRW, GM and Bosch) tweak an article that he had written for the racing publication “Grassroots Motorsports” to address our Turbo Diesel trucks. In the article, James tells us, “Your brakes do not stop your truck. The traction available between the road and the tire’s four contact patches—where the rubber meets the road, so to speak—is the limiting factor when everything comes to a halt. Need a quick example? You can have all the rotors and brake pads you want; they’re not going to help you stop in snow or on ice. For all intents and purposes, this could complete our article, but because a two paragraph story doesn’t read too well, I suppose we should continue to discuss the actual purpose of the braking system.”

As I mentioned, issue 40 marked the start of our digital magazines on the web. In previous “10 Back” columns I would struggle to summarize a detailed article like the six-pager that James wrote for the TDR. No longer do I have to struggle—I’m going to tell it like it is. This is an excellent article and worthy of your time to log on to our website and give it a reread!

With James’ writing style you’ll be hooked at the first paragraph.

And, since I’ve already done the reread and I don’t have to do a summary, I’m going to use my time to shop for some new tires to replace these old bald ones, increase traction, and shorten my stopping distance(s).

PARTS/SERVICE PROBLEMS First Generation Speedometer failure Wipers don’t work Headgasket replacement Replace the ignition switch Wet floorboards Fix your TPS 12-Valve TPS and throttle linkage Grid heater doesn’t work Ball joints and tire work Torque converter lock-up Ignition switch 24-Valve Block 53 problem first appears

2003 Engine

Third Generation Idle speed creep Fuel pressure needed Writer test drive

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 9

10 BACK . . . . Continued 12-Valve Lift Pump Replacement

TOPICS OF INTEREST

Found in the “12-Valve” section of our magazine Issue 40 is an article about how to change out the truck’s lift pump. One has to marvel at the creativeness of the TDR membership as writer Brandon Parks introduces us to the “broom handle trick.”

More Dowel Pin Stuff

If you’ve ever had problems with re-priming your ’94–’98 12-valve engine, well, this article from Issue 40 is worth a reread. Fire up your computer and learn more about broom handles, pages 60-61.

P.S.: This article was so good that it made it into the contents of the Turbo Diesel Buyer’s Guide. So you can peruse its electronic version by pulling up Issue 40 or TDBG, pages 246-264.

12-Valve Dowel Pin Elsewhere in this magazine (BITW, page 47) you’ll read about the 30-year anniversary of the B-series engine.

Since its introduction in 1983, the Cummins engine has used a dowel pin to locate the gear cover to the engine block. In its early years, produced in the years leading up to the ’94 truck with the heavy P7100 fuel injection pump, the dowel pin certainly could have worked itself loose, fallen out and lodged between the cam gear and the front housing—and cracked the gear case housing.

But in those years at least it did not happen in alarming numbers.

It wouldn’t be a problem until the big ole P7100 was fitted to the side of the block. The ’94–’98 12-valve trucks were particularly prone to the fabled “Killer Dowel Pin Problem.” But even for owners of ’89–’93 vehicles it is not a bad idea to cover the pin. In later production runs, starting sometime in 1999 the pin was securely pressed into place. If you have an early ’98.5–’99 24-valve, you may want to take action too.

Our Issue 40 has a “Shop Floor” article that, even ten years later covers this topic as well as I’ve ever seen it dealt with.

Oops, here is another example of where I’m not obliged to summarize an article, thanks to computerization. Issue 40 on the web, pages 148–151, gives you the complete story. If you’ve not made the correction to your ’94–’98 12-valve truck, please read this painstaking article in its entirety and get busy with your tools.

P.S.: This article was so good that it made it into the contents of the Turbo Diesel Buyer’s Guide. So you can reread it there too by pulling up the TDBG, pages 226–229.

Have you ever wondered how you might change the power steering, transmission or brake fluid without doing a complete flush?

Along with the Issue 40 “Shop Floor” article that gives you the best service technique for the 12-valve’s killer dowel pin, you’ll find writer Joe Donnelly’s discussion of other repair methods: inserting a screw through a hole that you drill into the case cover, use of the Strenkowski jig to drill through the side of the gear housing and insert a screw. However, over time owners have discovered “a job worth doing is worth doing right,” in that the Shop Floor technique fixes the dowel pin and also gives the owner access to tighten and Loctite the internal gear case bolts that can loosen and fall out.

Fish Bowl Fluid Change Have you ever wondered how you might change the power steering, transmission or brake fluid without doing a complete flush? Well, leave it to writer Joe Donnelly to do the math as he drags out his turkey baster to “change” his power steering fluid. It is a neat little chart, so let me share it with you: “Since we can change only about one-third of the fluid at a time, how many changes are required to change all of the power steering fluid? I’m an engineer, so I used mathematics to answer the question of how many changes are needed. Each time you leave 2/3 of the old fluid in the system. Therefore, two changes means that (2/3) times (2/3) of the old fluid remains. If you perform “n” changes, the amount of old fluid remaining in the system is therefore (2/3) to the n power. I changed the fluid seven times because I had four quarts available and that changed about 94% of the fluid. In between changes, start the engine and work the steering wheel and the brakes to circulate the fluid so that the old stuff has a chance to mix with the new stuff that you put into the reservoir. In tabular form, here are the percentages of fluid that will be changed for a given number of operations, assuming that one-third of the fluid is replaced each time, and the fluid is thoroughly mixed after each change.”

Number of changes

Fraction of old fluid remaining

Percent old fluid remaining

Percent new fluid installed

1

2/3

67%

33%

2

4/9

44%

56%

3

8/27

30%

70%

4

16/81

20%

80%

5

32/243

13%

87%

6

64/729

9%

91%

7

128/2187

6%

94%

8

256/6561

4%

96%

9

512/19683

3%

97%

And so it was “10 Back”—and so it is today.

Robert Patton TDR Staff

10 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

I think you will agree with me when I categorize Turbo Diesel owners as independent people who are not afraid to try something new.

You are an ingenious membership who reinvents and improves a product to make it better serve your needs. You show a strong willingness to share your shadetree solutions. With your input each quarter, we publish the “Member2Member” exchange to give you a forum to tell other members how you solved a problem.

The lamps themselves consist of a plastic lens with a rubber seal, fastened to the roof with two mounting screws. Closer inspection revealed cracks in the plastic lens, along with deterioration of the mounting hardware (see figures 2 and 3). Curious as to why the lens would develop a crack, when I had not touched the hardware, I called my local dealer parts department for additional information.

In this issue we’ve got a write-up by TDR writer Doug Leno about a clearance light repair on his Third Generation truck.

3G CLEARANCE LIGHTS

by Doug Leno Since my original truck purchase in the fall of 2003, the cab clearance lamps on my Turbo Diesel have required no attention— not even to change a bulb. At about 110,000 miles, however, I happened to be driving through a big thunderstorm when I noticed a drop of water on the driver’s-side sun visor. A quick check revealed no obvious signs of water entering around the doors or window seals, which meant only one thing: A possible leak around one or more of my cab clearance lamps.

Figure 2: Cracks in the plastic lens (circled in red).

Closer inspection confirmed my diagnosis: One of the lamps directly above my sun visor had developed a break in the rubber seal (See Figure 1).

Figure 1: On the roof of my black Turbo Diesel: Evidence that the rubber seal has been breached by moisture and dirt (see arrow).

12 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

Figure 3: The nylon mounting washer has succumbed to age and weather.

MEMBER2MEMBER . . . . Continued It turns out that Chrysler updated the clearance lamp design during the summer of 2004 to go with the introduction of the 2005 model year. The change is essentially a larger rubber seal, as shown in figures 4 and 5. According to Chrysler, the new design prevents lens cracking that was known to occur on some Turbo Diesels with manufacturing dates prior to August 2004. Evidently, the problem was not deemed significant enough to warrant a recall, or to track VIN numbers (mine lasted eight years without failure).

Figure 5: When mounted on the truck, the new style lens (left) has a slightly larger footprint compared to the older lens (right), owing to the more generous rubber seal. The new lenses are also supplied with black mounting hardware.

Figure 4: The “old” style lamp from model years 2003-2004 is shown on the left. The new style, introduced in August 2004, is shown on the right.

Inspecting the other four lamps on my Turbo Diesel revealed two others that had developed cracks. For this reason, and because the newer lenses look different on the truck (see figure 5), I replaced all five of them.

If your Third Generation model 3500 Turbo Diesel was manufactured during (or prior to) the summer of 2004, you may want to inspect your clearance lamps for the “old” style (with no rubber showing around the edge) and inspect/replace as needed. The part numbers that you’ll need are: Amber 82207252AC; Clear 82211190. Both are priced at about $120 for a package of 5 and the bulbs are included in the kits. For Second Generation owners, TDR writer Scott Dalgleish wrote about installing the 82207252 in Issue 76, page 106.

Doug Leno TDR writer

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 13

Coverage of the ’89 through ’93 Model Trucks.

Web Site Correspondence Edited by Bill Stockard and Additional Q&A written by Joe Donnelly.

Dear Readers, Here is a refreshing article that discusses 13 years of ownership of a First Generation truck.

In the story, owner Owen Carlson has his share of breakdowns along the way. But you’ll discover Carlson’s sense of can-do spirit trumps the adversity he encounters. So much so that he only devotes five-sentences to his year-long triumph over colon cancer. The illness postponed a year of travel.

Enjoy Carlson’s article and be sure to note the upgrades that he made to his First Generation truck to make it worth holding on to for 13+ years.

Robert Patton TDR Staff

Time for Upgrades Bruce replaced the slow-spooling 21cm exhaust outlet of the turbo with the 16cm version and tweaked the injection pump timing.

I couldn’t believe the better performance, and got bitten by the Cummins power bug. The bug was helped by a subscription to TDR. We bought a 28’ Jayco trailer weighing 6800 pounds for a trip to Alaska from Virginia. I became concerned about the automatic transmission after reading TDR and decided to go all-out. I replaced the transmission with one of the last such beasts available from Chrysler. I shipped the valve body to BD Performance in Abbotsford, BC, and got it back tuned for towing my trailer with a 91% efficient torque converter (best you could do before lockup transmissions). I also bought and installed a large under-the-bed transmission cooler. TDR’s advice led me to meet Jay Leonard at his son’s shop in Connecticut to put in a pin to prevent movement of the Killer Dowel Pin. First Series of Trips 2001-2004

13 YEARS IN A ’92 FIRST GEN

by Owen Carlson I bought a beautiful used ’92 D250 Club Cab LE in 1999. It had 90,000 on the odometer which isn’t much. The prior owner had towed a light-weight fifth-wheel for part of that time.

We did our first trip to Alaska in 2001 with no big problems. (You can see these trip narratives at http://o1c.net.) We followed that with a trip to Newfoundland in 2002. We found during these trips that transmission fluid flow in overdrive on the A518 was just not enough in conjunction with the Super-Duty cooler. We wound up traveling at 2400rpm with overdrive locked out, getting about 62mph—which isn’t all that bad, since we avoid interstates where possible to get more scenery and greater people interaction.

Prior to the 2003 trip to Alaska we installed a rear-wheel disc brake kit from EGR. It helped braking, especially down longer hills.

The trip of 13,000 miles was a joy. In early 2004 we moved to the panhandle of Florida and threw away the snow shovel. We towed the trailer to Florida and lived in it until we found our new home.

We took a trip in 2004 all over the eastern US and a bit of Canada, again without any major problems.

Truck Updates in 2005

I decided I’d keep the truck for a long time and find my own fifthwheel to see America. I looked for a little more power and found Diesel Injection of Pittsburgh and Bruce Mallinson. I put the truck on the local Cummins dyno before going there and got 138hp at 2100rpm.

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In early 2005 we found the truck starting to show its age. We repainted it in a local shop with the understanding they’d work on it in their “slow” periods. It came back in a month looking great and for not too many dollars. I replaced the front springs with TRW 7226S springs to get the front end up 2”. I installed the Borgeson steering shaft to stop the steering wander. When TDR friends called my attention to it, I noticed the exhaust manifold shrinking and installed the ATS manifold.

I also got some upper-arm exercise by replacing the starter with one in which I’d installed “LarryB’s” long starter contacts.

FIRST GENERATION . . . . Continued We planned our 2005 trip from Florida to see friends in San Diego, then up to Piers Diesel Research in British Columbia. There, “Little Mike” installed a PDR custom refurbished injection pump and tweaked the timing on it for performance. He also installed “POD” injectors at my request. I also had the 3500rpm injection pump governor spring installed—possibly the second-best drivability enhancement ever.

air flow (the smooth pipe) and ‘turbulent’ air flow (the rubber pipe with ridges) sometime so that you can take your pick. I went to Suncoast in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, one Sunday when a mobile, truck-mounted dyno was there. My high point was when the dyno-driver stomped on it—it wound up and wound up some more. I told him to shut down at 3800rpm. He said it was a fun truck to test. Results – 308hp, 668 torque.

While in the area I wanted to meet TDR member Bob Coe, one of the most helpful folks on our first Generation forum website. “Pastor Bob” was ill that day so I couldn’t meet him. Many First Generation folks will remember his advice in TDR forums and his quirky “awarding” of 10 or so horsepower for a good suggestion. Bob is fondly remembered by us First Gen owners. You can read one of his most informative articles in the TDR’s Turbo Diesel Buyer’s Guide (TDBG), pages 48-55, “Bob’s Prescriptions for Power ’89-’93.”

The pavement was damp so I couldn’t experience the new power, but I was really impressed with the PDR people. A few days later I found that I could easily keep up with traffic when towing, I was even more impressed. Some of those behind me probably wished I hadn’t acquired the ability to blot out the sun with soot when I had to quickly move, so I restrained myself as much as possible.

The pump timing combined with the 3500rpm spring let me reach 70mph at 2400rpm at half-throttle in 1:1 direct (non-overdrive), thus making towing much easier. I could cruise at 2000rpm at 60 on the Alaska Highway.

At our return home, we found other consequences of higher power and use of it. The head gasket blew out at the front right corner. A local shop took the engine apart. The head was sent out for milling to proper flatness. A new gasket was installed. I had the radiator cleaned for better cooling while it was out. A new thermostat and radiator hoses were installed also.

There were indications that the transmission heat exchanger was leaking—and it wouldn’t hold the pressure I thought it should handle.

Since I now live in Florida I don’t need engine temperature to warm the transmission fluid on startup. We removed it and bypassed the lines to it. I got a little fancy with a pipe bending tool to install a second under-the-bed transmission cooler, this one on the passenger side.

The piping carries the fluid over the driveshaft there and back. It’s also fan-cooled. I installed a pair of relays to start its fan and the SuperDuty fan at the appropriate temperatures using a temperature sensor on the line out of the transmission and another in the pan.

I also put transmission coolant gauges on the pillar with LEDs to show when the fan(s) is(are) on. Now the engine and transmission cooling are independent and I can assess the performance of each of them without the interaction of the exchanger.

More Travels – More Modifications 2006-2009 In 2006 I decided to move more air through the engine. A 4” turboback exhaust was purchased from Pinnacle Power in Dubois, Wyoming, and installed locally. I tried a BHAF (Big Honking Air Filter) in a custom mount for a while, replacing the stock air box.

I finally threw out the mount and used bungee cords to suspend the large AH-19004 air filter. I tried a smooth-sided aluminum pipe pulling air from the BHAF into the turbo, but re-installed the stock corrugated-rubber tube. Look up the difference between ‘laminar’

We then departed with the trailer for a submariners’ reunion and found another consequence of greater power—the flexplate separated with great grinding and rattling as we pulled away uphill from a traffic light. The inside circle stayed attached to the engine but the outside circle stayed with the torque converter. It took a few days to have it replaced with a 1994-style thicker flexplate.

The odometer quit in early 2007. Helpful TDR members led me to a firm that supplied the tiny plastic gears which allowed me to rebuild it.

We took off for the Rockies in 2007. If you haven’t tried to start a Cummins at 10,200 feet (Leadville, Colorado) at about 35°, you should. The usual “turn the key and release it” just turned the engine over a few degrees. Holding the key over for about 10 seconds got one cylinder to fire and a few seconds later another one joined in.

Those two kept banging and eventually all the others decided to function. The white smoke cloud was tremendous and the slight breeze wafted it downtown. A police officer stopped to look. Dogs on the street sat down to watch. It was hilarious!

When we reached the Tetons, I thought to call Pinnacle Power Exhaust (50 miles away) to see if they’d install a turn-down on the end of the 4” exhaust. They had us come over at the end of their day. When we arrived they pushed the truck on the hoist out of the shop and drove ours on. They looked at it from the top and they looked at it from the bottom. They said it would take an hour or so, so we went out and threw sticks for the shop dog to retrieve.

When I looked inside, they’d removed everything from the turbo back saving only the muffler. They put in all new 4” piping and put the muffler back. They explained that they didn’t like the way my shop installed their kit. They wouldn’t take any money for their effort, saying that NOW the exhaust system represents their work.

They’re great people and totally trustworthy.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 15

FIRST GENERATION . . . . Continued When we returned we had to replace the leaking power steering pump and convert the air conditioning system to R-134A. My wife noticed the passenger seat “felt a little funny.” When I rotated the seat forward the hinge separated and the seat fell forward. Chrysler furnished a new hinge for a price, but it was easy to install. It turns out that moisture collects on the bolts below the floor holding that hinge and that rusts the hinge.

Adventures 2010 - Current Texas beckoned in 2010. We enjoyed our trip there, through Galveston and onward. But at the intersection of US-77 and TX-119 north of Goliad, I smelled antifreeze. I worked to the side beyond the intersection and opened the hood. The serpentine belt was shredded. I called my road-help people. As the engine cooled and I could get into it, it became apparent that the waterpump shaft had snapped: its pulley dropped down and that shredded the belt.

But then the neatest outfit came, responding to our call. DW Trucking of Victoria, Texas, came along with a big trailer behind a (what else) Dodge 3500. He pulled up in front of us and backed the trailer close to our front. He opened the doors of his trailer and revealed a machine shop. He had a small lathe, and presses, and all sorts of belts and hoses. He said he formerly had a shop in town, but found it financially better to just put it in the trailer and go to the customers. He didn’t have a water pump, though, so he left the trailer and went back into town for it. His wife and my wife struck up a hobby conversation and had a good time. The local sheriff came by and stopped to ask if all was well; we thanked him for his concern and welcome. The rest of 2010 was like most years—replace tires and do the oil changes.

Yes, “13 years in a First Gen” will require some maintenance.

Note the factory service manual on the cowl of the engine compartment.

The year 2008 wasn’t a good one. I was diagnosed with colon cancer and spent the year doing chemotherapy and resting. Folks, trust me on this: Colonoscopies are unpleasant but colon cancer is terrible. Sure, the prep is yucky. Dying is worse.

In 2009 we had to do the body work on the Dodge body drip rails.

Rust finally ate through them and water intruded into the cab. A local body shop stripped the paint, filled the holes, then repainted.

We haven’t had a problem with that since then.

We also found the front end getting sloppy. We replaced the upper and lower ball joints, upper control arms, A-arm and bushings, and a camber kit. Much tighter afterward—wear sneaks up on you.

It happened as I knew it would—the wipers stopped but the motor kept turning. It did happen as the shower was ending, though. The dealership in Vicksburg, Mississippi, put new bushings between the motor and the wiper linkage. A few days later the rear exhaust pipe hanger separated and the tailpipe dropped close to the ground.

A local shop constructed new hangers that will stop that sort of thing. Right after that, a driveline noise appeared. It turned out that the center carrier bearing was gone and the U-joints were getting sloppy. We replaced them all and kept trucking.

In 2009, at 250,000 miles, more wear appeared. First we had to replace the rear transmission seal and only a few thousand miles later we had to separate the transmission from the engine to replace the rear main seal on the Cummins. Also the VSS distance sensor worked loose and was dangling by the wires—easy to put back, but it shows that I should have been holding more regular inspections under the truck and tightening everything the Cummins shakes loose.

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In 2011 we had a flap where we had capped off the coolant line that formerly went to the heat exchanger. It blew out while we were towing to the Florida east coast. Our road service sent out a tow truck. After phone conversations, we left the trailer in the parking lot and rode into town in the tow truck to Richards of Deland. Richard himself was a little busy, but came over after a bit and explained that we should not have plugged the output of the waterpump to the former heat exchanger, but had a restrictor hose installed to buffer the shock of the thermostat opening. He wouldn’t take any money for the tow or the hose or anything else—he said that he was licensed as a trucking firm and for towing, not repair, so he’d be in danger if he took money for repair. If you go through Deland, say hi to Richard, another of our road saints.

We also got into a test of motor mounts. We saw advertisements for motor mounts that would reduce overall vibration in the cab.

After we installed them, we noticed a big change in frequency of vibration, but at certain rpm the vibration was horrendous.

So we bought replacement factory mounts. They showed that we just should have replaced our old factory mounts. Humph.

Also about this time, the hinges on the doors drooped. TDR friends mailed us refurbished hinges to fix that.

I’ve attempted to hit the high spots of keeping an old truck going. I’ve not talked about tire replacement nor ordinary wear. Your mileage may vary. But there’s a lot of satisfaction (to me) in fixing the boxy old 1992 Cummins for another trip when the dealer is trying to sell me a $45,000 replacement.

Owen Carlson Panama City, FL

FIRST GENERATION . . . . Continued FAST IDLE

A FEW PARTS MISSING

Is there a fast idle feature for a ’93 Turbo Diesel? I would like to fast idle the engine to speed warm up during cold weather. tobaccogrower

I recently had the cylinder head from my ’90 Turbo Diesel W250 at a machine shop. It was returned with parts missing. The threaded stud for the fuel filter that screws into the head is missing and a big plug in the side of the head just under the intake horn is missing.

What size plug do I need and can I use a threaded pipe nipple for the fuel filter or is it a special part?

TFaucette

Speeding up the idle won’t do much for engine warm up. At idle the fuel to air ratio is so low it doesn’t make heat in the engine. Using the block heater with a timer will help, or start up and drive, taking it easy until the engine builds a little heat.

JLEONARD, Torrington, CT Try connecting a 12-volt jumper wire to the KSB to see if it changes or not as the wire going to the sensor might be broken.

DVolk, Clatskanie, OR

The threaded stud for the filter is a special part. The plug under the intake is ½-inch pipe threads, and any pipe plug will work. I suggest steel or brass but not aluminum. The size should be 1/2” pipe.

A simple twist-lock manual throttle cable on the bell crank or a stick on the accelerator pedal will increase idle speed for a quicker warm up. cerberusiam, McDonough, GA REPLACEMENT FLEX PLATE Where can I purchase a replacement flex plate for my ’92 Turbo Diesel?

Looking at a catalog from the folks at Geno’s Garage, the Cummins part number for the threaded stud for the fuel filter is 3925954 and it sells for about $20.

HHhuntitall, North Texas

roadking, Stratford, NY A flex plate for 12-valve, Second Generation Turbo Diesel will bolt right into place.

Simplysmn, CA I thought that I needed a ’89 to ’93 Turbo Diesel flex plate. Now I find out that they are the same from ’89-’07.5 for Cummins 5.9L Turbo Diesels. roadking, Stratford, NY Speaking of flex plates, here is a picture of the broken plate from Owen Carlson’s story pages 14-16.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 17

FIRST GENERATION . . . . Continued THROTTLE RETURN SPRINGS I have been looking for throttle return springs for my ’92 Turbo Diesel. The dealer parts department told me they are no longer available from Dodge. I located substitute springs at CarQuest, Dorman part number 59209. They show to be used on a Chevy, but work fine on my truck. jlferrier, MT HEADLIGHT RELAY KIT I need to add a relay kit for the headlight circuits on my ’93 Turbo Diesel D250. Does anyone have a source for a headlight relay kit? Also I could use installation instructions and any tips would be appreciated.

Bluebird, San Bernardino, CA

Another feature is that they will “nest.” Several relay bases can be hooked together using the built-in tracks on the side of each relay base.

I found this online source: http://www.bigrigchromeshop.com/ Merchant2/merchant.mvc?page=BRCS/PROD/LITWH/UP34263.

There is a schematic included you could use to make your own.

JHumphries, Bremerton, WA Install a relay at each headlamp using the headlamp feed from the switch to trigger the relay.

Using the relay kit and the schematic listed above will work. The headlights do not use a fuse, but you should install one in the wire from the battery to the relay.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA Freightliner, Western Star and Sterling truck dealers have a relay kit that includes the wire ends, relay base and bracket combination and the relay for around $19.00 each. We sell a large quantity through our parts department. The part number is 681 545 00 K1.

It makes a nice, clean, and reliable installation.

The relays are quality built for heavy duty truck use and are rated at 50/30 amps. mwilson, Lincoln, ME That is similar to what I used to build my headlight relay harness, but my parts were from Dodge.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA Does the factory headlight switch have trouble with the amp draw over time?

Ncostello, IN Yes, the terminals and insulator deteriorate when the switch gets hot.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA

The kit contains the relay base, relay, wire ends, and terminal lock for the relay base.

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I have replaced four of five headlight switches on the ’90 Turbo Diesel W250 over the last ten years. No trailer towing and no additional gauge lighting allows the switches to last longer.

Additional cab lighting such as gauge lighting and the additional running light load from trailer towing will overheat the headlight switch causing an early failure.

BSchwarzli, Ontario Editor’s Note: Weatherproof 30-amp Relay Kits are also available from Geno’s Garage, online at www.genosgarage.com

FIRST GENERATION . . . . Continued ENGINE OIL FILL TUBE LEAK

See the illustration below: Two of item number 2, Cummins 3902363; and one of item number 3, Cummins 3903475

The engine oil fill tube on my ’92 Turbo Diesel W250 is leaking. Is it a press fit in the timing cover, or is it threaded and screwed in? Are there gaskets and seals to replace and what are the replacement part numbers?

Madurski, Mt. Clare, WV The parts thread together (cap to tube, tube to base, base to cover) and all joints have rubber seals and can be replaced. From my experience, the new replacements will be okay for a while. However, they will start leaking again. I changed the rubber a little over a year ago and they have already begun to leak.

RWherley, Tube Seal, Cummins Part No. 3902363, two required Base Seal, Cummins Part No. 3903475, one required NIsaacs, Snowflake, AZ

To remove the engine oil filler tube, remove any braces and twist it counter-clockwise about a 1/4 of a turn and it will release from the front cover. mwilson,Lincoln, ME Use a large chemical resistant O-ring on the down tube and it will stop leaking. RTV works too, but makes it more difficult to remove later. I use RTV on the large square O-ring that fits against the timing gear cover.

HHhuntitall, North TX

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 19

Coverage of the ’94 to ’98 Model Trucks (12-valve engines).

Web Site Correspondence Edited by Bill Stockard and Additional Q&A by Joe Donnelly.

NO START A friend with a ’96 Turbo Diesel 2500 is having intermittent starting problems. One day it’s fine, the next day it acts like the batteries are dead. Would this symptom indicate that the starter contacts need replacement?

NC_Mog, Apex, NC If it just clicks, it may be bad caused by failing starter contacts or a bad battery cable connection. vssman, Naugatuck, CT The battery connections are good, and he says the cables appear to be in good shape with no cuts or cracks in the insulation or corrosion. I’ve shown my friend Larry B’s web site and told him that I think the $35 kit is cheap insurance, even if it’s not the problem.

NC_Mog, Apex, NC

HEAD GASKET LEAK My ’98 Turbo Diesel 3500 with 209,000 miles has a headgasket leaking at the exhaust manifold side of number six cylinder. The wastegate has failed and the engine is making considerably more manifold pressure than it should. When replacing the headgasket, is there anything that you would recommend, such as head studs, improved headgasket, etc.? What parts and special tools should I purchase before doing the job? I have torque wrenches and the most common hand tools.

Dieselnut59, GA Since you are removing the cylinderhead, you might as well have a valve job done. There is no need for studs if the engine is basically stock. Cummins head bolts are re-usable. A gauge to measure the head bolts for stretching comes in the Cummins kit. I recommend purchasing a genuine Cummins gasket set. It costs a little more, but will save you money down the road. It comes with injector gaskets, thermostat gaskets and everything you will need plus some.

My starting problem is a little different. I turn the key to start and nothing happens, no click, no groan, nothing. I let up on the clutch and pushed it down harder and still nothing. I kept doing clutch up, ignition switch off, and finally the starter worked. Is there a switch between the clutch pedal and the ignition switch?

DODGEDADDIE, ME

You might consider a new set of injectors. A new thermostat won’t hurt either. Get the wastegate fixed. For your information, the cylinder head weighs 140 pounds. Use a hoist of some kind. When re-installing the cylinder head, use two of the long rocker arm tower bolts in the front and rear holes next to the exhaust ports to guide the head down after you lower the head within a couple inches of the block. The bolts will prevent damaging the headgasket by inadvertently moving the gasket sideways when lowering the head onto the guides. Did I mention the cylinder head is heavy?

Yes, the clutch safety start switch is under the dash on the clutch rod. It is very easy to replace. The switch is the only replacement part needed and is available through your local dealer.

Dieseldemon, Montague, CA

Headgasket replacement has been covered several times in the TDR magazine. Check out the website’s “Magazine Index” to determine the one that has additional directions.

GAmes, Killeen, TX Thank you for your advice.

Dieselnut59, GA

I kept doing clutch up, ignition switch off, and finally the starter worked.

Is there a switch between the clutch pedal and the ignition switch?

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Did I mention the cylinder head is heavy?

12-VALVE ENGINES . . . . Continued TRANSMISSION TO TRANSFER CASE ATF LEAK

WATER IN FUEL LIGHT

While my ’98 Turbo Diesel was parked in my daughter-in-law’s garage, it leaked two quarts of automatic transmission fluid (ATF) from between the transmission and transfer case on her garage floor.

After detailing the engine in my ’94 Turbo Diesel, the water-in-fuel (WIF)light stays on.

Jfam, Lenoir, NC You may have some water in the fuel filter WIF connector.

GAmes, Killeen, TX Will the water in the WIF connector eventually dry, allowing the warning light to shut off? It has been 24,000 miles since I replaced the current fuel filter.

Jfam, Lenoir, NC No, you will have to disconnect it and dry the plug.

GAmes, Killeen, Tx Disconnect the connector and use electrical contact cleaner. Dry the connector by blowing it dry with compressed air.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA

The ATF is leaking from the transmission not the transfer case. The transmission pan gasket is dry. I would like to understand what is causing this leak before I take the truck in for repair.

Crowhurst, Cornwall, England, U.K. My assessment: the transmission output shaft seal is leaking and the only way to stop the leak is to replace the seal. Also when the two components are apart, replace the input shaft seal on the transfer case.

RCorbeil

I disconnected the plug from the harness and cleaned and dried it with Q-tips, but the light was still on. I took the connector from the harness off and sprayed a very liberal amount of electrical parts cleaner in both ends of the connector and then used a hair dryer on high to blow it dry and finally the WIF warning light went off.

Jfam, Lenoir, NC I did away with the WIF warning light sensor in the bottom of the fuel filter. After 500,000 miles the warning light never signaled a WIF warning. However, the drain valve failed twice during that time, causing a major fuel leak.

I’m “snow-birding” in Florida towing a 25-foot Airstream travel trailer and my home is across the Atlantic in England. I keep my truck in the USA for use in the winter. Thanks to TDR members I know what needs to be done. I’ve found a local shop that is highly recommended.

As a result of a personal recommendation, I had the oil seals replaced at Tri-County Transmission and Auto Repair, Chiefland, Florida. I turned up without a prior call and the truck was repaired straight away for $230 including parts and tax. I received excellent service and the crew was great to deal with.

Crowhurst, Cornwall, England, U.K.

Thanks to TDR members I know what needs to be done.

BigPapa, Middle TN Editor’s Note: Using a fuel filter without the WIF sensor was also discussed in TDR Issue 65, page 19.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 21

Coverage of the ’98.5 to ’02 Model Trucks (24-valve engines).

Web Site Correspondence Edited by Bill Stockard and Additional Q&A by Joe Donnelly.

ACCELERATOR PEDAL POSITON SENSOR The accelerator pedal position sensor (APPS) on my ’01 Turbo Diesel 3500 failed during a 200 mile trip recently. I limped in to the Dodge dealer and they diagnosed it. The service technician gave the APPS a couple of taps and it began working again. They didn’t have a replacement part in inventory and I need to return to south Florida. The tech thinks I may be fine to continue my trip. A replacement will cost $850 in parts and labor. Where could I order this part for less and does anyone have experience with this part? hiers Geno’s Garage lists an APPS for ’01 Turbo Diesels for $169. The part number is TPS98502. I noticed the part numbers are the same for ’03 and ’04 Turbo Diesels. You should call 800-755-1715 or go online to genosgarage.com.

B.G. Smith, Port Neches, TX The Timbo APPS is available online at www.dodgecumminsapps. com BigPapa, Middle TN The dealer sells the entire bell crank assembly, which is unnecessary. Save some money and order the APPS through Geno’s as shown above. You will receive the APPS through Geno’s Garage and not the bell crank assembly. It will come with complete instructions on how to replace the part and calibrate it, which will take about 45 minutes.

I have heard positive comments about “Timbo” APPS as well. I suggested Geno’s part from my prior experience and received the APPS within a few days. diesel4life, Andover, OH Thanks for your help hiers (Editor’s note: Timbo is the inventor of the aftermarket APPS. He has a small basement business and sells these in-bulk to the Geno’s folks so that there is always an ample supply for the TDR audience.)

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BACK TO THE BASICS - ENGINE WILL NOT START My ’00 Turbo Diesel 3500 has 130,000 miles. My problem began when the Check Gauges light came on and the audio alarm sounded. I noticed the voltmeter pegged at maximum voltage. I turned the ignition key off and then turned it back on to start the engine, but the engine would not turn over and then all instrument lights went out. I repeated the on-off procedure three times, and on the fourth time I turned the key off then back on, the engine still would not turn over. I heard a ticking noise and still no instrument panel lights. Does anyone have an idea what the problem could be?

DThompson, Lovettsville, VA It appears that your truck lost power from the batteries. Check all battery cables and connections.

NIsaacs, Snowflake, AZ The gauges are electronic and controlled by the Engine Control Module (ECM). Check both batteries and then check for codes before starting the engine.

Road Dog, Langley, BC I replaced the batteries, checked, and cleared the codes. The engine is starting and is running fine. Thanks for your help in fixing this problem DThompson, Lovettsville, VA NO BUS The instrument panel is dead, the check engine light is on, the air bag light is on, and the odometer reads, “No Bus” on my ’00 Turbo Diesel 2500 with 230,000 miles.

Walleye mike, Eagle, WI The instrument cluster has lost communication with the vehicle’s network. It’s a long shot, but sometimes when the instrument cluster connector loses good contact and just pushing on the instrument cluster will create a better connection within the connector again.

Another thing to try to connect a code scanner to the OBDII port under the dash and check for proper communication and trouble codes. Is the engine running normally?

JLandry, Shoreline, WA The engine runs fine. I had it scanned and found no codes. I found TSB 08-05-00, New Cluster Connector Harness. Everything is back to normal.

Walleye mike, Eagle, WI

24-VALVE ENGINES . . . . Continued BOSCH OR DENSO ALTERNATOR I plan to buy a rebuild kit for the alternator in my ’01 Turbo Diesel 2500, but I don’t know how to tell the difference between a Bosch or a Denso alternator. I don’t see a manufacturer marking on it. Is there an easy way to identify which one I have? stownsend, Salt Lake City, UT My alternator is a Denso. As I remember, the identification tag is near the electrical connector and is almost impossible to see without removing the alternator. I don’t know what a rebuild kit costs. You might check the cost of a rebuild at a local shop. A reputable machine shop rebuilt my alternator for $75.

VolsFan, Waynesboro, PA This is what the back of a Bosch alternator on my ‘00 Turbo Diesel looks like.

I ordered a replacement valve from Geno’s. While waiting for it to arrive, I tightened the cap on the original valve and the leak stopped. The new replacement valve installation can wait until the next filter change.

SNOKING, Shelter Bay, WA REAR AXLE PINION SEAL The Dana 80 rear axle pinion seal is leaking on my ’01 Turbo Diesel 2500. I purchased a replacement from NAPA, SKF Part Number 400700, but I’m not sure if it’s the right one. They list two different seals with a $50 difference between them. I’ve never seen a seal like this one. There isn’t any metal in the seal. It’s all rubber. The more expensive seal has a metal perimeter. Does anyone have a NAPA number on a seal they know is correct? nascar, Derby City, USA The rubber seal you purchased is in addition to the main pinion seal. It was added as additional protection against road debris and it fits behind the oil slinger on some axles. The NAPA part number 24816 is the main seal and is expensive at $80, O’Reilly Auto Parts sells one at half that price. It would be helpful if you to go to Quad 4x4’s web site and do some research. They have good information on Dana products, and according to them, the 20002002 Dodge Dana 80 used two different types of seals and they are not interchangeable. I am not sure if NAPA or O’Reilly Auto Parts will work for you since they list only one seal.

NIsaacs, Snowflake, AZ The Dana D80 in my ‘02 Turbo Diesel has a metal perimeter holding seal in place. It may be best to go with the original equipment than to find out that the aftermarket seal doesn’t work.

PSpychalski, AK P7100 INJECTION PUMP MODIFICATIONS

ABennin, WI LEAKING FUEL FILTER CANISTER There is fuel leaking from the water drain valve on fuel filter canister on my ’01 Turbo Diesel 2500. Is there a gasket or seal that can be replaced on the filter canister, or will I need to replace the canister assembly? csamanie Try working the drain valve lever. My water drain will leak if it’s not in a specific spot when shut off. However, once it is off, it stays off.

Fireman Dave, WI Geno’s Garage sells the individual parts for the filter assembly.

LIANBG, Geno’s Garage sells the complete water drain assembly for $13 plus shipping. While the fuel is drained from the canister and the water drain is removed, it’s a good time to clean any sediment that may have accumulated in your filter canister.

BDaugherty, GA

I have a 160hp P7100 pump, and I am wondering what the best modifications are for it. I have purchased a set of 4,000rpm governor springs. What delivery valves should I use for street/towing? What fuel plate should I use and do I need to do anything with the AFC housing? What timing should I set it to? I have a ’98.5 24-valve automatic and plan a P-pump conversion, with 275hp injectors. I will spend most of my time at the 1700-2000 rpm range. The truck is a daily driver, with occasional towing of about six horses.

JTharpe The classic upgrade is the TST #6 power kit. A #5 would mean getting a 16 cm exhaust housing or something else to keep EGT down. You could also install the TST AFC kit. However, the most recent design of the VP44 would be a lot cheaper and pretty satisfactory, especially compared to the 160hp version of the P7100. Any P pump with a horsepower rating below 215hp probably won’t improve performance any. If you go ahead with the 160hp pump, set the timing around 15 degrees. If it came off an engine with CPL 1968, plunger lift at TDC will be 4.7 mm; if 1549, 1815, or 1959, lift will be 6.2 mm.

Joe Donnelly

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 23

24-VALVE ENGINES . . . . Continued LIFT PUMP RUNS WHEN THE KEY IS TURNED OFF When I turn the ignition switch off on my ’99 Turbo Diesel, the fuel lift pump starts running and runs for about 20 seconds. When the pump is running, the engine will not start. Has anyone had this problem?

BrandonFenley, Oakdale, CA Assuming there is nothing wrong with the factory wiring and nothing has been modified, there must be something wrong with the engine control module (ECM). Can you supply any more details on what led up to this? Has the ECM been flashed or reprogrammed recently?

Did this problem start suddenly?

Have you also noticed any odd behavior with the wait-to-start (WTS) lamp? Often when the ECM starts having problems, owners report that the WTS lamp remains off when the ignition key is turned on, and the engine won’t start until the WTS lamp finally does come on.

If you know someone in your area with a similarly configured truck, you could borrow their ECM and see if the problem disappears.

JLandry, Shoreline, WA This problem started recently. The WTS lamp does not come on during the 20 seconds the lift pump is running. The ECM was reflashed three years ago. I recently replaced the ignition switch, thinking it was causing the problem. I suspect it might be the ECM and I am thinking I should install a bypass circuit for the lift pump.

BrandonFenley, Oakdale, CA It appears to be an ECM problem. If you can live with waiting to start the engine until the WTS lamp comes on, then you can bypass the ECM altogether and rewire to the lift pump to energize when the ignition is turned to the run position. This is an alternate wiring diagram that will bypass the ECM circuit: JLandry, Shoreline, WA

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Coverage of ’03 to ’07 Model Trucks.

Web Site Correspondence Edited by Bill Stockard and Additional Q&A by Joe Donnelly.

If you have a small transmission leak that barely drips, it may be the range position sensor. My range selector was leaking at the housing where the wire harness plugs in.

RANGE POSITION SENSOR/NEUTRAL SAFETY BACKUP SWITCH Recently I removed the transmission in my ’07 Turbo Diesel 3500 to install an aftermarket torque converter, flex plate, and other upgrade parts. When I disconnected the wiring harness from what is referred to as the “Range Position Sensor,” I found the plug was full of automatic transmission fluid. A few days later at the dynamometer shop, the back-up lights came on when I shifted into Park. The dynamometer shop diagnosed the problem as this sensor. Their parts book listed the replacement price over $300.

The back-up lights issue has not repeated, but I was told that eventually, if enough automatic transmission fluid contaminates the electrical connection, it could cause a no start situation. I have searched several parts sources online for a replacement range position sensor with no luck.

Jim Ross, Reno, NV I show Chrysler Part Number 56045489AC, $47 retail. It is called a “Neutral Safety Backup Switch” in StarParts. sag2, San Francisco Bay Area

Drain the transmission fluid and remove two Torx screws that hold the switch.

This is a photo of the part.

cerberusiam, McDonough, GA I replaced one today for a leak and another tech did one too. Yes, it is pretty common failure and a dealer that does transmission work should have at least one in stock. It fits quite a few different vehicles.

Bob4x4. Riverside, CA

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Make sure to place the gear selector in Neutral when replacing the switch, as it removes some of the tension where it rides inside the transmission. The switch is located on the driver side just above the pan. When it leaks, transmission fluid will run around the pan and appear to be a pan gasket leak.

RBellah, Fort Worth, TX I ordered a replacement switch for about $50. Thanks for the part number and photos.

Jim Ross, Reno, NV

5.9 HPCR . . . . Continued REPLACEMENT INJECTOR LINE PART NUMBER

CRANKCASE VENT FILTER

I am planning to purchase number 4 and number 6 injector lines to keep as spares for my ’07 Turbo Diesel 2500. It appears there is a new part number for the number 4 injector line for our Turbo Diesels. Geno’s Garage shows Cummins Part Number 4988808 is now 5289447. My local Dodge dealer confirmed the old Mopar part number, 05086874AB, is changed to 05086874AC, and is on backorder. I haven’t found much information on this change; however, I saw a photo of the replacement and looks like the sandwiched blue grommet is replaced by a strap that wraps around the injector line.

Are special tools required to replace the crankcase breather filter on my ’04 Turbo Diesel 2500?

CJLUJAN, Anthony, NM It’s not really a filter, but an oil and air separator. No special tools are required.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA Remove the plastic cover over the valve cover. Remove the two screws that hold the breather oil separator in place. Carefully pry it out with a flathead screwdriver or a pry bar. It is a tight interference fit with a thick O-ring that seals to the aluminum valve cover.

The crankcase breather separator on a 5.9 Turbo Diesel is not a scheduled replacement item. It needs to be replaced only if it is leaking around the valve cover or near the hoses. Usually the leaks can be repaired by replacing the O-ring or cutting the ends off of the hoses and adding small hose clamps to the connection.

There is no filter in it. It’s only an oil air separator that separates the oil mist from the crankcase blow-by gas and drains the oil back into the crankcase.

The 6.7 Turbo Diesel does have Closed Crankcase Ventilation (CCV) with a filter and does have a scheduled replacement interval. seafish

Freebore The original lines used a hex head bolt to hold the clamps together.

The new line has a large washer type head and a Torx bit and are the same as the 6.7 Turbo Diesel. The change was made this fall.

Shadrach

Thanks for the replies and the great information on this forum.

CJLUJAN, Anthony, NM

I purchased the number 4 and 6 injector lines. The new number 4 injection line from Cummins looks just like the one in the photo.

Number 6 still has the blue grommet.

Freebore, Yorkville, IL

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

Cahl Sandler’s Third Generation truck.

