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Know-it-alls, diesel illiterates, and other misc rants....

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For starters, this is not directed at diesel, gas, car, truck, or horsepower "newbies". there is a difference between not knowing, and thinking you know. Not knowing is ok, you gotta start somewhere. But when you don't know... don't go preaching you're made up BS to other people that don't know either.



Where is this coming from? A few places actually. Nowadays theres online forums that come up for basically anything you can google. This has led me to some interesting sites. At the risk of sounding arrogant, TDR is by far one of the most (and only) intelligent forums on the internet. Most of the rest (save a few others, ie. Ramcharger Central) are morons babbling on and on because they like to hear themselves talk... err... type.



Case #1:

I happened upon an "unbiased" diesel forum while trolling the internet one day, and the topic of the particular post basically boiled down to some guy looking to buy a diesel truck and wasn't sure what to go with, what year, ferd, Dodge, chebby, etc. The post drifted toward Dodge diesels. There was some discussion over the Cummins over the years, and at one point, a Dodge Cummins owner decided to write up all the "facts" on the Dodge Cummins trucks. He was either a late 2nd gen owner (2000 up), or a 3rd gen owner.



He started by saying that 89-93 were good motors in that they just kept running, but you can't really get any power out of them. Huh? Do you want to tell that to the beemer that I made a fool of?



He went on to say that 94-97 had a different kind of pump that he's not sure of, but it wasn't very powerful either. Then in 97 until 98 they had a p-pump that would "make gobs of power". Need I say more? Ridiculous.



On another forum a guy said that "engine size is directly related to fuel economy. " This is the most erroneous pile of dung that a lot of people seem to get wrong. True, a larger engine will, in general, use more fuel. Directly related though? Hardly. The Cummins can get 18 miles to the gallon, but if you had a 1. 8L sentra motor lugging around 6500lbs everywhere it went, I would imagine it would probably do even worse on fuel. Or how about that my dad's 3. 0L accord can get 25-30, where as an "evo" with a turbocharged 2. 0L gets 18 miles to the gallon. In fact, my 5. 7 Hemi in the Challenger gets 17, and thats almost 3 times the displacement. It's all about burn efficiency, peak rpms, gearing, and load. Yeah, displacement works into the equation, but to phrase it the way this guy did is just wrong.



Then theres's the guy in my neighborhood who has a mid 90's 4 door longbed ferd powerjoke with stacks. He came up to me in the liquor store parking lot one day and tried to spin his diesel tales. He asked me, and I quote "do you have the p-pump in this thing, or the bosch pump?" Sit down, you're ignorant. The p-pump is a bosch, moron. He then proceeded to say "well, whatever, you gotta have the p-pump, I know these things don't have any power with the other pump. " He went on and on about how trucks like mine aren't fast. I told him I'd race him and he declined. Keep talking, buddy, I'm sure the women in your life are impressed...



End rant... .
 
people can be truly amazing, can't they, it always gets me to go into a dealership and know more than any of the salesmen and most of the parts men



then we can talk about congress!!!!! no, I leave that alone, the war will start if we have to bail out Calif. like Barney Frank wants, I so friggin sick of bail outs, who bailed out those poor sob's that worked for Enron and lost everything, us taxpayers are going to pay all the UAW retirements and now they want Calif!!!!! state and municipal workers!!!!
 
Hey Tippn', you forgot "Ford Owns Cummins" on every thread about Dodge. :-laf:-laf



What do you expect from Ferd drivers, its size envy. :eek:



I quit searching and quit reading most of those forums years ago. Can't stand the ignorance and utter lack of common sense that gets displayed. :{
 
He started by saying that 89-93 were good motors in that they just kept running, but you can't really get any power out of them.



I usually put them in their place by asking what their mileage unloaded/loaded is, most just struggle trying to pick their jaw off the floor when I tell them what I get.