Ashley Gyman’s First Generation truck.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 27

5.9 HPCR . . . . Continued NO FUEL PRESSURE

PUFF OF WHITE SMOKE

I drove my ’07 Turbo Diesel with 19,350 miles on the odometer about a mile from home and the engine died. It appears there is no fuel pressure. However, I don’t have a gauge. The fuel tank is full. The starter turns the engine, but it wouldn’t start and the truck had to be towed to the dealer’s shop. The shop reported that the problem is with the “High Pressure Pump,” which I presume to be the Bosch CP3, and the cost of the repair is $2,100.00. I checked with two other dealers and the prices are similar. Why could this possibly happen to a low mileage truck? Any ideas and suggestions would be appreciated.

Billkid67

Recently, I drove my ’05 Turbo Diesel 3500 about 50 miles and shut the engine off for about 30 minutes. On the re-start, it produced a large puff of white smoke out the exhaust. The outside temperature was around 30 degrees. The engine has never done this nor has it ever puffed black smoke. The truck had been starting and running fine all day. Today, I drove the same trip and at the third stop and re-start there was a puff of white smoke again. What could be causing the white smoke when re-starting the engine?

Mymtnhauler, MT

Don’t assume there is no fuel pressure just because the engine won’t start. There must be adequate fuel rail pressure for it to start.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA As an update and for future reference for other members, the dealer notations on the service ticket were as follows: “When hooked up to scan tool – No codes No fuel rail pressure while cranking the engine Checked lift pump output, almost 1000 ML in 10 seconds – Passed Checked the output of the high pressure pump – No fuel coming out of it Spec is for 70ML or more in 30 seconds of crank time with the FCA unplugged – Needs high pressure pump Installed new pump and phased to engine – Started Engine now starts and runs, – Test drove” I had to utilize the dealer since I didn’t know a local diesel mechanic.

The dealer did not have a fuel pump in parts inventory and had to order it in which kept my truck at dealer shop for five days.

Hopefully this may help another member with your diagnosis and repair.

Billkid67 I had the identical problem with my ’03 Turbo Diesel 2500 with 128,000 miles. I add Stanadyne Lubricity Formula at every fill-up to compensate for the Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD).

FOXY005, Nazareth, PA There are not that many failures of the Bosch CP3 pumps on stock or close to stock engines during warranty mileage; however, with fuel contamination damage, the number goes up. I do not think ULSD has been a cause for failure, which is more likely caused by water and other contaminates not caught by the fuel filter.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA The same high pressure pump, Part Number 68027022AC fits all seven years of common rail Turbo Diesels. The average weekly demand is six for the nation. Bosch CP3 pumps don’t usually fail and the only reason they are replaced is for a leak from the seal surface in the center of the pump, or water contamination. sag2, San Francisco Bay Area

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Try to get a whiff of the smoke to determine if it is fuel or something else. Try adding 16 ounces of Power Service and a quart of 2-stroke engine oil in the fuel tank when filling with known clean fresh fuel.

Assuming your engine oil and coolant levels are all good, the usual cause of that kind of dense white smoke is fuel dribbling into the cylinder while the engine is off and then re-started. If it is replicated in roughly the same circumstances, it is likely a sticking fuel injector. cerberusiam, McDonough, GA I’ve been regularly checking the engine oil and coolant levels. I purchase fuel at only one place. However, I realize that fuel could change at the same place over time. I replaced the filter about two weeks ago. I’ve checked for water in the fuel and found none from the drain. I add Power Service every time I fuel up and don’t add a full bottle for less than a full tank. I’ve never added 2-stroke engine oil before.

Thanks for the information.

Mymtnhauler, MT White smoke is unburned fuel. You may have a fuel injector dribbling a little fuel when you shut the engine off. sag2, San Francisco Bay Area The dealer and a technician at a reputable local diesel performance shop have found one or more injectors not working properly. Both the dealer and the diesel shop are suggesting that I replace all six.

When replacing the injectors, should I go with new or do I go with rebuilt and get matched flow?

Mymtnhauler, MT I have read many posts on the TDR forum about members replacing a couple of failing injectors with rebuilt injectors, and then a few months later, having more problems. If you are going to keep the truck, and can afford it, purchase all new injectors. If you want the full story on HPCR injectors, reread Joe Donnelly’s Issue 72 article “Injectors for the 2003 and Newer HPCR Engines,” pages 44-57. Additionally 6.7-liter injectors were covered by Joe in Issue 78, page 32.

Prairie Dog, Bothell, WA

If you want the full story on HPCR injectors, reread Joe Donnelly’s Issue 72 article “Injectors for the 2003 and Newer HPCR Engines,” pages 44-57. Additionally 6.7-liter injectors were covered by Joe in Issue 78, page 32.

5.9 HPCR . . . . Continued INTERMITTENT NO START

LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL

Intermittently, when attempting to start my ’06 Turbo Diesel, the starter attempts to turn the engine and then stops. When this occurs, the square that illuminates around the “P” on the instrument cluster disappears and, therefore, it “appears” that the transmission is out of gear. If I jiggle the gear selector and the square light comes back on and I try to start the engine, it disappears again.

Eventually, I can start the engine after running the gear selector through the gears and back to Park. Could this be caused by an intermittent failure of the transmission range selector or gear selector cable ends?

CDavis33

How can I determine if my ’08 Turbo Diesel 2500 is equipped with a limited slip differential?

RoosterXP, Cedar Springs, MI

You probably need to adjust the shifter cable a little. The cable adjustment is behind the knee bolster under the steering column.

It’s a simple lock tab system that lengthens/shortens the housing to adjust throw. cerberusiam, McDonough, GA Try starting in Neutral to confirm it is a position issue and nothing more.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA Make sure all battery connections are clean and tight. If there is some extra resistance in the battery cables, it offsets the ground circuit. The Neutral Safety Switch (NSS) uses a ground circuit, and if the voltage does not stay at zero (ground offset), it thinks it is out of gear and the TIPM shuts down the starter relay. Back probe the T41 circuit when it happens. The voltage should stay at zero in Park or Neutral, and 12-volts when not. If you engage the starter and it stops and the voltage is above 1.5-volts while cranking, you found the problem. There is a defective ground or high resistance in the ground or T41, or failed NSS. sag2, San Francisco Bay Area

Using the last eight digits of your truck’s vehicle identification number (VIN) your truck has the following factory codes: Code DMES 3.73 Rear Axle Ratio Code DRQP 11.50 Rear Axle Code DSA Anti-Spin Differential Rear Axle Bob4x4, Riverside, CA Thank you. I have more questions. I plan to replace the lubricant in the front and rear differentials. What type and weight lubricant do I use? Is it better to use a suction pump through the fill hole to remove the old lubricant or should I remove the covers and drain them? If I remove the covers what sealant do I use when re-installing the covers?

RoosterXP, Cedar Springs, MI I always remove the covers so I can look for and clean any accumulated sludge that might be in the bottom. If I find large metal pieces I can avert disaster. The cover gaskets are the reusable kind. Peen the holes in the cover before re-installing and it should be good. cerberusiam, McDonough, GA The factory fill is 75W90 synthetic gear lubricant for both front and rear differentials. It is faster and better to remove the covers.

No limited slip additive is required and the gaskets are re-usable.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 29

5.9 HPCR . . . . Continued I SOLVED THE “CHECK GAUGES” PROBLEM I have finally solved a problem that started when my ’04 Turbo Diesel 2500 died on the freeway this past July. I found code P2509 Dash Out. At the time I thought replacing the original batteries fixed the problem, but I was wrong. Then the truck started showing the “Check Gauges” light, and the engine idled rough. The voltage was constantly changing from 14 to over 16volts, then it would settle at 14.2volts and everything would be fine. It sounded bad enough that I decided to park it.

This is a list of what I tried: New batteries (tested one set, eventually replaced for a second set), and tested battery temperature sensor—No change Inspected and cleaned all ground cables—No change Bypassed the crossover cable—No change Replaced the alternator—No change

The wire was labeled 8W-20-4 in the Factory Service Manual. It is the power feed wire from the Integrated Power Module (IPM) to the ECM.

I replaced the ECM—No change.

At this point I knew I was in for a lot more diagnostic work. I thought the voltage regulator in the ECM was defective causing the irregular voltage.

Load tested the alternator—It passed up to 120amps without a hint of issues—No change What do I do now? I began mapping voltages and currents, but nothing seemed out of place. I thought the high amperage draw of the intake grid heaters was the issue, but mapping proved that was not the case.

I noticed the negative battery cable slightly out of the terminal, made a bypass, and everything seemed to be perfect. The engine ran for 30 minutes without issues. I shut the hood for a test drive. The idle surge returned and it started running rough again.

I parked the truck, was done for the day, and thought it was wiring, but I needed a break.

Next, I began wiggling wires while the engine was running with the code reader on. I wiggled a wire and the engine shut off. Code P2509. Perfect!

I wiggled a wire and the engine shut off.

Code P2509. Perfect!

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I cut out the old wire, assembled a new wire with fusible link, and the engine runs with no idle or voltage issues.

5.9 HPCR . . . . Continued The failed connection appeared to be caused by the connector housing. and probably why I missed it the first time I checked the connector. At least I know it was a failed connector, It is fixed, and I am glad it’s over. I have put over 100 miles on the truck without any issues and I am happy to be back on the road.

I spent more than $1,250 for parts, but the problem was actually solved with $10 worth of wire and connections. I have no idea what the labor would have cost if I had someone else trace the problem. Now I have a much better understanding of my truck and its systems.

I hope this helps someone else.

Mangler, San Jose, CA This is a photo of the wire I replaced. The problem was a failed connector. I checked resistance on the wire and it was very high and variable. Then I checked each joint and confirmed that it was the connector. When I disassembled the connector and checked the bare connection almost no resistance and the connection was good even moving it around.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 31

Engine Coverage of the ’07.5 to ’11 Model Trucks.

Web Site Correspondence Edited by Bill Stockard.

SPECIAL TOOLS FOR EGR SERVICE I plan to perform the EGR service on my ’07.5 Turbo Diesel 3500.

The Service Manual and Geno’s Garage instructions are quite clear on which screws to remove. If only they were accessible. Does anyone have a photo of wrenches that were modified to loosen and remove the screws between the EGR cooler and head and the cast “Y” in front of the flex tube of the cooler? There’s no room to swing a wrench. If a socket fits over the inside 15-mm flange nut, it is too tall to allow for an extension, and too close for a ratchet head as well. realfine409, Wake Forest, NC I used a crowfoot socket on mine.

JDinNY, Cuddebackville, NY I tried that as well, but it is tightened so tight that I was on the verge of rounding the nut. realfine409, Wake Forest, NC Remove the two nuts on the back of the cooler and remove it.

Then use a box wrench to loosen the inside nut on the front mount. n7gxz, Covington, WA I used n7gxz’s suggestions and it came apart. Thanks. It was the first time digging into my first diesel, and I wanted to do it right and not screw it up. I guess I let all the instructions remove my common sense. It was a “forest for the trees” type of thing on my part. realfine409, Wake Forest, NC CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, CODE P0471 While driving my ’10 Turbo Diesel 2500, the Check Engine Light (CEL) came on. Using my scanner, I found Code P0471 Exhaust Pressure Sensor Range/Performance. Has anyone seen this code before?

AHarris, WI Northwoods There is a tube on the exhaust manifold that comes up to a sensor near the thermostat. It becomes clogged with soot. Remove the sensor, take a piece of square lawn trimmer cord/string, and push it into the tube. Spin it around so it cleans out the soot. You can spray some brake cleaner down the tube to help. When it is clean, re-install the sensor and drive it. The code should go away after three key cycles. If it doesn’t, it may be caused by the sensor failing, but it usually is a blocked tube.

DieselLady, Palmdale, CA

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I cleared the code with my scanner and have driven the truck three times since. The CEL hasn’t come on yet. However, I plan to have the oil changed and routine service done at the dealer and will ask them to check the pressure sensor in case it might be partially blocked with soot.

Update: I printed out this thread and gave it to the dealer when I took my truck in for service. There is a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) for this problem. They cleaned the sensor and tube and the CEL is staying off.

AHarris, WI Northwoods SERPENTINE BELT I have been attempting to replace the serpentine belt on my ’07.5 Turbo Diesel. After releasing the belt from the pulleys, I discovered the tensioner had to be removed, as it was threaded in such a way that the belt could not come away from the pulley unless the tensioner was removed. I removed the tensioner, and while the tensioner was off, I decided to do preventive maintenance by replacing the tensioner pulley. The original tensioner pulley was a smooth surface plastic. My local dealer parts department sold me a larger diameter grooved pulley which would obviously affect the routing of the belt. Which one is correct? The original belt routing on my engine appears to agree with the serpentine belt routing diagrams found elsewhere. realfine409, Wake Forest, NC They sold you the wrong pulley.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA They must have sold you the idler pulley instead of the tensioner pulley. I didn’t think the tensioner pulley is available separate from the tensioner assembly. Also, I’ve never heard it is necessary to remove the tensioner, tensioner pulley, or any other pulley in order to replace the serpentine belt.

BigPapa, Middle TN The fan shroud design was changed with the introduction of 600ft-lb torque engines which makes it much more difficult to replace the water pump or serpentine belt. With the belt routing, it must turn 180 degrees to slip behind the tensioner. Removing the tensioner makes the job faster than trying to work around it.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA By removing the tensioner, I can see how the belt change is done in about 20 minutes as claimed by many members. realfine409, Wake Forest, NC

6.7 HPCR . . . . Continued TRANSMISSION SERVICE PROBLEM

SPIN-ON TRANSMISSION FILTER

Recently, I had my ’08 Turbo Diesel 3500 transmission filters and fluid changed. Now I have to increase the engine speed to get the truck to move and sometimes the truck tries to accelerate when applying the brakes. It acts like low fluid pressure especially when cold.

Jim Decker

While driving my ’09 Turbo Diesel 3500, the transmission quit shifting the gears properly from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, or 3rd to 4th. The engine would rev up and the transmission would shift from 1st to 4th, followed by a check engine light (CEL). I checked for diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) and found the codes for Gear 2-4 Ratio and Low Transmission Pressure. I checked the transmission fluid level, which was on the full mark and clean.

Check the filter seal first. I have seen the filter installed incorrectly by attempting to install the seal on the filter when it should be installed in the transmission first. Then slide the filter into the already installed seal.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA Most of the late model Chrysler transmissions, including the 68RFE, will lock the torque converter when the pump sucks air. As Bob suggested, check the filter O-ring, especially if it was not broken before the service. sag2, San Francisco Bay Area NO FOURTH GEAR AND CODE P0734 Recently, I changed the transmission fluid and filters in my ’07 Turbo Diesel 2500. When the transmission shifts into 4th gear, it loses power and goes into “limp home” mode. I have to rev the engine speed up to nearly 3,000rpm to get it to go 10mph. Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) P0700 is showing which didn’t tell me much, so I took it to a local mechanic and he read the transmission error code as P0734.

After reading a few posts online that suggested replacing transmission output sensor resolved the DTC P0734 problem, I ordered and replaced both the input and output speed sensors.

However, a test drive resulted in the same problem. I’m quite perplexed at how a fluid change can cause such a big problem. I’m not a mechanic, but usually oil and filter changes are not beyond my skill level. Does anyone have an idea what I could check or do to fix the problem? x74611c3 I always go back to what was the last thing I did before the problem occurred. The first thing you should do is check the transmission oil filters for proper sealing. The flat sump filter is the real suspect.

The filter must be installed correctly or it will suck air. Remove the pan again, remove the filter, and check the O-ring. Also, make sure that you removed the old O-ring.

This is the caution for the filter installation: CAUTION: The primary oil filter seal must be fully installed flush against the oil pump body.

Do not install the seal onto the filter neck and attempt to install the filter and seal as an assembly. Damage to the transmission will result.

The spin-on is pretty straightforward. Is it tight? sag2, San Francisco Bay Area

I drained the transmission fluid into a new and clean five-gallon bucket, removed the transmission pan, and discovered the spin-on transmission filter was lying on the bottom of the pan along with the threaded adapter. I replaced the two transmission filters, re-installed the transmission pan, and refilled the transmission with fluid and no more issues. What caused the spin-on filter to fall off?

BruteForce, UT The simple answer would be the spin-on filter was not installed correctly. If it was overtightened, it may have cracked the mounting nipple and that will cause it to come off again.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA I’d like to take responsibility, but I didn’t install the last set of transmission filters. I’m wondering if my off-road excursions are too much for this engine and transmission and causing the filter to fall off?

BruteForce, UT I don’t own a Fourth Generation truck, but none of my off-road friends who own them have had this happen.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA

Remove the tailgate WHAM! Factor What is the WHAM factor? The heavy-duty tailgate on your truck is made to withstand all types of loads. Unfortunately, heavy-duty often translates into just plain heavy.

If youʼve ever tried to close your tailgate while holding onto something else, or just let it down while you were distracted, gravity and the weight of the tailgate has certainly gotten your attention. WHAM! The GateGlide II for use on1994-2011 Dodge Ram trucks from Excelsior can make your tailgate feel weightless. You can close the gate with two fingers of one hand, and the same effort opens it! Easy installation and no more wham!

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For more information or to order, please visit: www.genosgarage.com or call Genoʼs Garage at 1-800-755-1715.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 33

Coverage of 2010 and newer Model Trucks.

Web Site Correspondence Edited by Bill Stockard.

REMOVE THE INTEGRATED BRAKE CONTROLLER I want to remove the factory installed Integrated Brake Controller (IBC) in my ’10 Turbo Diesel 3500 and replace the unit with an aftermarket brake controller. Do I need to do anything more than unplug it? I have found the information for adding a brake controller, but I want to remove it completely.

Stickbender Why not unplug it, see if you get a CEL, or light of some sort? If there is a light, plug it back in, and zip tie it up behind the dash out of the way, and then install the brake controller you want. If you sell your truck or find you need the controller just reinstall it.

RonD

I had this problem with my last phone which was unsatisfactory.

So far U-connect has been good with the replacement phone I have now. I notice that after I get in the truck it takes a little time to function, and if I wait, it works.

Slow Six The reason for the delay is that U-connect doesn’t store your phone book after disconnecting Bluetooth. Every time you start your truck or reconnect Bluetooth, U-connect downloads your phone book again. I wish it would give you an option to save your phone book, but U-connect is not that smart.

My ’10 Turbo Diesel works well with Galaxy S3. Before the Galaxy S3, I had an HTC Thunderbolt. U-connect did not like Thunderbolt as it would randomly drop its pairing and have to be paired again. bedroc The delay is not a problem. I had to learn to wait for it. Thanks for the information. I learned something today.

Slow Six

U-CONNECT DISCONNECTS AUTO-START HORN CHIRP

The U-connect hands-free phone in my ’12 Turbo Diesel 3500 deletes itself frequently. I have to re-pair it to my cell phone at least once a month. Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a cure?

Cummings, Vail, AZ

How do I disable the horn chirp when using the auto-start feature on my ’12 Turbo Diesel 3500?

PTuszynski, Winslow, AZ

What type of phone are you using? U-connect in my ’10 Turbo Diesel works well with my iPhone and my wife’s Blackberry.

DFitzwater, Fairbanks, AK

It is easy to do because I’ve done it to my ’12 Turbo Diesel 3500, but I don’t remember where I found the “Personal Preference” option.

It’s in the Owner’s Manual or you can “search” the setup menu.

TJJEEPER, South Central Valley, CA

I had an occasion or two where I had to re-pair my old phone.

When I replaced it with an iPhone, I haven’t had a problem. I like the feature where I can choose which device to talk with once the U-connect picked it up.

RVTRKN

Yes, it’s in the user menu and you’ll eventually find it. It’s nice to have the chirp on since the remote range on our ’11 Turbo Diesel 2500 is almost a block or more and I can’t always tell if it’s running. muchsnow, Salt Lake City, UT

I have a Samsung Galaxy S and mine did this frequently when I first got the truck. I called U-connect service and paired it manually using the menu navigator. The key was to make it the number one priority phone. Since then, I don’t have much trouble unless I use my iPod and then it will occasionally un-pair my phone. If I don’t use my iPod, there isn’t a problem.

I believe iPhones do better with pairing, as my wife has one and it never gives her any trouble with any vehicle she pairs it to. My Samsung has not been all that great with any vehicle I’ve paired it with.

Ben S

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I turned mine off since I start up at 4:00 AM and I don’t think neighbors enjoy a wake up. Go into the EVIC and somewhere there is a setting for this option.

Slow Six

FOURTH GENERATION . . . . Continued DRIVING/TOWING QUESTIONS I am a new owner of a ’12 Turbo Diesel 3500 with an automatic transmission. I previously drove a 2003 Duramax with an Allison and liked the truck, but didn’t like the injector and headgasket problems. What sold me on Ram was the Mega Cab. I will use my Turbo Diesel primarily to tow my 12,000-pound travel trailer and the truck will be loaded to its maximum gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR). I will tow 10,000 to 15,000 miles per year, spring, summer, and fall, and don’t tow over 65mph. While towing, I will use Tow/Haul and the exhaust brake. Should I tow with the transmission in fifth gear or just let it do its thing?

When not towing, I will be only using the truck for trips of 50 miles or more. Should I use the exhaust brake all the time or just when towing?

I have an Edge Insight CTS to monitor functions. What is the normal boost for such towing and is there a correlation between the Diesel Oxygen Catalyst (DOC) Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) and the manifold EGT? I plan on installing a probe at some time, but won’t be able to in the near future.

When I took delivery of my truck, it had about 175 miles on it. I have driven it locally and it now has 450 miles. It began regeneration at about 400 miles while driving on the freeway and completed it at about 430 miles which was indicated on my Edge Insight.

The variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) uses a sliding ring to move from full boost to exhaust braking. Most of us believe it is far better to use the exhaust brake all the time and occasionally use full throttle acceleration along with exhaust braking to minimize soot build up in the VGT. HBarlow, South Plains of TX I have 48,000 miles on my ’10 Turbo Diesel 2500 with zero problems. I use tow/haul for local driving and keep the exhaust brake on all of the time, except when driving in heavy rain or on snow. I also use my truck for around town driving and only once got a 80% full chime warning which was easily remedied with a ten minute drive on the highway. The downside of in town driving is I have more 4,000 mile required oil changes. However, if driving a lot of highway miles and towing, the oil change intervals are much longer.

Tryingit, Central NJ Where is this engine’s rpm “sweet spot” based upon your experience? ramduk, San Marcos, TX A horsepower and torque curve for the Cummins 6.7 Turbo Diesel, 350hp and 800ft-lb torque rating, is shown in the graph below.

Any recommendations other than major modifications will be appreciated. I will be leaving on a 3,000 mile non-towing trip in a couple of weeks. ramduk, San Marcos, TX Editor’s note: Only research will lead you to believe the saying, “Don’t worry, be happy.” So concerning the questions about EGT and diesel oxidation catalyst temperature, read Issue 72, pages 32-39; and Issue 74, pages 42-43. While you are there read all about the frequency of regeneration(s). My advice: turn the key on, start the truck, place in Drive, and enjoy the ride. Use the exhaust brake and tow/haul as dictated by the terrain. Speed up to 68mph to avoid the malice of other drivers.

When I tow our 16,000-lb GVWR fifth wheel, I turn on the exhaust brake and tow/haul and let the transmission do its own thing. The few times when I’m not towing, I’ll turn on the exhaust brake and usually tow/haul just for the more aggressive downshifting and exhaust braking, thus saving the service brakes. However, the delayed upshifts in tow/haul might cost ½-mpg fuel mileage. After over two years and more than 11,000 miles, I’ve had no problems whatsoever with the truck. Enjoy your new truck.

RustyJC, TX The more you use the truck as intended, longer highway trips and towing, the better your reliability is likely to be. Don’t use it for short local “grocery getter” trips or you could create soot build up issues.

RustyJC, Texas From my experience, 1,900-rpm is about the cleanest running engine speed.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA ADD A REAR WINDOW DEFROSTER Is it possible to add a rear window defroster to my ’12 Turbo Diesel 3500? I wish I had purchased the option.

EdGarcia Buying the glass is no problem, but it gets complicated because of the timer circuits. If you build your own timer, yes you can add it.

Bob4x4, Riverside, CA

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 35

FOURTH GENERATION . . . . Continued LUBRICATING THE FRONT DRIVESHAFT CARDEN JOINT TIP I owned a ’78 Chevy Blazer which had the same double Cardan joint configuration as the front driveshaft on our Fourth Generation Turbo Diesels.

Thanks for the information. I didn’t see the grease Zerk. I asked the dealer service department and they told me it is a sealed bearing that doesn’t need grease and I left it at that. kkelley The needle style grease adapter is a shaft about 2-inches long and about 1/8-inch in diameter with a tip pointed at about 60 degrees.

Most auto parts stores will have one. Once you locate the button to add grease, take a paint stick and mark the drive shaft with a long arrow pointing to the spot for future servicing.

RonD NO OVERDRIVE WHEN COLD In the mornings when it is cold, the automatic transmission in my ’10 Turbo Diesel 2500 will not shift from 4th gear to 5th or 6th gear.

It only happens when the engine is cold, and once it warms the problem never recurs. One sensor has been replaced because of this problem in the past. The service department can’t duplicate the issue and there are no trouble codes. Any idea of what’s going on? bob257

Over the years I have used both the tapered and the needle style grease adapters to lubricate the carden joint and both have shortcomings. The tapered style was fussy and leaked. The needle style was too easy to bend or break.

Recently, I tried a disposable 5-cubic centimeter (cc) syringe and an 18-gauge blunt needle. Wow! How simple and superior to the other systems and it only cost $3. It eliminates the need for three hands; it is small and lightweight, therefore, the needle is less likely to bend and break; and it clears under vehicle obstacles with ease.

Finally, 3 to 5-cc is the perfect amount to easily see going into the joint from the syringe. I no longer use my grease adapters. This size syringe and blunt needles are sold at Farm and Fleet, Tractor Supply Co, Rural King, etc. for use on cattle. Blunt needles for gluing applications are available online. Look for size 18-gauge or possibly 20-gauge. machine shop max, South Bend, IN

At the risk of being called a “smarty pants,” from the Owner’s Manual: “If the vehicle is started in extremely cold temperatures, the transmission may not shift into Overdrive and will automatically select the most desirable gear for operation at this temperature.

Normal operation will resume when the transmission fluid temperature has risen to a suitable level.” sag2, San Francisco Bay Area

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

Bruce Harrison’s Third Generation truck.

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Gary Halloway’s First Generation truck.

From time-to-time we are fortunate to have correspondence direct from Cummins that we can share with you. In this issue let’s discuss their online newsletter and an interesting article that they recently published about air cleaners.

Cummins publishes an online newsletter that is a free service that anyone can sign-up to receive. To do so log-on to www. cumminsengines.com/newsletter-turbo-diesel.aspx and follow the prompts.

With the oil filter able to hold only so much dirt before plugging and then bypassing, eventually the rest of the engine bearings suffer.

Editor’s note: Likely before the oil filter is plugged, the rings are too polished and compression is too far gone.

The factory-pleated paper air filter is a critical element of the air system. It is designed to balance both the flow across the filter and filtered surface area. For example, a driver who uses a particularly dusty route may have 100g of dirt ingested into his air filter. The factory filter at 99.9 percent efficiency will have allowed 0.1g of dirt through the filter and into the engine. An aftermarket cotton-gauze filter or oiled cotton-gauze filter on the other hand typically runs around 97 percent efficient. That 3 percent difference can have a big effect on the life of your engine.

At 97 percent efficiency, 3g equal 30 times more dirt sent through to the engine! This multiplication is true for the life of the filter—the oiled cotton-gauze filter will always let more dirt through.

Now, let’s compare and contrast your factory pleated paper air filter with some common aftermarket filters.

Cotton-gauze-style filters have a lower restriction when they are clean, but there are three fundamental issues with them, the first being dust-holding capacity. Due to the thickness of the material used, these filters have very low dust-holding capacity. The way in which they hold the dust means they plug up quickly, and just a small amount of dust makes the restriction increase substantially.

In their fourth-quarter 2012 newsletter the writers were intrigued by a 1950’s video on the “Effects of Dust on Your Engine.” You can review that video at the Cummins web site. It is a hoot to watch!

As an update to their findings they wrote an article, “The Importance of Using a Paper Air filter.” The article is worthy of reprinting for the TDR audience. Having “been there, done that,” I endorse their position on air filtration. At the end of this article I’ll add some insight to further substantiate their position.

From Cummins: The Importance of Using a Paper Filter Maintaining a clean air filter is very important for the life of your engine. What does dust do to an engine? Let’s follow the air as it enters the intake. First, the turbo gets hit with the dust—the blades are spinning as fast as 150,000rpm, and hitting just a small amount of dust at that speed can actually remove material from the turbo blades. Next, the piston rings and engine bore take a beating because the dust acts as an abrasive material, wearing away those two sliding surfaces. Dust can then find its way into the oil by getting past the rings against the bores of the engine.

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However, the biggest issue with cotton-gauze filters is their filtration efficiency. As mentioned earlier, restriction is based on a combination of the filtration level and the surface area. The total surface area of aftermarket filters is typically much smaller than that of the standard filters, so they manage to offer lower restriction on a clean filter by having much bigger gaps in the material, leading to much lower filtration efficiency.

Finally, oiled cotton-gauze filters are generally cleaned and reoiled at certain mileage intervals. However, the oil used in these filters is hard on the mass air flow (MAF) sensor and surrounding components. The oil tends to come off these filters as a fine mist and coat the intake systems. This leads to incorrect readings from the already-sensitive MAF sensor.

While all diesel engines are vulnerable to dust, using the recommended factory pleated paper air filter does the best job protecting your engine while balancing flow and restriction. The paper material leads to higher filtration efficiency, which will ultimately lead to a cleaner, stronger Cummins Turbo Diesel.

Cummins MidRange Engine Team

CUMMINS’ COLUMN . . . . Continued From the TDR: The Rest of the Story As recently as Issue 77 I made mention of the paper versus gauze air filters. This “Cummins Column” gives me another opportunity to share the story with you.

Back in the fall of 1999 Cummins tested the K&N filter for air flow and dirt flow. The result: Yes, they flow more air and more dirt. At the time the K&N was the number two selling item at our sister company, Geno’s Garage. As much as it could have hurt sales, the folks at Geno’s pulled the item from the shelves and no longer offer the K&N line of filters.

That is the abbreviated version, now “the rest of the story.”

From the 1999 test it is interesting to note that the K&N failed both of the Chrysler criteria for an air cleaner: dirt flow through the filter is the obvious; the not so obvious test is dirt-holding capability. In measuring dirt holding, as the term implies, the filter has to hold “x” amount in suspension before it is deemed clogged/too restrictive.

Seriously, the Cummins guy was tired of the Chrysler guy expecting that warranty claims would be paid for engines that obviously had been dusted-out.

This testing was done because . . . well, because of the Cummins video from the 1950s. Seriously, the Cummins guy was tired of the Chrysler guy expecting that warranty claims would be paid for engines that obviously had been dusted-out. The Cummins and Chrysler folks had the Cummins subsidiary company, Fleetguard “pour the dust” to the filters at their research center. As noted, the K&N filter failed both test. But, you wanted the rest of the story.

Oddly enough, the Fleetguard air filter failed the test, too.

Notice, I didn’t say the plural, “tests.” The Fleetguard met the allimportant Chrysler test for dirt filtration. It did not meet the criteria for dirt holding, effectively meaning under severe dusty conditions the filter would become restrictive quicker than allowed by the Chrysler specification. Bottom line: you would have to change the filter too often.

Looking back to the Geno’s Garage catalog of the day, the Fleetguard part number for a Second Generation ’94–’98 truck was AF25090. Geno’s had been selling the AF25090 since Catalog One in 1996. In the fall of 1999 the part number changed to AF25541.

Subsequent to all of this testing and part number supercession, the folks at Chrysler issued an “information-only” technical service bulletin (TSB) to the dealer network telling them about “Dust-out Diagnosis for Cummins Diesel Engines,” of which the latest TSB number is 09-001-10, dated July 2, 2010. A summarization of this bulletin follows:

This information-only bulletin involves proper inspection procedures to determine engine failure due to dust-out condition. Engines damaged due to infiltration of dirt and/ or debris through the air intake system are not warrantable.

This bulletin directs the technician to a document in the STAR center electronic file area. This eFile, along with the inspection and diagnosis procedures in the bulletin, show the cause/effect that occurs with improper filtration and/or upgrade kits, fuel injectors, boxes or downloader devices that increase fuel delivery.

The bulletin is carefully worded. Nowhere in the bulletin does it say that you can’t use an aftermarket cotton-gauze filter. It simply gives Chrysler and the dealer network a push-back to the customer that effectively says, “When you select a filter, you are your own warranty station.” Likewise, and this is speculation on my part, should the customer say it is a “warrantable” item from cotton-gauze filter company Airflow-is-More.com, the response from Airflow-is-More would be “Failure of air filter maintenance” caused the engine’s demise.

As I mentioned earlier in this saga, the folks at Geno’s Garage immediately pulled the K&N filter from their shelves. Shortly thereafter the cotton-gauze filter for diesels in the Mopar Performance catalog was also removed.

In the mid 2000s the folks at Geno’s grew weary of telling the cotton-gauze story to folks that were intent on purchasing a cotton-gauze filter. They added back into their catalog a sevenlayer cotton gauze filter from aFe. Then in 2007, tired of dealing with aFe’s proliferation of part numbers, they changed vendors to Airaid’s seven-layer product.

To this day the folks at Geno’s will tell you the cotton-gauze story and suggest you either stick with the stock system or focus your attention to ducting cold air to the airbox. And, not wishing to repeat stories ad infinitum that we’ve covered on the air filter, cold air intake, and the performance you should expect from these types of modifications, I will simply direct you to the coverage of the subject in Issues 56 and 59. These articles are also conveniently found at the Geno’s Garage website under “Technical Information” and then the title “Understanding Air Intake Systems,” or at the TDR’s website in the digital back issues area.

Now, if only the folks at Cummins had installed a good filter prior to the turbocharger in their 1952 diesel-powered car that sat on the pole position at the Indianapolis 500. If they had done so, they might have rewritten the history books. That engine failed at lap 71 of 200 due to rubber tire debris being ingested into the turbo.

Live and learn.

Yes, this is the “Cummins’ Column” and I found a good article about their 1952 race efforts on the internet. That article follows on pages 40-41.

Robert Patton TDR Staff

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 39

CUMMINS’ COLUMN . . . . Continued THE 1952 CUMMINS DIESEL AT THE INDIANAPOLIS 500 With the TDR always being delivered to you in May, it is fitting that we do a sidebar article on the 1952 Cummins diesel race car that raced at the Indianapolis 500.

“‘The Cummins team decided, “Let’s not draw attention to ourselves because we may have the troops up in arms,”’ Donald Davidson said. ‘Once the #28 car qualified, it would be too late, but they feared the officials may come along and change the rules.’

“What the #28 Cummins Diesel Special car had done in those four laps shocked the racing world. Fred completed the first lap in 1:04.70 for an average speed of 139.104mph, and the next three laps went as follows: 2) 1:05.12, for 136.206mph; 3) 1:05.25, for 137.931mph; 4) 1:05.78, for 136.820mph.

“The first lap was a single-lap Indy 500 record; the four-lap speed of 4:20.85 also produced a four-lap record of 138.010mph. ‘When it came time to qualify, they were ready to let all the secrets out of the bag,’ Donald said. ‘It was a major upset because the car had a Cummins diesel truck engine.’

Fred Agabashian at the wheel of the 1952 Kurtis Kraft Cummins Indy Car.

I did a Google search on “Cummins 1952 Indy Car” and came across a great article from the folks at Diesel Power magazine.

Published in their August 2008 magazine and on their web site, I carefully looked for the author’s name to give “credit where credit is due.” To no avail, I did not find the author. However, here are some quotes from Diesel Power about the car and the 1952 Indianapolis 500.

“‘We couldn’t believe our watches,’ Crew Chief Nev Reiners told the local Columbus, Indiana, newspaper, The Republic. ‘We clocked him at 139.014mph with three watches on the first lap, but we just couldn’t believe the car had gone that fast.’ Neither could nearly anyone else, including Wilber Shaw, the Indianapolis Speedway’s president and a veteran driver. This was an experimental car. It was one that few knew anything about a month or even a week before. Now, it was on the pole in the world’s most famous race.

Unlike today, where the rules are closely written to encourage close racing and great entertainment, here is the report from the events back in 1952: “The rules, written to encourage diversity, allowed for standard gasoline engines of up to 274ci, but supercharged engines were only allowed to displace 183ci. To be competitive, a diesel was allowed to displace 401ci, whether it was supercharged or not.

Cummins engineers intended to take full advantage of the rules.

“Cummins air-freighted their car to Wichita, Kansas, for aerodynamic studies at the University of Kansas. This, said Donald Davidson, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track historian, was a first for IndyCars. After aero tests, a new turbocharged 6.6L 380hp NHH engine was laid on its side in the car, five degrees from horizontal, to help drain oil from the cylinders. The result was a sleek, aerodynamic car with a huge turbocharged diesel engine. “‘They put what ended up being a turbocharger on the new diesel engine, except that it wasn’t generally called [a turbocharger] in those days,’ Donald said. ‘They put one on and it was a huge advantage. Some people referred to it as a supercharger and it was also known as a turbo supercharger. It was, in fact, a turbocharger 14 years before turbochargers started to show up on the gasoline IndyCar engines.’

“Throughout the week leading up to qualifying for the pole position, driver Fred Agabashian hinted at the possibility of something big. ‘It’s the best car I’ve ever had at the 500, and that’s saying something,’ he said the Wednesday before Pole Day.

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Freddie Agabashian and crew pose with the 1952 Indianapolis 500 pole-sitter.

“‘The Cummins diesel, along with Fred and members of his crew, have accomplished a feat in the automotive experimental field never before equaled in the history of the speedway,’ Wilber Shaw told The Republic. So now, everyone knew what a Cummins diesel could do, and not everyone liked it. “‘Cummins was actually looking at that as not just a car that went fast around the track and made a bunch of left turns, but it was looking at as a business investment, and not just for promotional value,’ Donald explained.

“Everywhere in downtown Columbus it was ‘Diesel fever.’

‘Practically every store has at least one speed symbol on display,’ the paper said. Nearly every clothing store sold checkered shoes, shirts and sweaters.

CUMMINS’ COLUMN . . . . Continued “Leading up to race day, the crew and driver weren’t particularly concerned with the tires. Although qualifying tore #28’s tires to shreds, the race-day approach would be different. The plan, Nev told The Republic, was to make one stop for tires. The car had a 50-gallon tank and averaged 10-12 miles a gallon so it could make 500 miles without fuel, but because of the tire change, Cummins planned to start the race with enough fuel for 80 laps and pit for tires and fuel then. ‘They had to run a planned race,’ Donald said, who added that this wasn’t a problem for Fred. ‘He was very good about pacing himself.’

“‘I was curious,’ Donald said. ‘It was probably the millionth time Don had been asked that question. I said, “You won the pole. Why didn’t you come back the next year?”’

“Don said, ‘We knew we had this huge engine. A lot of people weren’t very happy with us. We were convinced they would change the rules the next year. We caused such an upset by being on the pole.

“On race day, Fred’s primary concern proved valid. Nearly a third of the cars passed him early on. But after that, the 5,000 fans from Columbus had hope. The diesel was balky at the start and never led, but ‘it ran strong,’ Donald said. ‘Once he got going, he was cruising along and ran fifth for quite a while.’ And then, all of the sudden, it was over.

“Around lap 70 the car began to belch black smoke. According to an ’03 Car and Driver story on the 1952 Indy 500, the #28 car made a pit stop at the 175-mile mark. The engine was overheating. The experimental car was taken into the garage and withdrawn from the race, officially due to turbocharger failure. “‘The overheating was caused by the turbocharger,’ Donald said.

‘What Cummins did, not thinking because no one had ever run one before, was make the mistake of putting the turbocharger inlet down low behind the car’s grille. It ended up sucking rubber particles into the inlet and eventually blocked it up. The team’s engineers didn’t think about it at the time. If they had to do it over again, they would have stuck the turbo up on top of the engine. That was the car’s undoing: turbocharger failure. They were done after 71 laps.’

“Years later, Donald spoke with Don Cummins, whom he said ended up being an official at the Indy 500 for quite a number of years after his company stopped fielding cars. It was then that Donald asked the question he couldn’t help wonder about.

How they used to get them to the track in the old days.

“‘We got so much publicity. We started selling trucks like mad. We said if we come back next year with a smaller engine and we’re struggling, it’s going to tarnish the sort of groundswell we’d caused by being on the pole. Let’s quit while we’re ahead.’

“Besides, Don told Donald that day, ‘the way the people at Cummins saw it, the success or failure of the venture wasn’t measured by normal means, and it sure wasn’t determined when Fred pulled the diesel into the pits on Lap 71.’ It was measured by proving to the world a diesel engine could produce power and do something few imagined it could do, something for weeks only Fred and the Cummins team knew it could do—a secret they unveiled to the world in a little under five memorable, tire-shredding minutes on a famous track in Central Indiana. “‘The whole reason for being there was to draw attention to the fact that we were producing these engines,’ Don explained to Donald.

‘If anybody thought it was a Mickey Mouse engine, we wanted to be able to say.”Hey, the engine in your truck, this thing you can buy, sat on the pole at Indianapolis.”’”

TSBs

Frank Curtis (L) and Don Cummins (C) with Freddie Agabashian who is in driver’s seat.

Longtime TDR members know that we do an annual summary of factory technical service bulletins (TSBs) in the fall TDR magazine.

However, from time to time we receive updates from Ram and Cummins. Here are the summaries of four TSBs that have recently been released. All four of these bulletins are either revisions, updates or supersessions of previous correspondence.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 41

CUMMINS’ COLUMN . . . . Continued

CATEGORY 18 VEHICLE PEFORMANCE TSB#

MODEL

SUBJECT/DESCRIPTION

18-012-12 Rev A 11/21/12

’11 2500 (DJ) ’11 3500 (D2)

Diagnostic and system improvements.

This bulletin supersedes service bulletin 18-012-12, dated 3/19/12. This bulletin involves selectively erasing and reprogramming the engine control module (ECM) with new software. The software improvements/enhancements available for the following DTCs: • P049D – EGR control position exceeded learning limit • P0101 – Mass air flow sensor “A” circuit performance • P0191 – Fuel rail pressure sensor circuit performance • P0471 – Exhaust pressure sensor 1 performance (for cold climate/icing concerns) • P1451 – Diesel particulate filter system performance • P2000 – NOx absorber efficiency below threshold • P2002 – Diesel particulate filter efficiency below threshold (for high altitude failures) • P2195 – 02 sensor 1/1 out of range high • P2196 – 02 sensor 1/1 out of range low • P2262 – Turbocharger boost pressure not detected – mechanical • P2270 – 02 sensor 1/2 out of range high • P2271 – 02 sensor 1/2 out of range low • P241A – 02 sensor 1/1 and 1/2 oxygen concentration mismatch • P245B – EGR cooler bypass status line intermittent • P2453 – Diesel particulate filter pressure sensor a circuit performance • P2457 – Exhaust gas recirculation cooling system performance • P2609 – Intake air heater Improvements other than DTC robustness or enhancements: • Add EMP sensor value on WiTech • Improve cruise control functionality • Display correct EGR position on WiTech • Display correct Crankcase Pressure on WiTech • Display Correct alternator voltage in WiTech • Corrected CAC Outlet temperature voltage reading • Correct for OBD II Readiness for frequent regeneration monitor • Improve EVIC message regarding idle shut down (Informs driver of automatic shutdown due to excessive idle time) • WiTech turbo hysterisis test revision.

• ScanTool may report a code as stored, even though the fault has been cleared by completing a significant number of drive cycles without a repeat occurrence.

• Active codes not always displayed correctly.

• Engine derate with IOD removed. This will help prevent turbo damage due to oil thickening in cold climate start up on new vehicles in transit.

• Enhancement to reduce shift clunk at stop.

68RFE Transmission Enhancements (vehicles without 800 ft-lb of torque rating - sales code XCK ): • Power-on 4-3 downshift enhancement • Power-on 3-2 downshift enhancement • Coast down 4-3 downshift enhancement • Coast down 3-2 downshift enhancement • Wide Open Throttle 5-6 upshift control enhancement Secure bootloader software notes: If the Engine Control Module (ECM) does not have a calibration installed, or has an unapproved calibration installed then the ECM will be in a Read Only Memory (ROM) boot state. The ECM will have power but the lack of approved software will not allow the vehicle to be started and driven. A DTC U1601 set outside of the dealership with a no crank (towed in), no start condition caused by unauthorized (up-rate) software will NOT be covered under the terms of the warranty.