BTW what is the 1st Gen. HP/Torque record now?
 
people can be truly amazing, can't they, it always gets me to go into a dealership and know more than any of the salesmen and most of the parts men



I also get a kick out of some the things that come out of dealership bashers right before they can't figure out a problem and take their ride to the dealer to be repaired
 
Bob4X4, I never go to the dealer and let them put part after part and never fixing the problem (this is especially true on warranty work that they can charge back to the company), I go to TDR to find the answer or at least where to look, get the part and if I don't put it on myself use a local shop that charges $40/hr. versus $85/hr. at the dealership, having had an ex-brother-in-law that had a 5-star dealership in Kansas parts markup and high shop labor is what keeps their doors open, not sales, I don't bash dealerships, I just understand their part in the food chain. I have owned 17 Dodge Cummins, most 2nd gens, many salesmen have never owned even one, the biggest dealer fiasco has been steering issues on the 2nd gens, their continuation of putting flawed parts on again and again that don't work and won't fix the problem, try to get a Ram Tough steering bushing, Thurlen steering stabilizer, Borgensen shaft, Moog track bar, Carli ball joints at a dealership! I ordered my tow mirror kit after finding out about it on TDR and the dealership didn't even know they were available until I made them look, most of us know more about our trucks because it's a lifestyle, not a job, again, not bashing dealerships, just being a realist
 
I new nothing about diesels, let alone Cummins when I found this site. Boy did that change things. I can't say I know a lot now, but I know more than some and less than others. All thanks to this site. I believe the TDR forum is the only really legitimate forum for CTD owners. Just by searching this site, I have been able to perform basic service and address wear and tear issues with my trucks that would have cost me lots of $$$$ had I taken them to the dealer. I still pay a local diesel performance shop to do some work because it saves time and they generally can do a better job than me. Searching this site keeps me informed and helps me ask educated questions when dealing with a mechanic. I find very few posts on this site that "blow smoke";) (sorry I couldn't resist). The main reason I bought another CTD is because of what I learned on this site. Besides, I really like my CTD. It's a good truck.
 
Great post. There sure is a lot of misinformation out there. I sure don't get 1st gen mileage, but I think I do better than PS or Dmax owners. The best thing I ever did was to start keeping a fuel log. Every fill up, I write down gallons, price per gallons, odometer, and any other misc info that might apply such as approx towed weight during the previous tank. Whenever someone wants to brag on mileage, I ask to see their fuel log. Usually they say they're reading off the overhead display. Also, we all know that single tank mileage can vary a LOT.

I also wonder about the origin of the "ford owns cummins" rumor. It doesn't make sense to me, but I really don't care whether it's true or not. I'm just curious where it came from.

Here's another "myth" that I hear a lot: Dodge transmissions are junk. Yes, there was the TC lock/unlock electrical problem. Oh, and the "It's so easy to double the torque of my engine and then haul triple the trucks tow rating that I burned up the transmision... but it's Dodge's fault". It's funny that the super high hp Dmax trucks are using 47 and 48RE transmissions instead of the famed Allison for sled pulling and drag racing. I just love they way nobody puts 2 and 2 together when it comes to power vs. stock auto trans vs. load. Seems simple to me.



That was great. I haven't had a good rant in a while. Thanks.
 
At one time Ford bought some percentage of Cummins stock. They then found that Dodge had a GOOD contract with Cummins and that Cummins could not put the 5. 9 into any other pick ups. Ford of course sold off their share when they learned that.
 
At one time Ford bought some percentage of Cummins stock. They then found that Dodge had a GOOD contract with Cummins and that Cummins could not put the 5. 9 into any other pick ups. Ford of course sold off their share when they learned that.


I don't think so. I read several years ago that the Ford employee pension plan owned a modest amount of Cummins, Inc. stock, not Ford Motor Company.
 
The full article should be on the Cummins site somewhere about quashing the rumors. The way Cummins tells it THEY sold some preferred stock to raise capital for R&D. They retained to rights to repurchase the stock and did so when they had the capital.



The rumors around supplying engines and controlling Cummins was so much hot air and wishful thinking. While Ford might have had some say in business developemnt they no way had any control of engine supply. Ford was buying B series engines and putting them in the heavy duty series trucks before during and after all this. Trying to force Cummins to renege on a deal with Dodge was not going to happen. They had way to much exposure to play those kind of games.



It was a standard financial deal that a lot of companies make to raise capital and was blown way out of proportion by that OTHER brand diesel owners. :-laf
 
Do you know that in 2000 that DaimlerChrysler AG bought Detroit Diesel from Roger Penske. He bought it in 1988 .
 