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CUMMINS’ COLUMN . . . . Continued

CATEGORY 18 VEHICLE PEFORMANCE...continued TSB#

MODEL

SUBJECT/DESCRIPTION

18-001-13 1/05/13

’12 2500 (DJ) ’12 3500 (D2)

Diagnostic and system improvements.

This bulletin supersedes service bulletin 18-013-12 Rev A, dated 10/30/12. This bulletin involves selectively erasing and reprogramming the Engine Control Module (ECM) with new software. The software package has improvements/enhancements available for the following DTCs: • P049D – EGR control position exceeded learning limit • P0101 – Mass air flow sensor “A” circuit performance • P0191 – Fuel rail pressure sensor circuit performance • P2000 – NOx absorber efficiency below threshold (Diagnostic improvements) • P2002 – Diesel particulate filter efficiency below threshold (for high altitude failures) • P2195 – 02 sensor 1/1 out of range high • P2196 – 02 sensor 1/1 out of range low • P2270 – 02 sensor 1/2 out of range high • P2271 – 02 sensor 1/2 out of range low • P241A – 02 sensor 1/1 and 1/2 oxygen concentration mismatch • P242F – Diesel particulate filter restriction – ash accumulation • P2453 – Diesel particulate filter pressure sensor A circuit performance • P2609 – Intake air heater Improvements other than DTC robustness or enhancements include: • Improve cruise control functionality • Display correct EGR position on WiTech • Corrected CAC Outlet temperature voltage reading • Display Correct alternator voltage in WiTech • Correct for OBD II Readiness for frequent regeneration monitor • Correct water in fuel (WIF) parameter to WiTECH • ScanTool may report a code as stored, even though the fault has been cleared by completing a significant number of drive cycles without a repeat occurrence • Active codes not always displayed correctly • Engine derate with IOD removed. This will help prevent turbo damage due to oil thickening in cold climate start up on new vehicles in transit • Scan tool readiness reporting issues • Other driveability enhancements • EGR Valve cleaning and monitoring enhancements to help reduce occurrences of P049D • Erroneous, brief brake lamp flash at key on • Improve EVIC message regarding idle shut down • Ability to read EGR valve gap on WiTECH (version 12.02) 68RFE Transmission Enhancements: • Power-on 4-3 downshift enhancement • Power-on 3-2 downshift enhancement • Coast down 4-3 downshift enhancement • Coast down 3-2 downshift enhancement • Wide Open Throttle 5-6 upshift control enhancement Secure bootloader software notes: If the Engine Control Module (ECM) does not have a calibration installed, or has an unapproved calibration installed, then the ECM will be in a Read Only Memory (ROM) boot state. The ECM will have power but the lack of approved software will not allow the vehicle to be started and driven.

DTC U1601 set outside of the dealership with a no crank (towed in), no start condition caused by unauthorized (up-rate) software will NOT be covered under the terms of the warranty.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 43

CUMMINS’ COLUMN . . . . Continued

CATEGORY 18 VEHICLE PEFORMANCE...continued TSB#

MODEL

SUBJECT/DESCRIPTION

18-005-13 1/23/13

’10 2500 (DJ) ’10 3500 (D2)

Diagnostic and system improvements.

This bulletin supersedes service bulletin 18-004-11 Rev B, dated 12/21/11. This bulletin involves selectively erasing and reprogramming the engine control module (ECM) with new software.

The software package has a number of software improvements/enhancements available that will include improved robustness for DTCs: • P2000 – NOx absorber efficiency below threshold • P1451 – Diesel particulate filter system performance • P0101 – Mass air flow sensor “A” circuit performance • P046C – EGR position sensor performance • P049D – EGR control position exceeded learning limit • P051B – Crankcase pressure sensor circuit range/performance • P2002 – Diesel particulate filter efficiency below threshold • P2262 – Turbocharger boost pressure not detected – mechanical • P2609 – Intake air heater system performance • EGR cooler bypass status line intermittent Improvements other than DTC robustness or enhancements include: • O2 Sensor cleaning cycle • Correct Charge Air Cooler (CAC) out voltage reading in WiTech • Improve idle shutdown messages • Add ability to read Exhaust Manifold Presure (EMP) sensor value in WiTech • Display correct Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) position in WiTech • Make Grid Heater off time selectable in WiTech • Display correct alternator voltage in WiTech • Turn Low Voltage Idle Up Off • Other driveability enhancements • MIL on with no DTC • Ability to read EGR valve gap on WiTECH • Erroneous, brief brake lamp flash at key on Secure Bootloader software notes: If the Engine Control Module (ECM) does not have a calibration installed, or has an unapproved calibration installed then the ECM will be in a Read Only Memory (ROM) boot state. The ECM will have power but the lack of approved software will not allow the vehicle to be started and driven.

DTC U1601 set outside of the dealership with a no crank (towed in), no start condition caused by unauthorized (up-rate) software will NOT be covered under the terms of the warranty.

CATEGORY 25 EMISSIONS CONTROL TSB#

MODEL

SUBJECT/DESCRIPTION

25-001-13 1/29/13

’07-’09 2500 (DH) ’07-’09 3500 (D1) ’10 2500 (DJ) ’10 3500 (D2)

Customer may experience MIL illumination. Further investigation by the technician may find one or more of the following DTC(s) present: • P2000 - NOX absorber efficiency below threshold - bank 1.

• P2A00 - O2 sensor 1/1 circuit performance.

• P2A01 - O2 sensor 1/2 circuit performance.

This bulletin applies to vehicles equipped with a 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engine built before August 2, 2009.

This bulletin involves verifying all service bulletins related to high sooting issues have been properly addressed, inspecting both Oxygen (O2) sensors and either cleaning the sensors or replacing sensors, and installing an O2 Sensor Shield on the exhaust pipe in the area of the front O2 sensor.

The bulletin also directs the dealer to be sure that Recall J35 has been completed.

44 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

CUMMINS’ COLUMN . . . . Continued

CATEGORY 25 EMISSIONS CONTROL...continued TSB#

MODEL

SUBJECT/DESCRIPTION

25-004-13 3/01/13

’10-’12 2500 (DJ) ’10-’12 3500 (D2)

Malfunction indicator lamp illumination due to oxygen sensor.

This bulletin applies to vehicles equipped with a Cummins 6.7-liter engine built before October 4, 2012. This bulletin supersedes bulletin 25-004-12 dated 12/18/12.

This bulletin involves replacement of the oxygen sensor connectors for any oxygen sensor related DTC. Do NOT replace any parts prior to performing this bulletin and the verifications test below.

If the vehicle has any of the following DTCs for O2 sensors, stored, pending or active, perform the repair procedure.

• P013A O2 Sensor 1/2 Slow Response - Rich To Lean (Soot related code, see note below) • P013B O2 Sensor 1/2 Slow Response - Lean To Rich (Soot related code, see note below) • P014C O2 Sensor 1/1 Slow Response - Rich To Lean (Soot related code, see note below) • P014D O2 Sensor 1/1 Slow Response - Lean To Rich (Soot related code, see note below) • P0030 O2 Sensor 1/1 Heater Circuit • P0031 O2 Sensor 1/1 Heater Circuit Low • P0032 O2 Sensor 1/1 Heater Circuit High • P0036 O2 Sensor 1/2 Heater Circuit Malfunction • P0037 O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Low 1/2 • P0038 O2 Sensor Heater Circuit High 1/2 • P0053 O2 Sensor Heater 1/1 Resistance • P0054 O2 Sensor Heater 1/2 Resistance • P064D Internal Control Module 02 Sensors Processor Performance - Bank 1 • P0131 1/1 02 Sensor Shorted To Ground • P0132 1/1 02 Sensor Shorted To Voltage • P0135 O2 Sensor 1/1 Heater Performance • P0137 1/2 02 Sensor Shorted To Ground • P0138 1/2 02 Sensor Shorted To Voltage • P0141 O2 Sensor 1/2 Heater Performance • P113C O2 Sensor Power Supply Circuit Performance • P2195 O2 Sensor 1/1 Out Of Range High • P2196 O2 Sensor 1/1 Out Of Range Low • P22AB O2 Sensor Positive Current Control Circuit/Open - Bank 1 Sensor 2 • P22AE O2 Sensor Reference Voltage Circuit/Open - Bank 1 Sensor 2 • P22B2 O2 Sensor Negative Current Control Circuit/Open - Bank 1 • P22B5 O2 Sensor 1/2 Pump Cell Current Trim Circuit Open • P2237 O2 Sensor 1/1 Pump Cell Current Circuit Low • P2243 O2 Sensor 1/1 Reference Voltage Circuit Open • P2251 O2 Sensor 1/1 Negative Current Control Circuit/Open • P2270 O2 Sensor 1/2 Out Of Range High • P2271 O2 Sensor 1/2 Out Of Range Low • P241A O2 Sensor 1/1 And 1/2 Oxygen Concentration Mismatch • P2626 O2 Sensor 1/1 Pump Cell Current Trim Circuit/Open • P2A00 O2 Sensor 1/1 Circuit Performance • P2A01 O2 Sensor 1/2 Circuit Performance • U011A Lost Communication With Exhaust Gas Sensor Module Note: Soot related codes noted above may be the result of other systems and must be validated as described in the Diesel Diagnostic Worksheet.

The repair procedure outlines that both oxygen sensor connectors should be removed and new connectors with pigtails installed. The pigtail splice points should be staggered to eliminate bulk in the harness.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 45

BITW is a forum to report on industry trends and vehicle development. Compiled/written by Robert Patton.

RAM 1500 DIESEL On Valentine’s Day we were greeted with an article about the release of Ram’s 1500 diesel pickup. In case you missed the news, here are excerpts from Automotive News that talk about the release earlier in the week.

“Chrysler announced that it will offer a diesel in the standard-duty Ram 1500 pickup in the third quarter of this year, making it the first modern half-ton pickup in the U.S. market with a diesel power option.

“Chrysler hadn’t planned to announce the diesel Ram for several months, but its hand was forced by a January 24 memo to workers at its Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michigan citing a “new diesel engine launch in July 2013.” The memo, from the plant’s human relations office and obtained by the Detroit Free Press, mentioned the diesel as one of several factors expected to make Ram 1500 a much bigger seller this year and, thus, require a 30%-plus boost in the factory’s production. Warren makes only the standard-duty (so-called half-ton) 1500, and it makes nearly all of them sold in the U.S. The memo said it would make at least 300,000 trucks this year, a record for the plant, and up from 227,000 last year.

“Ram’s internal studies show that ‘customers have been emphatically asking for this, thirsting for it, craving it,’ said Fred Diaz, CEO of Chrysler’s Ram brand in a phone interview from Mexico (Diaz is also CEO of Chrysler de Mexico).

“He wouldn’t forecast sales, but said, ‘The business case for Ram) is a positive one. This isn’t just a little side note. We plan to do good business with the diesel.’

“That’s because he thinks the pool of half-ton diesel buyers is deep.

‘This isn’t a one-and-done or a fad,’ he said.

“Being first with a standard-duty diesel pickup could attract 10,000 additional buyers the first year, more after that—if the price is right— predicts Jesse Toprak, veteran industry watcher at TrueCar.com.

“He thinks Chrysler should ‘make a big noise’ by offering the diesel at little or no price premium vs. gasoline engines.

“That would be unheard of in the truck business—and unlikely in this case. ‘We think customers will be satisfied with the value proposition’ after considering price, mileage and towing and hauling capacities, Diaz said.

46 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

“He wouldn’t comment on pricing, though, or give power and mileage ratings for the diesel. The engine will be a 3-liter turbo V-6 from Italy’s VM Motori, which has supplied diesels to Chrysler since 1992. It’s the same engine that Chrysler had said it would offer in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, starting in May. In the Jeep, the diesel is rated 240 horsepower and 420 pounds-feet of torque. By comparison, Chrysler’s well-known Hemi gasoline V-8 is rated 360hp and 390 lbs-ft in the Jeep.

“Chrysler’s move is unexpected. Industry buzz has been that Toyota or Nissan would be first with a standard-duty diesel pickup because those makers see advantages to diesels but have no heavy-duty pickups. Toyota showed its 2014 redo of the Tundra truck at the Chicago Auto Show earlier this month and no diesel is in the lineup.

Nissan’s overhauled Titan might, indeed, offer a diesel, but it’s not due until next year at the earliest.

“Ford Motor and General Motors have not disclosed any plans for half-ton diesel pickups. GM, alone among Detroit makers, plans to continue selling compact pickups for mileage-conscious and size-sensitive truck buyers.

“But it will be no surprise if other pickup makers eventually put diesels into their half-ton models, to ratchet up their mileage as federal regulations for fuel economy get tighter. Cars and trucks have to hit 54.5mpg in federal tests in 2025, which translates to about 39mpg in combined city/highway driving on the vehicle’s window sticker.

“Chrysler’s diesel supplier, VM, is half-owned by Fiat, which controls Chrysler, and half-owned by GM, which could make it also a potential source of diesels for GM’s half-ton Chevrolet Silverado and GMC sierra pickups.”

Interestingly, TDR writer Robert Schwarzli had a discussion about a 1500 diesel pickup in a meeting with Ram CEO Fred Diaz back in January 2011. Robert recounts that meeting: It caught me offguard when Mr. Diaz asked me what I thought about a 1500 with a diesel option. With hindsight being 20/20, obviously there was a plan in the works. Now, two years later, I’m thinking, “It is about time!”

What took so long for Ram to do this? It’s a no brainer! However, we all must remember that after Cerberus gave up ownership of Chrysler to Fiat, there was not much in way of new products.

Cerberus had let most future product engineers go due to cost savings. Now that Chrysler has turned the corner, the focus has shifted to the diesel option. I can’t wait to see the diesel 1500s hit the market as I feel it will be a great upgrade for consumers who want to experience the diesel torque; but do not want the weight and cost of a 2500/3500 truck.

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND . . . . Continued B-SERIES ENGINE CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF PRODUCTION February 8, 2013, marked the 30th anniversary of Cummins’ firstever B-Series engine. It was line-set at what is now Rocky Mount Engine Plant. Cummins entry into the medium-duty markets started as a joint venture with J.I. Case. The first engine line-set was a 4B which would power a Case loader-backhoe.

Cummins was known as a heavy-duty truck engine manufacturer in 1983, and the expansion to medium-duty engines was called a “bet the company” move by CEO Henry Schact at the time.

Since 1983, Cummins has produced more than 11.5 million B-Series engines (Editor’s note: 2 million of the total were Dodge engines.) and the business is a terrific success story for the company. The pursuit of new customers for the B and C Series engines led to the deal with Chrysler to power the Ram pickup truck and helped create the Distributor OEM business as we know it today. The B-Series engine was also one of the main catalysts for Cummins global growth, as the foundation for partnerships with industry leaders such as Tata in India and DongFeng in China. The manufacturing footprint has grown to include 14 plants, including several significant joint venture operations around the world.

The development of this business required incredible persistence through many difficult business cycles, and at times also required an appropriate level of patience,” said Dave Crompton, Vice President, HMLD Engine business. “It’s exciting to take a moment today to celebrate this occasion, reflect on the lessons learned through that journey, and to look forward with confidence as we plan and execute the future growth opportunities in the heavy, medium and light-duty markets.”

GM’S SMALL DIESEL – PRICE PREMIUM $3000 These excerpts from Automotive News 2/11/13 tell us that the folks at General Motors are entering the small car, diesel powered market: “With the Volkswagen Jetta TDI in its sights, Chevrolet unveiled the Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel at the Chicago Auto Show last week.

“Chevrolet executives have modest expectations for General Motors’ first diesel car sold in the United States since the 1980s.

“Production will start in April with the first cars on sale in June. The Cruze diesel initially will be sold in 13 markets and later nationwide.

“The U.S. Car will have a sticker price of $25,695, including shipping, about $8,000 more than a base Cruze LS. “The price gap is partly because the diesel will come only in the Cruze’s second-highest trim level, 2LT, which offers heated leather seats and 17-inch aluminum wheels. The diesel version is about $3,000 more than a Cruze 2LT, which has a 1.4-liter turbo gasoline engine.

“The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder common-rail diesel is combined with a six-speed Aisin automatic transmission. GM uses a version of the engine to power several European market vehicles.

“The U.S. version cranks out 148hp and 258 pounds-feet of torque.

The same engine in Europe produces about 163hp, but GM engineers retuned it because of stricter U.S. emissions regulations. “‘We hope to exceed 42mpg highway, but the testing is not complete yet,’ he said. A 42mpg rating would match the Jetta TDI.”

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 47

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND . . . . Continued TOWING STANDARDS In Issue 75, page 64, I was pleased to report that the pickup truck manufacturers were working with the Society of Automotive Engineers to develop a standard test for truck towing capability and payload rating.

The test was/is known as standard J2807. The test criteria was first published in 2008 and then revised in 2012. The test used a route in the Davis Dam/Kingman, Arizona area. The purpose of J2807: “The J2807 standard seeks to add clarity to the truck manufacturer’s claims of ‘a truck can tow this and haul that.’”

We also reported that “according to Car & Driver magazine, ‘Ford, General Motors, Ram and Toyota have agreed to adopt J2807 for the 2013 model year, and Nissan will soon follow.’”

Back in September at the 2013 Ram Turbo Diesel introduction I asked the Ram folks about the truck’s forthcoming tow and haul numbers, “Were the numbers derived using SAE J2807?” I received both “yes” and “no” answers. As best as I could determine, the explanation for the waffling was something like watching the kids at the swimming pool looking up at the high dive, “no, no, no—you go first.”

So, who will be the first to take the high dive?

“Chrysler Group, General Motors, and segment leader Ford Motor Co. have backed away from their commitments to test their pickups in compliance with the standard. Like Cold War superpowers, they cite a distrust that their competitors will reciprocate among the reasons to delay their agreement from four years ago.

“Rollout of the new towing standard jumped out to an early start in 2010, when Toyota Motor Corp. introduced the 2011 Tundra with tow ratings determined under the new standard. Tundra tow ratings dropped by as much as 400 pounds between the 2010 and 2011 model years, or about 4 percent.

“A redesigned 2014 Tundra was introduced last week at the Chicago Auto Show and also complies with the towing standard, a Toyota spokesman said.

“GM was next up in the pickup product development cycle. Last year it prepared to adopt the new standard for its 2013 model Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, even though it had redesigned pickups planned for the 2014 model year. GM faced the prospect of seeing tow ratings drop on its 2013 models with no mechanical changes to the pickup. But GM was prepared to implement the change anyway.

“Then, just as GM prepared to launch the 2013 pickups, Ford announced that it would implement the new standard only as it launched new or redesigned vehicles. That meant the tow ratings on the 2013 F-150 would remain unchanged.

“Caught flat-footed by Ford’s move, GM scrambled to pull back marketing materials and even reprint owners’ manuals to un-adopt, temporarily, the standard it had adopted.

“The Ram 1500 was re-engineered for the 2013 model year and went on sale at Chrysler Group dealerships last fall. Under the original plan, the new Ram’s towing ratings should comply with the SAE standard.

So, who will be the first to take the high dive?

I don’t know. Perhaps you can get a feel for the posturing from these excerpts from an Automotive News article written by Larry Vellequette in their 2/11/13 issue, titled “Pickup Truck Towing Standard Isn’t Standard”: “Automakers often brag about the towing abilities of their pickups, encouraging shoppers to believe that their vehicles could safely pull almost anything.

“They are also highly dubious. All but one pickup manufacturer refused to follow standardized towing-capacity tests they all agreed four years ago to adapt for 2013 models—test procedures that would lower the towing capacity ratings they now claim.

“The years-long industry effort to develop a voluntary, verifiable, common towing standard is stuck—trapped by automakers afraid to disarm unilaterally in the middle of a pitched pickup PR battle.

“The SAE’s J2807 towing test standard, adopted by automakers in 2009 and scheduled to go into effect for all pickups in the 2013 model year, now is being followed in the segment only by Toyota.

48 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

“They don’t, said Mike Cairns, chief engineer and vehicle line executive for Ram pickups. “‘The test procedures and test requirements, we did use,’ Cairns explained, saying that any adjustment that would need to be made on the 2013 Ram’s towing claims would be small. But even though Chrysler had the means and opportunity to follow the standard, it lacked motive, thanks to its crosstown rivals at Ford and GM. “‘The Ford and GM Chevy guys have the majority of the market,’ Cairns said. ‘We’re following the big guys’ lead in the marketplace on this.’

“The failure to implement the J2807 towing standard once again highlights the problems the industry has in regulating itself.”

“The failure to implement the J2807 towing standard once again highlights the problems the industry has in regulating itself.”

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND . . . . Continued TOWING STANDARDS – PART TWO, WHY DO WE CARE? MORE CONFUSION Buried in the Automotive News article about the kids at the swimming pool and the high dive was a paragraph that might make the SAE J2807 a moot point for the “bigger than 1/2 ton” pickup trucks.

Quoting from AN:

At www.rambodybuilder.com I found the following approximations.

(I use the word approximation because there are so many cab/bed/ transmission/gearing combinations that have specific numbers versus the average/approximate number that I’ll cite using a close look at the charts.)

2012

2013

Consumer Pickup 2500

9,000+

10,000+

3500 SRW

10,000+

10-11,000+

3500 DRW

12,000+

14,000+

“The towing standard also applies to other classes of vehicles that can be used for towing—including cars and SUVs—as long as the vehicle and its onboard payload weigh less than 13,000 pounds.

“The 13,000-pound weight ceiling means most heavy-duty pickups—the primary vehicles used to haul big trailers—are excluded. Interestingly, when it was first agreed to in 2007, the standard’s weight cutoff was 16,000 pounds but was lowered specifically to keep most heavy-duty pickups exempt.”

3500 SRW

10,200+

10,200+

3500 DRW

13,000+

13,000+

4500/5500

15,000+

15,000+

Cab and Chassis*

*no real change from 2012 to 2013

When I read the AN news about the 13,000 pound ceiling I thought, “That does not apply to the consumer 2500/3500 pickups: ours do not have a gross weight rating that big. Right?”

Conclusion: I don’t have a conclusion other than to say we may never see the J2807 as it applies to our trucks.

Time for some investigation. If you go to the factory’s website, www.ramtrucks.com you’ll get bogged-down in sales stuff. Go to www.rambodybuilder.com for technical data on hauling and towing.

Conclusion: I don’t have a conclusion other than to say we may never see the J2807 as it applies to our trucks.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 49

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND . . . . Continued EMISSIONS, AGAIN – LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Mr Editor, I thought it would be interesting to your readers to have a perspective on exactly what the state of air pollution is in these United States, given the, shall we say, enthusiastic interest by our friends in the federal EPA, California Air Resources Board (CARB), and like-minded folks, in tail-pipe emissions from the trucks we drive.

First, I really enjoyed the article in TDR in Issue 74, pages 66-69, on driving the White Rim Trial in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. What fun that must be for those willing to risk a little (or a lot?). But you can forget doing it if you have a diesel particulate filter (DPF)! Five miles in, and 90 miles to go, and you get a “regenerate now” command with engine derating on its way. Now how would I know that?

This restriction on vehicle use must be tough on ranchers, miners, and oil and gas folks out west who have to drive many miles on inhospitable roads.

We often have in the TDR magazine discussions of how emissions are reduced from our vehicles, most currently in the “Blowin’ In The Wind” article of Issue 78. There on page 43 we have a good discussion of the changes to the 2013 Dodge 2500/3500, including changes to emissions control. We find that these trucks will “...operate cleaner by lowering greenhouse-gas emissions and better managing soot production than previous NOx adsorber technology.” Practically every TDR issue addresses emissions control, whether it be cost of repairs to EGR, DPF, etc., maintenance procedures, effects on drivability, or how Dodge and its competitors expect to meet planned tightening of regulations.

We all know the pollution control equipment on our trucks costs a lot, adding several thousands of dollars to the cost of a vehicle.

And then, of course, operating and maintenance costs go up too.

Questions need to be asked. What do we as a nation and we as individuals, who of course want to breathe clean air, get for that expense?

EPA used to pay some attention to cost and cost-effectiveness when establishing new regulations. Now, I believe that concern has waned somewhat. Don’t you know, there’s a massive bureaucracy to feed, and what better way to keep workers busy than to keep ratcheting up regulations.

So, how effective are these pieces of equipment we are required to have on our vehicles? Is it important that they are there? Are they materially improving our nation’s air? These may be questions to ponder when considering installing or deleting certain equipment on your truck. It’s a personal choice, with potential repercussions.

You know what they are; the article that gives you the sordid details is found in Issue 78, pages 40-41.

But I just wanted to give you some information on air pollution in this country to put it in perspective.

50 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

But I just wanted to give you some information on air pollution in this country to put it in perspective.

First, what exactly is the state of our nation’s air? From press reports, and the constant drumbeat of environmentalists, and, frankly, from the all too casual and seemingly harmless pollution references in more neutral publications, such as TDR (for example, the 2013 Dodge 2500/3500 will “lower greenhouse-gas emissions”), we can only conclude that we have a very serious problem with air pollution in this country, and that it must be getting worse as population expands and as new problems come to light, like supposed man-caused global warming, or climate change if you prefer the more fuzzy, deceptive term.

Let’s look at the state of the nation’s air quality. For decades now, the EPA has been measuring all the major pollutants in our air, and the results are there for all to see. But the good results don’t fit the media’s narrative, so it’s never reported.

The EPA, in addition to measuring actual pollutant levels in our air, have established maximum limits of those pollutants that are allowed in the air in order to protect human health. If pollutant concentrations in the ambient air are below those limits, we have good air quality.

So, what has been happening to air quality over the decades that EPA has been measuring it, and how do today’s levels of air pollution compare with the levels that EPA says is healthful?

One compound EPA has not measured, nor set a healthful limit for in ambient air, is carbon dioxide. (I won’t call it a pollutant because it’s not.) Let’s leave for another day a big discussion on global warming. But, suffice it to say, we exhale CO2, plants grow better with more CO2, more people die from a cold climate than warm one, and CO2 is a gas that helps keep a blanket on the earth to keep it warm and inhabitable. Water vapor contributes far more to the greenhouse gas effect (but it’s not regulated for some reason - perhaps it’s too hard to demonize water) and the Hadley Center of the UK Meteorology Office, a premier agency measuring global temperatures (and one that has pushed the idea of global warming), says there has been no warming now for 15 years. But as I said, let’s leave CO2 for another day.

EPA measures six major and serious pollutants. They are: carbon monoxide, ground-level ozone (not the high level ozone that protects us from radiation from the sun), lead (think of lead as a surrogate measurement for other trace metal pollutants), nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.

I’m going to provide links to EPA websites that provide graphs showing the trend of pollutant levels over time, and that show the level of that pollutant that EPA says protects human health. These graphs are very important and should be understood by everyone!

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND . . . . Continued Carbon monoxide http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/carbon.html Ground-level ozone http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/ozone.html Lead http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/lead.html Nitrogen dioxide http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/nitrogen.html Particulate matter http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/pm.html Sulfur dioxide http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/sulfur.html These data represent national averages. Now of course, levels of pollution vary by region, and some regions can have a more severe problem due to population density, topography, and meteorology.

Los Angeles is the poster child for this.

But what do these data tell us?

Let’s first look at carbon monoxide. EPA’s data tells us that the nation as a whole, on average, has been meeting the EPA standard for healthy air, with respect to carbon monoxide, since 1980! It tells us the trend has been steadily improving since 1980, and today that the nation’s air is a little over 20% of the level that EPA says is healthful. Wow, that’s great news and very impressive!

Now for ground-level ozone. EPA’s data shows that the trend since 1980 has been steadily improving as well, and now the country’s air is approximately equal to the level the EPA says is healthful.

More great news!

In the case of lead, ambient air concentrations have decreased 89% since 1980, and we are now as a nation meeting EPA’s standard for healthy air. The hits keep on coming!

Nitrogen dioxide concentrations have decreased steadily since 1980 as well, by a total of 52%. We are now as a nation about 20% of the maximum nitrogen dioxide concentration that EPA says is healthy. Another heck of a performance! Imagine that, we could have 5 times the nitrogen dioxide in our air and EPA would still consider it healthful.

Let’s look at particulate matter, measured as so-called PM-10 (particles that are less than 10 microns in size), you know, those things for which we must have a diesel particulate filter. Since 1990, there has been a steady decrease in PM10 in our air, so that we are now about 33% of the maximum level that EPA says is healthful. I’m starting to get the feeling we have very clean air, and it’s getting cleaner!

Now for sulfur dioxide. Go ahead and guess. You’re right! Sulfur dioxide levels in our air have gotten steadily lower, down 83% since 1980, so that we are now 7% of the maximum level that EPA says is healthful. Wow, let’s get even lower sulfur fuel so that we can get to 6.999% of EPA’s maximum healthful level! That sure would be money well spent.

There you have it, an across the board encouraging picture of where we have come from and where we are today with respect to our nation’s air. It is an overwhelmingly positive story!

The final question to put this all in a perspective that is relevant to readers of TDR, is what fraction of the nation’s air pollution emissions are caused by vehicles like our 2500/3500’s? Given the excellent and improving state of air, and given that EPA keeps adding cost to, and compromising the drivability of our vehicles, I think it’s a good question.

It turns out that it’s not easy to find this data from EPA (not for lack of EPA budget, I assure you), so what I’ve done is use data from CARB as a surrogate, or rough estimator, of what the national picture would be. In other words, I’m assuming the California distribution of vehicles (i.e., gas engine cars, buses, heavy duty diesel trucks, motorcycles, etc.) and their relative total annual pollutant contributions give a reasonable idea of what is happening nationally.

So what does CARB data tell us about the contribution of pollution by our Dodge 2500/3500’s (and similar Ford and GM models)? Let’s take it pollutant by pollutant.

Our trucks emit about 0.08 percent of the total national emissions of carbon monoxide.

Our trucks emit about 1.6 percent of the total national emissions of nitrogen oxides.

Our trucks emit about 0.02 percent of the total national emissions of sulfur dioxide.

Our trucks emit about 0.02 percent of the total national emissions of particulate matter.

Please note that in using the term above, “total national emissions,” I mean all emissions of that pollutant from all possible sources, including so-called stationary sources like power plants and factories, mobile sources of pollution like cars, trucks, boats, etc., both on and off-road, and all other man-related activities you can think of. It also includes natural sources of pollution like forest fires, gases from swamps, etc., which are huge sources of pollution on their own.

Please note that emissions of lead are not cataloged by CARB, so I have no data available to me.

Also, ozone, for which EPA has a national air quality standard (see above) is not emitted directly by vehicles, but rather forms in the atmosphere by the reaction of organic compound emissions and nitrogen oxides. I’ve presented the data for nitrogen oxides above.

For emissions of organic compounds, our trucks emit about 0.03 percent of the total national emissions.

It is an overwhelmingly positive story!

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 51

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND . . . . Continued Here are some other fun facts to put this in more perspective.

• Particulate emissions from farming, construction, roads (paved and dirt), windblown dust, and fires, things we have little control over, are approximately 4000 times that from our trucks. (Many of the fires in the West are set intentionally by the Forest Service, so-called controlled burns, some of which get out of control!)

• Recreational boats put out about the same amount of nitrogen oxides as our trucks.

• Landfills put out almost 700 times the organic compound emissions (reduced by our catalytic converters, and which along with nitrogen oxides produce smog) as our trucks.

• Cooking (home cooking, deep fat fryers at restaurants, charbroiling, etc) produces almost 60 times the particulate emissions as our trucks. How soon before we have a DPF on our home grills?

ABOUT CONTRIBUTOR BOB LARKIN So how do I know this stuff? I am now retired from my career as an environmental consultant, having specialized in air pollution control since the early 1970’s. One firm I worked for did R&D/ consulting with government agencies, including the Department of Energy, the EPA, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Among other projects, I helped the EPA develop air pollution emissions standards for nitrogen oxides from gas turbine electric generating stations. Back then I believe we were doing some good; now I believe the problems are largely (not totally, of course) solved. But there is a massive bureaucracy to feed, and the current ideology at the top leads to a feeding frenzy.

Now, in semi-retirement (I have a small woodworking business) my wife and I spend our time venturing deep into the wilderness of the great American Southwest in our modified ’09 2500, with our Outfitter Apex truck camper.

It makes you wonder how regulatory agencies pick their targets.

In summary, our trucks are a very small part of the total air pollution loading nationally. But more importantly, we have very clean air that is meeting, or is well below the level that EPA says is healthy.

Now, how is that for something to consider?

Bob Larkin Santa Fe, NM Editor’s note: What does an official who regulates do when there is nothing to regulate?

Bob presents an interesting look at the boondoggle that we consumers face. And, while I’d like to consider that the exhaust from our trucks is clean and use that logic to “tune it up” for more power, we all know that logic doesn’t always equate to what is right according to the laws by which we are governed.

If you want to read more about this big old emissions and regulations puzzle, turn to “Backfire,” page 122.

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

Michael Carter’s First Generation truck.

52 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

Richard MacPherson’s Fourth Generation truck.

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND . . . . Continued IMPRESSIONS OF THE JEEP 3.0-LITER DIESEL 2014 3.0-Liter EcoDiesel First Drive - in a Grand Cherokee As you know by now, there is going to be a new addition to the Turbo Diesel family. The 2014 Ram 1500 pickup will be offered with a 3.0-liter V-6 diesel in the third quarter of this year. That’s a long time to wait, but I did have an opportunity to drive the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with this engine.

In a 4x4 Grand Cherokee Summit, the new top-end trim level, I drove a 120-mile route out of Austin into Texas Hill Country. It idles quietly on start-up in park, idles up in gear and gets a little louder.

It growls a bit on acceleration, but I don’t think any Turbo Diesel owner would think anything of the noise. My driving buddy for the day, Tony Swan of Car and Driver fame, thought it was definitely not the quietest diesel he’d ever driven. Either way, it was quiet at a steady cruise. The engine felt smooth, too. Chrysler says that using a 1-4-2-5-3-6 firing order precludes the need for balance shafts.

While accurate fuel mileage measurements were not taken, the average mpg display hovered in the low to mid-20s in combined, though predominately, highway driving.

It’s a nice combo with the new ZF eight-speed automatic, which the Ram 1500 diesel will also get. Of course, I haven’t driven this engine without it, but it makes a huge difference in refinement for the gas V-6. Upshifts are almost undetectable, though you do feel it going down when coming to a stop. Another benefit of the eightspeed is that it increases the crawl ratio by 46 percent, according to Ray Durham, vehicle line executive for rear-wheel drive SUVs. We got to test this out on an off-road course, where it made easy work out of a 38-degree rock face.

The 3.0-liter V6 to be offered in the 2014 Jeeps and Ram 1500.

The engine is sourced from VM Motori in Italy, a company currently owned 50/50 by Fiat and General Motors. VM was founded in 1947, and Chrysler has used VM engines since the early 1990s, primarily four-cylinders for minivans and Jeep products for overseas markets.

You may also remember the 2005-2007 Jeep Liberty which was sold here; that was a VM engine. Sales were discontinued because it did not meet the ’07.5 emissions standards.

Specific details for the Ram installation are still few. In the Jeep, the new V-6 is 50-state emissions compliant, as well as Tier 2, bin 5 and ULEV II, with water-cooled EGR and urea aftertreatment.

It’s rated at 240 horsepower at 3600 rpm and 420 ft-lb of torque at 2000rpm. It gives the Grand Cherokee a stated towing capacity of 7200 pounds in a 4x4 and 7400 in a 4x2. Mileage is rated 22 city/30 highway in 4x2 models, and 21 city/28 highway in 4x4s.

Specs show a 350 to 450 pound weight increase over the gas V-6, depending on trim level and configuration. Tow ratings are 1000 to 1200 pounds higher for the diesel than the gas V-6.

2014 RAM 1500.

A Ram 1500 weighs more or less the same as a Grand Cherokee.

Interestingly, the 2013 Ram 1500 with the gas V-6 and 8-speed is rated one mile per gallon higher in the city than the Grand Cherokee, and the same on the highway. So, could we potentially see 30mpg out of a 4x2 Ram 1500 diesel? The V-6 Rams are rated 6300-6500 towing with a 3.55 axle. Diesel and gas V-6 Grand Cherokees get a 3.45, so we should see a few hundred pound bump in towing capacity for the Ram 1500 as well.

We’ll see how people like having to replace diesel exhaust fluid.

Durham said eight gallons will last 10,000 miles. Yes, you can fill it yourself. No, it won’t restart if you run out. They say it gives plenty of warning. I don’t think anyone will pass on this diesel because of noise, refinement or fuel mileage. However, it’s a $4500 option ($5000 on Summit 4x4s for some reason) so it may be difficult to make the economic equation work.

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Andy Mikonis TDR Writer

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 53

THE GOOD AND BAD OF BIODIESEL

by John Martin Robert asked me to write an article about biodiesel fuels so you can better understand what environmental activists and government legislators are doing to you and your truck. At least biodiesel has some good points—corn-based ethanol has virtually none. But, that is a different subject for a different day. Let’s begin this article by defining biodiesel.

Biodiesel is used to describe diesel fuels produced using vegetable oils or animal fats as starting points. The starting materials are oils which are processed to remove impurities such as dirt, water, charred food, etc. The refined oils (often called lipids) are then reacted with alcohols such as ethanol and methanol to produce long-chain fatty-acid esters. (Don’t you just love chemistry?)

This process is often referred to as transesterification. Watch your mouth!

I’d draw you some fancy chemical diagrams, but Robert said he wouldn’t print them. Just know this: Biodiesel isn’t a bad thing like ethanol!

Biodiesel is not new. Transesterification of vegetable oil was conducted as early as 1853 by scientists Duffy and Patrick before the first diesel engine was ever produced. In fact, Rudolf Diesel’s first engine ran on biodiesel produced from peanut oil in August of 1893. But no one was very interested in biodiesel when petroleum diesel fuel was readily available and extremely inexpensive.

Scientists became interested in biodiesel in the mid ’70s when the US was undergoing shortages caused by the 1973 oil embargo.

Their objective was to develop biodiesel fuels to reduce our dependence on oil imported from the Middle East. Europe actually led the way (Europe pays four times as much for fuel as we do!) by producing biodiesel made from rapeseed oil.

Environmentalists then noticed that biodiesel actually reduced carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), and particulate matter (PM) emissions from 10 to 25%, depending on test conditions. At this point biodiesel became a valuable tool in the environmentalists’ continual fight against Big Oil. It is interesting to note that biodiesel has no significant effect either way on oxides of nitrogen (NOX) emissions (California’s favorite bad exhaust emission). For a look at real-world biodiesel emissions you can see the data from Cummin Marine on an engine back in TDR Issue 56.

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Rather than make everyone search for an old magazine, in Issue 56 I cited data from Power and Motoryacht magazine where Cummins Marine had tested a B20 blend in a Cummins QSB 380 HO (B-series, 375 horsepower) diesel engine. The tests were performed at Cummins Marine’s facility in Charleston, SC, and the results were favorable.

NOX (oxides of nitrogen): 3.1% higher for B20 NC (hydrocarbons): 10% lower for B20 CO (carbon monoxide): 14% lower for B20 PM (particulate matter): 14% lower for B20 These findings closely parallel data published by the National biodiesel board. Smog and ozone-forming NOX emissions generally increase with biodiesel fuel (topping out at approximately ten percent for B100), but all other parameters decrease substantially. Moreover, and in keeping with the data we recorded, Cummins Marine found that brake-specific fuel consumption and maximum rated power were virtually identical.

The conclusion that I reached (timeframe February ’07) from the information presented, “I will wait for a national biodiesel standard that is agreed upon, implemented and enforced.”

For the record, the standards for biodiesel use/blending were adopted and approved. We reported this in our Issue 62, magazine, page 48.

Then along comes Al Gore. You remember Al, the inventor of the internet, and the world’s largest proponent of global warming. One of the key constituents of global warming is the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Since all biofuels (including the dreaded ethanol) are derived from plants, they contain virtually no carbon.

This means they don’t contribute to CO2 emissions when burned.

Now the environmental activists were in heaven! Wow, biodiesel reduces almost all exhaust emissions and directly cuts into Big Oil’s sales and profits!

Whoa, Red Ryder. The thing to remember here is that the scientist (who relies on logic instead of emotion) realizes that to properly evaluate a new fuel’s effect on the environment, one must consider not only the emissions associated with burning of these fuels, but the emissions associated with manufacturing those fuels and planting and cultivating the crops needed to produce those fuels. Biodiesel still looks viable after complete life-cycle analysis (ethanol actually increases greenhouse gas emissions slightly), so it gives the US an important quiver in the arsenal to make us energy independent. That’s a good thing!

TECHNICAL TOPICS . . . . Continued Biodiesel has many good points: • • • • • • • •

Reduced CO emission Reduced HC emissions Reduced PM emissions Reduced global warming Better lubricating properties than ULSD Higher Cetane ratings than today’s ULSD Higher flash point than ULSD Lower vapor pressure than ULSD

In addition, since biodiesel contains only 9% less energy than diesel fuel, biodiesel blends don’t adversely affect fuel economy as much as ethanol. A 20% biodiesel blend should reduce fuel economy by no more than 2%. Biodiesel has virtually no sulfur content, so when blended with diesel fuel, it allows the fuel blender to use less costly lubricity additives (which contain high concentrations of sulfur) thereby reducing the total sulfur content of the diesel fuel.

Sulfate emissions (another exhaust emissions bad guy) are directly proportional to fuel sulfur content.

As my old British friend Clive Andrews would say, “All singing, all dancing!” However, the guy upstairs didn’t make life all that simple.

Biodiesel also has some less desirable properties: • • • • • • • •

Poor low-temperature performance Easily contaminated by water (hygroscopic) Poor oxidative stability (injector deposits) More solvency than ULSD Degrades natural rubbers Degrades PVC plastics Dissolves polystyrene plastics Slowly affects brass, cast iron lead, tin, and zinc

Biodiesel is best used in blends with diesel fuel so the relatively poor low-temperature performance can be dealt with by adding anti-gellation additives to the fuel. Biodiesel blends are defined as follows: • • •

Straight biodiesel (B100) 20% biodiesel, 80% diesel fuel (B20) 5% biodiesel, 95% diesel fuel (B5)

You get the drift here. B100 can only be used where ambient temperatures are high, fuel filtration is excellent, and fuel injector deposits aren’t a concern, like a battle tank in the Middle East, where the average service life is less than 100 hours. Biodiesel blends are better for most operating conditions where service life is important.

Most engine manufacturers (OEMs) restrict biodiesel usage to no more than 20% to protect their equipment under warranty. The American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM) has issued a stringent product specification (ASTM D7467) to define B6 to B20 biodiesel blends, thereby regulating product quality. Biodiesel blends below 6% and above 20% aren’t subject to such stringent specifications, and some problems have arisen as a result.

What are the government’s requirements for the use of biodiesel fuels? Oddly enough, the Federal government doesn’t require you to use any biodiesel. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 required biodiesel producers to make 800 million gallons of biodiesel per year through 2012. For 2013 President Obama has upped the requirement to 1.28 billion gallons per year. When you consider the US uses over 50 billion gallons of diesel fuel per year, this isn’t a very stringent requirement (2.56%). And, since biodiesel usage in the US has traditionally been lower than anticipated, several US biodiesel producers have been guilty of exporting much of their biodiesel production to Europe where selling prices are higher. Europe recently initiated a tariff to stop this practice since it was competing against their home grown rapeseed products.

Recently President Obama also proposed that the Federal government give tax credits of 50% of the additional cost of purchasing natural gas or electric vehicles, but this hasn’t yet passed through the necessary chairs. I get a little nervous when the Federal government helps me decide what vehicles to purchase. I keep remembering the US Post Office and the Cash for Clunkers program. The Post Office has lost billions of our tax dollars for years, and instead of cleaning up their operation, they just continually hit us up for more money. When did the Federal government prove it can run any kind of business?

Biodiesel usage requirements vary by state. Minnesota requires the blending of at least 5% biodiesel into every gallon of ULSD. Oregon also requires the use of B5. Pennsylvania and Washington require the use of B2 or higher diesel fuels. I could find no other current state requirements to utilize biodiesel fuels. Biodiesel usage appears to have slowed considerably. Initially the government gave a $1 per gallon subsidy to fuel manufacturers to blend biodiesel into ULSD. Ethanol blenders got the same tax break. Now that everyone has finally realized that biofuels are causing food prices to rise, the Federal government has quit giving fuel marketers that tax break. Since biodiesel is somewhat more expensive to produce than ULSD, refiners have quit looking for biodiesel to blend into their fuel. Ethanol survives only because it is cheaper to produce than gasoline.

Now let’s take a little side trip. When Europeans started studying biodiesel in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, they chose rapeseed as the plant to make their feedstock with. I don’t really know why.

US biodiesel researchers quickly chose to make their biodiesel feedstock from soy beans. Another choice I don’t completely understand, but large agribusiness (Acher/Daniels/Midland, and Con-Agra) lobbies definitely had considerable influence on our choice. Both of these feed stocks require arable land (there are a total of 470 million acres available in the U.S.) normally used for the production of crops, mostly for food for both cattle and people. If we produce more biodiesel from soy beans, we increase our nation’s food costs. If all the arable land in the U.S. were used to raise soy beans, the resultant biodiesel produced would approximately replace our total annual diesel fuel usage, but think what our food would cost! The U. S. uses 25% of the petroleum in the entire world. Therefore, biodiesel is only a part of the energy independence solution.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 55

TECHNICAL TOPICS . . . . Continued Butterfat, beef tallow, lard, and coconut and palm oils can all be used to produce more oxidatively stable biodiesel than either rapeseed oil or soy beans (less injector tip deposits). Whereas biodiesel from rapeseed oil produces greenhouse gases (GHG) approximately 50% lower than diesel fuel, biodiesel produced from waste animal fats reduces GHG by 85%. Unfortunately, due to a lack of good collection procedures, there is insufficient used animal fat being collected to replace biodiesel made from soy beans. Efforts are currently being made to significantly improve the collection process, but experts all seem to agree we can never collect sufficient animal fat and used cooking oils to meet our total biodiesel needs.

Perhaps the brightest spot on the biodiesel feed stock horizon is algae. That’s right—pond scum. It turns out that algae contains 30 times more oil than land crops per acre, according to the Department of Energy (DOE). Additionally, algae can be grown on scrub land not suitable for farming, so it won’t compete with our food supply. Algae will grow on waste cooling tower water from industrial plants. CO2 can actually be used to feed algae. Scientists are currently devoting a lot of time and energy into developing costeffective procedures to produce high-quality biodiesel from algae since it doesn’t require farm land or even fresh water. Pond scum could well be our future!

So how does the average TDR reader deal with biodiesel fuels?

Let’s talk concentration first. Don’t use anything over B5 if you operate your vehicle in the northern tier of states. Cold temps and biodiesel are the perfect recipe for disaster since fuel additives can’t always prevent gelling of the fuel at low temperatures. In fact, the state of Minnesota recently backed off from their regulation requiring that all diesel fuel be B5. You can use as much as B20 biodiesel if you operate in the South. Use your own judgment in places like Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. I heard that Illinois gives a tax break to those who use more than B10, but I have been unable to confirm that. Make sure the biodiesel you are using meets the ASTM D7467 specifications.

Since biodiesel has significantly greater solvency than ULSD, change all the fuel filters in your fuel supply system after a short period (one month max) of biodiesel usage to remove all the material the biodiesel will flush off the walls of the fuel lines and your tank. Definitely change fuel filters before the cold weather hits. It is also a good idea to carry new, unused filters in your truck in case you run into gellation plugged filters during a cold snap while out on the road.

SIDEBAR SO HOW ‘BOUT 100% BIODIESEL Okay, I’m glad that you asked. I’ve been saving-up for this question.

As we are all aware, biodiesel is a good solvent and it will degrade some of the polymer materials used in seals, gaskets and fuel lines.

So, that’s reason number one not to use 100% biodiesel.

Reason two: This one is easy, too, a 100% bio fuel would goo-up at the freezing mark of 32°.

Reason three: Even with the ASTM specifications that were adopted two years ago, it is impossible to guarantee that the fuel is within the specification. So, if it oxidizes it will gum-up and clog the fuel system.

Reason four: B100 is more susceptible to fungus and algae growth.

Reason five: As we know the 6.7-liter engine uses a post combustion injection of fuel to exit the exhaust and fire-up the diesel particulate filter for a regeneration event. And, although the ’03-’07 5.9-liter engine does not have a diesel particulate filter or regeneration to be concerned with, there are still multiple injection events, with some of the injections later in the combustion cycle. When biodiesel is used, the tendency for unburned fuel to get into the engine oil is accelerated. Because biodiesel has a higher flash point than diesel fuel, more of it remains on the cylinder walls. Therefore, with the 6.7-liter’s post injection strategy to clean the DPF it makes it particularly susceptible to oil dilution.

Final reason: Unless you are your own warranty station, nowhere in the factory’s printed material have I seen an endorsement for anything greater than B5 in consumer trucks or B20 for use in fleet applications. (Oops…this just in…from the www.cumminsengines. com/newsletter-turbo-diesel news: The model year 2013.5 engine has been approved for across-the-board B20 fuel. So B20 is not just for fleets anymore.)

John Martin TDR Writer ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

Don’t worry about fuel economy or horsepower. Since B100 has only about 9% less energy content than ULSD, you probably can’t notice the difference if you run B20 or less. And just think; you too can be “green” like all of these actors and actresses in Hollywood.

Don’t you feel much better now?

John Martin TDR Writer

Raymond Pena’s Third Generation truck.

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An Article or Product Review

I think you see where this is going: For a 2000 mile trip the new 2013 will save you ($99-$18=$81) $81 over the 2012 engine in my fictitious example.

WHAT IS NEW FOR 2013 EMPHASIS ON THE CUMMINS ENGINE

by Robert Patton

So, in really round numbers, the advantage to using the DEF is about 8%.

No doubt you read the exciting news in our Issue 78 and 79 magazines about the new horsepower ratings for the 2013 pickup and cab and chassis trucks. A quick refresher: MANUAL

2500 pickup

AUTOMATIC

Old

New

Old

New

350/610

350/660

350/800

370/800 (68RFE)

3500 pickup (SRW or DRW)

350/610

350/660

350/800

370/800 (68RFE) 385/850 (Aisin)

3500/4500/5500 Cab and Chassis

305/610

320/650

305/610

325/750

From the article you noted the obvious: the horsepower and torque ratings for the new 2013 trucks vary based on model (2500 versus 3500 consumer pickup) and type of chassis. Within those categories the rating then varies based on the type of transmission that is offered. The 2500 is only offered with automatic 68RFE. The 3500 (SRW or DRW) automatic can be either the 68RFE or the Aisin AS69RC. The cab and chassis automatic is also the Aisin AS69RC. The manual transmission for all trucks is the existing G56.

Also, from the article I noted that fuel mileage should improve by as much as 10%. As you might expect, we were inundated with questions about the cost and the amount of DEF that would enter into the 10% miles per gallon improvement.

To answer the question for TDR members, I did some research back to Issue 75, page 68.

In that article, there was the comparison of the Ford, GMC and Ram by an unbiased magazine group led by Pickuptruck.com. We lost miserably by 1mpg towing with a load. Ford showed 9.5mpg versus the Ram at 8.5. For their 2000 mile trip, the fuel for the Ram was $99 more than the Ford. However, the Ford used an estimated 6 gallons of DEF (6x$3=$18). If we assume, as mentioned in the Ram literature, that the Ram will get 10% better mileage… well, let’s go ahead and figure that the Ram can equal the Ford at 9.5mpg.

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What Does This Mean to You? Changes to Exhaust Emissions While we clearly understand the race between the manufacturers for higher power levels and improved fuel economy, my story did not do a good job of explaining the emissions reason(s) that the engine was changed.

In Issue 74 I wrote a lengthy article that talked about the emissions puzzle and the forthcoming government regulations that are being phased in for over-the-road tractors. No longer do the regulations apply to the emissions of particulate matter (PM) or oxides of nitrogen (NOX) which were “big two” of diesel exhaust. These two emissions are at such low levels that they are difficult to measure.

Now the standard to be met is a carbon dioxide (CO2) standard.

(Essentially fuel economy—the less CO 2 the better the fuel economy.) This standard is set by the EPA or by NHTSA. At the conclusion of the article, I was mistaken when I commented, “Regardless, our truck will move to fuel economy standards for vehicles over 8500 GVWR that will be administered by EPA or NHTSA. The trucks no longer fall under the car and light truck standards as administered by CAFE guidelines.”

The consumer 2500/3500 pickup trucks stay under the CAFE guidelines and are still in “Tier 2, Bin 5.” To try and explain what Tier 2, Bin 5 means is futile. At Ram and Cummins there is an engineer guy in the corner that has charts and graphs to deal with the complexity of Tier 2, Bin 5.

However, do realize that that engineer is charged with trying to give you an engine with less CO2 emissions. Remember, less CO2 = better fuel economy.

The same engineer guy has the same assignment for the cab and chassis trucks to meet the fuel consumption standards for the “big rig” type vehicles.

Now, what does all this gobbledy gook mean to you and why was the engine changed for 2013? Turn to page 60 to find out!

TDReview . . . . Continued

TIER 2, BIN 5

THE ENGINEER IN THE CORNER WITH CHARTS AND GRAPHS I mentioned that it is futile to try and understand the meaning of “Tier 2, Bin5,” and introduced the fictional “engineer in the corner with charts and graphs.” A quote from an article about the EPA’s quirky emissions and fuel economy rules from the periodical Automotive News will give you an idea of what I am talking about.

From 10/15/2012 Automotive News, “CAFE Guide: A Map Through the MPG Maze: “The federal government has a screaming deal for automakers that have struggled to find a market for electric vehicles: Two for the price of one.

“In the 2017 through 2019 model years, regulators will count each EV produced as two when calculating whether automakers are meeting new fuel-economy standards for light vehicles.

“The standards have a simple-sounding goal: Cut fuel consumption and emissions. But the rules—at 1994 pages and more than half a million words are anything but straightforward filled with little-known peculiarities and fine print added to help get automakers on board.

“Each automaker’s vehicle fleet ultimately will have to average at least 54.5mpg. However, the 54.5mpg figure is based on strict federal testing criteria, with real-world fuel economy expected to be around 40mpg.

“Automakers have a myriad of ways to earn credits, such as using certain air-conditioning technologies to reduce emissions and building large numbers of hybrid trucks.

Credits accumulated for overachieving can be shuffled, traded or sold.

“One key provision: A company that falls short one year can make up the difference with credits obtained as many as five years earlier.

“Among other loopholes that automakers might use to their benefit: •

Automakers that sell fewer than 50,000 vehicles annually in the United States are granted two additional years to begin meeting the standards.

•

Some versions of a particular nameplate will be held to a higher standard than others. The two-wheeldrive Escape, for example, qualifies as a passenger car. But the four-wheel-drive Escape is considered a light truck and therefore has a lower emissions and fuel-economy target.

•

So-called off-cycle credits account for benefits that may not be fully measured in testing. Credit can be earned for features such as active grille shutters, engine stop-start and solar panels.

•

As mentioned, EVs count double from the 2017 through 2019 model years, after which the multiplier declines annually. Plug-in hybrids, such as the Chevrolet Volt, count as 1.6 vehicles each at first.

THE CHART AND GRAPH ENGINEER – PART 2 In my research to write the “10 Back” column (page 8) I ran across a previous article that attempts to explain the “Tier 2, Bin5” rules. If you’ll suffer through this brief explanation, I think you’ll see why we should leave this task to the Chart and Graph engineer. In the TDR Issue 38 article, I spoke of research at www.dieselnet.com to try and make automotive and light-duty emissions comparisons. The results were confusing and led me to a defeatist comment, “Forget the numbers (Tier 2 regulations), they will make you crazy.” I resigned to leave it to a professional.

From January 2003, Automotive News’ Harry Stoffer succinctly describes the Tier 2 rules. “Automakers, demonstrating their commitment to the environment, generally supported Tier 2 rules when they were adopted by the Clinton administration in late 1999. The rules combine cars and light trucks, as well as gasoline, diesel and other fuels, into the same regulatory framework. A series of compliance categories, called bins, were created.

“Automakers will be free to certify some dirtier vehicles to higher bins as long as they also certify cleaner vehicles to lower bins and reach the overall standard for average fleet emissions.”

Got it? Tier 2, Bin 5 – whatever that means.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 59

TDReview . . . . Continued What Does This Mean to You? Changes to Exhaust Emissions (Continued) What do the exhaust emissions mean to you? Three things come to mind: First, the obvious: the engineers will continue to refine the engine to give you better fuel economy (oops, lower CO2 emissions).

Second: the engine(s) will continue to be refined as there are onboard-diagnostics requirements for advanced monitoring of the emissions controls.

Third: the up-the-ante, neverending race for horsepower and torque bragging rights between Ram, Ford and General Motors will continue. Can you believe some of the numbers and tow ratings that are available?

Let’s Do a Recap As a recap, here is a list of the big changes to the engine that we have seen in the past: 1/1/91 – The engine gets a charge air aftercooler added to the intake air system.

1/1/94 – The ’94 engine uses a mechanical Bosch P7100 fuel pump rather than the mechanical Bosch VE fuel pump.

A catalytic converter is added to address particulate matter.

1/1/98 – The engine uses the electronic Bosch VP44 fuel pump and the cylinder head is now a 24-valve design.

2003 model year – The high pressure, common rail (HPCR) fuel system is introduced one year early in the new-for-2003 Third Generation truck 1/1/04 – A catalytic converter is added to the exhaust to meet the 2004 standards.

1/1/07 – The 6.7-liter engine is introduced to the marketplace and meets the 1/1/07 emissions as well as the forthcoming 2010 emissions guidelines. Exhaust aftertreatment now includes exhaust gas recirculation, a NOX catalyst, a diesel oxidation catalyst and a diesel particulate filter. The cab and chassis trucks are not required to have the NOX catalyst.

1/1/10 – The cab and chassis trucks add selective catalyst reduction (SCR), which is a fancy term for urea injection, to control NOX. Now, unlike those big hardware changes that we’ve seen in the past, I’m thinking that future changes to the engine will be more like refinements. If I am wrong in this assessment, in several years you’ll see me “eat crow” in our “Backfire” section of the magazine.

60 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

Death of the Manual Transmission?

No doubt that subtitle caught your attention. And, since I’ve introduced the subject, I’d like to stop and ask, “Why do you think that competitors Ford and General Motors no longer offer a manual gearbox option?”

Well? The answer may not be what you think.

The obvious: People are lazy and don’t like to shift. Besides, dear TDR members, we all know you can’t shift and text at the same time.

The obvious: Bigger power numbers mean bigger clutches and bigger gearboxes—perhaps bigger warranty expenses too, as clutch abuse is not a warranty item but often is taken care of once for customer goodwill.

The not so obvious: To certify a power rating takes lots of engineering time and lots of testing expense. More ratings, more expenses.

The really not so obvious: The certification process and the ratings numbers are different for the consumer 2500/3500 pickup trucks than they are for the cab and chassis 3500/4500/5500. And, although this is buried in the “really not so obvious” paragraph, this may be the real reason for the death of the manual transmission.

How so?

To see the correlation you have to understand how the government does the emissions (or miles per gallon) testing on your Turbo Diesel truck and/or automobile. The consumer pickups are strapped to a chassis dynamometer and run through their paces. Imagine that there is an emissions “window of variance” that follows the engine’s power curve. Likewise, the engine has a torque range that is best suited for a good fuel economy number. To keep the engine at its best performance, you want the predictability of an automatic gearbox with as many speeds as possible to keep the engine within the emissions/mileage variance.

And, although the testing of the cab and chassis trucks is done on an engine dynamometer, a similar window of variance for emissions and fuel economy exist.

Now, if we leave the testing up to “Marvin the manual shifter dude,” well, I think you see the problem. Marvin doesn’t have access to the same load, speed and shift algorithms that the software engineer of the engine/automatic transmission combination has at his computer. Yes, the engine/powertrain’s electronic control unit (ECU) is more predictable and smarter than Marvin the manual shifter dude. Also, consider that the ECU can be programmed for all kinds of power-to-load scenarios and gearbox choices that give you six to eight forward speeds and I think you see why manual gearboxes are becoming less common in any type of vehicle.

TDReview . . . . Continued Back to the Story – What is New for 2013?

For the 2013 consumer pickups and 2013 cab and chassis engines there are lots of parts that are new. The folks at Cummins’ Columbus MidRange Engine Plant (CMEP) allowed me to photograph the new hardware and took the time to explain “What this means to you” on each part that we examined. The following items were changed on the 2013 engine:

With the cab and chassis engine there was a change the camshaft’s intake duration and lift. Power ratings and fuel economy necessitated the changes. The cam for the consumer pickup trucks remains the same. On the assembly line they do a photo scan to ensure the correct cam is used in an engine. This is the end of the cam showing the drive gear already installed.

In 2012 a bedplate was added to the engine to increase block strength and reduce noise. This is a picture of the redesigned part used in the 2013 engine.

The new payload and towing ratings for the 2013 Ram necessitated changes to the truck’s frame. Redesign of the engine oil pan was required to clear the suspension and frame. The oil pick up tube was also redesigned.

With new horsepower ratings come new torsional vibrations that have to be absorbed. This is the new vibration damper.

For the first time in Ram truck applications the pistons are coated in the skirt area to eliminate the chances of high/over temperature scuffing. The coating also eliminates cold start-up piston slap noise.

Finally the piston bowl was redesigned for emissions concerns.

Higher horsepower and more heat call for better piston cooling. This is a picture of the piston cooling nozzle that sprays engine oil onto the underside of the piston to keep piston temperatures in check.

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TDReview . . . . Continued

For the 2013 consumer pickup trucks, the cylinder head was revised. Here is a picture of a machine that automatically sets the valve lash of the intake and exhaust valves.

The old turbocharger is on the left, the new is on the right. The new turbocharger is enhanced with the addition of a feature that controls the exhaust braking to maintain a set vehicle speed when descending a grade.

Higher horsepower, more heat, more cooling is necessary. The old engine is on the left, new on the right. Study the photographs carefully and you should see that the water pump and fan drive pulleys are slightly smaller so that they spin faster to provide better cooling.

Old ECU on the left, new ECU on the right. New software, new coding and two 96 wire (versus the previous two 76 wire) connector affirms that there is more data to process and control the engine.

With the advent of SCR technology there is no longer a NOX catalyst in the exhaust aftertreatment. Therefore, the NOX sensor has been moved to the turbocharger downpipe.

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In the previous engine there were individual noise isolators attached to the fuel injection lines (left picture). Now there is a rubber isolation boot that covers the injection lines (right).

TDReview . . . . Continued As is the case with many model year or generational changes, there are lots of other knick-knack parts and sensors that are changed.

For example, when you open the hood on the 2013 you’ll notice that the plastic “bat wing” that surrounded the top valve cover portion of the engine has been replaced with a rubber noise isolation cover.

(Oops...late breaking news: I think I’m correct, the rubber cover has been changed back to the batwing.) There are sensors that have been moved, coolant tubes rerouted, brackets changed, etc.

However, for the most part, the folks at CMEP tell me that I have covered the highlights.

Finally, saving the best for last, there is word from Cummins’ subsidiary company Fleetguard that the fuel filter has changed for 2013. If you will recall from the Issue 78 magazine, the folks at Ram added a “first line of defense” see-through fuel filter to the trucks frame rail.

Now the news from Fleeetguard: they have changed the filter element inside the primary fuel filter that is located on the engine.

The new part number is: Fleetguard FS53000, Mopar 68157291AA. The trade name for the new fuel filter media is Fleetguard “NanoNet.” This filter will fit ’10-’13 pickups and ’11-’13 chassis cab.

The new NanoNet fuel filter is a direct replacement for the existing Fleetguard FS43255 and Mopar 68065608AA. It has yet to be determined whether these old numbers will be superseded. Again, the new part numbers should be FS53000/68157291AA. I cannot imagine that customers would choose the old/less efficient filter…a supercession sounds logical to me.

Given that the NanoNet is a two-stage filter designed to trap smaller particles than the existing filters, there will likely be a price premium for this new media. I do not yet have the details. Also, yet to be determined, are the price and availability of the NanoNet for the ’07.5-’09 pickup trucks (’07-’10 for chassis cab).

At this time the part numbers that have been pre-assigned for the older trucks: Fleetguard Mopar FS53001 68157287AA (filter and shell) FS53002 68157288AA (filter only) A final note about the NanoNet filter as a “better mousetrap.” I took some time to read the Fleetguard literature on the filter (bulletin LT36228NA). The Fleetguard folks use a different testing process and they shy away from the “micron rating” terminology that is frequently used in the business. Regardless, word on the street has it that the old filter was a “5 micron” unit and this is a “5 micron outer with a 3 micron inner” two stage design. I understand how confusing all the marketing hype can be and I’ll trust the factoryguys on this one.

Sidebar HOW ABOUT THE OIL CHANGE INTERVAL? In the previous magazines I have mentioned that the oil change interval on the new 2013 can be as long as 15,000 miles. How is it that this differs so much from the ’07.5-’12 6.7-liter engines? TDR writer Joe Donnelly answered that question in his write-up on diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) that was in Issue 79, page 74.

Since this important piece of information was buried in an article on DEF, I’m confident that a lot of folks may have missed reading about the revision to the oil change interval. So, here are some data from our last magazine that you may have missed. Quoting from Joe Donnelly: “If you closely read Issue 78 (specifically page 52, the 6.7-Liter Engine Introduction) you learned that the 6.7 engine met the 2010 exhaust emissions three years early. This was a marketing tool for Ram and Cummins and to accomplish this task the truck was one of the first vehicles to use NOX adsorber aftertreatment technology.

“The NOX adsorber technology did require the use of ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel. And, again as we learned in Issue 78, at the time the EPA was getting pressure to relax the ULSD requirement.

Having a vehicle that needed ULSD gave the EPA reason to stand firm on their January 2007 implementation date.

“How does an NOX adsorber differ from the use of SCR and the associated DEF fluid? An NOX adsorber acts as molecular sponge.

Once it is full, the injection of diesel fuel into the exhaust stream (think post-ignition injection) is used to purge the system.

“As the 2013 engines adopt the SCR technology, the DEF fluid is the clean-up agent. The injection of DEF is well downstream of the combustion cylinders. Since diesel fuel is no longer used in the aftertreatment of NOX, there will be an associated reduction in the lubrication oil dilution caused by fuel leaking past the piston rings from spraying diesel fuel into the cylinders so that it would go out the exhaust unburned to bake the catalyst (regeneration cycle).

Thus, oil change intervals will increase, up to 15,000 miles, for additional maintenance cost savings.”

As a footnote to Joe’s update on the oil change interval, I asked the folks at CMEP about the initial oil fill for the 2013 Turbo Diesel engines. As has been for as long the engines have been in production, the oil is the Cummins “Premium Blue” formulation that is made by Valvoline. The factory fill for the consumer 2500/3500 pickups in now the 5W40 Premium Blue synthetic oil.

The 3500/4500/5500 trucks still use the 15W40 Premium Blue mineral oil.

Okay folks, is that enough detail for you? Again, my thanks to the folks at CMEP for helping me with the photographs and I look forward to hearing stories from our audience about the new 2013 truck and engine.

Okay, folks, is that enough detail for you? My thanks to the folks at Cummins’ Columbus MidRange Engine Plant (CMEP) for helping me with the photographs.

Robert Patton TDR Staff

Robert Patton TDR Staff

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2012 SEMA SHOW STANDOUT – 2 WILD DIESEL From mild to wild you’ll see it all at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show. In my trips to the show I am always on the lookout for Turbo Diesel trucks and TDR members. This past November I hit the jackpot (remember, the show is in Las Vegas) and had a chance to visit with Ken Jones the owner of the 2 Wild Diesel sled pull truck that was on display at the Edge Products booth. We talked and I asked Ken if we could do a follow-up interview with him. The response, “Without a doubt, I’d love to share my enthusiasm with the audience!” So, I asked TDR member Wayne Owen to help with the report as Wayne knows Ken and lives not too far from Ken’s shop. Wayne files the following report.

After two years of working on the modification of the ’42 Weapons carrier, and building the 5.9-liter, 12-valve, twin turbo Cummins engine into a monster, the truck has become a winner of many sled pulling competitions in the western United States.

2 Wild Diesel

by Wayne Owen A long, long time ago Ken became a TDR member after talking with me in 1995 and then attending the 1997 TDR National rally in Mesquite, Nevada.

With the assistance of Doug Hofeldt, Ken’s first Turbo Diesel transformation vehicle was a 1942 Dodge Military Weapons carrier.

This is what the ’42 weapons carrier looked like after removing it from the frame and installing the body on a 1995 Dodge 4X4 Pickup frame.

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This is what the ’42 Dodge Military Weapons carrier was transformed to look like.

Front view showing exhaust stack and secondary turbo.

YOUR STORY . . . . Continued

When 2 Wild Diesel came along we elected to clean the ‘42 up and it now sits on the floor in our shop’s showrrom. It is a great conversation piece. We have plans to let my wife compete in the truck — perhaps as soon as 2014. Keep a look out for it.

2 WILD DIESEL

The ’42 utilizes an ATS 48RE automatic transmission and Dana differentials at both ends. Air bags replaced the springs at all four corners of the frame and traction bars were added to both differentials as well.

In the spring of 2009, Ken became interested in making more heads turn at the sled pulls, so he started building a full-fledged puller utilizing a fiberglass replica of a 2010 Crew Cab, long bed pickup built on a fabricated metal tube frame. It utilizes a hydraulically operated body lift to access the engine and the other working parts of the truck. Ken calls the truck “2 Wild Diesel.”

In reality, it’s about as far from a stock truck as you can get. Please excuse me if I use the word custom a few times, but everything on 2 Wild Diesel is just that. Ken started by designing a tube-frame chassis with a 156-inch wheelbase. Wayne Willey did the welding, making sure the joints would stand up to the extreme stress of pulling. With the chassis complete, Marshall Motor Art fabricated the sub-frame and roll-cage. The rear was shortened 16 inches, and the front was cut down 12 inches to fit the fiberglass body.

RUNNING GEAR Next, the running gear and suspension were selected. The rear end consists of a Rockwell SQHD axle with a welded differential mated to custom TRB solid axles. The front end is fitted with a Rockwell 106 axle with a Detroit Locker. The gear ratio is 6.20:1 at both ends. Heavy-duty, 1550-series Spicer U-joints are used all the way around.

This picture shows the front suspension with air bags in place of springs.

The transfer case is a quick-change drop box from Profab Machine, which allows Ken to change gears in about five minutes to match track conditions. The drop box is hooked to a reverser transmission, also from Profab. The reverser is coupled to a Lakewood bell housing. A Hays four-disc clutch from Haisley Machine handles the engine-to-transmission power transfer. Amsoil Gear and Transmission lubes are used in the running gear.

Real wheels, with a Rockwell bolt pattern, were fitted with 34x18R15 Dick Cepek Giant Puller tires. For the front suspension, Haisley Machine modified a set of shocks from Pro Shocks. Two coils are used on each side to hold the weight, and one rebound is present to stop any front end bounce from occurring while going down the track.

Here is a picture of the ’42 at one of the state fair sled pulling events.

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YOUR STORY . . . . Continued

This is a picture of the tubular frame and the SQHD rear housing.

Front Axle is a Rockwell 106. Note the lateral trailing arm.

This view shows the SQHD Differential.

This is a view of the “Drop Box” XFR Case.

An inside look at the SQHD Rear Differential.

This view is of the clutch assembly.

The Pro-Fab transmission is a single speed unit.

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YOUR STORY . . . . Continued

This view is of the internal frame work that mounts to the body so the body can be raised separate from the frame.

This view is the first fitting of body to frame.

The engine is a 6.7-liter Cummins utilizing a 12-valve head and P-Pump type Injection pump.

It has been transformed into a 2000hp demon.

Here is the finished truck showing the body in the raised position.

The truck is called the “2 WILD DIESEL,” and originally sported a tiger that is pulling a weight with the securing chain broken.

This is the truck doing what it likes to do at one of the pulling competitions. It is in the “super stock” class, which is determined by the size of the turbos.

Another view of the truck during a pull.

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YOUR STORY . . . . Continued ENGINE The first engine used in 2 Wild Diesel was a 5.9-liter utilizing a 12-valve head. It was used during the first year of pulling competition. A 6.7-liter Cummins, utilizing a 12-valve head is in the current truck. This head design was chosen for simplicity and durability. This is a full-roller-bearing engine. The valve train consists of a SMT performance billet aluminum roller rockers, and a billet camshaft with roller bearings, rather than bushings. The Injection pump is a P-7100 style made by Sigma, and has unlimited amounts of fuel delivery as well as unlimited RPM. The engine block has the water jacket filled with “block fill” resin, to strengthen the block. The only cooling for the engine is coolant pumped through the head, and water is injected at each intake port as well.

The pistons are manufactured by Arias, and the connecting rods are from Crower. The engine has a compression ratio of 12:1.

Two custom turbochargers were engineered and machined at a cost of about $7,000 each. A large chest full of ice water is pumped through an air-to-water intercooler in order to cool the compressed intake air. A spring-loaded air guillotine sits in front of the intake for safety purposes. The intake manifold came from ZZ Custom Fabrication. The turbocharger arrangement will develop about 150 psi of boost. Amsoil Synthetic Racing Oil is the engine’s lifeblood.

Ken has not dyno’d the engine, but he estimates it produces between 1,900 and 2,100hp. The oiling consists of an external oil pump with 4 pumps within. The engine, camshaft, and turbos are supplied with oil from each individual pump. The injection pump has its own supply of oil.

This is a view of the twin turbo setup.

Ken has not had any major breakdowns with this arrangement.

Late breaking news: Just when I buttoned-up this article to send into the TDR, Ken calls me up and says, “Wayne, come on over and bring your camera. I’ve got something you’ll want to see.”

A large, round tank is mounted just in front of the engine.

The passenger side of the tank holds water, while the driver side holds fuel. The engine will use 3 to 4 gallons of fuel and 1 gallon of water in a 300 foot pull.

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So across town I go to photograph the pre-fabrication pictures of his new-for-2013 triple turbo set up. For Ken I hope that these turbos prove as reliable as the now outdated compound turbo pictures that I just submitted for publication. Geez...

YOUR STORY . . . . Continued If you log onto www.wilddiesel.com you’ll see that the website is nothing real fancy, just the basics that a website should have to keep sales going. When I asked Ken about this his comment was the same as you might expect from any small business man, “Priorities, priorities, priorities. I wish I could tell the audience that I am a web guru—those little dancin’ babies are cute; aren’t they?

I’m going to keep the focus on steady employment for my staff, diesel engine performance, and satisfied owners and racers that come back to our shop for our expertise.”

Here is the truck showing the “Edge Products” sponsor paint job.

While I had Ken on the phone, I asked him about the business model for his shop. He told me that one could easily look at his truck (it is immaculate with fantastic attention to detail) and make false assumptions about the money invested. “Don’t misunderstand, it takes lots of money to feed ‘2 Wild Diesel.’ However, when you count my time and that of my support staff and friends—well, we’re probably at minus lots of dollar/hour for our time. I really love the sport and the people involved in sled pulling. I’m sure I’ll grow tired of it, maybe not. But for now, it is a great hobby. It keeps me off the streets and closely involved with my business and customers.

Without a doubt ‘2 Wild Diesel’ is great advertising, but it is money I’ll never recoup.”

Next logical question, tell the TDR audience about horsepower.

“Well, once you get into sled pulling you’ll find that us farm boys and rural types know quite a bit about performance. While we’re always trying special tweaks, once you get to the superstock level there aren’t any real secrets. And, since none of us are getting rich on this hobby, we trade ‘Have you tried this-and-that’ secrets fairly openly with the next guy. (Tongue-in-cheek) Just don’t ask me about my tires or suspension set-up.

The 2 Wild Diesel truck pulled the first year under the sponsorship of several companies, then in its second year of competition it was sponsored by Edge Performance Products.

The truck took on a new look and was displayed at the 2012 SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Trucks of this caliber require the specialized knowledge and handson help from many people. As this truck has been well transformed into a full-fledged competitor, and Ken Jones has been transformed from a noted area mechanic to the owner, driver and crew chief of 2 Wild Diesel as well as the owner of “Wild Diesel Performance” repair shop with four bays and five full-time mechanics located in Ogden, Utah.

“What is great about making close to 2000hp, is that I’ve got a lot of knowledge about what does and doesn’t work on a street engine at 300hp, up to my sled pull/race engine. There are a lot of pitfalls you can stumble on—a lot of parts that look good but don’t really do much. I’ve been there and can separate the good from the not-so-good.”

And, folks, as I see it, that is the great thing about Ken Jones and his staff at Wild Diesel. You can believe them when they recommend a product. Integrity is a great character trait.

If you ever get the chance to visit the Ogden, Utah area, stop in and say hi to one of the most knowledgeable diesel mechanics in the area. He will be happy to show you around his shop.

Wayne Owen TDR Writer SIDEBAR SPOTLIGHT ON KEN JONES Wild Diesel is a family owned and operated shop in West Haven Utah. Owner/operator Ken Jones has been in the diesel repair business since 1994. Both trucks that were mentioned in our article have also been featured in Diesel Power Magazine as well as Truck Trend and many others.

Wild Diesel LLC 1847 W 2100 S West Haven, UT 84401 (801) 731- 0600 www.wilddiesel.com

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THE ROAD TO ADVENTURE IN THE MAZE DISTRICT OF UTAH’S CANYONLANDS

by Jeannette Vallier The editor’s theme for Issue 80 —Is it the journey or the destination?—is a challenge we always face in writing a travel story; and it is one facing TDR travelers heading to or from the “May Madness” meet every spring. The destination, whether home or Pahrump, may be where your diesel thinks it is pointed to, but if your journey takes you through the spectacular canyon country of southern Utah, Look out, Guys and Gals! You’ve arrived at a whole other place.

Speaking of a whole other place, when Bob and I left you last fall in Issue 78 in the San Rafael Desert of south-central Utah, we promised to return to explore a special destination: the remote Horseshoe Canyon, a detached area of Canyonlands Maze district.

Here we would find a serious off-road challenge and some of the finest pictographs and petroglyphs in North America. Where it is, and how you get there are a part of the story that follows.

Once again we parked our trailer at the San Rafael/Temple Mountain campground (see the story and map, Issue 78, page 68). Our plan for the first day was to approach the Maze district of Canyonlands, on a route that, like the roads we described in exploring the San Rafael Swell, is passable in two-wheel-drive, high-clearance vehicles in dry weather. Although if it rains, all bets are off. For both days exploring, the turnoff from Utah Rt. 24 is located just south of Temple Junction Road and heads off across the San Rafael Desert east towards the complex canyon system of the Green and Colorado rivers. At the turnoff, the entry road is signed “Rooster Flats” and “Hans Flat Ranger Station.” We followed this road 24.3 miles to a junction at a signed fork. The right fork leads to the Hans Flat Ranger Station and the left fork to Horseshoe Canyon.

On Day One, we took the right fork to the Maze, an area much more remote and less visited than the “Island In the Sky” or “The Needles” districts of Canyonlands to the east beyond the Green River. In fact, up until fairly recently the Hans Flat Ranger Station was housed in a trailer, before a small visitor center was constructed. The Maze is still a remote place with no water and no amenities, and very few tourists. From the lonely Hans Flat station (46 miles in from state route 24), we drove 14 miles along the edge of a plateau above the deeply cut Maze badlands, picking our way deliberately to the head of the Flint Trail, the most ready access into the truly rough country.

Any Jeep trail down into the Maze—and there are a few—is a trip that can extend into several days requiring serious preparation for survival exploration. Four-wheel-drive roads here are extremely difficult, presenting considerable risk of vehicle damage, and should not be attempted by inexperienced drivers.

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The Flint Trail descends steeply across slopes of clay that are extremely slippery when wet, and treacherous in the best of circumstances. We recognized that this road would be more challenging than anything we’d attempted before with our Turbo Diesel. But, from what we could see from the top, it looked do-able (and I should note that Bob is an experienced off-road driver).

Besides, we had promised ourselves a spell of serious fourwheeling on this trip; so we decided to venture the five miles down the Flint and only as far as the Golden Stair, the jumping off place for foot trails into the fabled Ernie’s Country, accessible only to hikers prepared for technical climbing with ropes. The views down the Flint were worth the gamble, but we could see, in all directions, that we’d want a shorter-wheelbase vehicle to go farther. We were satisfied. We had done the Flint, more or less.

The roundtrip from Hans Flat to the Golden Stairs was 36 miles, eight of them on the Flint, but it took us six hours, although some of that time was devoted to gawking and gulping. It was well past mid-afternoon when we got back to Hans Flat, so we hightailed it back to the trailer. But, before turning our back on the Maze trails (which I admit we only sampled), I must emphasize that if you venture down the Flint Trail into the Maze proper, you need to know what you are doing. You need a topographical map and a GPS, and you need to know how to use them. You are a hundred miles from nowhere, down axle-busting Jeep trails where vehicles crawl along at 5mph. A word to the wise.

For the trip the next day to what we had begun to think of as our destination, we piled into our truck in camp at Temple Mountain Road shortly after sunup because this was going to be a long day, including about six hours of fairly strenuous hiking into Horseshoe.

We retraced our route of the day before, this time taking the left fork at the junction 24.3 miles in, and drove the 5.1 miles to a sign pointing to the parking area at the head of the foot trail down into Horseshoe Canyon.

There is no water and no facilities except for vault toilets here. In the warmer months, it is advisable to arrive early in the morning to hike down or to truck-camp overnight at the trailhead, even though there is no formal campground, in order to get an early start.

The hike into Horseshoe is best done in spring or fall, but no matter when you go always carry plenty of water (two or three liters per person) and a lunch. Remember that the return trip uphill in sandy terrain is much more arduous than the descent. In summer the canyon is infested with mosquitoes, so bug repellent would be a good idea too. I might also add that rattlesnakes are common in the canyon, so beware. Be sure to be on guard for flash flooding, in any season.

READY TO TRAVEL . . . . Continued After all the requisite precautions, it is time to start the walk. The trail begins on an old truck haul cut in the cliff face fifty years ago when cattle were run here to access water in the perennial stream below and when prospectors sought, without success, to mine the canyon. We found it hard to believe that any vehicle could negotiate this trail, but such is the testimony of history. It took us six hours for the 7.5-mile roundtrip route to the main panels of world famous “Barrier Style” pictographs, the main draw for visitors—and a grand reward for a fairly rough scramble.

On the way to the rock art, you might also be on the lookout for wildlife, including bighorn sheep and rattlesnakes, but excluding the dinosaurs that once roamed here and left their tracks, tracks which we have not seen and that reportedly have been buried for years under a mudflow. You will, however, hear the unmistakable descending notes of the Canyon Wren, a favorite birdcall heard throughout the canyons of the Southwest. There may also be wildflowers depending on the time of year. There certainly will be stands of cottonwoods, and if you are lucky you will have the canyon to yourselves.

On old maps, Horseshoe Canyon is marked as “Barrier Canyon,” a designation given to the style of rock art that has made the site famous all over the world among scientists and amateurs. It was regularly frequented by Archaic, Paleo-Americans from the end of the last Ice Age, some ten thousand years ago. These are the people who inscribed the incredible images on the cliff faces of the canyon, in dozens of splendid panels, some painted along hundreds of feet in extent.

The road to adventure – off the beaten track, across the San Rafael Desert and into the Maze district of Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, headed for the remote Hans Flat Ranger Station and the fabled Flint Trail.

You will find rock art all along the trail on both walls of the canyon.

There are several, one called the “High Gallery” on the east wall; another the “Horseshoe Gallery” on the west wall, and still another, the “Alcove Gallery” on the west. All these are in varying states of preservation and have suffered damage from both erosion and humans. Cowboys tended to make their own contributions to the rock art and many times enjoyed target practice with no thought for the treasures of the past. We took our time and wandered into side canyons after our sandwich lunch, and fancied we discovered hidden rock art neglected by previous visitors.

There is no mistaking, however, the “Great Gallery,” an unforgettable sight. It is literally a sacred area and one of the reasons we like to be the only ones there. The cliff wall is populated with humans and animals and what might be considered gods or perhaps ghosts or aliens, seemingly poised to emerge right from the canyon wall to invade your space. This gallery is 200 feet long, 15 feet high and has dozens of red, brown and white pictographs— and invade your space they will! Remain in front of them a while, taking pictures or merely observing, and you will never forget the sight, especially the “Holy Ghost Group.” When you climb out of the canyon and return to your campsite and campfire, they will come with you and, if you are like us, be with you always.

And perhaps now you will be able to answer the Editor’s question for yourselves: Is it the journey or the destination? Our answer is that in some rare and privileged visitations journey and destination have become one and the same.

Jeannette Vallier TDR Writer

From the tip-off at the head of the Flint Trail our road leads into a day of the toughest 4-wheel driving that our Second-Generation Ram Turbo Diesel had experienced in its twenty years exploring the Intermountain West.

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READY TO TRAVEL . . . . Continued

The foot trail into Horseshoe Canyon, a detached area of Canyonlands Maze District, follows an abandoned “jeep” route originally blazed by cattlemen, and descends 750 ft over steep slick-rock marked with stone cairns to the intermittent Barrier Stream.

The Great Gallery–largest rock art panel in Horseshoe, extending for 200 feet with dozens of ghost-like figures larger than human life-size–is considered by many to be the most outstanding display of pictographs in the world.

After a long day on foot, we climb the slickrock of the canyon wall, up to the San Rafael Desert and our truck at the trailhead, to return to camp forty miles towards the setting sun.

IF YOU GO For full directions to the campground, refer to the story on San Rafael Swell, TDR Issue 78, pages 68-71. Hans Flat Ranger Station (GPS – Lat: 38° 15’ 19” Long: -110° 10’ 48”), the central point in the backcountry described here, is 136 miles from Moab, 85 miles from Green River, Utah. Be advised that there is no fuel, water, or amenities in the area. The forty-mile route from the campground to Horseshoe Canyon is negotiable in two-wheel, high clearance vehicles in dry weather; but driving down into the Maze itself requires four-wheel, high clearance, preparation, backcountry permit and an experienced driver. The most useful map is National Geographic Trails Illustrated #312: Canyonlands Maze District, from Amazon at $12.95. Planning information is available year round at Hans Flat Ranger Station, phone (435) 259-2652, hours 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. MST. The central figure in the Holy Ghost group in The Great Gallery towers ten foot tall with insect-like eyes and skull-shaped head, suggesting a latter-day space alien, which scientists speculate records a shaman’s visionary experience.

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Journalist G.R. Whale talks about all things Diesel

IT’S THE JOURNEY, OF COURSE Maybe I should mention I didn’t ace Philosophy in college, probably because I kept poking holes in the professor’s arguments—and his English—in Logic class. After all, if things didn’t make sense there, would they make sense anywhere?

Posit, “Is it the journey or is it the destination” and I’m picking journey. Once at my destination I know more than where I am because I normally investigate beforehand, and it always becomes just another waypoint on the journey. On road rallies my navigator and I often know our destination, but rarely does knowing how to get there, or when (to the hundredth-of-a-minute), makes the journey more interesting. I have a frequent flier account on multiple airlines and the same rules apply: I know where I am supposed to end up but seldom have a clue how I’m getting there, or when.

Unfortunately, the airlines seldom seem to either.

I’m sure long-term Chrysler personnel weren’t all that excited about their journey a few years ago. On the positive side they have a good idea where they are now, and if not a destination it’s a better place on the journey. And the car business in general has had quite the wild journey.

REALITY BITES – ELECTRIC VEHICLES Two years ago at the schmooze-fest known as the State of the Union address President Obama said, “With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.”

Sure we could…anything’s possible…but this won’t happen.

First, we don’t have the infrastructure to go biofuel in any appreciative capacity. Second, the government is the largest consumer so starting at the Pentagon would be ideal to implement energy savings. (I just saw a six-ton Army transport with a four-cylinder B series that gets 13mpg in convoy…70% better than before, BUT… costs are unknown.) Third, discussion of what sources will provide the electricity for the “electric vehicles” is buried. And fourth, by population, resources and know-how the US is quite possibly the first country to put one-million of any kind of vehicle on the road. It’s like the championship tire that’s the only brand in the race.

So, how are we doing with that million? Well, first the caveats— this is Washington, after all. The Department of Energy (DOE) considers “electric vehicles” to be all-electric vehicles, extendedrange electric vehicles—what the Chevy Volt and Fisker Karma

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consider themselves—and plug-in hybrids. The battery-only cars are simple enough—Tesla, Ford Focus EV, Nissan Leaf, Honda Fit EV, etc.—they have a battery pack and no fuel tank. But the Volt, Karma, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell cars all carry another fuel that directly—through a combustion engine, or indirectly—as a combustion engine or hydrogen fuel cell driving a generator, propels the car when the battery pack is depleted.