I need to add to this rant my frustration with "chip" crazy people. When I tell them my truck is all mechanical and I can't chip it they don't know what to do with themselves. And then they think that my truck can't be fast if you can't chip it. "I turned up the fuel pump. " "yeah, but you have to be able to chip it, those chipped motors are the ones that really have power. " The chips can't do anything that I can't do with a set of wrenches, other than adjusting on the fly. Then to make it worse, they don't know anything about their motors or fuel pumps. They have no idea whats going on inside there when you hook up that chip. And to top it all off, they believe the advertisements to be law. "well I have it on the 450 horsepower setting so I'm running 450 horsepower, so my truck will beat yours. " Oh yeah? I'll bet Billy Mayes appreciates all your buisness, also.
 
no doubt, we are the last of a long gone generation of motorheads. Let's face it, most 1st genners are motorheads that 'know' how to turn a wrench and how to tune things, and we know what makes our stuff work. I am continually amazed and delighted that my rig makes the same hp/tq than the new $40k rigs and gets better mileage, and cost $30k less. Every time I go into the dealership for parts I get admiring smiles from the staff. And who else among us get's nods and smiles of approval from other truck folks at the pumps admiring our trucks. They know. They know we have a serious truck and they know it's both old, and strong, and you can just feel the envy.

Face it, we own a piece of history, and in my case I own several, and I'll never sell 'em - I'll turn 'em into big tributes to a bygone era of American ingenuity and muscle.



Know what my biggest resistance to owning a new rig is? - maintaining it. I like maintaining my own machines, being responsible for knowing the fluids are actually topped off and not relying on someone else doing it for me and hoping someone else did it right. A new machine... tough to get 'into' them, and I like being able to get into my stuff. Old school.

Maybe a control thing... but there are less and less things I can actually control any more, and for as long as I can my cars and trucks will always be among them.



'Power' to the old school :cool:



- M2
 
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I can hardly wait for Toyota to build their crew cab dually diesel, at least it will be made by Americans in America
. Whats this got to do with the price of gold in London? You can hardly wait? Why? Do you hate American brand trucks that bad? Go buy a Tundra right now!!! It will hold you over till then surely! Why drive a Dodge now? Dont mess around! Get the Toyota now! And what guarantee is there that it will be made on American soil by American citizens? The money is going back to Japan... thats for sure.



Yes... the chips! I've even had other comletely mis-informed and ignorent 1st gen owners ramble on and on at fuel stations about the "chip" they were using in their 1st gen Dodges. And how they have 400HP and 30MPG highway pulling a 10K trailer. I then pull as hard as I can on the fuel pump nozzle handle, even though it is already on the third notch, so I can fuel slightly faster and get the heck out of there quicker. Listening to these fools is painful and depressing.



This simply proves that there are many many people out there who are ignorent about a great many things besides just trucks. The sad part is that 1 hour of simple research would tell them what they need to know about their own truck, and others. And I HATE the use of the word "chip". Electronic fueling mods are not CHIPS!!! They are much more than some CHIP!!! Are they silicon chips? No!! They are modules and components built into a complete controller or software programs on laptops!! When was the last time anybody pulled a computer chip out of anything and replaced it???
 
Know what my biggest resistance to owning a new rig is? - maintaining it. I like maintaining my own machines, being responsible for knowing the fluids are actually topped off and not relying on someone else doing it for me and hoping someone else did it right. A new machine... tough to get 'into' them, and I like being able to get into my stuff. Old school.

Maybe a control thing... but there are less and less things I can actually control any more, and for as long as I can my cars and trucks will always be among them.



YUP - I agree - getting under my truck, or in the engine bay, is something I totally enjoy. Swapping out the injection pump, or pulling the transmission to install a new and better clutch was viewed as another interesting adventure added to a lifetime of similar activities that keep me interested and active - and money in MY pocket instead of some disinterested shop owner's "mechanics"! ;)



Sure - I fully understand than many are too busy and involved in other pursuits, and necessarily by circumstances, forced into the "just get in and drive" mode of operation - but it also gets to be a minor irritation when I have posted various "how to" and similar threads here - all usually relatively minor as to any added time demands to install and maintain - that I get flak on them not so much for the benefit, but rather the resistance to spending the extra 5 minutes every couple of months to check and service them - by guys who probably waste FAR more time than that drinking beer and watching TV... :rolleyes:
 
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