So a plug-in Prius, Accord, Fusion, C-Max, Karma or Volt fully charged up will go, according to the EPA, 11, 13, 21, 21, 33 and 38 miles respectively before they begin using gasoline. In good conditions. I don’t consider that an “electric vehicle” but the lobbyists do.

The other caveat is semantic, as the DOE’s report that came out the month after Obama’s statement determined a little more than one million vehicles including 2015; when I heard Obama say “by 2015” I interpreted it as January 1, 2015… The IRS never gives me a whole year for anything, why does DOE get one?

DOE’s report, which was based on a 12-million-annual-sales year that’s already been surpassed, figured “electric vehicles” would have to account for just 1.7 % of averaged sales per year. Their report estimated 2012 sales of 5000 Fisker Karmas, 5000 Fisker Ninas, 10,000 Ford Focus EVs, 120,000 Chevrolet Volts, 25,000 Nissan Leafs (Leaves?), 5000 Tesla Model S, 5000 Think City EVs and a smattering of trucks and utilities at annual rates in the hundreds. The report estimates more than a half-million Volts and 300,000 Leafs on the road 3.5 years from now, along with 70,000 Focus EV’s and 55,000 Tesla Model S. The report did not address the plug-in Accord, C-Max and Fusion.

The most recent numbers I can find says Chevy sold about 23,450 Volts in 2012, the only car that came close to the report estimate.

The Leaf was less than 10,000, the Karma about 2200, Tesla S around 2500, the C-Max Energi (plug-in) about 2200, Mitsubishi’s i-Miev less than 500, and the Focus EV would do less than 5000 if it had been on sale all year and went at the November/December rate. Think filed bankruptcy, Fisker is having issues and hasn’t yet built a Nina, and Volt sales were artificially encouraged because more than half of them went to California after some emissions re-jiggering allowed them solo in carpool lanes; and lease offers of $289/month with $2,800 down are much less than you’d normally pay on a $40,000 car, even if you include the $7500 tax credit.

Including all the miscellaneous electrics I could find, the report’s 2012 figures were optimistic by a factor of four. That’s even worse than the government’s projections about what 2010 emissions-spec equipment would add to the price of a new over-the-road truck.

Were I in a generous mood I might say the President will be lucky if half a million “electric” vehicles are on the road at the end of 2015, and less than half of those won’t carry any gasoline or diesel fuel.

FOUR WHALING . . . . Continued Or Does It? – Viable Options That’s Washington’s philosophy…specify the journey, not the destination. You will drive an electric-car, sort of, because that’s the only way to save fuel. And while we’re at it, the new CAFE rules are nothing more than a huge volume—I quit counting at 578 pages—of loopholes that, I believe, will have the same effect as the first CAFE rules did: They won’t work.

In recent weeks, Chevrolet has formally announced their Cruze diesel, Ram a half-ton diesel and I’ve driven a variety of vehicles that could often save fuel, or fuel dollars, relative to their class.

These include a hybrid Ford, plug-in hybrid Fisker, diesel VW not sold here, conventional Dodge Dart and Honda Civic, a naturalgas powered car, a twin-turbo V8 and a diesel in a Jeep. The one I have yet to drive in production form, that just trounced everyone in EPA mpg ratings is Honda’s plug-in Accord, but an efficient Honda should surprise no one.

each one is rated at 150kW and 480lb-ft of torque available from 50rpm. When the battery pack’s depleted, or you choose Sport mode for max propulsion or to save the battery charge for later use, a GM 2-liter turbo up front drives a 175kW generator. Unlike the Volt, there is never any connection between the engine and drive wheels.

Driving efficiently and in my moderate climate I averaged 47 miles on a charge, which cost me a little more than $3; the EPA says 33 miles on electricity. So over a week that involved two 120-mile round trips and a bunch of local (within 10 miles, less than 45/day) I averaged 49 mpg. Even adding my $15 in overnight charges, that’s still fairly good for a 5300-pound luxury car positively oozing style that does 0-60 in less than six seconds and drives so well it discourages being frugal.

Read my lips, Washington: There are other ways to cut petroleum use.

The Cruze diesel will use a 2-liter engine estimated at 148hp and 258lb-ft (280 on overboost), higher than Volkswagen’s 140/236, and probably garner EPA numbers around the 30/42 typical of a VW diesel. Even with the extra power I expect similar performance as the Cruzes I’ve driven have been on the heavier side and run very tall gears: The gas-engine Eco version that also rates 42 on the highway has three overdrives in its six-speed manual.

Ford’s reserving the C-Max name for hybrids (Energi for plug-ins) and makes an interesting alternative to a Prius in that it’s a nicerdriving car. The EPA says 47/47/47 for mileage but I averaged 37 and I’m not the only one missing the 10mpg: most publications, including Consumer Reports, have been running 35-38mpg in real-world use. What amuses me is that others have told me it was Ford that blew the whistle on Hyundai and Kia having inflated EPA figures and they may have a similar issue, public relations if not legal, to deal with here.

Then there’s the Golf GTD, a European car VW brought to the U.S. to evaluate the idea of selling it here. Wasted money really, as any survey of VW enthusiasts, general population owners or gearheads could have told them “Of course you should bring it, Dummkopf.”

GTD is exactly what it sounds like, a GTI but diesel powered. The higher-tune 2.0 TDI engine has 28hp (168) and 22lb-ft (258) on the base TDI, enough to reach 60 in the low 7s, steam up a 7+ percent grade, well, really fast, in top gear, and return great mileage in the process. Their ratings range from about 34mpg to 55mpg.

Like the Fisker, the GTD chassis and sport seats encourage a driving style not lent to frugality. Yet I still averaged nearly 50mpg, a worst of 34 in freezing urban environs, and on one highway leg at a steady 62mph (testing 100kph for my Canadian friends) I bettered 60mpg. I got better mileage in the GTD than in a Prius that’s 50% slower, comparatively no fun to drive, and not a whole lot less money.

Fisker’s Karma will appeal to a smaller clientele based on price and space, but the big luxury four-door coupe offers an interesting take on greener performance. A massive battery pack under the console feeds two electric motors mounted fore and aft of the differential;

Further encouragement comes from VW’s debut of the seventhgeneration Golf GTD with their new EA288 engine: 184hp, 280lb-ft, EU-6 compliant and 56mpg combined on the European test cycle.

Their new XL1 two-cylinder TDI-electric hybrid just turned a Eurocombined rating of 261mpg (for a 2,000-pound car) but don’t tell anyone within the beltway.

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FOUR WHALING . . . . Continued Dodge’s Dart was one of three conventional cars; it had been scheduled as the dual-dry-clutch transmission/gearbox but turned into a 2-liter and six-speed auto. Now, the last Dart I drove had a tubbed rear end, plexiglass rear windows and a 540-inch Hemi (the original kind) so you know fuel economy was irrelevant. This new one, derived from an Alfa Romeo platform, felt solid and ofa-piece, had a lot of features for $25,000 (nav, heated steering wheel, etc.) and gave me 29mpg.

The next conventional car was a 2013 Honda Civic. Although the engineering was sound, the 2012 redesign was lackluster, especially inside and relating to refinement, so Honda did a quick fix and the 2013 looks much better and feels like a different car.

And it didn’t cost much, as my 2013 EX was just $40 more than the 2012 EX. Whether or not you’re a Honda fan they deserve a lot of credit for pulling that off so quickly, even though a Honda pal mentioned if they had really done well the redesign wouldn’t have been needed.

That Civic carried EPA numbers of 28/39/32 and I averaged 33 (all identical to 2012). And these are the standard car and five-speed automatic, not a fuel economy special (their HF is 41 highway). And of course they have a hybrid, rated at 44/44/44, in which I get low 40s—better mileage than I do in the 47/47/47 C-Max from Ford.

An Audi S6 rounded out the last conventional car, if you consider a twin-turbo V8 that switches to 4 cylinders under light loads, turbos in the valley of the V, outboard intakes and a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox conventional. Although twice the capacity and horsepower of the standard A6 engine, this is the detuned version of the 4-liter engine also found in the S7, S8 and Bentley Continental V8, so in the S6 it makes only 420hp and 406lb-ft at 1400rpm.

For a 4400-pound four-door sedan that uses its all-wheel drive to do 0-60 in the 3’s (!) it gets 17/27mpg, just one less than the smaller, lighter, 90-hp-less S4. But the efficiency costs money—an Audi S6 is about $15,000 more than a 6.4-liter Chrysler 300SRT8 that’s slower and thirstier.

RAM’S 1500 DIESEL FALLS IN LINE – JEEP FIRST When you’re Jeep and you want your Grand Cherokee to play in a premium market, a diesel or a hybrid needs to be in the product line. And since Fiat owns half of diesel-engine specialist VM Motori that’s where they went; it’s the same company that supplied the Liberty diesel engine, the “CRD” or common rail diesel. GM owns the other half, so it’s possible a version of this A630 engine in the 2014 Grand Cherokee and slated for the Ram 1500 might be offered in a GM half-ton or SUV as well. Since few Jeep owners knew what CRD meant, Chrysler branded this new engine EcoDiesel.

This is an aluminum-head, compacted graphite iron (CGI) block engine, built stout with a bedplate, cracked rods on 2.66-inch big ends, and chain-driven overhead cams so intake and exhaust passages needn’t snake around pushrods. Bosch supplies the common-rail basics, including solenoid injectors capable of 7 injections per cycle and pressures to 29,000 psi. The watercooled variable-geometry turbo comes from Garrett and sits in the valley of the 60-degree V—it’s not a “backwards” engine with the exhaust in the V and intakes outboard, and it runs water-cooled EGR and SCR.

But there’s another option even rarer, the Civic Natural Gas. This is a little slower, loses half its trunk to fuel storage, costs more, has a smaller range (very conservatively 200+ miles) and EPA ratings are just below the regular Civic. However, natural gas burns clean, much of it is domestic, there are at least eight stations within 40 miles of my house, you can buy home refueling rigs, and the CNG at my local city yard was $2.18 when regular unleaded was $4. If you don’t need a big trunk for your commuter/errand car that could cut your fuel bill by nearly half, and without including any incentives the payoff point for me would be six years at 300 miles/week.

My pessimistic neighbor thought 8 gallons of gas equivalent (gge) CNG in the car wasn’t a good idea for safety, but has no problem with 10 gallons of gasoline, a 600-pound lithium-ion battery, or riding a CNG-powered bus with tanks on the roof. Go figure.

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In the Grand Cherokee it’s rated 240hp at 3,600 and 420lbft at 2,000rpm, near the top of the torque ratings for Europe applications and a bit shy of their peak hp unit; but remember the diesel engineer that wished all his engines ran on Italian diesel fuel. Given the Ram 1500 and Grand Cherokee share engines, electrical architecture and transmissions, and the cost of emissions certifications, the Ram should get very similar ratings.

It’s a refined, free-revving engine with a quelled diesel growl, as it has to be—it’s not like this diesel ute stuff is anything new to competitors like VW, Mercedes-Benz or BMW. My only drives were in mild weather so I couldn’t compare sub-zero cold start experience, but in virtually every respect the VM felt, sounded and ran just like I expected a 3-liter-six diesel to.

In a rear-drive Grand Cherokee the EcoDiesel rates 22/30 and you know that 30mpg is going to show up in a lot of Jeep ads. But four of five Grand Cherokees sold drive four wheels, as do all the diesel competitors, so how does that 21/28 EPA rating stand up?

You’ll see from the chart it’s about par for the course and all these engines have similar qualities. Although the name tag may say “35d” or “350,” all of these engines are 3.0-liters in displacement.

FOUR WHALING . . . . Continued 2014 Grand Cherokee

2013 BMW X5 xDrive 35d

2013 MercedesBenz ML350 Bluetec

2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel

2013 Volkswagen Touareg TDI

60o V, DOHC 24-valve

Inline, DOHC 24-valve

72o V, DOHC 24-valve

90o V, DOHC 24-valve

90o V, DOHC 24-valve

15.5:1

17.0:1

15.5:1

16.8:1

16.8:1

HP @ RPM

240 @ 3,600

265 @ 4200

240 @ 3,600

240 @ 3500-4,000

240 @ 3,500-4,000

TQ @ RPM

Design Compression ratio

420 @ 2,000

425 @ 1750-2250

455 @ 1,600-2,400

406 @ 1700-2,000

406 @ 1,700-2000

EPA (4/AWD model)

21/28/NA

19/26/22

20/28/23

19/29/23

20/29/23

Minimum price

$40,295

$56,700

$51,270

$55,750

$47,445

All of these have an eight-speed automatic except the Mercedes’ seven-speed and they all weigh at or more than 5000 pounds. The BMW feels quickest, the VW and Porsche have the highest tow rating of 7700 pounds. I wouldn’t tow more than 6000 with any of them even if I could get the tongue weight to fit.

Since a Ram 1500 weighs about the same, runs similar size tires and offers similar axle ratios (a 3.55:1 to counter the Jeep’s 3.45:1), it stands to reason a Ram 1500 diesel could garner EPA city ratings very close to the Jeep’s 21 and 22. Aerodynamic resistance would likely cut the highway number a bit, but 25-27 on the highway like a lightly-driven high fuel economy (HFE) version combined with more torque than a Hemi…an extra 150lb-ft on the HFE, makes a compelling argument for a $4500 option.

Above is a picture of the 3.0-liter, V-6 VM Motori engine that will be used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Ram 1500 pickup.

G.R. Whale TDR Writer

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Reflections on the human side of the man/machine relationship by clinical psychologist and motojournalist, Mark Barnes, Ph.D.

CROSSROADS My practice sits in a busy, cramped area between several hospitals and a university. Right outside my office window is an intersection with a three-way stop near the crest of a steep hill. Traffic coming up the hill doesn’t have to stop because maintaining momentum on this incline is essential when the road is icy. Stopping could easily lead to a rearward slide with multiple impacts. I’ve seen it happen lots of times. And, even if a stopped position could be held, resuming upward movement would be unimaginable in most vehicles.

Nevertheless, more than half the drivers I’ve watched climb this hill in icy conditions fail to maintain their momentum. They let off the gas half-way up, or even tap their brakes reflexively as they approach the intersection—even when the way is completely clear. What would have been a controlled, perfectly adequate upward drive suddenly becomes a perilous backward descent, as the over-cautious driver careens blindly down the hill, bouncing off curbs and other cars. Ironically, their fear of impact prompted actions that made impact much more likely. Staying on the gas all the way up apparently requires a level of daring greater than what most drivers around here possess.

This intersection’s setup has a rationale that’s easy to understand from afar, but it’s not necessarily apparent to drivers actually approaching it, especially when conditions aren’t treacherous.

And, given the rarity of three-way stops at four-way intersections, few check the small print under the stop signs alerting them to this uncommon configuration. Paused drivers regularly expect cars climbing the hill to stop and take their turn, but those cars cruise through the intersection—or try to. For many years, I’ve heard crashes there on a near weekly basis, as people pull out in front of upward-bound vehicles they expect to stop and wait their turn.

There has always been a (three-way) flashing red light hanging above this intersection, signaling its uniqueness. And additional signs just recently went up, explicitly warning the other three directions that uphill traffic won’t be stopping. Who knows why it took so long for them to appear, given the regularity of accidents. I imagine officials reviewing this site in years past noted the presence of the flashing light and the “THREE-WAY” sub-titles on the stop signs and concluded that these should be ample notification for the average driver.

And indeed they are; the vast majority of traffic moves through there without incident. But the problem is that not every driver is average. The scary fact is that, by definition, half the drivers on the road are below average—some of them waaaay below. Those who wreck at my intersection in good weather likely rate sub-par on scanning, attentiveness, caution, the ability to accurately assess approaching vehicle speed, and/or alertness to the possibility that situations may unfold differently than they assume. Even folks who usually do well in these dimensions can be distracted at any given moment by troubling news, bodily discomfort, an upset passenger, etc. (Editor’s note: how ‘bout the cell phone winki-twinki), and it only takes one such moment to create a big bang outside my window.

The crashing continues, in spite of the new signs. It seems that if you were inattentive enough to miss the flashing light and stop sign footnotes, you’re unlikely to notice another collection of words in your peripheral vision. The city’s intervention may be akin to giving a teenager who refuses to do his chores more chores as punishment. If he didn’t do the first batch, why would anyone think he’d do even more? Because he should? Yeah, right! Just like drivers at my intersection should notice those warnings.

It’s not just faulty expectations about the uphill drivers that mess things up, either. Halting, jerking chaos ensues whenever somebody decides to “be nice” and not take their right of way (a common act of misguided gentility here in the South). Inevitably, what follows is a syncopated series of false starts as all the confused contestants’ internal clocks tell them at different times they’ve waited long enough for the other(s) to make their moves.

And, if the uphill driver assumes he’s come to a four-way stop and pauses for everyone else, the same thing results, plus he may get hit from behind by someone accustomed to uninterrupted motoring through there.

So, because some people don’t do what they should, this simple little intersection is a terribly dangerous and unpredictable hazard. I don’t know of anyone dying there, but I’ve seen plenty of cars, trucks and SUVs mangled beyond repair; and many drivers have taken the two-block ambulance ride to the nearby emergency room. We might shake our heads and frown, insisting such events shouldn’t happen. But I believe they actually should occur!

Real flesh-and-blood human beings are a motley crew.

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MOTOR MINDED . . . . Continued

The idea that we’ll all behave in well-considered, reliable, agreed-upon ways—even in an activity as mundane as negotiating an intersection—ignores fundamental, irrefutable facts of life.

Let’s cultivate above-average attentiveness; it’s the best defense against the other 50% of drivers we’ll encounter out there on the road.

Now, I’m not using that word “should” in the sense of a moral imperative or something desired. I’m talking about what’s reasonable to expect, given the actual factors involved. Real fleshand-blood human beings are a motley crew. We have extremely diverse capabilities and priorities, both in comparison to each other, and over the course of time as individuals. The idea that we’ll all behave in well-considered, reliable, agreed-upon ways—even in an activity as mundane as negotiating an intersection—ignores fundamental, irrefutable facts of life.

Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Without trying to control your breathing, just observe and count your exhalations. When you reach ten, mentally note that you’ve completed one “set” and restart your count. Note that you’ve done two sets after the next ten breaths, and so on. If/when you lose your place, start over from the very beginning. Stop after ten sets. Sounds easy, right? After all, you’re only counting to 100. Yet many highly intelligent, otherwise quite capable adults can’t make it through the very first set. (Is it really any wonder people have so many accidents outside my office?)

Your performance will improve with daily practice, and you’ll almost certainly enjoy a more balanced, open awareness of yourself and the world around you, too—if you stick with it.

If I assemble an engine carelessly, it should fail. Not as a punishment for my bad behavior, or because it’s the preferred outcome, but because that’s simply what sloppily assembled motors tend to do. It’s their nature, or their destiny, or something of the sort. Human beings are inherently vulnerable to error, even when everybody agrees what to do—and that’s a rarity in itself. We, as a group, really should have trouble navigating my intersection; it’s perfectly normal and understandable, given what we’ve got to work with.

That’s not to say any particular driver’s inattention is excusable, just because some measure of this is expectable in the population at large. That’s a debate for the moralists. My point here is that, regardless of what we believe other people ought to do, or what we’ve come to expect them to usually do, we must maintain an openness to the possibility—even the inevitability—that they’ll sometimes defy our expectations. This boils down to an impossible contradiction: expecting the unexpected.

Semantic knots aside, at a practical level on the road, this means maintaining continuous vigilance. Not only do we have to be alert and attentive to what we see and hear around us, we must also catch ourselves when we drift into a complacent state and take others’ behavior for granted. While no one could function with a completely open mind, we need to continuously pry open space to allow room for what we hadn’t thought possible. Otherwise, we’ll see only what we expect until we’re blindsided, literally.

Obviously, this has application in many areas of life, not just in dealing with traffic.

So how do we become good at this mental prying? There’s the direct method of repetitious practice, reminding ourselves incessantly that nearby drivers may surprise us at any time.

And there’s an indirect method: meditation. Meditation can take many forms, and I can’t do any of them justice here. But—before you dismiss it as something requiring saffron-colored robes or membership in a New Age commune—try this deceptively simple exercise as a sample. If you’re like most people, you’ll be astonished at how distractible and crowded your mind really is—the exact opposite of being calmly attentive with plenty of room for the unexpected.

We’re all familiar with the old adage, “It’s the journey that’s most important, not the destination.” As motoring enthusiasts, we’re obviously very concerned with journeying, and enjoy travel as much or more than arrival. But, if we don’t reach our destination because of an accident, our journey will certainly be spoiled. Let’s cultivate above-average attentiveness; it’s the best defense against the other 50% of drivers we’ll encounter out there on the road.

Mark Barnes, Ph.D. TDR Writer

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

Clayton Wright’s Second Generation truck.

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A Review of Previously Discussed/ Frequently Asked Questions

by Jim Anderson I have been appointed (elected, selected, condemned?) to write a column dedicated to member questions. Member questions range from old users with new problems to new members who are unfamiliar with the care of their pride and joy. The column reviews frequently asked questions and member feedback to deliver the best solutions. We decided to call the column “Idle Clatter.” If you don’t get my meaning, go stand next to your truck when it’s running.

I am also available to answer your questions. Call the TDR offices and they will relay the message. I can best be reached by e-mail at j.t.anderson@att.net and will promptly respond.

THEME The theme for this issue is, “Is it the journey or the destination?”

I’ll give you some examples to show why the journey is usually at least as important as the destination. Read on.

HAPPY 20th ANNIVERSARY TO YOU-ME-US We technically oriented writers whose articles appear in the pages of the Turbo Diesel Register are supposed to be objective, accurate with facts and figures, and are encouraged to use a slightly dry writing style. However, here is a human interest story that talks a little bit about us all.

Back in the day this organization was started there was a certain “cachet” about these trucks since they sported an outdated body that contained the only real diesel truck engine in the pickup truck market. Buyers responded favorably to the pulling power of the turbocharged Cummins and the “rough around the edges” demeanor of those first models. Editor Patton figured he could continue working his day job as a Cummins distributor product rep while spending a bit of time at night building a subscriber list of like-minded folks.

As the membership grew to eclipse 4000, Patton could no longer keep his day job while working all night on his “part time” TDR job; so with his wife’s support, and with great trepidation, the TDR became a full time business.

The club grew and matured. Along the way, they started Geno’s Garage, at first selling just one product, a gauge with two needles to indicate exhaust gas temperature and turbocharger boost, along with the kit pieces for making a clean installation. They didn’t realize it at the time, but Geno’s Garage created a whole new kind of mail order catalog, one that goes exclusively to the diesel pickup truck industry.

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Later, club features were added, including a website; national and regional rallies such as the upcoming one at the Cummins Midrange Engine Plant in Columbus, Indiana; and creation of local club chapters which featured outings and camaraderie. Added features, such as the 300 page TDR Turbo Diesel Buyer’s Guide and a resource directory for help in the event of trouble on the road make answering common questions and getting help when needed much easier for members.

The club continued to grow. The primary source of new club members was a registration list that was sourced from RL Polk.

This door was slammed firmly shut when Congress enacted new privacy laws and you could no longer rent the list. The big question then became, “How do we reach new truck owners?” The question has yet to be satisfactorily answered to this day. Even though you as members have touted the benefits of club membership far and wide, the economy has taken its toll on the numbers. Meanwhile, the price of membership has not changed from the original $35 per year, thanks to running a lean TDR ship and gaining economies in printing and publishing.

Where did the writers come from? Most started as TDR members who wrote in with something specific and useful to say while others come from other backgrounds of expertise related to your interests.

Through members telling members, the Turbo Diesel Register has become recognized as the Number One resource for accurate information about these trucks. The magazine and website are unequalled in getting that information to you in a timely manner using multiple channels and making two-way communication with members an everyday occurrence. Truly, this club operates to serve its members, not just to finance publication of a magazine!

You can write or call the office or me and others and get answers to your specific questions, and some of those contacts become the subjects covered in this column so that all members can benefit.

In this case, the journey continues and the experiences along the way are, and always have been, priceless for me.

AN IMPROVING ECONOMY As the world economy and particularly the US economy continue to improve, a side benefit will be growing Turbo Diesel Register membership. The editor and writers have frequently asked all members to pass out TDR membership forms to gain new subscribers. It is still up to us as existing members to contact prospective folks and ask them to join the TDR. A side benefit is that more member input means more and better solutions to truck problems and questions, and that helps us all. This would be called a continuing journey with no end in sight.

IDLE CLATTER . . . . Continued TACKY TENNESSEE TRAILER TRASH As many of you know, I live and travel full time in a fifth-wheel travel trailer, and “home” is wherever I happen to park it, whether that be at my home base in eastern Tennessee, or at any other place in North America. I’ve been living this way for 16 years now. So far I’ve gone through four Dodge trucks and six trailers. I have no set destination on many trips, leaving me open to many possible positive experiences along the road. Having no destination in mind, I also don’t usually have a schedule to meet, so I can experience each area I visit to the fullest before I decide to hook up and move on. On a few trips, I’ve had a goal such as “spend the summer in Alaska,” but the experiences along the way in getting to and from Alaska have been at least as interesting and memorable as touring in Alaska itself. I’ve made that trip twice and would love to do it again. I recommend that you make that trip, too.

Some people ask me how I plan my trips. I don’t. Sometimes I’ve headed out to the interstate and then flipped a coin to decide which way to turn. On other trips, I’ve decided to head “north” and experienced each day as it came, returning to my home base maybe several months later or whenever my money ran out. During all of this “road wandering,” I’ve met and become friends with many of you over the years. I hope I enriched your life during our encounter, because you certainly enriched mine! I haven’t reached a final destination yet, and hope I never do since that will mean I have to hang up the keys and get off of the road.

JIM GOOFED Even the most astute diesel gearhead can make mistakes that can become costly and your writer is as prone to make mistakes as anyone else. My 2010 truck has a 70 gallon auxiliary fuel tank installed in the bed. This homemade tank has its own pump and is used to refill the chassis fuel tank through a hose inserted into the filler port. I also can use this pump system to put fuel into other vehicles. One recent day I wanted to get the last 10 gallons of fuel transferred from the auxiliary tank to the chassis tank, and not paying close attention to what was coming out of the fill hose, proceeded to transfer fuel. Instead, I transferred crud (a TDR technical term for a mix of diesel fuel, algae, water, and dirt). The truck ran about a block before the fuel filter stopped up and the engine quit. What do I do now? I drained the fuel filter and tried to start the truck again. No start. I tried pumping fuel from the tank through the opened fuel filter housing and the bucket placed under the filter drain showed how awful the contents were.

Long story short, I had the truck towed to a local repair shop, Jesse’s Auto Repair in Wauchula, Florida (863-773-9977) because I didn’t have the equipment with me to drop a fuel tank containing 15-20 gallons of fuel. Jesse dropped the fuel tank and dumped the contents, cleaned the tank and fuel transfer pump module, put everything back together, put fuel into the tank, installed a new filter, and got the engine running again. The cost of Jesse’s work was just $217 plus an $80 towing bill. Though not pretty or clean, most of the locals use Jesse’s for their vehicle repair work because this shop is competent and honest, and usually makes repairs that would be far more costly at a dealership.

The lessons learned are these: A seldom used auxiliary fuel tank, particularly if it is made of aluminum, will accumulate lots of water which must periodically be drained off. The presence of water in a fuel tank promotes the growth of algae, and an additive will be required to get rid of it. As algae accumulates in a diesel’s fuel system it will finally stop it up and the entire system will have to be steam cleaned. The best lesson learned in this particular experience is that the fuel filter did its job and kept any contamination out of the high pressure common rail and injectors. I try to learn from my mistakes! Was the destination worth the trip?

LED LIGHTS Aftermarket LED lights and assemblies are becoming more popular.

With their growing popularity come more questions from TDR members about installation problems, particularly when mixing LED lights in the same circuit with incandescent lights. More vexing is trying to get them to work as turn signals, especially when mixed in the same circuit with regular bulbs. Dodge computers that monitor electrical loads on all circuits in the newest models, don’t react well to changing lights to anything but the standard bulbs. Some aftermarket LED makers are offering a resistor or other electrical component to put in the LED circuit to fool the vehicle computer into thinking that only regular bulbs are in use. These components increase current flow and use just as much electricity as regular bulbs, so there is no power savings there! Your writer strongly suggests that if you buy LED assemblies for your truck or RV, make sure at the time of purchase that you can return them if they don’t work in your particular application.

Of primary importance, many aftermarket LED fixtures such as taillight assemblies and turn signals don’t meet federal motor vehicle safety standards, and often are not as bright or don’t show up well when viewed at an angle. They may look cool, but do they work well in use? If the answer is NO, pass them by.

LED TROUBLESHOOTING – I TOLD YOU SO Member Dave Mitchell wrote asking for help on his 2000 truck.

The parking lights would not work, but headlights, turn signals and brake lights all work normally. He first checked fuses and found all to be okay, which led him to believe he had a defective headlight switch. Further investigation found a blown 15 amp fuse related to the parking light circuit, installed a new one, and saw it blow as soon as the headlight switch was moved to the park position. He had recently installed aftermarket LED taillight assemblies. Dave unplugged both LED taillight assemblies and the circuit worked normally. He plugged in the left taillight assembly, all normal, so he plugged in the right assembly and the fuse blew. He plugged in the original incandescent bulb in the right side assembly and all worked normally. He called the aftermarket supplier where he had bought the LED taillights and they said they had found a problem with the product and shipped him two new taillight assemblies.

These were installed and Dave is happy with the results. The lights work and no blown fuses.

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IDLE CLATTER . . . . Continued ROGER’S TRUCK: A SUBMARINE CANDIDATE

STIFF STEERING

Your worst nightmare?

A Virginia member related a common complaint that his 1999 four-wheel-drive truck’s steering was so stiff that the steering wheel wouldn’t self-center coming out of a turn. Steering and front suspension complaints are common on these models, especially if the truck has high mileage. This condition has many possible causes, including a binding steering box, binding U-joints at the outboard ends of the front axle, and worn wheel bearings. All of the front end parts and assemblies must be checked to find out where the problem really lies before corrective action can be taken. All joints in the steering linkage including pitman arm, tie rod ends, links, and ball joints must be inspected. Almost every past issue of this magazine contains an article about curing 4x4 front end problems including the “death wobble.”

In Issue 79 on page 63, this column outlined Roger’s truck’s unfortunate trip into a Kentucky lake where it remained mostly submerged for about 30 minutes. It was towed out and taken to a local shop where many things were replaced trying to get it running again, but the mechanic was eventually operating beyond his level of expertise. Roger had his truck towed to the Dodge dealer in Somerset, Kentucky where they got his truck running again and sorted out some electrical gremlins, particularly moisture laden electrical connectors under the dash and inside the cab doors.

Also, all of the lubes have been changed at least once and new batteries have been installed.

Now, if I told you that this problem was so common that I could tell you the page numbers in the Turbo Diesel Buyer’s Guide that cover the topic, would you believe me? Check it out, TDBG, pages 235-245.

LOW POWER

Roger finally got his truck back in February and then began looking for assistance in deciding what if anything could be done to restore his slide-in camper which was also along for the ride when his truck took its involuntary swim. He finally gave the camper away rather than try to restore it, and plans to buy a new one. Roger now estimates he has far more money into this truck than it is worth, but as I said in Issue 79, Roger likes his truck!

In his continuing updates to me as he puts miles on his truck, he now reports that the cruise control and the odometer don’t work properly, and the power window and seat controls have quit working although he can hear relays click when he works the controls. He thinks these are motor problems. On his trip home to Illinois from Kentucky a front brake caliper started dragging, so he replaced both calipers and a brake rotor. The heater controls either put out no heat or high heat, and mysteriously one day, the engine speed went to governed RPM and stayed there when he started it. The engine eventually reverted to normal operation, and hasn’t repeated the problem since. In fact, Roger reports the Cummins continues to run just fine. Roger says he’ll continue to sort out problems and report his progress until he gets them all corrected.

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Ron from Florida called to discuss a low power problem with his 2005 truck which has 123,000 miles on it that he uses for towing a heavy RV. He said that when the fuel level reaches one-half of a tank, the engine power goes away, and the engine misses and smokes. Changing the fuel filter has no effect on the problem.

The most likely key to the complaint’s solution is the fuel tank where either the draw straw is broken or cracked or the tank’s fuel strainer becomes clogged as fuel level drops. If the draw straw has a hole or crack, as long as the fuel covers the crack, the fuel pump will suck fuel. When the crack is uncovered, the fuel pump will suck mostly air rather than fuel. It is unlikely but possible that there is so much trash in the tank bottom that the bottom strainer becomes clogged. The tank will have to be removed from under the truck and opened up for a repair to be made. During the 2005 model run Dodge switched from using a lift pump on the side of the engine to a more dependable unit placed inside the fuel tank.

A CHEAPER SOLUTION TDR member Gary Freese of Tennessee called to say that his 2006 truck with 186,000 miles on the odometer had lost power and developed an engine miss. A local dealer checked the truck and told him the engine had three bad injectors and a faulty Engine Control Module (engine computer) and estimated it would cost $4,000 to fix his truck. I suggested that Gary get a second opinion before spending any money. Instead, Gary added some injector cleaner to his fuel tank and after the third dose, the truck now runs well again. For now the problem has been solved for under $15.

IDLE CLATTER . . . . Continued OEM TRAILER BRAKE CONTROLLER

ANOTHER CONTINUING JOURNEY

Your scribe continues to receive complaints that the built in trailer brake controller on 2010 and 2011 trucks does not do an adequate job of applying trailer brakes. Most call it “weak at best” and are not too patiently waiting for a fix from Dodge. The 2012 models came out with a trailer brake controller menu that allows selection of trailer brake types and gain settings, and complaints have largely gone away on these later models.

The evolutionary journey of the pickup truck continues. Just before press time, Dodge announced a diesel engine version of the popular 1500 series Ram pickup truck. This new truck marks the first time a diesel engine has been offered in a modern light duty pickup truck, although various truck manufacturers have been discussing this idea and doing market research for about ten years. Several import makers of Japanese compact pickup trucks offered their products with a diesel engine option in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but they were never very popular because they lacked both payload and towing capacity even though they proved to be extremely durable. The new Ram 1500 uses a VM Motori (Fiat owned) engine rather than a Cummins product. More complete coverage of this exciting new model appears elsewhere in this issue. We, as TDR members, of course, hope that Ram, Chrysler, and Dodge will continue to introduce more product variants using a turbocharged diesel engine. How about a diesel Ram van, or a diesel Dart?

FUEL TANK ROT A member asked about a replacement fuel tank for a ’93 truck, as the original one is rusting on top and dropping rusty bits into the tank. I suggested he check with the several TDR magazine advertisers who offer replacement tanks in addition to auxiliary tanks and should be able to fill his needs. The replacement tank fits and installs in the original tank’s location using supplied mounting hardware and the fuel fill routes to the stock location, while the original draw straw and gauge sender are also used.

Most replacement tanks also offer more fuel capacity.

Jim Anderson TDR Writer

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Esoteric Dissertations on Manure Shoveling

by John Holmes

THEME – JOURNEY OR DESTINATION? Well, the editor is off on another tangent. Whatever. The destination is usually the most important part of the trip; however, that depends somewhat on what you’re driving. When I head out for the Nevada ranch, I’m usually driving the motorhome. That sucker is 40 feet long, 8.5 feet wide, 12.5 feet high and weighs 42,000 pounds. It’s powerbed by an 11-liter Cummins. Now if Polly and I decide to go for a nice Sunday afternoons drive in the Viper, that’s a different story! The “snake” is 15 feet long, 6 feet wide, 3.5 feet high and weighs 3000 pounds. It slithers along with the help of an 8-liter V-10.

Driving these two vehicles makes the journey a distinctly different experience, regardless of the destination. Driving either one, you really need to pay attention to what you’re doing!

Concentrating on just the destination, sometimes it doesn’t matter about the mode of transportation. I’ve made the trip between ranches in a variety of vehicles, all along the same route, but the important thing in each case was to get to that final destination and accomplish the assigned chores. When I went to see our granddaughter graduate from college, it was strictly a pointA-to-point-B trip that could have been completed in any of the aforementioned vehicles—even by flying. In these examples, you could say the journey was incidental to the final destination.

So what is it—the journey or the destination? It’s an age-old question. I say, let’s make it your call. These hi falutin’ philosophical discussions are too much for this old gearhead.

LAST ISSUE Ram 1500 Accolades

John and Polly Holmes’ Dodge Viper GTS.

A somewhat similar comparison can be made by driving two other vehicles in our garage. If we’re headed into Kerrville to make a bank deposit and drop by the post office, the Jeep Liberty, with its economical 2.8-liter VM diesel, is a good choice. However, if we’re headed for Harper to pick up a ton of goat pellets or traveling to Fredericksburg with the flatbed to grab 100 bales of hay for the sheep, the Ram 3500 with its 6.7-liter Cummins makes more sense.

If it’s raining, and there’s “stuff” to haul, the 2002 Ram comes to the rescue with its camper shell. In these examples, regardless of the destination, the journey (load) dictates the type of vehicle.

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Boy, has Chrysler ever been making the headlines since I chatted with you in the last issue. Did you see that the Ram was selected Motor Trend “Truck of the Year” for 2013? There were big writeups in both Motor Trend and Truck Trend magazines. Of course this was for the 1500, not the heavy-duty line. One reason cited for the award was the Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 offering 42 percent more horsepower and 13 percent more torque. They also really liked the new eight-speed automatic transmission. The caption that caught my eye was, “The 2013 Ram 1500 SLT is essentially like driving a Chrysler 300 with a bed.” WOW!

RANCH DRESSING . . . . Continued I dropped by the local dealer and looked one over. It’s hard to call this luxury vehicle a truck. The thing I liked best, over our 2012 Ram, was that they had gotten rid of that awful key-fob thingee that has to be inserted very carefully into the dash. Now the fob simply recognizes you as you approach the vehicle, unlocks the door and when you get in, you just push the starter button. Each year there are improvements.

Finally, if you’re thinking about a 2013 Ram and wonder about the performance of the truck when subjected to extensive testing, check out the Truck Trend January/February issue for the 2500/3500 HD or the November/December issue for the Ram 1500. While you’re at it, you should read G.R. Whale’s articles in those issues…you know, it’s the same guy that does the great articles in TDR under the heading of “Four Whaling.” I loved his write-up on the Texas State Fair where the 2013 trucks were introduced. The article is entitled, “The State Fair of Trucks Where T Stands for Texas, Torque, Towing and Trash Talkin’.” Right on!

Special Edition Vehicles Chrysler has come out with a bunch of special edition vehicles.

In addition to the SRT Jeep Grand Cherokee, there’s the Altitude.

It’s dressed up with 20-inch black rims, a blacked-out grille and a steel-gray paint job. Then there’s the “man van.” Want a sports car handling Dodge Grand Caravan? It’s ideal for those who must have one to haul the kids, but who would really rather have a SRT Charger. They’re even bringing back two special edition Ram 1500s. Do you remember the ‘70s era Warlock and Lil’ Red Express trucks? Yippee! I loved the Lil’ Red Express. Want fancy?

How about the Chrysler 300 Glacier? It’s got all-wheel drive, ballistic nylon upholstery and comes with blue pearl paint. Sergio Marchionne—Go Man Go! By the way, he was selected as the #1 most influential, most powerful person in the automotive world

by Motor Trend. Oh yes, among the top 100 in the world, another Chrysler fellow, Ralph Gilles, was ranked #15. Incidentally, when interviewed, Ralph made it clear about how life at Chrysler was so much better under Fiat than it was under Daimler or Cerberus.

On the down side, introduction of some of the new models has slowed down a bit, partly due to Fiat’s significant sales problems in Europe and partly due to a more extensive, than originally planned, revamp of the Grand Cherokee with an eight-speed automatic and diesel option. They’re still hoping that a future redesigned Chrysler 200 will double its sales. I know I’m looking forward to seeing the Jeep Liberty replacement that’s coming soon. However, so far, Dart and Fiat 500 sales have been disappointing. The speed with which car companies introduce new models has accelerated—along with the public’s expectations of rapid innovations. As for me, I’d rather see them slow down the introductions and get it right the first time.

I’ve seen too many changes turn out to be where the customer is the guinea pig until “fixes” can be found.

Who Owns Who? One of the articles in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) talks about GM trying to reduce its huge inventory by shutting down the Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant for three weeks during Christmas instead of just two. In the meantime Jeep is struggling to meet the demand at their factories. Interesting. A negative item is that there’s a big fight between Chrysler and the union over the value of the United Auto Worker’s retiree trust that still owns 41.5% of the company. Chrysler has been among the fastest growing US automakers. Sales are up 19.2% over last year, providing $381 million in earnings, compared to $212 million before. With the extra cash, the company wants to keep buying up the remaining stock in accordance with the bankruptcy court’s decision. Last year they bought the allowed 3.3% for $139.7 million, so this year they offered the union $198 million for an additional 3.3%. The union said, “Nope, we want $343 million.” Back to court…

Weight and Fuel Economy Trying to lose weight? Well, Detroit is trying too. Less weight brings better mileage and all of the companies are trying to meet the new government goals. Steel is heavy; so now they’re substituting more plastics, aluminum, magnesium and carbon fiber—stuff you used to see only on Formula One race cars. Couple that, along with turbochargers, direct injection and eight-speed transmissions and you’ll continue to see improvements in fuel economy, but with an increase in cost. Still, that’s not going to make it all the way to the new 54.5mpg standard, so they’ll have to sell more hybrids and electrics too. “That’s where costs will go up even more significantly,” says Mr. Bienenfeld of Honda.

The WSJ had an article entitled, “Pickup Trucks Taking Different Paths.” Again, the emphasis is on reducing weight like the new Ford 150 that will cut up to 700 pounds by replacing steel panels with aluminum. The question remains on how Ford will handle the increased cost while competing with GM and Ram pickups.

Americans bought more than 1.6 million pickups in 2012 and they bring in billions in profits to the auto companies. A loaded pickup can generate $8000-$10,000 in profit for the Detroit three. That’s about 10 times the profit on a basic passenger car. In 2013, Ram is the mileage champ with 25mpg on the highway and it’s the newest model out until GM gets their new one in the showroom in late summer. Ford won’t have theirs out until the second half of 2014.

In the fuel economy race, the old diesel gets a second look. All of the manufacturers are preparing to introduce or expand their diesel models to the US market. The European manufacturers have been importing their diesel vehicles that are so popular back home. This year Jeep introduced the VM diesel in the Jeep Grand Cherokee like the ones they sell in Europe and South America. Better yet, the Ram 1500 will get that engine later in the year. Volkswagen is the top seller of diesel-powered vehicles, with 21% getting that type of engine. The company says that among the models offering the diesel option, 35% of their customers selected it over the gas version. GM is bringing back a diesel passenger car after nearly 30 years. It’ll be in the Cruze sedan. (See “BITW,” page 46.)

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RANCH DRESSING . . . . Continued Other Headlines “Chrysler Close to Forming Loan Unit with Santander” is another headline. They are about to sign on the line for an in-house lender. Banco Santander is a Spanish outfit that is joining up to provide something called Chrysler Capital. Ally Financial has been providing financing for consumers and dealers. Some dealers say they will stay with Ally, but all are glad to see other options being offered. Ally Financial used to be GMAC, which the government forced GM and Chrysler to use when they went through bankruptcy. Weird. It’s tough to follow it all.

There was quite a write-up in the WSJ on how the Motor City was coming back strong with a 6.6% increase expected in 2013. That makes registrations peaking at around 15.3 million new vehicles this year! The article points out that all segments, from sports cars to soccer-mom vans are thriving—except one. It seems the alternative-fuel rigs aren’t doing so well, even after Washington has sunk billions of our tax dollars into those green machines.

In his article, Henry Payne details the ethanol market bust and the muted electric revolution. How many stations do you find with E-85 pumps? Do you see lots of recharging stations for the electrics? The Obama bunch predicted that there would be one million electric cars on the road by 2015. Currently they are just barely hitting 30,000 and most of the federally subsidized auto battery suppliers are bankrupt. Oops, and that’s even with a $7500 tax credit for those who purchase an electric Ford Focus or a Chevy Volt. Henry goes on to compare the Chevy Cruze Eco costing $20,000, half the price of the Volt, which is built on the same platform. The Eco gets 42mpg with its 1.4-liter turbocharged gas engine. This is a similar argument about whether it pays to purchase the extra-cost diesel engine and then pay more for the fuel, even though it’ll deliver about 30% better economy. What’s the payback over the life of the vehicle?

In this global economy, we see Fiat’s problems bleed over into Chrysler’s operations as Mr. Marchionne tries to put out economic fires in Europe. Then if we look at Cummins, we find all sorts of grief coming from China’s construction ups and downs. Last year’s slump in the demand for construction equipment there caused a big build up in inventory here. Even as things are picking up a bit in China and other international markets, Cummins has to use up their backlog of engines before normal production levels can resume. China makes up 15% of Cummins total sales. It’s complicated!

Cummins Makes the News Speaking of Cummins, RV Pro magazine had a great article on the company. “Whether it’s keeping the air conditioner running at a back-country campsite or driving up a steep grade, Columbus, Indiana-based Cummins Inc. defines power in the RV market” was the lead-in. The company’s Onan division commands about 95% of the fixed mount generators in the RV industry. Also, most diesel motorhomes are built with a Cummins engine on board.

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Since Generac exited the fixed-mount generator business, that leaves Onan with almost no significant competition for the RV market. The company focuses on low noise, no transmitted vibrations, good clean power and putting it in the smallest package possible. They even have the largest generator sound testing facility in the world to develop just what the RV market wants.

Cummins now dominates the Class A pusher motorhome market.

At first, their big bus engines, like the ISM, were too large for some of the smaller truck-chassis based Class As. Then they developed their B and C series engines for those rigs. Now the ISL series is the dominant engine for the RV market while the new monster ISX series (12 and 15-liters) is going into the big heavy luxury line of motorhomes. I sure can vouch for our 11-liter ISM that has 135K miles on it from hauling trailers full of stuff back and forth between our places in Nevada, Arizona and Texas.

The company was the first diesel engine manufacturer to qualify for certification for both the 2013 regulations for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX) as well as the greenhouse gas/fuel efficiency standards scheduled to take effect in 2014. This technology flows over into the new Rams. Cummins has consistently been ahead of the curve in meeting the ever increasingly stringent federal emissions standards.

Towing – At the Auto Show Are you considering buying a new towing vehicle? Trailer Life puts out a great thing called a “Guide to Towing” for 2013. It’s got over 700 listings. It also has a good section on Trailer-Brake Controllers and another on Towing Packages. Check it out.

There were lots of articles about the various auto shows around the country. The National Motorists Association had a blurb that read, “Is the Thrill Really Gone?” Here’s a capsulation of what attendees said: “I get a kick out of watching folks swarm the Mercedes and BMW exhibits, followed by Caddy. Most of these folks have no hope of ownership, but for that brief second, there is joy, and lots of photos.

The loss of enthusiasm is that cars are now appliances—you used to need some smarts to keep one running, tuned, etc. But not anymore, and we all know the skill of driving is lost on most.

Most cars are CamCord blandmobiles. I’ve always found the fact that the least mobbed cars at an auto show are the most sold, and the most mobbed cars are the least sold.”

Another said, “It is sad to see that the country has collectively lost its enthusiasm for motorized transport. It isn’t surprising though.

After all we put up with the 55mph speed limit for 21 years and now put up with the TSA assaulting our elderly and searching our luggage. I wonder how much longer we have to enjoy the automotive freedoms we won for ourselves over the years.”

RANCH DRESSING . . . . Continued Racing Hagerty Classic Cars has some fabulous articles about cars of the past. In the winter issue there was a great write-up entitled “Trans Am Memories” written by Sam Posey. The 1970 season was the height of the incredible Trans Am Series and Sam Posey watched it from the best seat in the house. You see, he drove the #77 Dodge Challenger. Some of his significant quotes were: “You went to a Trans Am race and saw cars that closely resembled the one you drove there, only with racing numbers. This was the concept. It was also the myth.”

“You’d better win on Sunday. In addition to cheating, we were obliged to lie.” Sam gives an insightful look into what went on behind the scenes with the factories as they jockeyed for sales via sponsorships of the top racing teams of the era like Penske, Bud Moore, Jim Hall and Dan Gurney’s All American Racers. Polly and I used to go to Leguna Seca to watch the greats like Sam, Mark Donohue, Parnelli Jones and George Follmer pilot those pony cars through the turns. Ah, fond memories.

WHAT IS A VM? VM Motori S.p.A is a diesel manufacturing company in Cento, Italy.

That’s an area in Italy that’s home to some other names you may be familiar with—Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. Yep, if you go back to TDR Issue 40, page 92, you’ll find quite a write-up on what was going to be the VM turbocharged 2.8-liter inline, four-cylinder diesel that was going to be in the 2005 Jeep Liberty. The little bugger put out 160hp with 295ft-lbs of torque and was hooked up to the five-speed 545RFE automatic transmission. It had enough grunt to pull a 5000-pound trailer. We bought the first one to come into Nevada and we’ve still got it. We love it! They were only available in ’05 and ’06. It was Chrysler’s test of the American market for a diesel version of the Liberty that was popular in Europe. They quickly sold every one they brought in, but the 2007 emissions requirements spelled the end of the experiment.

The editor asked me to tie my experience with our little 4-banger into what’s about to happen to some new Jeeps and Rams. First, a little history. VM has been around since 1947. Over time it’s been bought and sold by Detroit Diesel, Daimler Chrysler, Penske, GM and finally by Fiat Powertrain Technologies in 2011. (That shows you the connection to the 2014 Jeep and Ram.) Through the years VMs have powered Alfa Romeos, Range Rovers, London taxicabs, plus a lot of stuff from Chrysler, GM and Ford that were sold in Europe and South America.

types is the Ram 1500. Yes, it’s going to get that same engine as an option in the third quarter of this year.

Chrysler just announced, as I write this, that it will be the first to offer a diesel option in a modern half-ton pickup. This is causing all sorts of buzz in the industry. We don’t know about the pricing yet, but if it isn’t outrageous, it’ll probably be one of our next trucks when we need a replacement. It’ll be interesting to see where the mileage figures come in. It’s got a tall mark to meet with its V-6 gas cousin getting 25mpg on the highway.

For comparison, the Hemi V-8 option gives you 360hp with 390ftlbs of torque. Heck, our old ’94 puts out only 160hp with 400ft-lbs.

Of course the new V-6 gets that 240hp at a very high 3800rpm, but still, that’s a bunch and the torque rating is the most important figure when comparing diesel engines. That 420 number means its stump pulling power will be right there with our ’94. Holy Cow! Predictions indicate that the diesel option will drive up production levels to 300,000 units this year compared to 227,000 last year. I wonder how many Ford and GM fans will jump ship? Brand loyalty is very strong in the truck market. We’ll see…

EXHAUSTING! I just read the note on page 29 of Geno’s Catalog saying that you may have to shorten the tailpipe when installing the MBRP Angle Cut Turbo Exhaust Tip. No, No, No, don’t do that. The problem is that the inside diameter (ID) of the shiny tip is 4” and the outside diameter (OD) of the stock late-model Ram tailpipe is 4-1/8”. So, go by your local muffler shop that has an expander for 4” exhaust pipes and the ID can easily be expanded the necessary 1/8”. This will allow you to slide the tip to the position you want. If you check the inside of the tip you’ll find that flange area, where you clamp it to the tailpipe, has an ID of 4-3/16” and then the double innerwall extension portion narrows down to 4”. It expands easily to the needed 4-1/8” without any distortion to the tip. My only caution is to be sure you’ve got an 8 mm hex wrench for the goofy bolt to clamp the tip to the tailpipe. ’Nuff said.

So what’s all that got to do with today’s vehicles? Well, in 2011 VM launched its brand new 3.0 V-6. The first applications were in the European Grand Cherokees and the Lancia Themas. Guess what is going to be offered in the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee later this year? Yep, that engine, which puts out 240hp with a 420ft-lbs torque rating and will provide you with a towing capacity of 7400 pounds. This diesel comes with the new Chrysler eight-speed automatic and will give you 30mpg on the highway (about the same as we get in our Liberty). I hope Chrysler will sprinkle a few of the VMs throughout the Jeep line and as an option for some of their passenger cars. However, the most important one for us TDR

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RANCH DRESSING . . . . Continued BRAKE CONTROLLER PROBLEM Engineers at Chrysler’s Ram truck division just put out a solution for aftermarket brake controllers that weren’t compatible with the new Powernet electrical system now used in the 2013 Rams. It’s always something! At this time, the only unit that works without a special Mopar connector is the Tekonsha 90250 Prodigy RF. The Mopar jumper basically converts the two-connector circuit into the four circuits the aftermarket uses. The connectors are located under the dash on the driver’s side behind the knee block panel.

The revised part number is 68210246AA. Without that, you could do damage to this new Powernet system. There’s an instruction card that comes with the jumper that’s very helpful except it has the wrong part number at the upper right corner. It even addresses the hot lead for charging the trailer battery and points out that there’s no isolator. You could discharge everything when the engine isn’t running. Why couldn’t they have just furnished that with the truck?

It reminds me of when they used to stick a heavy-duty flasher in the glovebox and told you to plug that one in if you were towing a trailer. Wake up people!

2013 HEAVY DUTY There are lots of changes for the new Rams. A quick rundown on the major items: You can get the Hemi in the full heavy-duty line now. Also, you can get a Hemi all set up for compressed natural gas (CNG). You get the full factory warranty since it is Ram-installed. That’ll be great for fleet operations.

The 6.7-liter Cummins comes in three different versions now. The stick shift gets ratings of 350hp and 660ft-lbs; the one with the Mopar 68RFE automatic gets 370hp with 800ft-lbs; the really high output (available only in the 3500) comes with the Aisin AS69RC six-speed automatic and delivers 385hp and 850ft-lbs of torque.

Got that?

Other good stuff—Ram Active Air redirects the input airflow to the turbo from the front grille to the fenderwell when it’s raining or snowing. They’ve gone to dual fuel filtration similar to our motorhome. You can get dual 220-amp alternators. Holy smokes, that’s 440 amps available for work-related functions. Need to supply the house during a power outage? And then there’s the “Smart” Diesel Exhaust Brake. As best I can figure out, they’ve taken half of the Tow Haul mode and applied it to the second push of the exhaust brake button. You get more aggressive downshifts for enhanced braking without the extended upshifts associated with the Tow Haul setting.

As federal standards for both emissions and fleet fuel economy continue to tighten, the manufacturers keep changing things to meet their goals. For 2013, that means the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) emissions system gets applied to the regular heavy-duty line

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that has been used on the chassis-cab rigs since 2011. This meets the upcoming emissions standards while at the same time provides improved fuel economy. Ram made some changes to the previous SCR system by reducing complexity and hopefully improving durability. Now there’s an electric heater in the tank for the diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) so it won’t freeze, rather than running glycol cooling/heating lines throughout the system. The DEF injector no longer requires engine coolant to control its temperature. Less soot buildup and less energy needed from the engine equals lower emissions and better economy. Also, they stuck the DEF filler port right next to the fuel filler tube on the driver’s side for easy access at pump stations. If there aren’t any DEF dispensing stations in your area, you can buy the stuff in jugs on line or at one of the big truck stops the next time you’re driving by.

For those of you not familiar with the Aisin automatic, that’s been used in the chassis-cab trucks since their introduction; it’s one heck of a heavy-duty transmission. Having seen the Mopar and Aisin transmissions torn down, side by side, it reminds me of automatics that are used in drag racing. It’s got a billet 12.7-inch torque converter with a multiple disc friction pack for improved slip control, better control of torque spikes and improved shift quality.

I’m not even going to touch the Uconnect Access furnished via a 3G cellular connectivity that’s built into the truck. That gets into setting up your email account, how to dial 9-1-1, activate “Apps,” figure out Bluetooth, dial up SiriusXM and find Wi-Fi hot spots.

That would take up the whole magazine. There’s a USB port for your iPod and even instructions on how to open the door—yeah, it depends on if you’re wearing gloves, or if it’s raining, or whether you want just the driver’s door to open, or for all of them to open.

I like the little DEF gauge and that the dash displays when the exhaust system is going through regeneration. It also displays lots of other messages telling you what’s going on with this complex system. If you’re like me, you refuel when the gauge gets to half.

Well, with the DEF, when it gets to half, you’ll need about four gallons to fill it up. Be careful not to over fill the tank. If you should spill some DEF, clean it up immediately with water and a mild solvent.

Like man, it’s a whole new Ram world out there!

TDR MANNERS With many of us competing for a job in this down market, it’s not a good idea to take a beer to a job interview.

I know you’re concerned with security now a days, but try to identify folks in your yard before shooting at them.

And, even if you’re pretty certain that you’re included in the will, it’s kind of tacky to pull a U-Haul to the funeral home.

John Holmes Ye Old TDR Writer

A Feminine Perspective by Polly Holmes

A BIG HOWDY First things first…a big “HOWDY” to Bill Piggins in Ghazni, Afghanistan (Issue 79, page 7), “Letter from Afghanistan”, stay safe, come home soon. Hopefully by now you’re already home?

Husband John is a Vietnam USAF veteran and I know that freedom isn’t free. Those who have defended our country, like you, pay for it. I appreciated your comments in Issue 79 and I’m glad you enjoy the magazine and the “extended family” of TDR members and writers.

THEME - DESTINATION OR JOURNEY? Interstate 10 reminds me of a river: always flowing, but changing depending on what drives along its lanes. During the week, there are far more 18-wheelers and pickup trucks, usually towing something, than there are passenger cars. The 18-wheelers seem to be more interested in the journey than the destination (paid by the mile). Their destinations change depending on where the load they are hauling has to go. Then on Friday nights, the passenger cars and SUV’s come out to run on I-10. They, too, seem to be more concerned about their destination. The critical point is how long it will take to get to that destination. On a weekend of a major holiday the loaded passenger cars and SUV’s always take center stage. If there was ever any doubt as to how the price of diesel affects everything we buy, you just have to drive an Interstate and see all the 18-wheelers hauling loads all over the place. Figure up to a $1000 for a fill-up. When you remember that President Dwight Eisenhower originally set up the Interstate system so we could easily move missiles, if we needed to, during the cold war.

My, how things change. Or maybe they stay the same?

Thank goodness Wesley is okay because I’ve got my hands full with a doubling of the herds of goats and sheep with lots of newborns.

So far, bottle-babies number only five kids and two lambs. That’s very time consuming! Thankfully, it won’t be too long until this birthing season will be over.

TRUCK REPAIR Do some of you live in a very rural area like we do? Sometimes it’s difficult to get to the big city to visit a dealer. How do you tell if an independent repair facility near you can do the job? That question came up from a friend who lives near us. I told her to look just outside nearby Harper, Texas, on route 783. There you’ll find a great little shop that specializes in Ram/Cummins Turbo Diesel Repair. It’s simply called Jake’s Automotive. It’s owned and run by Jake Meyers, who is a master technician, ASE certified in eight different disciplines. The ASE sign is one of the first things you should look for. That gives some assurance that the shop can handle problems that come up on our trucks. For 30 years, Jake has been working on vehicles.

He installs and repairs transmission and transfer cases by Jasper.

It’s one of those rare shops that have the factory diagnostic equipment to analyze Ram computer problems. He has the Chrysler StarScan-StarMobile-DRBIII-WiPod-WiTech package. This covers Mopar products from the early 1990s to date. There have been lots of changes to the Chrysler OEM tool line up over the last 10 years when they went from the non-CAN to the current CAN electrical systems. Basically, it takes lots of computers in the shop to talk to lots of computers in the vehicle! This allows Jake to reprogram components that are replaced on your truck without having to go to the nearest dealer to get that done. Today, most new replacement parts come in the “dumb” state and have to be programmed to operate properly. Everything is VIN specific.

DOG REPAIR Our rescue dog Wesley collided with an oncoming SUV on his blind side. The result was not pretty for Wesley’s front legs and paws. On a Sunday morning, we made an emergency run to the vet, and Dr. Dittmar, of Kerrville Veterinary Hospital, called in an assistant to help him put Wesley’s legs back together. He was on so many medications that I made up a chart to write them all down.

Amazingly enough, Wesley is back on all fours with no bandages and no more medications. He’s been a pretty good patient. We set up a loading ramp at the back of the ’02 Ram and when it was time for a vet checkup all we had to do was put his leash on and up he would go into the bed. I wish I could heal up that fast!

Ryan Hamlin and Jake Meyers in front of Jake’s Automotive.

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POLLY’S PICKUP . . . . Continued METAL BUILDINGS A specialty item for David Johnson of Comfort, Texas, is metal buildings. He uses his ’01 Dodge 2500 with 270,000 miles on it to haul equipment and materials to jobs all over the Texas Hill Country. David is a terrific welder and can figure out how to build anything. He’s done our barns, porches and just did a beautiful new steel insulated roof on our home. As an avid roper, David uses his Dodge to haul horses and equipment to roping events around Texas. He recently was invited to participate in the World Series of Team Roping in Las Vegas. Although he didn’t make the finals, just being invited was an honor.

Jake also does Texas State Inspections for both vehicles and trailers. Do you know that in Texas trailers need to get the state inspection once per year as well as vehicles? Well they do, and since we have several trucks and trailers, we get to visit Jake’s place a lot. The day that we came by, Jake, along with his assistant, Ryan Hamlin, had several Dodges in there to work on. There was an ’06 dually with 170,000 miles on it, then there was an ’08 dually with 132,000 miles and an ‘02 with 175,000, plus our own ’12 Ram with only 13,000 on the odometer. It was a Ram Rendezvous!

Jake’s other love is Mopar muscle cars. Up on the rack was a ‘71 Dodge Challenger, just waiting for its crate 426 Hemi to be installed along with a four-speed transmission. It was like the country song about going out to check an ad described as an “old Chevy” and finding a ’66 Corvette under the tarp. This is another thing to look for when searching for a good shop. Restoration of antique vehicles takes top-notch technical skills.

David Johnson and Polly in front of David’s ‘01 truck.

BUCKHORN BUNCH Dorothy and Bob Wright of Yellow Jacket, Colorado, dropped by the famous Buckhorn Lake RV Resort for a short visit. We had the opportunity to meet them and later they came out to our ranch to check things out. You see, Bob is a big hay raiser back home. I wish we had all of it here! The Wrights pull their big fifth-wheel with a pristine ’07 Ram dually with only 45,000 miles on it. He says he only uses it to pull their trailer on vacations. Jeez, Bob, you could haul hay with it, too.

’71 Challenger + Hemi = Lots of new rear tires

Dorothy and Bob Wright

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POLLY’S PICKUP . . . . Continued RAM HORSING AROUND

BOAR BASHING

Our friends Jim and Rocky Callahan were traveling through Alabama where they stopped for lunch. Jim spotted an unusual red Ram parked nearby. The first thing that caught his attention was the pony…not in the bed…in the back seat! It appears the pony needed some air since the back window was missing. The pony’s cart was in the bed, along with a lot of other treasures, and his saddle was in the front seat. Interesting. If you looked closely at this Dodge you would see many customized features. The mirrors on both sides were not only “custom,” but each was a little different.

Taillights were different on both sides too. One headlight was held on with tape. The passenger side had some nice “artistic” wrinkles along the bed. The right front was running the spare tire. Definitely a unique truck! Dodges do different things for different drivers.

You may have read about Texas recently opening a new freeway between Austin and San Antonio with a speed limit of 85mph. Of course there were cries from the safety councils that there would be an incredible amount of blood shed over all four lanes. Yep, the human carnage would be unspeakable. Well, not quite. During the first week of opening there were several major accidents and there was lots of blood all over the road. However, there was no human blood spilled…it was just a ponderous pig problem.

Wild boars are a big problem here in Texas. They tear up fences and tend to cross the road at the wrong times (similar to deer). During construction of the highway they could roam freely along the new road. Then they let loose those crazy Texans driving their pickups at 85mph. The critters just couldn’t get out of the way fast enough.

Tangling with a two hundred pounder at 85mph can ruin your whole day…and your Ram! I’m sure that somewhere in Washington there’s now a new program in the making—“Swifter Swine Study.”

Polly Holmes TDR’s Female Writer

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Joe Donnelly’s Truck and Travel Stories

24-VALVE SENSOR PROBLEMS The ’98.5-’02 Turbo Diesels have reached the age and mileage range where their various sensors can begin to give problems or fail completely. Fortunately, the DRB Scan Tool allows diagnosis of these problems. Some of them can be displayed at the odometer port by cycling the ignition key on-off-on-off-on. (The retrieval technique is documented at our website. See the Turbo Diesel Buyer’s Guide, pages 269-278.) The diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) are listed in TDR Issue 55, page 96, and Issue 76, page 90. Here is an example truck and the DTCs it displayed: P0215 Fuel injection pump control circuit P1689 No communication between ECM and injection pump module P1690 F uel injection pump CKP sensor does not agree with ECM CKP sensor P0522 Oil pressure voltage too low P0336 Crankshaft position signal The oil pressure gauge on the truck sometimes read a reasonable number, and other times was zero. This problem was fixed with a new oil pressure sensor 4921511, available from Geno’s Garage for $89.95 (Dodge wants $256 for it). The new sender takes the special oil pressure sensor socket, 1-1/16” with rounded corners. This socket is like those that a gas engines uses, except that it needs to be a deep-well socket. Geno’s carries the socket, LC13250, for $6.95. Some engines will have a different style that takes a 1-1/4” deep-well socket, but the engine will take the sensor that Geno’s carries. The photo [80-1] shows the two types of sockets with the latter type of sender under the black 1-1/4” socket. The sender can be seen in the middle of the photo [80-2] with a black base, gray connector, and one orange wire. It screws into the block with straight thread, O-ring metric (STORM). Twelve-valve engines used 1/8” NPT threads.

80-1 Oil pressure sender sockets, 1.06” and 1.25” with sender underneath.

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80-2 Oil pressure sender is in the center, below and to the right of the injection lines and to the left of the fuel filter canister.

One cause of multiple trouble codes is a bad ground. Without a good ground, the sensors can’t function properly. Typical trouble spots include the two gray connectors near the passenger side battery [photo 80-3], the harness above the PCM on the firewall [photo 80-4], and the two grounds at the engine block [photos 80-5, 80-6].

80-3 Gray plastic ground wire connectors near the passenger side battery.

HAVE RAM, WILL TRAVEL . . . . Continued Another cause of multiple trouble codes is a bad crankshaft position sensor. Other sensors depend on “knowing” the crankshaft position and will send DTCs if they cannot reference the crank position accurately and reliably. On a ’98.5-’02 24-valve engine, the crank sensor goes into the engine block a few inches from the driver’s side rear, hidden behind the starter (which must be removed to get to it; see photo 80-7). I like the long 8 and 10 mm 12-point SnapOn box end wrench XDHFM810 because it gives extra leverage for the tight starter mounting bolts. [photo 80-8]. Geno’s carries the sensor for about $60 [photo 80-9]. In the case of the example truck with the above listed DTCs, an oil pressure sender and a crankshaft sensor fixed the problems.

80-4 Wiring harness above PCM on firewall; ground wire splice is in the middle of the bundle of wires.

80-7 Crank position sensor to the left of the dipstick tube.

80-5 Ground cable on front driver’s side of engine block, just above oil pan.

80-8 Starter removal; crank sensor can be seen just behind the rubber vent tube on the starter.

80-6 Ground cable just to the left and below oil filter, forward of turbo discharge elbow.

80-9 New crank position sensor

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HAVE RAM, WILL TRAVEL . . . . Continued RAM IS THE OFFICIAL TRUCK OF SHOT SHOW

THIRD GENERATION INJECTORS, CONTINUED

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the Ram Truck brand have announced an agreement that makes Ram the official truck of the 2013 SHOT Show (January 15-18, 2013; photo 80-10). This is the second year in a row Ram has been the official truck of the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show. More than 62,000 industry professionals attended the 35th SHOT Show and visited the over 1600 booths at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. The SHOT Show presents new products and services used for target shooting, hunting, outdoor and law enforcement purposes. Manufacturers and distributors display a wide range of products, including firearms, ammunition, gun safes, locks and cases, optics, shooting range equipment, targets, training and safety equipment, hunting accessories, law enforcement equipment, hearing and eye protection, tree stands, scents and lures, cutlery, GPS systems, holsters, apparel, leather goods, game calls and decoys.

Back in Issue 56, page 96, Scott Dalgleish discussed Dynomite Diesel Performance (DDP) injectors. I described the new upgraded Bosch bodies and the DDP Stage 1 injectors and their installation in Issue 62, page 96. DDP offers high performance injectors including HPCR units with the upgraded Saleen-coated Bosch bodies. DDP tests all their injectors, looking at such parameters as fuel delivery flow rates under idle, mid range, and full power conditions, backflow and leakage, and response time.

DDP injectors are rated to add 50hp (Stage 1) and 90hp (Stage 2) over stock for the 2003-up Turbo Diesels. In Issue 69, page 88, we discussed reasons not to add used engine oil, transmission fluid, and other junk to your fuel just because an old-time trucker said to do so! Internal clearances are so tight that even a coat of Magic Marker residue will be scraped off upon assembly of the nozzle. Particulates become more damaging/abrasive as fuel pressure increases, so the higher pressures and tighter fuel system clearances (to prevent excessive leakage of fuel between parts) make better filtration essential in the newer Turbo Diesels. As I file a report for this issue, once again, a set of HPCR injectors were found to be sticking, possibly due to the increased rail pressure caused by a power box.

I have seen various types of injector failures, particularly on Turbo Diesels with over 150,000 miles. After all, they cycle two times per firing (on ’03-’04 Turbo Diesels). They cycle three times per firing on ’04.5 through ’07 engines, and four times on the new ’07.5-up engine (6.7-liters). It is not reasonable to expect them to last as long as 12-valve or 24-valve injectors. The electric solenoids are things with “minds of their own” and, as you know, electrical stuff can fail whenever it feels like it. The dirtier the fuel (3 micron filtration is the way to go, and FASS offers such a filter) and the higher the rail pressure, the faster the injectors wear out. Injector installation was covered in TDR 51, page 97; Issue 52, page 46, and Issue 62, page 96. A big summary of injector issues was presented in Issue 72, pages 44-57.

80-10 SHOT Show 2013

The Ram Truck is focused on how the buyers use their trucks and what features they’d like to see. Ram Truck has emerged as a full-size truck leader by investing substantially in new products, infusing them with great looks, refined interiors, durable engines and features that further enhance their capabilities.

80-12 Removing #3 connector tube nut with short 15/16” socket and ratchet.

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HAVE RAM, WILL TRAVEL . . . . Continued To explain a few things from those articles better, the 15/16” shallow socket, cut to 0.97” total depth for removing the connector tube nuts just clears the MAP sensor in the intake manifold cover [page 100, photo 80-12] and an M14 lug nut and Proto #2007 brake adjusting “spoon” can be used to remove the tubes [photo 80-13]. Keep the injector lines in order, and organize the bolts, grouping them in “stages” of the removal process. [photo 80-14]

off will fail completely within a few minutes. Second, if one injector is bad, others are most likely going to follow suit. The vibration and harmonics will likely damage the balancer, clutch, transmission, and engine bearings.

I recently changed the injectors in a ’03 Turbo Diesel with 100,000 miles that gave a light cloud of white smoke at an idle. [photo 8011] The injector tips were dirty with partly burned fuel residue.

This residue gives resistance to pulling the injectors, and should be cleaned with a rifle bore brush from the holes in the head to facilitate installing new injectors. [photo 80-15] In another case, a ’05 Turbo Diesel with 145,000 miles was hard to start, idled roughly for a bit after starting, and in general was noisy and rough running. In both cases, new injectors from Dynomite made them run like new—smooth, quiet, and easy to start. The Stage 1 injectors are virtually smoke-free and give good mileage, at least comparable to stock, and usually better than stock injectors, especially when towing.

80-13 Ready to pry out connector tube with lug nut and brake spoon.

80-11 White cloud of unburned fuel at idle, from leaky injector on 2003 Turbo Diesel.

80-14 Bolts and injector lines removed to replace injectors.

In summary, the enemies of the HPCR fuel system are dirt, water, and excessive rail pressure.

When an HPCR injector fails, it needs immediate attention. You don’t want a crankcase full of diesel fuel, a dead miss, or clouds of white smoke with the attendant washing of lubrication from the cylinder walls. Cummins does offer a rail plug to deactivate one cylinder for test purposes. It is not suitable for extended use, such as getting home pulling your trailer. First, the injector that is capped

80-15 Fouled injector tips from partially burned fuel.

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HAVE RAM, WILL TRAVEL . . . . Continued DANA DIFFERENTIALS Background For decades, the Dana differential has been renowned for strength by drag racers. This is important for Ram owners, because drag racers and circle-track racers are the two other types of users who test differentials to their limits. Our high torque Cummins engines (1000 ft-lb, anyone?), heavy towing (how about 20,000 pounds with a headwind), and high road speeds (a cruise-controlled “only 95” in Nowhere, Nevada) give the differentials somewhat similar stresses.

The Dana is also relatively heavy, so racers have attempted to substitute other, lighter designs when they could get away with it.

The Mopar 8.75” removable center section differential, the 12-bolt Chevy, and the 9” Ford also have become popular for high-torque, high-pressure racing applications. For pulling the 40,000 pound sled, the Dana 80 has been durable, where even the Dana 70 has sometimes failed.

0.578” long. The Dana 80 (286 RBI) carrier bearing measurements are 4.125”, 0.965”, and 0.796”, respectively. These measurements suggest that the Dana 80 bearings are at least 1-3/8 times as strong as those on the 60 and 70 series. [photo 80D2; Dana 80 pinion and side bearings are in the foreground] I took these measurements with a vernier caliper on actual bearings, so the “design” sizes may be a little different. Its substantial increase in bearing size and its bigger teeth make the Dana 80 more durable for heavy duty, high torque applications. The 60-70-80 all have a carrier bearing inner diameter of about 2.245” and therefore, can use the same backlash adjustment shims. The backlash and carrier preload shim position behind the bearing is unique to Dana. Other differentials put the shims outside the outer races. Dana puts spacers there, but they are not adjustment shims. The 1997 Dodge Service Manual identification numbers correspond to the ring gear diameters in millimeters, and RBI means Rear Beam-design Iron.

Dodge used the Dana 60 in First and Second Generation four wheel drive Turbo Diesel front differentials. For the rear, a Dana 70 was used in the First Generation, and in Second Generation 2500 automatic transmission applications. Manual transmission Second Generation Turbo Diesels, and all 3500 Turbo Diesels, used the Dana 80.

The Hypoid Design Hypoid designs are used to lower the driveshaft hump in passenger cars and to afford greater strength than spiral and spiral bevel gear designs in compact differential designs. The downsides are: (1) greater precision is needed in gear setting—the distance the pinion gear is set from the centerline of the ring gear, and the distance the gear teeth are separated, or backlash; and (2) lubricants must have greater shear strength, thermal stability, and means to eliminate gear tooth scuffing. A combination of a chemically and thermally stable “base stock” and an advanced additives package provide these characteristics to high quality modern gear lubricants.

80D1 Dana 80 pinion with nut, washer, and shims above pinion shims.

Measurements and Strength Dodge, along with brands C and F, has used Dana (Spicer) differentials for decades in light trucks where strength and durability are more important than cost. The Dana 60 (called 248 RBI in the Dodge 1997 Service Manual) has a 9.75” diameter ring gear, and until recently (such as the front end of Ram 4x4s), used solid shims between the pinion outer bearing’s inner race and a shoulder on the pinion stem to adjust the pinion bearing preload. The Dana 80 has continued to use these shims, along with the pinion depth shims that are behind the outer race of the big pinion bearing [see photo 80D1]. The new 4x4 Ram diesels use a collapsible spacer like a piece of tubing in the front Dana 60, like GM has done for decades. The Dana 70 (267 RBI) has a 10.5” diameter ring gear, and the 80, 11”.

The carrier (which may be either “open” or “limited slip”) bearings are the same on 60s and 70s, with an outer race outside diameter of 3.813” and width of 0.795”. The individual tapered rollers are about

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80D2­ Dana 80 bearings (top); Dana 60-70 bearings (bottom).

HAVE RAM, WILL TRAVEL . . . . Continued The Dana 60s and 70s use 1/2 x 20 right-hand thread, grade 8 ring gear bolts (6 hash marks on the heads; 110-120 ft-lb tightening torque; different year Service Manuals give slightly different numbers, so I am showing numbers that appear to be safe for all years I checked). The 80 uses grade 9 bolts (7 hash marks on the head) torqued to 200-240 ft-lb. [photo 80D4] The Dana 80 ring gear bolts have a serrated locking feature under the heads. The pinion nut on 80s is also bigger, and takes 440 ft-lb, instead of 250 ft-lb.

A home-made pinion flange tool makes it easier to tighten the nut. [photo 80D5] The Dana 80 4x4 differential takes 5+ quarts of lube (the 4x2 takes about 3-1/2 quarts) according to the Service Manual.

Oiling Unlike the 60s and 70s I have disassembled, the Dana 80 has slots at the bottom of the carrier bearing outer race abutments in the housing. These slots at the inside of the axle tubes allow oil in the tubes to drain directly into a trough at the bottom of the “pumpkin” area, largely bypassing the carrier bearings. The Danas lubricate the bearings and gears by splash, including the outer bearings at the brake hubs. The Dana 80 drainback feature is valuable because it lessens the contamination of the bearings by rust accumulating in the tubes. Presumably, the rust can accumulate in this trough. It would be even better if there were a magnetic drain plug located in the bottom of the trough. Many problems that I have seen in used units can be traced to bearing failure from rust contamination.

These bearings are extremely hard, but very intolerant of dirt. If the bearing surface of the outer race is grayish and pitted, it is trashed.

You can be sure the smaller inner race is in even worse shape. If you think bearings are expensive, try replacing the carrier and/or housing too, after the bearing races “spin”! Of course, degraded lubricant also causes failures. These failures can be prevented by monitoring the lube for oxidation and water contamination, and by changing it regularly, especially under severe service conditions.

When the bearings are getting hot and ready to spin in the housing, disassembly will show hot spots on the bearing saddles in the housing, and on the caps [photo 80D6].

80D4 Grade 9 ring gear bolts, and rust from differential sitting for a prolonged time.

80D6 Evidence of side bearing races getting hot and working on the saddle of the housing, and the seating surface of the cap.

I make sure the fill level is a bit above the bottom of the plug. For example, fill it when the truck is pointed downhill. Don’t overfill it, however. You just want to make sure the axle tubes and outer bearings at the wheels get enough lube. Ideally, the lubricant level will end up between the inside bottom of the axle tube and the bottom of the axle shaft.

80D5 Tool for holding companion flange while tightening pinion nut.

As with motor oil, half the function of gear lubricant is to carry away heat. Both the NV4500 and the Dana differentials may run about 120-140° in the summer (non-towing), or up to about 190200° towing a moderate weight trailer uphill at highway speed.

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HAVE RAM, WILL TRAVEL . . . . Continued In my tests, synthetic lubricants did not make a major difference in lubricant temperature. However, they may offer other advantages for some usage—thermal stability, lubricity, and usable operating temperature range. The synthetic lubricants would be expected to give “an edge” over conventional petroleum-based lubricants in such operating conditions as extreme (ambient) heat and cold, and extended change intervals.

prevent wear. If your differential does not have clutch-type limited slip, do not use limited slip additive. The carrier shown here is a limited slip, identifiable by its enclosed design where the spider gears are not easily seen. A side cap bolt will be torqued to 85 ft-lb. [photo 80D8]

If you are disassembling a Dana differential to check the bearings, etc. you should look for rust if the truck has been sitting for a while, and also clean out the tubes with a wire brush—there can be rust inside them. [photo 80D7].

80D8 Limited slip type carrier; side bearing cap bolt ready to be tightened to 85 ft-lb.

Carrier Design Features

80D7 Cup-type wire brush on a piece of threaded rod for cleaning the inside of the axle tubes.

The Mag-Hytec Cover and Lubricants I installed a Mag-Hytec differential cover on the subject Dana 80.

This cover is very well made, finely machined with high-quality materials, is thick aluminum for good strength, and has a distinctive appearance, for those who like to dress up their trucks. It also has several very valuable functional features. It adds over two quarts of lubricant capacity. This extra capacity helps to keep the lubricant cooler (along with any cooling enhancement that may result from the finned aluminum cover). The extra capacity also provides a correspondingly greater amount of the lubricant additive package.

There is a magnetic drain plug with an o-ring seal. The fill plug has a magnetic dipstick attached. The dipstick shows the level corresponding to the inside bottom point of the axle tubes, and the bottom of the axle shaft. The 4x4 Dana 80 differential holds 7.5 quarts of lubricant with the Mag-Hytec cover. The Mag-Hytec cover gives a very handy way to change fluid because it has a magnetic drain plug.

Gear lubricants that are likely to see use in the differentials of our Rams are those having American Petroleum Institute (API) classifications GL-5 or GL-6. Note that the friction modifiers required by clutch-type limited slip carriers work against the additives that

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This ring gear mount spacing situation is analogous to the 3-series and 4-series carriers for the 12-bolt Chevy passenger car rear. (If you weren’t “into” GM performance cars in the 1960’s, this analogy may not help you.) To get higher numerical ratios, the pinion gear has fewer teeth and/or the ring gear has more. As the pinion gear diameter is reduced, the ring gear thickness is increased to compensate, until a point is reached where the manufacturer moves the ring gear mounting surface on the carrier so the ring gear does not have to get very thick for increasingly higher number ratios. This practice of making different carriers is generally used for rear-cover, pressed-tube axles like Dana and GM. Ford 9” and Mopar 8.75” with removable “pigs” use only one carrier ring gear spacing. For examples, truck Dana 44 axle carriers change between 3.73 and 3.92; Dana 60, between 4.10 and 4.56; 12-bolt Chevy passenger car carriers between 3.73 and 3.90.

On snow, you may actually prefer an “open” differential over a limited slip, particularly on side-slopes, because any limited slip can tend to make you slide downhill (sideways) since it locks and spins both tires. The No-Spin (Detroit or Yukon Lockers) is not recommended for the front differential of 4x4s, because it must unlock, or spin a tire, for you to turn. This rough action strongly affects steering. Also, if you are a hot-dog who greatly overloads the truck, you may be surprised how easy it is to BEND the axle tubes! This is bad news (housings cost $$$) in any event, and even more so if you have a Detroit Locker, because the dog teeth inside the Locker will shear off if the axles are badly misaligned from a bent housing.

HAVE RAM, WILL TRAVEL . . . . Continued Maintenance

Advanced Maintenance Operations

Whenever I replace a brake, hub, or pinion seal, I smear a bit of moly (molybdenum disulfide) wheel bearing grease or moly camshaft lube on the lip and bearing surfaces to help the seal break in without burning up. Change the axle lube occasionally. Dodge service intervals do not specify change intervals for moderate usage, but for towing or short-trip driving, they recommend regular changes, and for towing they also recommend using synthetic-base lubricant.

Depending on the amount of heat (such as, from towing or very high speeds) and the ambient humidity, good intervals could be anywhere from 12,000 to 36,000 miles.

If you are familiar with working on rear axles, you can check the preload on the carrier bearings, too. Until rather recently, all used Dana differentials I disassembled had at least 0.010” preload on the carrier bearings (that is, the amount of shimming under these bearings was enough that the carrier was a tight fit into the housing).

However, some of the Ram Dana 80s I have disassembled were assembled by the factory in a way that when checked after 10,000 to 20,000 miles, they had zero preload on the carrier bearings. The Ram Service manuals state that a case spreader should be used to remove the carrier, or the carrier can be pried out. This statement implies that the differential could/should still have some of the 0.010” to 0.015” preload that is specified to be included upon rebuild. However, DanaSpicer reportedly now sets up new differentials with only about 0.003” preload, and you should not increase preload beyond this amount upon rebuild with new bearings. To check if there is preload or at least no end-play, remove both carrier bearing caps, and attempt to pull the carrier from the housing. You should feel that the carrier is a snug fit, or has strong resistance to being removed. Make sure you re-torque the carrier bearing cap to specs, in stages, between the two bolts. About 80-85 ft-lb is generally correct for Dana differential carrier bearing caps. Unfortunately, if the differential is ignored, the carrier is loose (insufficient shims for zero-to-slight preload, or dirt/ rust get into the bearings), you generally won’t have a failure until well after the warranty is over. The costs you can incur for such failures are high! If you get water in through the breather/ vent hose (like, from going through deep water), change the lube immediately.

To remove the differential cover, remove the lower bolts and loosen the upper ones. Pry the cover loose near the bottom by tapping a stiff-blade, sharp putty knife into the joint between the cover and the housing. While you have the rear differential cover off, check for metal in the oil, and pull the carrier bearing caps. The left side gets more force toward the cap in the rear differential, whereas the right cap gets the force in a 4x4’s front differential. The front axle runs “backwards” at about a 20% penalty in ultimate strength—the “coast” side of the gears are used for “drive” and vise-versa). Before pulling the caps, note that the factory has stamped a marker letter near one cap bolt on the cover sealing surface and on the cap casting.

The letter will be vertical (usually upside down) on one side, and horizontal on the other (that is, sideways). It is critical that the caps be reassembled in the same relative positions as they were previously.

Look for signs that the outer carrier bearing race is “working” or turning (wear and polishing on the portion of the machined surface inside the cap where the race touched it). If so, there is probably metal in the bearing, and if not corrected (including bearing replacement), the added friction on the bearing will force the outer race to turn in the housing until it develops clearance (instead of the designed-in light press fit), and serious failure can result. If there is a slight sign of polishing on the machined surface of the caps, the bearing surfaces can be lightly “dressed” with a file or sheet of aluminum oxide paper (keep it square—don’t round off the surface) to remove about a half-thousandth of an inch (0.0005”) or so and tighten up the clamping of the outer race inside the bearing bore of the housing and cap.

Note that your Dana may not come with Timken bearings. My ’95 Ram had carrier bearings labeled Japan WN NTN, and Koyo side bearings are often used. The carrier bearings and outer races (cups) for Dana 60-70s are 387A and 382S, respectively. For the Dana 80, they are 469 and 453X. To avoid hammering bearing rollers into a new race, do not use a bearing to press the pinion bearing races into the housing. Make up aluminum “biscuits” with shoulders that fit the ends of the races. [photo 80D9]

If the races were beginning to spin, but didn’t wear off an amount of iron that enables you to feel a “lip” you can still use the housing. You can also put a film of blue Loctite on the saddles where the bearing outer races mate. Clean off the old RTV sealer with a putty knife and small wire brush (cover the “innards” with a cloth), and wipe the surfaces with lacquer thinner. Put on a thin coat of RTV (like 1/16” thick) over about 1/2 of the width of the sealing surface, and install the cover. It’s a good idea to put a bit of grease on the bolt threads.

Wait several hours for the RTV to “cure” partially before filling the differential with lubricant.

80D9 Pinion bearing outer race sitting on an aluminum “biscuit” machined to fit the edge of the race, for pressing the race into the housing.

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HAVE RAM, WILL TRAVEL . . . . Continued Tips for Gear Setting—Pinion Depth For the more advanced owner, it is quite possible to set up a differential correctly in your driveway. REMEMBER TO KEEP THE PARTS CLEAN! There is no filtering provision in the differential (except for a small magnet in the fill plug on some of them). These tips are intended to supplement the Ram Service Manual. Pinion depth can be set by comparing the etched numbers on the head of the new pinion to those on the original pinion and changing shims per factory Service Manual. This works easiest if the pinions are OEM, not aftermarket; aftermarket pinions may have only the absolute depth setting, not the relative setting that makes comparison easier. Still, this depth setting can be compared to the stock design setting. Never match a ring gear to a different pinion—they are run-in together at the factory, and then in service. They have “serial numbers” etched on them to indicate they are mated together. By the way, gear ratios are almost always selected so that the ring gear teeth are not an even multiple of the number of pinion teeth, because each tooth of one gear should mesh with each tooth of the other over time to avoid uneven wear patterns.

Check the pinion depth with an indicator compound such as yellow lead that is brushed onto several of the ring gear teeth, after you properly set the backlash of the ring gear. Service Manuals generally don’t tell you one key fact—as you rotate the ring gear or the pinion by hand, you will not get much load on the gear tooth surfaces. The pattern shown in the Service Manual is for light in use load by engine versus truck weight. Under manual rotation, the drive side pattern of the ring gear teeth in the yellow lead should be to the inside of the ring gear, but should not run off the inside edge. Under real-world load, the drive pattern will spread toward the outside of the ring gear, as load pressure tries to force the gears apart. So the load contact pattern doesn’t run off the outside edge under load, you must set the very light (manually applied) load pattern to the inside half of the tooth. Different styles of ring-and-pinion sets have different amounts of “crown” to the teeth, so the correct pattern may not be just on the inside half of the drive side of the ring gear teeth. You will have to get a “feel” for whether the pattern moves around quickly as you change shim thickness.

The pinion depth shims are behind the outer race of the inner bearing [photo 80D1 (page 100) at the bottom]. Changing the thickness of this shim pack allows you to set the drive and coast patterns. To remove the outer pinion bearing, you need to remove the seal and replace it with a new one. Note that when the pinion seal begins leaking after miles of trouble-free use, often bad pinion bearings are the culprit.

Setting Backlash It is best by far to use a dial indicator, but in a pinch you can approximately set backlash by first setting it to zero, with enough shims to completely fill the space but give zero preload on the carrier bearings. Then move 0.015” of shim from the ring gear side to the other side to get 0.0075” backlash, and add 0.003” to the side away from the ring gear for preload. It is still a good idea to check this procedure for accuracy with a dial indicator. Dana

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backlash specifications are generally 0.005” to 0.008”, where the latter number or a little more is preferred these days for high heat scuff resistance, and to give the lube more “room” to fill and cushion the gap between teeth.

Dana puts the side bearing shims behind the bearings, instead of between the outer race and the housing, as GM does. Because of this, easily removed (non-press fit) trial bearings make assembly and adjustment much easier. I have made up “trial bearings” from old bearings by honing the inside for a slip fit on the carrier. (Take them to your automotive machine shop where they have connecting rod hones, or be very patient with a flex hone—it will take about an hour or so with the flex hone.) Dodge (Mopar Performance) can sell you a kit with shims for the Dana 60-70 (part number P5249453), and you can supplement them with more shims and different thicknesses from taking apart differentials and/or begging at a shop that specializes in differential repair. You need three sizes—side bearing, pinion preload (or the collapsible spacer on front axles of newer 4x4s), and pinion depth. Avoid bent, crunched shims because it will be too hard to press them flat while setting up the differential.

Changing the carrier, such as installing a Detroit Locker, entails resetting the carrier bearing (side bearing) shims to obtain the correct preload and backlash. The changes in shimming are to compensate for different relative positions of the ring gear to the bearings, and different distances between the bearings. These differences are generally only a few thousandths of an inch. Pinion depth need not be adjusted unless the pinion gear is changed. Note that the roller bearings are manufactured to very close tolerances, so replacing them should not require shim thickness changes.

If the pinion seal is leaking, or you have a throttle-sensitive vibration through the driveline, you may have bad pinion bearings. For the Danas with solid shims to set pinion bearing preload, changing the seal and bearings is simplified. Just tighten the pinion nut to specification. If you have the collapsible spacer, you will need to torque down a new one carefully, or very carefully take the nut down so you just begin to collapse the old spacer—not even another 0.001” generally. Turn the pinion frequently so the rollers will seat properly. GM offered a shim about 0.010” thick to put on one end of the collapsible spacer to save it on reassembling the differential.

It also saved collapsing the new one a seemingly indeterminable amount, and risk over-collapsing it. I don’t know if Dana offers such a shim, or if you could get away with using one that happens to fit.

Presumably, you could retrofit your differential with the earlier type gearset that has a shoulder on the pinion stem for solid shims, but I have not tried this. Again, use a little moly (molybdenum disulfide) lube on the seal lips and the companion flange seal surface.

The factory uses coated steel gaskets between the axle shafts and the brake hubs. Replacement gaskets are often fiber. Torque causes the axles to work on the mounting surfaces because the fiber gasket acts as a “sponge” without sufficient shear strength, and leaks often occur.

Joe Donnelly TDR Writer

Truck Accessorizing with Scott Dalgleish

NAME CHANGE Last Christmas season I was reminded of one of my favorite toys when I saw an advertisement for “Red Ryder” BB guns. The BB gun name was licensed by the creators of the Red Ryder comic strip character(s). Nostalgia is cool—time to christen my truck with a new name, Red Ryder.

So, forget the previous “Cherry Bomb,” the Red Ryder fits the bill so much better. By the way, does your truck have a personality/name?

AIN’T NOTHIN’ WRONG WITH THE RADIO? When it comes to audio and entertainment, the Red Ryder truck’s stereo is almost as nostalgic (should I say antiquated?) as the Red Ryder comic books of the 40s. It has an AM/FM cassette tape player with front-to-rear fader and a Mickey Mouse (more nostalgia) equalizer.

I grew tired of listening to old tapes, not having the ability to access the music I have stored on my phone. Also, not having the ability to talk “hands free” as the Washington state law requires dictated that it was time to see just what the market offered to bring my 15 year old Turbo Diesel into the current era.

Enter the folks at Mobile Innovations, Wenatchee, Washington, 509-888-2725. Owner Aric (pronounced Eric) Westman owns the shop and he has the creativity, experience and resources to design, build and install a system that will bring any Turbo Diesel into the new century.

Fifteen years ago a really nice sounding aftermarket audio system cost several thousand dollars. Fortunately, as the technology and features have advanced, and the overall cost of a system has come down. What I would have paid extra for back then is now the standard in most of the units. For example, head units with ±.01% total harmonic distortion (THD) and 2.5 volt preout levels would have been available at a premium cost. Now those specifications are mostly standard features. Another cost savings advantage today is the availability of multichannel amplifiers, eliminating the need for separate amplifiers for each set of speakers and subwoofer(s).

Now, don’t let me get too “techie” on you with distortion-this, outputthat, harmonics-the other. I left the design and build up to Aric. He understood what I wanted to do (hands free phone, good sound, easy to program, easy to update) and he chose the components.

His suggestion was an integrated system from Kenwood.

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Kenwood Receiver BT55U – AM/FM, CD, MP3, USB and remote, Bluetooth compatible, lots of power, expandable to satellite radio.

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Kenwood 1693 – 6”x 9” front door speakers

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Kenwood 1394 – 5-1/4” rear door speakers

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Kenwood 8405 XW800F – 8” subwoofer

To these Kenwood components Aric added the “little” items, which make an appreciable difference in the overall sound. Quality wiring (wires that not only are properly sized, but that make solid connections) is a must. Aric selected Stinger 8 gauge amplifier power kit. Aric also fabricated a custom wiring harness using Streetwires ZN5235, Stinger 16 gauge and Stinger 14 gauge wire.

Mobile Innovations routes a fused connection direct to my Optima battery ensuring proper line voltage to the amplifier for optimum performance.

Aric Westman designs and builds very high end systems as well.

This shows a multi subwoofer, multi amplifier system he is finishing that will be the center console in a Super Duty 350 Crew Cab. Check out the crossover networks and relays on the back wall!

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BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued

Aric fabricated a custom wiring harness using top quality products. It is the little things that make the difference.

Installer Joseph Rainey removed the door panels one at a time, removed the OEM speakers from the doors, applied HushMat sound deadening around the new speaker locations, changed the speaker wiring, and mounted the new speakers. The new speakers fit, requiring no modifications to the door’s sheet metal.

Rear speakers complete the system.

One of the features the new system offers is the ability to connect to my iPhone via Bluetooth, making it possible to have “hands free” phone conversations. A small microphone is included in the Kenwood kit and Joe mounted it in the center overhead console.

The remote microphone is mounted on the center overhead console.

Joe installs HushMat to each door speaker location.

Installed over the HushMat, the front speakers fit in the OEM locations.

The Kenwood amplifier was installed under the passenger seat.

The space provides good protection for the amp and wiring, it is out of sight, and there is plenty of air circulation to feed the amplifier’s fans, which keep operating temperatures where they need to be.

Below the passenger seat, the Kenwood amplifier is out of sight, protected, and still has plenty of air circulation.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued The subwoofer enclosure would be a custom fabrication. Joe designed and built a custom enclosure that would fit under the rear seat on the driver’s side. After the box was constructed Joe finished the box covering it with a contrasting carpet. The finished product’s fit and sound are directly reflective of the quality built into the box.

The completed box fits perfectly under the rear seat and fills the cab with great sound.

Joe builds the sealed subbox (as opposed to ported) following the contour of the floor below the rear seat while maintaining the subwoofer’s cubic air requirements.

Once the installation was completed, Aric took the better part of 30-minutes to tune the system. This called for setting the high and low pass filters, as well as the gains on the amplifier, finishing off with balancing the sound stage. This is, in my opinion, this one of the more important reasons to have a knowledgeable professional complete the installation. The finished product sounds awesome: bright, clear, full, with no distortion. The volume level can easily overcome the road and engine noise, if that is your choice, or it can provide equally clear sound at lower levels.

The features this system offers are second to none. Aric paired my iPhone with the unit and, after adjusting the settings for echo and microphone, hands free phone calls are easy and the voice quality is clear. But that’s not all. The Kenwood head unit displays my phone’s address book, call history, voice mail, and permits their access and use in the same manner as my phone, with the option of controlling the features either from my phone or from the receiver.

Joe them upholsters the subbox with a contrasting carpet.

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The really good news is Mobile Innovations can design and build a system of this quality with all the features I have outlined for less than that the OEM option price point to upgrade the factory sound system today.

BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued SUMMIT PERFORMANCE TRANSMISSION UPGRADE If you recall back in Issue 74, page 112 (yes, November 2011), I enlisted Rob Marlikowski, owner of Summit Performance Transmissions, (778) 545-0067, to build an automatic for me that would handle up to 450hp and tow a trailer up to 12,000 pounds.

Rob’s work impressed me then and the test of time has made a believer of me.

force lockup via the switch. This is a handy feature for a number of driving situations including performance acceleration, use of an exhaust brake, downshifting for speed control and unlocking during specific acceleration situations. Another benefit of manual lock/unlock is lower transmission operating temperature, as the converter’s clutch is not allowed to slip. Rob changed the tuning in the valve body by changing a couple of the valve body springs and the internal modifications to the valve body were complete.

To date I have added a little over 30,000 trouble free miles, so it only made sense to return to Rob when I decided to change my ’98 Turbo Diesel from 400hp to something around 500 to 600hp. I gave him a call and he asked a few questions about what and how the power would be used. He said we should be able to make the necessary modifications easily in a day. So we scheduled a date.

Rob explained that most of the internal components were already up to the task. Aside from a few minor adjustments to the valve body, the addition of a multidisc converter and billet input shaft would increase the rating of my Summit Performance Transmission from 450hp to 650hp, provided I was not planning to launch Red Ryder while producing 20psi of boost. Hmmmmm, that sounds like fun, but “fun” has a price tag. For now my revised goals are 500 to 600hp usable power; so the multidisc converter, billet input shaft and minor valve body changes will do quite nicely. The only other change would be to swap the standard Mag-Hytec transmission pan for their double deep unit.

With the revised performance criteria established, Rob removed the transmission and inspected the pan and valve body for any sign of abnormal wear. Viewing the bottom of the Mag-Hytec pan after 30,000 miles of use revealed little to become concerned about.

In fact, the magnetic plug had captured almost nothing and the bottom of the pan held a very small amount of nonmetallic material.

Rob uses Dunrite shift kits exclusively in all of the Summit Performance Transmission valve bodies.

Rob installs a manual three-position switch for converter control.

The switch lights green-normal, yellow-unlock, red-lock.

After over 30,000 miles of use, there are no traces of wear metals in the pan from my Summit Performance transmission.

Instead of purchasing valve bodies Rob uses the Dunrite shift kits so that he can “tune” each valve body he builds to the intended application. The Dunrite shift kit will allow the transmission to shift while in “lockup” in all four gears. With the addition of a manual lock/unlock switch, it is possible to either allow the transmission to lock-up via the programming in the ECM or to mechanically

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TCS converters and billet shafts are used exclusively in Summit Performance Transmissions. As you may recall, TCS is also located in Canada and, while Rob was making the upgrades to my Summit Performance Transmission, I drove over to meet with Steve Marshall and Brent Veitch and take some photos of the internal components found in the multidisc converter that will be installed.

With over 35 years experience, TCS is one of the industry’s leaders in high performance transmission parts. From billet input and output shafts to performance torque converters, TCS has a reputation for producing solid products.

Previously, Rob used a TCS 89H converter, which features 89% efficiency, high stall of 1800rpm, single clutch and a killer 15-blade left cut steel stator. The TCS 89HMD (“MD” is for multidisc) has the same efficiencies as the 89H but adds a billet front cover, two splined high-energy clutch plates and a heavy-duty dampened piston.

BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued

TCS steel stator.

The TCS billet cover is machined for 12 bolt locations.

This allows the user to rotate the converter in the event a mounting location is accidentally stripped.

Not all manufacturers use pistons that are dampened. TCS utilizes dampened pistons in their 89HMD to protect the internal workings from shock loading during high powered lockup situations, much like the dampers used in the multidisc clutches found in manual transmission clutch assemblies. The billet piston used in the TCS multidisc converter weighs 18.5 pounds as compared to the stock 47RE piston which weighs 12.8 pounds. Topping off the internal features are the matching splines cut into both the front billet cover, piston and corresponding high energy discs, ensuring the reliability and durability of the multidisc functions.

TCS converters left 89H multidisc, 89H standard right.

All of the TCS internals are furnace brazed for maximum durability.

The billet front cover for the multidisc converter now has 12 bolt locations. The purpose to provide six additional bolt locations in the event one or more locations were stripped during installation or removal of the converter. Like the standard cover, the billet front cover incorporates a drain plug, a nice feature to have when servicing your transmission.

TCS uses dampeners much like manual transmission clutches to help absorb shock.

TCS furnace brazed components. If you ever wondered| what furnace brazed looks like, this is it.

Inside, the TCS multidisc billet converter cover is machined to receive the high performance clutch.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued

TCS multidisc piston is machined to receive the multidisc clutch.

TCS manufactures all three billet shafts for the 47RE transmissions, input, intermediate, and output. At the power levels previously stated (up to 650hp) Rob recommends the billet input shaft. If I were drag racing and launching the Red Ryder Turbo Diesel at boost levels above 20psi and/or over 650hp, then Rob would use different combinations of the billet shafts offered to address the situation.

The TCS billet input shaft has much more material, increasing the shaft’s strength.

TCS left, OEM right.

TCS billet input shaft.

The strength of the TCS input shaft comes from increased thickness of the shaft wall. Every aspect of the TCS billet shaft is thicker, stronger and heavier.

TCS left, OEM right.

The OEM input shaft, note the wall thickness of the shaft.

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While the new billet input shaft and multidisc converter gives the ability to handle 650hp, the additional weight from both new components is not without its drawback. The extra weight equals additional forces applied to the OEM flex plate. The general industry consensus seems to be the OEM flex plate is good to 500hp. To be on the safe side of the equation, I will write about installing a billet flex plate in a future issue.

BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued

Good to approximately 500hp, depending on driving conditions, the OEM flex plate will be the next area to upgrade.

Rob finished the installation by adding a Mag-Hytec double deep transmission pan. Mag-Hytec was the original transmission and axle cover vendor for our trucks. There are lots of copies out there now, but the Mag-Hytec is still the best product in my book. I like the additional oil capacity, magnetic drain plug, and the port for my transmission temperature gauge. I also like the drop down extension for the filter, which pulls the oil from deep within the pan. Additionally, the Mag-Hytec double deep pan’s design adds to the strength of the assembled transmission. While the double deep pan is low enough to get into the air underneath the Turbo Diesel, it still is above the transfer case skid plate. Rob tells me he likes to install the Mag-Hytec double deep pans on all of the Summit Performance Transmissions.

Mag-Hytec Double Deep transmission pan provides an additional 2 quarts of fluid capacity while remaining above the transfer case skid plate.

When Rob and I were finished, well it was love at first drive! I think I stated this before, but this transmission rocks! (Editor’s note: Indeed, you did say that the Summit transmission “rocks.”

Issue 74, pages 112-115 has the details of the first Summit Performance Transmission upgrades.) I experience firm positive shifts with high efficiency in the unlocked position providing great fuel economy. There is no doubt in my mind about when it locks up—a feature I enjoy. Having had the temperature gauge installed in both transmissions, I can tell you the double deep pan runs approximately 10 degrees cooler than the standard Mag-Hytec pan.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued STEED SPEED EXHAUST MANIFOLD Diesels are largely air pumps. It is not rocket science; the more air in and the more air out coupled with the speed and efficiency with which it is accomplished is in part what dictates how much and how quickly the power can be developed. A conversation I had recently with Gale Banks rekindled my personal philosophy regarding diesels and smoke when he said, “Why on earth would you want to put fuel in an engine and not burn it all in the engine?”

Of course he is right. I need to refocus on the combination of parts I am using and how they work together to optimize my Turbo Diesel’s efficiencies and make the best power and fuel economy possible. It is easy to bolt a bunch of parts together, make some power and some black smoke. But getting all the parts to work together is the hat trick. For now, I am not going to discuss the fuel part of the equation, but rather focus on air in and out of the engine.

Starting in Issue 77, page 108, I upgraded the air intake delivery distribution with the Banks Twin Ram (Banks Power, 877-4552313). Then in Issue 78, page 102, I enhanced the air delivery with a Garrett GT3788 turbo (Turbo Re-Source, 928-505-4610).

And in the same issue, page 104, I increased the efficiency of the intercooler by installing the Torque Master intercooler (Turbonetics/Spearco, 805-581-0333). Now it is time to make some improvements to the exhaust side of the engine.

Up until recently the popular upgrade for exhaust manifolds has been a two or three-piece cast design. These manifolds, a takeoff of the larger displacement Cummins engine exhaust manifolds, touted improved flow and a method of expansion and contraction, which eliminated the familiar cracking and breaking of exhaust manifold bolts and flanges. There have also been some limited offerings made of tubular steel, much like a traditional header found on gas engines; but these have been more of a custom item rather than production catalog offering.

Enter Steed Speed Performance, 250-766-7136. Located in Lake Country, BC, Canada, Steed Speed designs and builds a unique high performance turbo manifold from CNC billet steel.

That’s right, billet steel, not cast. Available in just about every configuration imaginable for Cummins engines—First, Second and Third Generation: T3, T4 and T6 flanges. Steed Speed also builds manifolds for the ’07.5 and up variable geometry turbos.

The manifold includes two drilled and tapped ports for EGT probe and/or drive pressure, or other pressure driven accessory.

Options available on the Steed Speed manifold include 2.5” V-band external exhaust wastegate. The manifold is furnished with a thermal barrier finish that is rated for 1,700° continuous and spikes of 2,000°.

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All Steed Speed manifolds are drilled and tapped for two thermal couplings.

The unique design of the Steed Speed manifold touts lower EGT, faster spool up, better fuel economy, and best power gains. There are improved drive pressures between 1.1 to 1, and in some cases, Steed Speed has reported a 1 to 1 drive pressure. Each Speed Steed manifold has a lifetime guarantee (for as long as the original owner owns it) and if for any reason you are not satisfied, you may return the manifold for a full refund within 90 days of your purchase.

There is an interesting video on the Steed Speed website showing the CNC process, www.steedspeed.com. Each exhaust port has unrestricted flow with heavy-duty flanges for secure mounting. The T3 or T4 is drilled and tapped to accept your turbo mount studs.

Open unobstructed passages make these manifolds among the very best available. (Picture shows view of manifold flange.)

BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued

Dave removed my old manifold; ready to bolt on the new Steed Speed.

Dynomite Diesel Performance, (DDP) 360-794-7974, provided the shop time for the installation and the dyno to a provide comparison of the power before and after the installation. DDP is familiar with the Steed Speed manifold as they currently use one on the DDP race truck, a ’98 Plum Purple, Pro Street, Second Generation Dodge looking to achieve the 8-second 1/4 mile drag race times this Spring.

Once again DDP technician Dave Miller did the installation. First he removed the turbocharger and existing manifold. Dave then installed the Steed Speed manifold. Dave noted that the new manifold’s design has it slightly extended toward the passenger fender, but no major alterations or adjustments were required. With the installation complete it was time for road testing, followed later with another dyno run.

The manifold pushes the turbo assembly slightly to the left with no fitment issues.

There is definitely a perceivable change with the Steed Speed manifold installed. The Garrett turbocharger, which has always been quick to spin, now seems even more responsive, especially in the lower rpm range. This is the first exhaust manifold I have tested where there is actually a perceivable difference felt while driving!

As of this issue I have not been able to schedule a dyno run to verify the power increases as, but I will share the results in coming issues.

Steed Speed manifolds are made from billet steel not cast.

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

Manifold in place, I need to make a stand off bracket for the rear heater tube.

Rodney Vance’s Second Generation truck.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued EXHAUST MANIFOLD THERMAL COATING I first started using thermal barrier coatings 18 years ago when I was building my first Second Generation Turbo Diesel and again when I built 2Timer for my column “The Second Time Around.” Way back in Issue 28, page 32, there is a nice picture of the exhaust manifold, turbine housing, compressor housing and exhaust brake, all coated with thermal barrier coatings.

Lots of time and money…a lot more upkeep than most would want in a daily driver. Thermal coatings not only keep the parts looking good, but also optimize performance.

With the new Steed Speed manifold it was time to rethink the idea of a thermal coating. Since 1979 PolyDyn Performance Coatings have been protecting and enhancing vital engine parts with their unique and innovative engine coatings. The company’s polymer coatings protect from heat saturation, reduce friction and, in most cases, strengthen the component and make it more efficient.

Not to be confused with high temperature paint, these coatings have an entirely different chemical composition and application process. PolyDyn coatings are applied to ensure that a .0002” to .0007” overbuild remains on the surface. PolyDyn fluoropolymers become part of the coated materials’ surface: .005” to 0.50” actual penetration, depending on the material. While some overbuild can be removed, it is virtually impossible to extract a polymer from the pores of the metal to which it is applied.

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PolyDyn Performance Oil-Shedding Coatings shed oil from coated surfaces—reducing oil retention and parasitic drag. As a result of reduced oil retention, windage-related power loss is virtually eliminated. PolyDyn Oil-Shedding Coatings can be applied to piston skirts, crankshafts, oil pans and windage trays, as well as to the runners of intake manifolds to reduce drag and increase airflow.

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PolyDyn Performance Dry-Film Lubricant Coatings provides excellent anti-scuffing properties in all conditions. The coatings are specifically designed to retain engine oil on the component surfaces during intense heat and extreme pressure. PolyDyn DL Coatings can be applied to piston skirts, bearings, valve train components, transmission gears, drive shaft yoke and drive plates.

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PolyDyn Performance Urethane Coatings are durable, highgloss, corrosion-resistant coatings, designed to protect and enhance the appearance of high-visibility components.

PolyDyn Urethanes are available in a large selection of colors and can be used nearly anywhere. They are most often applied to oil pans and the top of intake manifolds.

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PolyDyn Performance Corrosion Resistant Coatings protect automobile metal surfaces from corrosion. Whether applied to magnesium components, chassis members, fuel parts or intake manifolds, there’s no better way to protect the surface of your performance components.

I shipped the parts to PolyDyn and left the product and color selection to PolyDyn’s owner, Carl Benton. The exhaust manifold and turbine housing received PolyDyn Ceramics in a Titanium finish.

They are polymer composites with insulating ceramics designed to significantly reduce heat transfer. When applied to exhaust parts, PolyDyn Ceramics are claimed to increase heat retention, exhaust flow and power, while protecting against damaging heat saturation.

The exhaust manifold was coated inside and out and the turbine housing was coated on the outside only.

Polydyn offers a collection of coating formulas, all designed for specific applications. Some of the PolyDyn products are: •

PolyDyn Ceramic Coatings are polymer composites with insulating ceramics designed to significantly reduce heat transfer and saturation according to PolyDyn. PolyDyn Ceramics are effective on cylinder heads, valve faces, intake manifold, piston, headers and exhaust.

PolyDyn coats the exhaust manifold inside and out.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued

PolyDyn coating provides a clean lasting rust-free finish and maximizes thermal efficiencies.

By contrast the turbine housing is coated outside only.

The compressor housing was also coated with a ceramic coating, but using a different formula called PolyDyn PD-14. The compressor housing was coated inside and out.

Assembled, the combination continues to hold a lasting and beautiful finish even after thousands of miles. Again, once I can schedule a little dyno time at DDP, I will share the results I get.

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

Robert Pigg’s Third Generation truck.

PolyDyn coats the compressor housing inside and out.

Ken Turner’s Turbo Diesel trucks.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued HEATER REPAIR TRICKS I love installing new products, especially performance related items.

I hate having to redo, troubleshoot and/or fix broken, worn out stuff.

However, fixing stuff is what this article will be about. Lately it has become impossible to get warm cab temperature in my ’98 Turbo Diesel. I have seat heaters from Geno’s Garage or it would have been much worse.

I thought it was the blend door, and purchased a repair part that was not applicable for the year or model of my Turbo Diesel (see Issue 79, page 22). Subsequently, I found the blend door on the ’98 Turbo Diesels are not motor driven. There is however, a procedure to test and adjust the blend door cable. Unfortunately, the adjustment and testing did not correct my problem.

The Factory Service Manual (section 24-14) provided the test procedure to determine the proper performance of the heater.

Basically, with the engine at full operating temperature, windows up, the heat selector set at the maximum heat and directed to discharge to the floor, I was to measure the temperature of the air coming from the floor duct. Proper air temperature should read 144° when the outside air temperature is approximately 62°. Sadly my reading was a measly 60° on a 55° day. It was beginning to look like a bad heater core and I did not want to have to deal with the replacement since the Service Manual outlines the procedure by removing the entire dash in order to gain access to the heater core.

I am grateful to Lenny and the guys at the DDP shop. If any of you are experiencing similar problems, this will provide you with an alternative to having to replace the heater core—or at a minimum, postpone the repair.

TIME TO STOP Most Turbo Diesels are equipped with a height sensing proportioning valve on the rear brake system. The design function of the valve is to increase the braking force to the rear wheels as the vehicle load is increased by sensing the height between the bed of the truck and the rear axle. Because I use my Pacbrake air bags to level my Turbo Diesel under load, it lessens the function of the height sensing proportioning valve.

Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 05-04-98 which applies to ’97’99 BR/BE Turbo Diesels, addresses this condition and provides a replacement brake hose part number for those who may continuously operate at 75 percent or greater of the GVW or have the rear suspension altered to increase ride height.

Since I have upgraded my brake lines with quality Kevlar stainless steel replacements from EGR Performance Brakes (800-4682279), I called to see if they had a replacement line for eliminating the height sensing proportioning valve. Part number SS87318 will do the trick for a stock ride height Turbo Diesel, and while I am at it, I may as well change my brake fluid for a quality synthetic fluid.

I called Aaron Merritt, Merritt Motors (208) 794-9865 for some insight. Aaron might have some shortcuts for removing and replacing the heater core in a Second Generation Turbo Diesel. He outlined a method he used, which included removing most of the bolts holding the dash in place and then suspending the passenger side of the dash using a cargo strap to the passenger entry assist handle. Aaron stated this method would take approximately 3.5 hours rather than the 7 or 8 hours noted in the flat rate book. Yes, a better, faster method, but I was still not looking forward to the task.

I recently spent the day with my friend Lenny Reed, at Dynomite Diesel Products, (360) 794-7974 to discuss the sequence of the upgrades I have planned for Red Ryder. We were driving together to deliver a vehicle to Wenatchee and I remarked to Lenny how nice it was to climb into a heated cab. I told him about my heater core problem.

Later that day, just before we pulled back into the shop, Lenny tells me that while we were gone he had Ryan, the shop foreman, take a look at my heater. They disconnected the heater core from the cooling system and back-flushed the heater core several times with a cleaning solution. They were able to dislodge and remove a large amount of crystallized sediment from the core. Since the passageways of the heater core are very small, it acts like a trap (filter). Even though the cooling system was still passing hot coolant through the core, it was at a greatly reduced rate. Ryan thought the heat was better now, but still suggested that I take a drive.

The ride down to the ferry home was a 30-minute highway run with the outside temperature a steady 39° and I was smiling all the way.

In fact, the heater was working so well now I actually had to turn the temperature down twice because it was getting too hot inside.

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EGR sells Motul brake fluid. I flushed my system with DOT 5.1.

The new brake line kit has the correct fittings and is available in different lengths should your vehicle be lifted.

BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued Motul 5.1 brake fluid is a 100 percent synthetic brake fluid for all types of hydraulic actuated brake and clutch systems. It meets specifications for DOT 5.1, DOT 4 and DOT3 and has a dry boiling point of 522°.

Motul fluid. I finished with an old fashion bleed using two people; one to push the pedal and one to open the bleeders. Start with the bleeder farthest away from the master cylinder, working in sequence, closest to the master.

I was fortunate enough to use a lift belonging to Jantz Engineering (360-598-2773). Jantz makes some really great upgrades for off road vehicles using Dana axles. The valve is located on the driver’s side above the rear wheel. Pop off the arm connecting the valve to the rear axle, disconnect the brake line feeding the valve and remove the two bolts securing the valve to the frame. The rear axle breather tube threads into the axle securing the old “T” fitting.

Unscrew the breather and remove the assembly.

The replacement brake line from EGR mounts in the same way as the OEM brake fitting.

With the proportion valve removed, new brake line and new brake fluid installed, I have eliminated the old rubber brake lines from my Turbo Diesel and achieved more effective and reliable braking for the Red Ryder.

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

The height sensing proportioning valve is located above the axle on the driver’s side.

Nate Mason’s Second Generation truck.

This is the height sensing proportioning valve assembly removed.

The new brake line from EGR comes complete with all the correct fittings making the job very easy. Connect the new EGR brake line to the brake supply line just above the driver’s side frame rail and snap the connector to hold it in place. The new “T” fitting installs the same way as the old fitting. Be sure to route the new brake line so that it will not be damaged by moving parts or the hot exhaust. All that remains is flushing the system. I use the shop’s power flusher/bleeder, which made the job straightforward. Open the bleeders and force the old fluid out while pushing in the new

Brett Bartlett’s Fourth Generation truck.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued CRANKCASE VENT SOLUTION One of the many benefits of owning an older Turbo Diesel is the absence of emission controls. Simple is generally better. However, having an open crankcase vent has its drawbacks, the key one being the continuous drip of black inky oil it leaves on your driveway (or your neighbor’s). In the case of a four-wheel drive application; the front differential is usually slimed with a combination of oil and dirt. Those who have the 24-valve versions of a Second Generation Turbo Diesel with the crankcase vent located toward the front of the engine may have experienced a plugged radiator due to the oily vapors being drawn through the core and then clogging up the radiator with dirt.

The open crankcase vent provides the tell tale signature drop of oil on the driveway where my 12-valve is parked.

Peak Diesel Performance (877-858-7325) has a great solution.

The kit includes vent hose, clamps, collector, filter, drain valve, and mounting hardware necessary to relocate the breather termination point to a location that makes it convenient to service.

The Peak kit has a filtered vent, which catches the oil vapors and provides a drain.

I selected a location on the inside of the frame rail below the rear of the cab on the driver’s side. This location is protected from debris and is convenient when it becomes necessary to open the drain and remove the condensed oil from the vapors vented through the gauze type filter.

I mounted the Peak vent on the inside of the driver’s side frame rail.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE . . . . Continued Since the existing vent tube on my ’98 Turbo Diesel was in good condition, I elected to save myself some time by not removing it and used a ¾” heater hose coupler (NAPA part number 6601667) to join the new vent hose supplied with the kit to my existing crankcase vent hose.

Sources: DDP 360-794-7974 www.dynomitediesel.com EGR Performance Inc. 800-468-2279 www.egrbrakes.com Mag-Hytec 818-786-8325 www.mag-hytec.com Merritt Motors LLC 208-794-9865 merrittmotorsllc@gmail.com Mobile Innovations 509-888-2725 www.mob-inn.com Peak Diesel Performance, Inc. 877 858 7325 www.peakdieselperformance.com

Rather than remove the OEM vent tube, I spliced the new and old vent tubes together.

I then routed the new vent line along the driver’s side frame rail, being careful to make sure the new vent hose had slope (run down hill) to the new vent collector supplied in the kit by Peak Diesel Performance. The installation took the better part of 30 minutes and will save me countless hours of cleanup down the road.

PolyDyn 888-765-9396 www.polydyn.com Steed Speed Performance 250-766-7136 www.steedspeed.com Summit Transmissions Rob Marlikowski 778-545-0067 TCS Products 604-539-2386 www.tcsproducts.com

Some thought should be given to ensure the Peak vent slopes down so that trapped oil vapors will run into the catch basin.

No more oil drops, no more mess on the front differential, no more plugged radiator (for the 24-valves). From time to time I open the valve and drain any residual oil collected into a suitable container for recycling (how green can one get?) and clean the system’s filter.

Scott Dalgleish TDR Writer

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“Backfire” is a forum for corrections, clarifications, and further explanation. Yes, you’re reading between the lines correctly.

“Backfire” is a column where the editor gets to eat crow.

EMISSIONS BOONDOGGLE AND PERFORMANCE INDUSTRY UPDATE

by Robert Patton In the previous TDR magazine (Issue 79, pages 46-49) you read my take on performance parts and the update that the aftermarket vendors received at the meeting with various government officials at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in November of 2012.

We were extremely fortunate to have further input about the “state of the performance aftermarket” from industry leader Gale Banks of Gale Banks engineering. Hand-in-hand with Gale Banks’ comments, TDR writer Scott Dalgleish had Gale give us an update on various projects his company is involved in. The interview with Gale also gave the TDR a chance to properly honor Gale’s inventiveness and achievement in our industry (see Issue 79, page 14).

So, what has happened in the past 90 days?

Chronologically: • November 13 – H&S Performance voluntarily suspends production of all tuning devices and EGR/DPF modification kits.

• December 28 – Just after sending Issue ’79 of the magazine to the printer I was honored to open the in-box to find pointby-point comments from Gale Banks and from SEMA officials on my “Performance Parts Update 2013” article. Additional clarifications are always useful.

• January 17 – The Department of Justice publishes a press release reporting the government’s settlement with Edge Products.

With the H&S Performance and the Department of Justice/Edge Products announcements you can bet that there are pages and pages of internet banter, speculation, vilification for the EPA, entertainment, and misinformation about the future of diesel performance parts.

My article from last issue was scattered with enough (too much?) of my editorial comment. So, I’ll refrain from adding opinion this goround. Instead, in the same chronologic order as presented, here are excerpts from the H&S Performance press release; comments from Gale Banks and SEMA about the Issue 79 article; and excerpts from the Department of Justice/Edge Products press release.

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H&S Performance’s Statement “Due to our dialogue with governmental agencies within the United States, H&S Performance, LLC has decided to voluntarily suspend production of all timing devices and EGR/DPF modification kits, effective immediately. Many H&S products and accessories not affected by this situation are still available, and will continue to be available through our dealer network and our website.

“We are now working diligently to remedy this situation, and look to again offer tuning products to our customers at the earliest date possible. Rest assured that we are doing everything within our power to move forward and resume product sales, and thank each of our loyal customers for their patience and support during this time.”

You can log onto their website at hsperformance.com. The H&S folks offer technical forums where their customers can discuss the H&S product line.

Comments About Issue 79 From Gale Banks and SEMA The following is a response from Gale Banks to my Issue 79 article.

To give you some context, I reprinted my comments that led to Gale’s response(s), which are italicized.

It Ain’t Illegal ‘Till You Get Caught First things first, let’s talk about an owner’s exposure. Let’s say you’ve got a truck that has performance upgrades and you’re a bit nervous. None of the parts or programmers have any kind of “CARB EO# approve” decals on them and you understand there could be a fine for tampering with emissions control devices. You read the background information and you understand that likely the parts will never have such numbers or approval, much less, how you would ever find out about the approval.

Except for Banks, every one of their products has passed CARB testing and they are asking owners to contact their tech service group to obtain the CARB EO sticker and update for their products.

Outside California, the sticker is not necessary, but they are automatically legal as EPA accepts CARB EO’s as proof of compliance by Banks.

Are you exposed? Well, borrowing an old phrase from the North Georgia moonshiners, “It ain’t illegal ‘till you get caught,” and the chances of such are slim to none.

BACKFIRE . . . . Continued In California, which is 20% of the vehicle market, the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) inspects your diesel vehicle every two years, so California and a few other states with mandatory inspections, will catch you and “take your Moonshine.”

Think about it, what’s going to happen? You bop down to your state’s emissions test facility and the truck does not pass the state test.

Ernie-the-emissions tester does not have a hot line to the EPA, he simply says, “Hey, Buster, you didn’t pass our test. Change some stuff on your truck and come back next week.”

Except in California where your fail is now on the record, you are on their list of offenders and you may be sent to a referee.

My opinion: No, the EPA, nor is CARB, nor is your state looking for you.

Trust me on this, the regulation is in place to fine everyone in the food chain including the owners. There are three CARB lawyers in Sacramento working on this currently and CARB has added additional technical staff as well.

Rules, What Rules Before we get into the nitty-gritty of trying to understand the emissions certification process, it is important to understand who is making the rules.

Well? Who is making the rules?

Your truck is manufactured by Ram and the emissions testing is certified by the EPA. The fine for tampering with an emissions control device is levied by the EPA. Don’t forget that for decades CARB has had their own emissions regulation for OEMs hence the separate 49 state and California emissions packages from the OEM’s. Today a number of other states are copying California regulations as well.

How does the aftermarket give the customer a performance part that does not run afoul of the EPA? Statements made by EPA officials at these yearly SEMA meetings have all of the involved parties on the same page—the EPA agency accepts CARB EOs as a reasonable basis for meeting federal anti-tampering policy.

So, if it is good enough and certified by the CARB EO process. It is good enough for the EPA not to bother a vendor and his customer.

The EPA is currently bothering the heck out of a number of companies and their distributors, this started over a year ago and many distributors and dealers have dropped the illegal product lines. Attorneys have been hired and big fines have been agreed on, even by companies who stopped making or selling illegal goods more than a year ago. The DPF delete guys have been served with cease and desist orders and the fines are being levied.

Of course the companies are NOT talking about their trouble with EPA. But, this is unvarnished fact, CARB and EPA are on a roll.

Can’t Hit a Moving Target From all of the discussion at SEMA and all of the confusion about diesel aftermarket performance parts, you would think this was the regulatory agencies’ first rodeo. It isn’t; the process is just excruciatingly complex and slow. After attending these annual meetings I would often wonder if they want to give the vendors an official testing procedure.

Common sense dictates that it takes more fuel to make more power. Emissions will be increased. How about a logical allowance?

Oops, I forgot, there are multiple parties involved and the decision making process can be lengthy. Likewise, from year to year the test procedure to meet the emissions goals would change.

The test procedure is now known and there is no lack of funding for EPA or CARB. However, EPA and CARB did not send representatives to the SEMA show this year because the negotiations are over and the rules are set.

Did I mention that the aftermarket vendors would often disagree on how emissions tests should be conducted?

Also, consider that the discussions have happened during dire economic times: Is there a lack of funding for CARB? Is there a lack of personnel or test facilities to do the testing?

Thankfully, SEMA, the EPA, CARB and those vendors that want to play by the rules are getting closer to an understanding. I sense that those with blatant disregard are in for a difficult time.

See above comments. I agree THE WAYBACK MACHINE VISITS GALE BANKS Always on the lookout for articles about our industry, I saw a snippet in Hot Rod Magazine titled “Turbos Before Turbos Were Cool.”

Here is some text that talks about industry legend Gale Banks and one of his many “turbo adventures.”

From Hot Rod Magazine, April 2013: GALE BANKS’ TOP FUEL DRAGSTER “The man most well known for diesel performance these days has actually done lots of neat stuff through his career. Banks worked on a turbocharged Top Fuel dragster in the ‘80s, and the NHRA banned it before Banks made significant progress and raised the attention of big money teams who could afford the R&D work that Banks was carrying on his own dime.

Although he never made any world-beating runs with the car, the fact that it scared rules makers so badly is badass in our book.”

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BACKFIRE . . . . Continued Comments About Issue 79 from SEMA And, now, the comments from SEMA: As a result of the increased government scrutiny and lack of awareness about the law, our industry has responded by trying to understand the compliance requirements. Despite our best efforts, some have found it difficult to understand and navigate the bureaucracy. There have also been some problems associated with existing emissions testing facilities being capable of performing newly-required tests for light- and medium-duty diesel trucks.

Although Edge stopped selling the illegal devices in mid-2011, the consent decree required Edge to offer to buy back the devices from anyone who possesses one. In order to sell the device back to Edge, the truck from which the device came must be returned to its original factory programming. [Fat chance of this happening.]

Edge is also required to spend at least $157,600 to implement an emission mitigation project to offset the excess PM emissions that it caused. Edge will use the additional funds to offer rebates to individuals who own old wood-burning stoves and who wish to replace them with cleaner burning appliances such as new pellet stoves or EPA-certified wood stoves. [Say, what? It looks like politicians were involved in this part of the settlement.]

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the issue. Our best advice in situations like these is to contact the product manufacturer to determine compliance status. Staff at periodic state emissions stations may question some products. More states are adopting California smog-check procedures, so the impact or regulations on the illegal use of certain products has increased at the consumer level.

The civil penalty of $500,000 is based on the United States’ determination that Edge has a limited ability to pay a penalty in this matter. [Also note that Edge was diligent throughout the legal process. Rumor has it that the initial fine was $7-million, not the halfmillion that was settled upon. Back in the day, their advertisements were not done with flagrant disregard.]

SEMA has helped develop a certification process that enables emissions-legal products to be sold and used in California and anywhere in the United States. SEMA was the driving force behind developing a certification process that literally enabled a large body of emissions-related parts to be legal for sale.

The consent decree resolves allegations in a complaint, filed today, that Edge violated the Clean Air Act by manufacturing and selling motor vehicle parts or components whose effect is to bypass, defeat, or render inoperative a motor vehicle’s emission control device.

Product manufacturers make independent business decisions about how they choose to pursue compliance matters as it pertains to governmental regulations affecting their products.

Conclusion

The Department of Justice Letter to Edge Products To finalize my follow-up consider these excerpts from the DOJ’s January 17 press release about Edge Products. [Sorry, I couldn’t resist a bit of editorializing. You’ll see my comments in brackets.]

In a settlement with the United States on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, automotive electronics manufacturer Edge Products LLC (Edge) has agreed to pay a $500,000 civil penalty for manufacturing and selling electronic devices that allowed owners of model year 2007 and later diesel pickup trucks to remove emission controls from their vehicles.

The company, located in Ogden, Utah, sold more than 9,000 of these electronic devices nationwide, resulting in an estimated 158 tons of excess PM emissions released into the atmosphere. This is equivalent to the emissions from 422 new long-haul semi trucks operating for a period of 29 years. [Editor’s note: The penalty was $500,000 ÷ 9,000 or $55 per unit sold.]

Diesel particulate filters remove approximately 90% of the particulate matter emissions from a truck’s exhaust. If the filter is removed, the truck will generally not operate properly as the filter is monitored by the truck’s computer. However, the electronic devices sold by Edge allowed individuals to reprogram the truck’s computer so that the truck would continue to operate even after the filter had been removed.

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Short answer: I don’t have a conclusion.

From listening to Gale Banks and others in the industry, I am convinced that if, like the example set forth by Edge Products, the aftermarket works with the regulatory agency (ies) the penalty (ies) are tolerable. The questions that no one has answers to: who is next?; how far will the federal regulatory agencies go to stop product tampering?; how far will state agencies go in general diesel emissions test?; where does John Q. Public fit in with this heightened awareness of parts tampering and delete kits? And, I’m sure each TDR member has a specific question about their situation.

I wish I had a crystal ball and could give each member an answer.

I will try to keep you up to date on happenings in our industry.

Robert Patton TDR Staff

A forum for posting TDR Chapter activities.

TDR LOCAL CHAPTERS—WHAT AND WHO ARE THEY? The following members have expressed an interest in kicking off a local chapter, meeting at a local pizza or steak house on a regular basis, discussing or cussing experiences, organizing local events, and/or telling lies to one another.

These members have volunteered to be contact persons in their respective geographic regions. If you have a question about your Turbo Diesel, you now have a local point of contact. Please note that I italicized “volunteered.” These are very good people who are offering to be friendly. Respect their sanity and their evening hours with family. Work with them to get your local chapter up and operational.

California Area (San Jose) TDR Ramrunners Blair Pine • 4465 Lonardo Avenue • San Jose, CA 95118 (408) 266-1333

East TN/South KY Area TDR “Dodgers” David Wheeler • 790 N. Cedar Bluff Road, Apt. 2801 • Knoxville, TN 37923 sendit2david@hotmail.com

Connecticut Area (New England) New England Turbo Diesel Power Tim Taylor • 120 Fairfax Drive • Stratford, CT 06614 (203) 375-1453 • ToolManTimTaylor@aol.com www.newenglandturbodieselpower.com

Texas Area (Houston) Lone Star TDR Curtis Harris • 2404 Colleen • Pearland, TX 77581 (832) 256-8730 • curtis@hotroddiesels.com

Idaho/Eastern Oregon Area Idaho Bombers L Muddy Thompson • PO Box 652 • Parma, ID 83660 (208) 739-2520 • idahobombers@yahoo.com www.idahobombersforum.com Maryland/Pennsylvania/West Virginia Area Mason Dixon TDR Jim Peter • 785 Zarger Road • Greencastle, PA 17225 (717) 816-3224 • Rams-n-Hogs@comcast.net New Jersey Area South Jersey Pinelands Chapter Bill Mancinelli • 19 Millstone Drive • Shamong, NJ 08088 (609) 367-4725 • billm03@comcast.net Upper New York State Area Upstate Bombers Chad Taylor (607) 863-4812 • cmtproduce@hotmail.com Pete Toombs • 6009 Webb Rd. • Willet, NY 13863 (315) 656-8123 • ptoombs@earthlink.net Ohio Area Cincinnati Area TDR Paul Odegard • 150 Farragut Road • Cincinnati, OH 45218 (513) 825-8338 • odegardpma@fuse.net

Virginia Area (Roanoke) Blue Ridge TDR Chapter Gerald W. Tobey • 275 Autumnwood Lane • Troutville, VA 24175 (540) 992-5840 • info@blueridgediesel.com Washington State/Western Oregon/N. California Area “Rottin” Rhonda Kelly • PO Box 254 • Poulsbo, WA 98370 (425) 269-0029 • dieselqueenbee@yahoo.com www.nwbombers.com

CANADA Ontario Ontario Dodge Diesel Owners Robert Schwarzli • RR #3 • Mount Albert, ONT, Canada (416) 605-4154 • tdrontario@gmail.com

INTERNATIONAL Sweden TDR Sweden Dick Tilander • Finspangsgatan 43 • 163 53 Spanga, Sweden (46) 8 6470560 • dixdodge@swipnet.se www.tdr.se

South Carolina Area South Carolina TDR Gary Croyle • c/o Perfection Clutch • 100 Perfection Way • Timmonsville, SC 29161 gcroyle@perfht.com

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TDR/REFERRAL/RECOGNITION/REWARD

Recognition

Thank you for your help in increasing the TDR membership. Your efforts via discussions, copies, and brochures handed out to other Turbo Diesel owners are noted each time a new owner joins us.

How do you participate? It’s easy. On the TDR brochures that you pass out in a “grassroots photo-copy membership drive,” or on an original TDR brochure, be sure to include your name and subscription number. As new subscribers join us, we’ll check the application for a referral name/number. Then, we will recognize TDR members for their participation in the “TDReferral/Recognition/ Reward” column each quarter.

This referral program is ever more important. In the early years, the TDR has had support from Chrysler in the form of new truck owner information. With internal changes at Chrysler, this information is no longer available. Thus, the TDR membership has to be self-reliant in its marketing efforts.

Many members have asked for additional brochures and have commented about their work distributing the material. For the efforts put forth, you would expect a higher number of responses. Don’t be discouraged! Your positive discussions may not immediately net a new TDR member. Many people have the intention, yet find it hard to part with dollars.

Referral The subscription number listed on the top of your address label is a valuable tool that the TDR uses to keep track of subscriptions and to recognize/reward those TDR members who are active in new subscription referrals.

THOMAS ATKINS JAMES J. BATEMAN CORY BROWN HAROLD BUCK JOHN CALLAHAN DONALD CAMPBELL JOHN CORMIER SAM DALLEY CLAY DICKERSON MARK EDWARDS LEON GAGNE EARL GEE RON GERING

JOHN HAUSER WILLIAM HAWK K. R. HILL RUSSELL G. HOFFMAN ROBERT HOLLEY STEVE HUEMOELLER KARL HUTCHISON JERE JOINER PHILLIP KLEINHENZ JOHN A. KOSIK NICK LEISTNER TOM MACDONELL ROYCE MACKAY

126 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

Reward Recognition is great, but how about a WIIFM (what’s in it for me)?

How does this sound? For your help in expanding the membership of the TDR, we will send you a Cummins Diesel Power cab plate.

I love incentives, don’t you?

Let’s give away some money. It’s fun to get a surprise cab plate in the mail. But we would like to add a bit of excitement to the TDR/R/R program. Here is the deal. For each referral, we will put your name into a hat for a quarterly prize of $100. Obviously, numerous referrals per quarter increase your chances of winning.

Our winner this quarter is Steve Huemoeller.

RYAN MACNEIL SAM MEMMOLO KETIH MENSINK BRETT MILLER RICHARD MOODY MARK MULLINS LANCE NAUGLE RUSTY NEISE MITCHELL NYE COREY OSTER DAVE PALLAS STEVEN PHILLIPS DAVE PRATT

WILLIAM PYLE TORRENCE REED DENNIS RIAZZI CHRIS SHIKE STAN SMITH RANDY SPRAGGINS JR RANDY SURRETT PATRICE TRUDEAU RUFUS WARD JAMES WILDE RICHARD WITT

TDR/R/R . . . . Continued HIGH MILEAGE RECOGNITION

TcDR

In Issue 22 (Fall ’98) we started a program to recognize/reward high mileage Turbo Diesel trucks. We developed a TDR milestone tag to commemorate mileage achievements. The tags are sent at no charge to members. Proof of mileage by a photo of the outside of the truck and a picture of the odometer is appreciated. (If you can’t get a good focus on the odometer, we’ll trust you.)

Recognition of those individuals who have gone out of their way to help a fellow TDR truck owner is important. Therefore, we have developed a grill badge that we will send to members when we learn of their assistance to a machine-down traveler. The award is called the TcDR: Travel Companion Distinguished Recognition.

The TcDR badge will look great on that big Dodge Ram grill.

If you would like a high mileage tag, please send in your photos.

Include $5 in postage or cash to cover shipment of your no- charge tag. Tags are given out at 100,000 mile increments, i.e., 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500K miles. Over 500K miles? Sorry, we’ve not yet developed a tag, but we’ll send additional 100K tags to collect and display.

The generally accepted rules for TcDR badge distribution simply require an e-mail or letter from the traveler who received assistance.

Be sure to include your name, address and phone number and the phone number of the member who provided the assistance.

For this issue we would like to recognize John Dobmeyer.

While we would like to use every owner’s picture sent to us, please realize that a photo of your truck may or may not be in the magazine because of page layout and spacing constraints.

This quarter we sent 100K tags to: Ed Bolgiano Poplarville, MS

Randy Erickson Palmer, AK

Joe Honey Montague, CA

Robert Nichols Palmetto, FL

Dan Perrine Fowlerville, MI

Cary Schwaneke Bainbridge Isl, WA

Robert Thran Fernley, NV

Ken Thran Gardnerville, NV

I was on a trip to San Antonio, Texas, when my ’06 Turbo Diesel started running very poorly. So I left the truck in a parking lot and continued on my way. I called a friend of mine and he suggested a local TDR member in the area, John Dobmeyer. He was more than happy to help out.

This quarter we sent 200K tags to: Rodger Clark La Puente, CA

David Dorn Kewaskum, WI

THANKS JOHN DOBMEYER

Paul Odegard Cincinnati, OH

Later the next day, John called to say he had picked my truck up and found a bad number 5 injector. He said he had a set that was used and would swap the one to get me going again. He saved me a ton of money and down-time. I was advised that with over 160k miles and one failed injector that the others probably weren’t too far behind. So I took his advice and purchased another set. He did the swap for only $200 and didn’t charge a dime for the initial repair or to go get the truck. John only asked that I inform other TDR members because he has been waiting for an opportunity to apply what he has learned. He said that the TDR is a group of guys who share info, fix trucks, and tell stories. I will also be joining the TDR on my next pay cycle.

Bob Chambers`

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 127

TDR/R/R . . . . Continued

Paul Odegard 200K

David Dorn 200K

Rodger Clark 200K

Joseph Honey 100K

Robert Nichols 200K

Robert Thran 100K

Dan Perinne 100K

Ed Bolgiano 100K

Randy Erickson 100K

Cary Schwaneke 100K

128 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

Kenneth Thran 100K

The TDRV column focuses on towing with your truck for work or play. It covers towing accessories and products, related technical discussion, and TDR member experiences. And, just as you’ll find in some other TDR columns, we’ve incorporated some of the Q&A from the website.

TDRV is edited by Jim Anderson.

TAMPA RV SHOW

by Jim Anderson

There have been more changes in décor in park model trailers than in many RV trailers. A park model is what many folks opt to buy when their driving days are over, but the resort where they formerly camped still beckons. The list of options for these units is bewildering. The unit is brought in on wheels to your owned or leased campsite, set up, tied down, and you move in. At less than 500 square feet, it is just like a small house, but can be moved out and set up elsewhere if necessary.

As in the previous four years, the number of RVs displayed at this show (billed as the largest U.S. show) has shrunk again, numbering about a thousand this time. Of that number, a higher percentage are motorhomes, since some of the largest makers of towable units are now out of business or have chosen to concentrate their efforts on motorized units where profits can be higher. You could shop, gawk at, and buy units ranging in price from $2.3 million down to under $10,000, supposedly “something for everyone.”

Now, let’s dig in a little deeper to discover noteworthy gems.

It is heartening to note that Carriage, which ceased operations a couple of years ago and was one of the highest quality makers of towable RVs, is back in a different form. Some of the former Carriage employees set up in a different plant and began making RV trailers under the “Lifestyle” name. As a long-time Carriage customer said, “The name is different, but the floorplans and DNA are the same.” Indeed, the new units look great inside and out.

A park model trailer is an alternative to an RV trailer if it doesn’t need to move.

New Horizons, long-time builder of custom fifth-wheel trailers, showed this 39’ unit. Interior appointments and cabinetry are beautiful and the price was north of $150,000.

Lifestyle picks up where Carriage stopped with this 39’ multi-slide fifth-wheel.

130 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

New Horizons trailer is pricey, but quality is there.

TDRV . . . . Continued As fuel goes ever higher, some owners choose to haul a slide-in camper in their pickup truck’s box rather than tow a trailer. Most report better fuel mileage. Lance slide-in campers have been a leader in this market segment for many years. A new kid on the block is Livin’ Lite. They claim their units are lighter and don’t use any wood in their construction. Instead, the framework is all of aluminum, and the exteriors and much of the interior are all of composite materials, resulting in a weight savings of several hundred pounds, depending on the model. Thus, a particular size of slide-in unit whose weight previously required a 3500 series truck with dual rear wheels for safe travel, may now work mounted on a lighter duty 2500 series truck. Pound-for-pound and foot-for-foot of length, slide-in campers are pricey, though.

Livin’ Lite by Camp Lite slide-in unit uses aluminum and composite material for weight savings, less rot.

A couple of fifth-wheel trailers were displayed with roomy front kitchen and rear bedroom layouts. Road Warrior fifth wheel toy haulers have always been popular. This unit featured a rear porch using the rear loading ramp and a front-of-center kitchen up two steps. Two more steps up lead to the bath and bed areas. At 39’ and three axles, it’s a long and heavy rig with a price above 100 big ones.

A couple of things that aren’t directly related to TDR were nevertheless entertaining and informative. A group of antique trailers towed by antique or at least very old trucks and cars provided visual entertainment. A look at these oldies shows how exterior styling has changed while interior layouts are often unchanged. Of course, owners of these oldies have a lot more invested in these restored units than the cost of a new RV, but that’s not the point of eye candy such as these.

Old GMC, even older Airstream, both restored.

The second display also presents a mystery. Read on.

Buried way back at the end of a far aisle was an unusual class B motorhome distinguished by its exterior plainness compared to its brothers. No wild paint and stripes on this baby, just some grey and white paint and stripes. It was 29’ overall length, and had a “European” look to it, so your writer began to prowl. Instead of having dual rear tires, it had tandem rear axles with single wheels and tires. One rear axle was powered, the other just supported weight. It is made by Hymer of Germany. It turns out that this unit isn’t necessarily for sale, but was put there to gauge shopper reactions. Investigation showed this RV is a marvel of efficient space utilization, using high quality fixtures such as door hinges and cabinet latches not seen on a domestic RV in probably 40 years; and interior fit and finish were excellent, using superior materials.

The twin beds even vibrated. Appliances are of European origin.

I was impressed.

The chassis was a van cutaway Fiat with a Fiat diesel engine, automatic transmission, and the body and interior were built in Germany . The representative couldn’t divulge complete specs and offered a small spec sheet rather than a full brochure. Photos were not encouraged. Spartan Chassis, one of the largest builders of motorhome chassis was listed in the show directory as the owner of the booth space, so maybe they have plans to market a small RV depending on customer reaction? Lots of unanswered questions.

Rear porch with railings and screened in rear room make a great party deck after a day of playing in the dirt.

Jim Anderson TDR Writer

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 131

TDRV . . . . Continued SLIDE IN TRUCK CAMPER WITH BED MOUNTED FUEL TANK

You may need to make some sort of blocking device between the front of the camper and the bulkhead of the truck bed.

I have a 15” x 60” auxiliary fuel tank mounted across the front of the 8’ truck bed on my ’03 Turbo Diesel 3500. Has anyone hauled a slide-in truck camper in a truck with an across the bed auxiliary fuel tank? It would have to be a 9’ or less length truck camper because of excess weight overhanging the rear axle. There are occasions when my 28’ travel trailer is too long.

Shadrach, Edmonton, AB I am hauling a 8.5’ long slide in truck camper that was designed to be hauled on a short bed truck on my ’05 Turbo Diesel 3500 long bed truck.

This area allows space to carry my generator. It works very well for me.

Perhaps you might be able to do something similar.

Many think the camper’s Center of Gravity (COG) is behind the rear axle because the camper appears to be shifted back, but the relationship of the rear bumper to the rear axle is the same regardless of bed length. The COG is about 3” forward of the rear axle. This combination handles very well. fkovalski, CO That’s exactly what I’m thinking about, as your truck is similar to mine. What does the camper weigh? What do the truck and camper weigh loaded for travel?

Shadrach, Edmonton, AB My truck and Northstar Camper weights are shown below.

Modifications to the truck include higher load index tires on the original steel wheels, Rancho Model 9000XL shock absorbers, Hellwig anti-sway bar, and custom made spring perches to engage auxiliary overload springs sooner. The truck/camper combination handles very well.

132 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

TDRV . . . . Continued 1. Truck only, full fuel tank, no tailgate, no passengers:

Front Axle 4,540-lbs

Rear Axle 2,960-lbs

Total Weight 7,500-lbs 2. Dry camper loaded, full fuel tank, 2 full LP tanks, some gear, tools, wood for camper bulkhead blocking:

Front Axle 4,860-lbs

Rear Axle 5,940-lbs

Total Weight 10,800-lbs 3. Camper fully loaded ready for travel, full fuel tank, generator and gasoline, food, supplies

Front Axle 4,980-lbs

Rear Axle 6,540-lbs

Total Weight 11,520-lbs Some weight will transfer as the water in the front mounted fresh water tank is used and is transferred to the gray tank in the rear. If my camper was any heavier, or I did not travel off-road as much, I would consider 19.5-inch wheels and tires, but the truck handles the load well. As is most everyone who hauls a slide-in truck camper, I was surprised the first time I weighed the loaded truck/camper combination on commercial scales and discovered the weight.

Hopefully, my weight analysis will help you to make a decision. fkovalski, CO

PING TANKS I read about ping tanks being used in combination with PacBrake air bags in the TDR Issue 78, pages 123-124, making a better ride. I wonder why PacBrake and the other light truck air bag manufacturers don’t offer them. Has anyone installed ping tanks on their Turbo Diesel with air bags?

RBellah, Fort Worth, TX I presume that ping tanks are an extra air tank connected into the air line to each air bag circuit that acts as a reserve to allow compression of air volume. I have tanks like that on my ’04 Turbo Diesel 3500 with a Kelderman four-link air ride towing conversion.

The ping tanks work very well indeed.

Gonzo 1066, Sumas, WA Beginning with the ’10 Turbo Diesels, only the 3500 dual rear wheel (DRW) models are equipped with auxiliary overload springs.

I installed a set of PacBrake air bags on my ’11 Turbo Diesel 3500 single rear wheel (SRW). I supply air to the air bags from a main air tank I had previously installed.

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

I wired in cab controls to inflate or deflate the air bags. The left switch is double pole, double throw (DPDT) that switches between the left and right bag. The other two switches are to inflate or deflate each air bag.

Derrick Mannick’s Second Generation truck.

Kenneth Miller’s First Generation truck.

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 133

TDRV . . . . Continued After reading the air bag and ping tank article in the TDR Issue 78, I installed ping tanks with pressure sensors on each tank which are connected to each air bag and to the main air tank.

I see four air solenoids. Is there one for each air bag for air in and out? How difficult is it to add or release a small amount of air into the system?

Allnew2Me, Bay Area CA You are correct, one pair of valves on each side.

n7gxz, Covington, WA I can tell you did some planning and it shows as a very nice job and clean installation. Let us know how they work and if the ride improves with them in the system. Were you able to close them off for a before and after test? Did you have any leaks at the compression fittings? They always seem to need a few more turns.

Are the air pressure sensors electrical so you can switch the inputs at the gauge to read the pressure at different locations?

Allnew2Me, Bay Area CA

One solenoid inflates and the other deflates each air bag and ping tank. I’ve been able to adjust the air bags as little as 1 or 2psi at a time. I used 1/4” tubing between the ping tanks and the air bags for better control. The deflate valves have 1/8” air tool mufflers, which provide more restriction and better control when deflating the air bags. n7gxz, Covington, WA

I had only one of the compression fittings leak. I used tube insert sleeves.

Yes, the pressure sensors are electrical (www.glowshift.com). The top readout on the display is the air pressure in the main air tank and the bottom readout is the ping tank air pressure, either left or right.

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

I used 3/8-inch Marson Thread Inserts into the front bed cross member to mount the ping tanks. n7gxz, Covington, WA

134 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

Nicholas Hettel’s Fourth Generation truck.

In previous TDR magazines we’ve had input from repair shop locations and we’ve scattered the articles throughout the magazine. In this issue my thanks again goes to Andy Redmond. Andy operates a one-man, specialized repair shop in the north Dallas, Texas, suburb of Plano.

I’m hopeful you’ll enjoy the insight that Andy brings to the magazine.

THE CASE OF THE $942 FUEL FILTER (or How to Change a #5 Injector) Solving the mystery of a vehicle’s mechanical problem can require some lengthy detective work—as demonstrated in this repair that I call “The Case of the $942 Fuel Filter.” The initial complaint by the Ram Turbo Diesel’s owner provided me with scant evidence for solving the problem: “It runs good,” he said, “for a while after I change the fuel filter, but it has low power.” I doubted that the fuel filter was the culprit. But I had little to go on.

This would be a case for good ol’ Sherlock; but seeing that this is the Twenty-first Century, we will begin with some high-tech investigation. Let me walk you thru my diagnostic routine for solving this case. I opened the driver’s door and connected the computer scan tool. The following codes were retrieved: DTC

Description

Common Tests/Repairs

P0205

Injector Circuit Cylinder 5

Test wiring to injector, test injector solenoid, test ECM.

P2149

Fuel Injector Group 2 supply voltage circuit/open

Test wiring to injector, valve cover gasket to ECM, ECM.

P0299

Turbocharger under-boost

Inspect for air filter/ inlet restriction; turbo or CAC leaks, map sensor/ map sensor wiring, turbo wastegate actuator.

P0483

Cooling fan rationality check

Wiring to fan clutch, fan clutch, ECM.

Next step was to pop the hood to see what lies in the engine compartment. Not a pretty picture. When I checked fluids, I found the engine oil was black and diluted, but not overfilled. The batteries were mismatched and failed a load test. The terminals were fouled, in a mess resembling a failed high school science experiment. I cleaned the terminals and replaced the batteries.

The truck was started and allowed to idle until it came up to operating temperature. Hmm, I deduced that the engine miss was likely the cause of the low power. At normal temperature,

I used the scan tool to perform an injector kill test, one cylinder at a time. Little difference was noticed on cylinders when the number 5 injector was “killed.” When other cylinders were actuated “off,” the miss became worse, an indication that those cylinders were okay. Next I performed the cylinder contribution test to check for any cylinders over/under compensating. Both tests are quite useful to learn what the engine electronics see and also to monitor the injectors’ operating parameters. Many of you are probably correlating these scan tool tests to one that many of us have used on old-school gasoline engines—pulling one spark plug wire at a time in an attempt to locate the dead cylinder. Not quite as reliable, but often used, is to measure the exhaust manifold temperatures with an infrared thermometer to locate the cooler exhaust port and thus the faulty injector. Other folks will remove the injector solenoid wires. Be cautious with this technique, the ECM’s high side injector driver has capacitors to store/raise voltage from 12 to 90-volts. The high voltage is necessary to actuate the injector when the low side driver provides a ground.

Most shadetree mechanics would install an injector at number five cylinder and most likely guess right. Elementary, you might say.

But what if we replace the injector only to have the code return, or the miss remain? Still uncertain?

However, it is easy to eliminate some of the other possibilities, so they are worthy of mention. Most of the sensors on your truck are considered 5-volt sensors. The ECM transforms the 12-volt to a 5-volt reference for these sensors. Often they are a three-wire sensor: a power wire (5v), a ground wire, and a signal out wire. Very often the powers and grounds are wired as a series circuit (various sensors share each the power and ground, but not the signal).

Therefore, a seemingly unrelated sensor can short and cause a problem in another circuit. We’ve all experienced Christmas tree bulb failure, causing a string of lights to go out, right?

My quick sensor check for the misfire was to independently disconnect/reconnect several sensors to which one of our DTCs might apply. These were the electronic cooling fan clutch (P0483), turbocharger wastegate solenoid and map sensor (P0299), neither of which cured the miss. (Use caution: if we didn’t have trouble codes for the items disconnected/reconnected, we likely induced some. Don’t be thrown off the path by self-induced problems.)

So now we know which of several things are not the problem, it is time to complete the logical process and make the repair.

The factory service literature becomes invaluable, accessed via either the CD ROM or fee-based online literature from Chrysler TechConnect. Most serious wrench-turners know that factory manual trouble trees can be time consuming and sometimes lead to an erroneous conclusion by end of testing. They are however useful for wiring pin-outs and suggested circuit tests. Chapter Nine: Engine/Electrical Diagnosis-Diesel was consulted. The tests

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 135

FROM THE SHOP FLOOR . . . . Continued for both the P0205 and 2149 were followed. These were quite a laundry-list of problems that could cause these codes, including bad injector, bad wiring, bad wiring terminal pins, bad valve cover (thru cover wiring) or a bad ECM (engine control module).

Don’t stop your testing yet. Although we have identified a component failure (bad injector solenoid coil), consider that multiple faults or a wiring problem might have caused the injector coil to fail. Notice the rearmost valve cover gasket wiring/connector. The ECM set the 2149 code when it realized something was wrong with bank 2 injectors (numbers 4-5-6). Make sure the wiring harness is serviceable from the terminals back to the ECM. Ohm Testing Versus Voltage Drop Testing In past issues, I have preached the importance voltage drop testing.

Why? Consider this: If most of the copper strands are broken in a section of wire with no apparent insulation damage, it will pass an ohm test with ease, since continuity exists. But, with broken strands the wire has little ability to carry the circuit current necessary to power the load (in our case the injector solenoid).

The digital multimeter was set to the ohms scale and zeroed.

The test measurement shown is while the meter was connected to the injector 5’s solenoid’s terminal studs (terminal wires removed for this test). “OL” or open load is displayed when it should read greater than 0 ohms but less than 1 ohm.

This indicates the injector solenoid is bad. Before you would consider robbing a “good” solenoid coil from another core injector, remember that best service practice dictates replacing the entire assembly (possible balance issues).

It is quite easy to perform a voltage drop test. Disconnect the electrical connector at the ECM and also the injector. Add a jumper wire, connecting one end of the jumper to the positive battery terminal and the other end to the disconnected injector wire. Locate the opposite end of the circuit for the same wire (ECM). Source an appropriate male terminal pin and a large automotive or headlamp bulb and wiring pigtail for your bulb. Connect the male terminal pin to one leg of the bulb holder pigtail and the other leg to ground. Is the bulb/lamp bright (circuit has little to no voltage drop)? If it does not illuminate or if it dimly glows then excessive voltage drop exists in the circuit. Still the doubting Thomas? Then use your multimeter (set to DC volts) connecting it to battery positive and negative, take a measurement (example: 12.70 volts). Next leave the black lead attached to the battery negative, moving the red lead to where your light bulb is attached. It should be within 0.5 volts of the battery voltage tested. The meter is telling you what the light bulb indicated, i.e., when it glowed dimly there was lots of voltage drop, or a bright lamp indicated little voltage drop.

In our test, the wiring tested perfectly, leading me full-circle to the only apparent problem—a failed injector solenoid causing both the P0205 and P2149.

ENTRIES FROM OUR 2013 TDR CALENDAR CONTEST

Here injector number 4 is being “ohmed out” and the solenoid coil passes the test— 0.7 (3/4ths of 1 ohm) ohms.

Test the other injectors, since the valve cover is removed.

If the oil is overfilled or there is fuel dilution, the engine can be briefly restarted. With the valve cover removed, one can observe any fuel leaks into the valve train. A split injector body will often “fog” fuel at the leak point. Prepare for minor engine oil spatter.

John Halderman’s Second Generation truck.

136 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

FROM THE SHOP FLOOR . . . . Continued Injector removal tips/tricks

•

The procedure will differ according to model year and engine (early/ late 5.9 and 6.7 engines): For details consult your service manual.

For the TDR’s tutorial on injectors, see TDR writer Joe Donnelly’s “perfect injector article,” Issue 72, pages 44-57.

The injector line, connector tube nut, connector tube, exhaust rocker arm and rocker arm bridge must be removed before injector hold-down bolts are removed and attempts are made to remove the injector.

•

Often when the injector is lifted out of the head, fuel will leak into the cylinder. It is necessary to vacuum the fuel from the cylinder or a hydro-lock will prevent engine rotation. Joe Donnelly’s flex tubing and a piece of metal brake line tubing work well.

TORQUE CHART ‘03-‘04, 5.9L

‘04.5-‘07, 5.9L

6.7L

Connector Tube nut*

37 ft. lbs.

37 ft. lbs.

37 ft. lbs.

Injector retention bolts—see manual procedure

44 then 89 in. lbs.

44 then 89 in. lbs.

Injector wiring nuts

11 in. lbs.

11 in. lbs.

11 in. lbs.

Injector line (tube nuts)

22 ft. lbs.

22 ft. lbs.

22 ft. lbs.

Exhaust valve rocker bolt***

27 ft. lbs.

27 ft. lbs.

27 ft. lbs.

44/71 in. lbs.

44/89 in. lbs.**

Intake/ Exhaust valve-pushrod adjuster locknut-- ***

18 ft. lbs.

18 ft. lbs.

18 ft. lbs.

Caption photo 4: Specialty Tools: the Schley 24mm (#66150), small lady foot prybar (tool store/truck), tubing/brake line “vacuum” to remove fuel, 24mm flank drive crowsfoot, Snap-On FRXM19 (chrome line nut socket) Schley # 99100 (black line nut socket) Snap-On Box/Combo 19mm

Rear Engine Lift Bracket

56 ft. lbs.

56 ft. lbs.

56 ft. lbs.

Required tools:

*Many performance shops recommend 42 ft. lbs. to prevent connector tube torque loss. ** Some years of 6.7 show max torque of 71 in. lbs. See four step injector torqing procedure in manual.

10mm socket, 10mm box combination wrench, 8mm socket, 24mm socket, 3/8” drive torque wrench, ¼ or 3/8 drive Inch Pound torque wrench. 15mm socket (rear engine bracket), ratchet and 3” extension and 19mm box combination wrench.

*** Check valve lash and set to .010”—intake/0.026” exhaust Attend to the following: •

Thoroughly clean the engine compar tment to avoid contaminants from entering the open engine and/or fuel system.

•

The molded wiring/valve cover gasket assembly is easily damaged, so disconnect/remove it before attempting injector removal.

•

The injector solenoids are easily damaged by over-tightening the terminal nuts.

Conclusion In summary, this “Case of the $942 Fuel Filter” recounts the repair of this truck for engine missing and low power. Hopefully, now enlightened by my story here and by the “perfect injector article”

by Joe Donnelly (Issue 72, pages 44-57) you’ll be better prepared for any injector problems you may encounter.

Andy Redmond TDR Writer

TDR 80 www.turbodieselregister.com 137

TDRelease is a quarterly column that features press releases from Turbo Diesel vendors

FLUIDAMPR PERFORMANCE DIESEL DAMPERS FOR LATE-MODEL DIESEL TRUCKS

aFe EXHAUST MANIFOLD FOR ’98.5-’02 24-VALVE ENGINES

Advanced FLOW engineering (aFe Power) releases a BladeRunner ductile iron exhaust manifold for ’98.5-’02, 24-valve engines, part number 46-40032.

This unit eliminates the costly exhaust manifold cracks prevalent in the factory exhaust manifold. The aFe BladeRunner exhaust manifold sets a new standard. In recent testing, this exhaust manifold outflowed the factory exhaust manifold by 50%, improving performance and throttle response. The thick wall (0.25” versus 0.15”) flange design increases strength, which eliminates warping and cracking. The matched ports and a merged runner design decreases exhaust backpressure which maximizes exhaust flow. After installing the exhaust manifold, gains include quicker turbo spool up times, improved throttle response and increased performance.

This manifold is constructed out of durable cast ductile iron with a reinforcing rib for maximum strength along the flange and ultra-thick wall flange at the port. Two exhaust gas temperature probe ports are supplied for easy installation of gauges or testing equipment.

All necessary hardware is included for a hassle-free installation.

The part number 46-40032 retails for around $414.75 and is available in stores now.

Contact information: aFe Power 252 Granite Street Corona, CA 92879 (888) 901-7693 www.afepower.com

138 www.turbodieselregister.com TDR 80

Fluidampr Performance Diesel dampers are now available for all late-model Chevy/GM, Ford and Dodge/Ram diesel trucks. Protect your engine with the technology that high power diesel owners use.

A performance damper is recommended whenever horsepower upgrades are made for superior protection while achieving optimum performance across your entire rpm range.

Fluidampr is the official damper of Diesel Motorsports. Fluidamp products are maintenance free, SFI 18.1 approved and made in the USA. For complete product line visit www.fluidampr.com.

Contact information: Fluidampr 108 Zoar Valley Road Springville, NY 14141 (716) 592-1000 www.fluidampr.com

TDRelease . . . . Continued

TDRelease . . . . Continued ROADMASTER ACTIVE SUSPENSION

MORE RAM AIR

Roadmaster Active Suspension (RAS) consists of a set of two powerful, variable rated coil springs that support and assist rear leaf springs on pickup trucks. RAS is the only product on the market that converts passive leaf spring suspension to mechanical active suspension! Rather than resist weight at the frame of the vehicle like other suspension upgrades, when the tension is set, the RAS works to hold the leaf springs in their optimum bowed position at all times while still allowing the leaf springs to bend and flex.

This patented design revolutionizes the performance of the rear leaf springs, by adding strength while improving ride quality and performance.

Ram trucks and their Cummins Turbo Diesel engines are a dominating force among heavy haulers. Many Ram owners choose to hang onto their trucks for years and hundreds of thousands of miles. That many years and miles means lots of replacement stock filters. AIRAID now offers an affordable alternative to restrictive factory paper filter elements with a reusable drop-in filter for ’03’07 Ram/Cummins 5.9-liter engines and ’07.5-’12 6.7-liter engines.

When installed the improvement in handling, load carrying capability and ride quality are felt immediately! This unique design also contributes to greatly reducing and even eliminating axle wrap and wheel hop while accelerating.

Roadmaster Active Suspension comes fully assembled out of the box and is a simple “do-it-yourself” project with a typical installation time of 60-90 minutes. Part number 3614 (73’-02’) and 3610 (03’-13’) are specifically designed for Dodge 2500 and 3500 single wheel trucks (without the factory overload above spring).

Contact information: Active Suspension 330-D East Hebron Street Charlotte, NC 28273 (800) 398-5036 www.activesuspension.com

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The AIRAID drop-in replacement filter targets the most restrictive portion of the factory intake system: the factory air filter. This drop-in filter element offers 35% more filter surface area over the factory filter, which both improves airflow and increases service intervals. The filter is constructed with a hand-poured polyurethane casing rather than rubber or Plastisol, so the filter is guaranteed not to shrink, wrinkle, or warp; and it will retain its snug fit in the factory intake box for the life of the vehicle. AIRAID offers this filter with either SynthaFlow oiled filter media, or SynthaMax non-oiled media. Both offer excellent filtration compared to the stock paper element while increasing airflow at the same time, and both are washable and reusable.

Like the rest of the AIRAID product line, this drop-in filter is made in the USA and backed by AIRAID’s exclusive “No Hassle” warranty.

Contact information: AIRAID 2688 E. Rose Garden Lane Phoenix, AZ 85050 (800) 498-6951 www.airaid.com

TDRelease . . . . Continued PACBRAKE LOADLEASH FOR 6.7-LITER ENGINES

EDGE PRODUCTS’ EVOLUTION TUNER We are excited to introduce the most advanced tuning product available for ’03-’12 Turbo Diesel 5.9- and 6.7-liter Cummins engines with our CS and CTS Evolution programmer! The Evolution leads the Cummins performance programming industry with features and custom options. At Edge, we have worked hard to bring you the best-in-class tuning and features an all-in-one product. We believe you, the customer, will be impressed by this high quality Dodge application.

• 2003-2012 Dodge/Ram Cummins 2500/3500 coverage • Industry leading tuning • Advanced Custom and quick tune features

Evolution Programmer

Quick, controlled braking for heavy duty Dodge trucks just got easier with the introduction of Pacbrake’s new P-67 LoadLeash engine brake. Working in conjunction with the engine’s variable geometry turbo (VGT) exhaust brake, the Pacbrak LoadLeash provides an additional 150 retarding horsepower, or roughly double what the VGT can supply alone. In addition to enhanced control and reduced brake fade, the LoadLeash can extend brake life service intervals. Pacbrake’s LoadLeash offers straightforward bolt-in installation and is the only true engine brake available for the Class 3-5 truck market.

Current applications include ’07.5-’12 dodge Ram 2500-5500 diesel pickup/chassis cab trucks and Sterling chassis cab trucks equipped with the 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engine.

Contact information: Pacbrake 19594 96th Avenue Surrey, British Columbia V4N 4C3 (800) 663-0096 www.pacbrake.com

Color Screen (CS) Display Color Touch Screen (CTS) Display Contact information: EDGE Products 1080 South Depot Drive Ogden, UT 84404 (800) 360-3343 www.edgeproducts.com

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Thought Provoking Discussions with Automotive/Motorcycle Journalist Kevin Cameron

ABOUT THOSE BOLTS Anyone who’s worked on engines knows that connecting-rod cap bolts are special. For many engines, rebuild instructions call for new bolts to be used at each assembly, and even if not, we are instructed to torque these bolts using a torque wrench. We can’t have parts deviating from The Plan and trying to do their own thing.

Today, engine manufacturers know how to keep things together, but it wasn’t always so. Before World War One, high-strength alloys steels were almost unknown in the US. Premium automakers like Packard and Pierce-Arrow, wanting their cylinders to last for years rather than hours between re-bores, had them cast in nickel-iron in France or Germany. US steelmakers were too busy supplying millions of tons of ordinary steel for this nation’s infrastructure— rails, bridges, tall buildings. (They had learned by bitter experience that you can’t pile stone or brick much past ten stories—it crushes itself!) Alloy steel for crankshafts? Same answer—European suppliers.

That First World War and then Henry’s Model T changed all that. As the internal combustion engine made itself essential— airplanes, submarines, trucks, and cars—everything began to break—especially highly-stressed parts like cranks, rods, valves and valve springs.

The US Army, to make its aircraft more durable, operated an air development center at McCook Field, in what is now Dayton, Ohio.

And in 1916 the NACA had been created—the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics—to help foster aviation. (In 1957 the NACA would become NASA.) Aircraft manufacturers were suspicious of the NACA, even hated it, considering it Socialistic or even as the thin end of the wedge for a plan to nationalize aviation.

However, McCook Field and the NACA would prove essential.

More sophisticated materials rapidly appeared—steels alloyed with a variety of other metals to produce specific properties; chromium and molybdenum for toughness and strength, vanadium for strength (pioneered in the Model T Ford), chromium and nickel for heatand corrosion-resistance. Metallurgy was intensively studied and quickly produced a wide range of materials.

But the bolts still broke.

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Early aircraft engines tested at McCook had four bolts holding down their individual cylinders and heads. When the bolts broke manufacturers began to use six instead of four. The bolts still broke so six became eight, and eight became twelve. Still, the bolts broke, so they were examined by actual metallurgists. Reports were written. Under the metallographic microscope, polished-and-etched specimens were photographed, and the many crystalline habits metals take were identified. Standards were written. Improved steels, with fewer “inclusions” that could nucleate cracking (bits of oxide, often elongated in the form of “stringers”) lasted longer in service.

But the bolts still broke.

Engineers by now were getting the idea that cracking often begins at surface imperfections—tool marks, forging laps, scratches from careless handling. When they looked at the threads of failed bolts, they saw rich fields of tool marks from either lathe or die threading—both cutting processes. Because bolts often failed right where the threads began, thoughtful engineers realized that stress is concentrated at any sudden change of cross-section. And this is where bolts and other parts tend to break, right to this day.

One approach was to neck down the shank of the bolt to a little less than the root diameter of the thread. Any change of section had to be gradual. Such waisted or “Chicago” bolts are seen in heavy-duty applications to this day.

Thread-manufacturing itself came under scrutiny. Major aircraft engine maker Wright decided to try something that had helped the durability of gear teeth—a fine ground finish. Accordingly, specialized machines for thread-grinding were summoned into existence (a vigorously expanding economy makes such things easier) but the results, although better, were still disappointing.

Cylinder base flange bolts on aircraft engines continued to break.

When everyone is facing common problems, lots of ideas come forth. If cutting or grinding threads doesn’t get the job done, how about forging them? Forging makes good cranks and connectingrods! Thread-rolling machines were produced, which by pressing super-hard, slightly-angled rolls against plain unthreaded bolt shanks produced rolled threads.

This was the best yet, and it had the added advantage of being cheap. Click, the bolt blank drops into place, the hard rolls cycle briefly under huge pressure against the rotating bolt, then withdraw, and a finished part is removed. This is how threads are produced in our world today. Machine shops may still make a few special fasteners by lathe turning, and home handymen gouge rough threads with squeaking threading dies, but such parts are unsuited to high load and fatigue.

EXHAUST NOTE . . . . Continued Travel back with me to my early days of reporting the happenings in the motorcycle world. At Daytona, about 1986, Suzuki had five connecting-rod bolt failures in its GSX-R750 sportbike engines. At an SAE meeting I encountered the designer, Etsuo Yokouchi, and I asked about the failures. He snapped his fingers and one of his two “bagmen” stepped smartly forward, knelt beside his large Willy Lohman-style case, opened it, and pulled out a report. Mr. Yokouchi explained, “We made incorrect use of stress analysis software. We should have been looking at the connecting-rod as well as at the bolt.”

As the big-end of the rod became slightly oval from the inertia load of rapidly accelerating the piston away from TDC, the cap bolts were being flexed right at their weakest point—where the threads began.

New materials had a role to play in improving bolt durability.

During the 1920s, helical wire valve springs broke frequently. One engine-builder for a time used 8 springs per valve in an effort to make failures “fail-passive.” Others tried alternative shapes, such as volutes and “hairpins.” In the 1950’s came fresh and definitive change when it was found that remelting steel in vacuum resulted in a product much freer of stress-concentrating, non-metallic inclusions. Such vacuum-remelted steel was quickly employed to make the rolling bearings of military jet engines run longer, and in the 1960’s vastly more fatigue-resistant valve springs were made from it. The improved material quickly found its way into critical fasteners, too, such as connecting-rod bolts.

The need for higher strength collided with a basic fact about steel; as it was heat-treated to greater strength, it became more brittle.

What is so attractive about metals in the first place is how differently they behave as compared with, say, flint. Metals bend or stretch

before they break, and in the process they absorb a lot of energy (force-times-distance). But brittle materials just snap. Engineers have a variety of ways to measure this property of ductility, and one of them is elongation before failure. Elongations of as little as 5% made conventional high-strength steels tricky to use. Compromise was necessary, giving up some tensile strength in order to increase ductility and toughness.

Jet engine-related materials research came to the rescue. New materials for hot-section parts were devised, called “multi-phase” materials. I think of the multi-phase materials as bricks and mortar. To combine high ductility (elongations of 20-50%!) and extreme strength, two different crystalline metallic phases are combined. The bricks (actually tiny crystals of a high-strength form) have extreme strength, and the mortar provides ductility.

The two are strongly bonded to each other by coherence—mainly by having similar inter-atomic spacings that provide many bond sites between the two crystalline forms, or phases. Another way to look at multi-phase is as a composite material, like fiberglass or carbon fiber reinforced plastic. The polyester resin in fiberglass has little strength, but combined with fine glass fibers it becomes formidable. Today, connecting-rod bolts for the most demanding applications are made from multi-phase materials, and may cost from $35 to $50 apiece.

Racers and others whose engines operate under extreme stress see the cost as valuable insurance.

Kevin Cameron TDR Writer

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Advertiser............................................................ Page Number Airaid......................................................................................... 75 Association of Diesel Specialists.............................................. 47 Banks Engineering.................................................................. 139 BD Diesel Performance ........................................................... 25 Borgeson Universal Co............................................................. 91 Centramatic Wheel Balance..................................................... 19 Diesel Performance Parts.......................................... Back Cover Diesel Performance Products (FASS)...................................... 57 Diesel Power Products............................................................ 129 EGR Brakes............................................................................ 143 Edge Products........................................................................... 37 Excelsior Works...................................................................33/94 Fluidampr.................................................................................. 37 Garmon’s Diesel Performance.................................................. 79 Geno’s Garage..................................................................... 70/71 Herd Vehicle Protection............................................................ 49 Industrial Injection..................................................................... 11 Larry B......................................................................................113 MBRP Exhaust Systems......................................................... 105 Mag-Hytec................................................................................. 95 Pacbrake.................................................................... Inside Front South Bend Clutch.................................................................... 31 Standard Transmission and Gear............................................... 5 Stan’s Headers.......................................................................... 85 Suspension Maxx...................................................................... 24 TST Products............................................................. Inside Back Transfer Flow, Inc...................................................................... 13 UUC......................................................................................... 109

Editorial Comments, Letters and Photos:

TDR/Robert Patton 1150 Samples Industrial Drive Cumming, GA 30041 Phone: (770) 886-8877 Fax: (770) 886-8811 rpatton@ix.netcom.com Missing/Damaged Issues, Change of Address, Subscription Problems: TDR/Tina Pardue 1150 Samples Industrial Drive Cumming, GA 30041 Phone: (770) 886-8877 Fax: (770) 886-8811 rpatton@ix.netcom.com Technical Questions and Discussion: Jim Anderson 1150 Samples Industrial Drive Cumming, GA 30041 Phone: (770) 886-8877 j.t.anderson@att.net Advertising, Print and Web Site: TDR/Brandon Parks 1150 Samples Industrial Drive Cumming, GA 30041 Phone: (770) 886-8877 Fax: (770) 886-8811 bwparks@ix.netcom.com Website: webmaster@turbodieselregister.com

The Fine Print

Business Referral Page.......................................................... 144 4x4 Tech Inc. A-2-Z Diesel Amsoil Blue Chip Diesel Boulder Maskin AB Diesel Injection Services G-Pop Shop Gillett Diesel Service

Goerend Transmission Gould Gear & Electric JH Diesel Performance James Transmission Liberator Performance Northeast Diesel Service Redmond Enterprises S.F. Motorsports

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