Purchased a 98 12Valve extra cab w/115,000 miles. All stock. Have about $2,000 I would like to get more HP, better mileage etc. etc. Don't know what's available... but I bet you guys do! Tell me what you would do and about how much it would be and the name of the product. I don't pull big heavy loads. . less then 5,000 pounds a few times a month is all. Mostly drive highway... unloaded.
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Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) $2K What mods? Best bang for buck?
- Thread starter Jlobaugh
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You might want to look at the trans before you do anything serious.
#1 Gauges.
#2 cam plate
#3 injectors
#4 GSK
#5 timing
2,3,4 and 5 can be mixed up a little.
JM. 02
Eric
#1 Gauges.
#2 cam plate
#3 injectors
#4 GSK
#5 timing
2,3,4 and 5 can be mixed up a little.
JM. 02
Eric
first thing take care of the KDP!!!!!!!! best bomb you can do. Next I would take care of your auto beef it up that alone will help you out alot. then you can do the fun stuff gauges, cam plate, 3000rpm GSK, Injectors, DV's, Timing, Turbo... . oh and exhuast.
MY bad. 40 horsepower penalty. :-laf
Pretty good suggestions so far,
I'd agree if your transmission is good, I'd look at gauges up front won't help fuel economy or HP but could save you some cash if it keeps you from overheating your transmission.
Killer Dowel pin is a mixed bag lots of people have never had a problem with it; however, when it goes bad it can really cost a lot to fix. Had mine fixed when I did the gov springs and the timinig which probably saved $100 or so because some of the work is common between the three.
With the stock transmission you aren't going to be able to get very agressive with the HP upgrades(probably have to keep it below 300 or so, there are others on the board that can talk to that better than me).
My guess for impact and cost are (you can probably do a lot of these cheaper by shopping around for better prices):
timing, gov springs, KDP - $400 (installed) piece of mind and setting the timing to about 15. 5 should improve fuel mileage.
gauges - $400 (self install) for piece of mind(this is for a three gauge setup, transmission temp, boost, and pyro)
cam plate - $200 + installation primarily more HP - seems most folks like a $10 fuel plate for all around use. (may be able to install this yourself depending on how mechanically inclined you are, I haven't installed one so I can't really say how difficult it is).
injectors - $600 + installation - primarily more HP but can get better mileage - break point seems to be 215 injectors. They are suppposed to provide about +60HP and a bit better mileage. You may be able to install these youself; however, I haven't so I can't tell you how difficult they are to install; however, from what I've read it seems possible for a do-it-yourselfer(is that a word?).
I'd look at the following later as you become addicted to upgrading your truck
BHAF - $450 (self install). Primarily HP but may help mileage. You may not actually need this until you get beyond 350HP(lots of discussion both ways on the topic), also prices are all over the place, you can get filter systems for a good bit less then $450.
4in Exhaust - $750 + installation. Primarily HP, maybe a little mileage (I personally didn't notice any improvement), and reduced EGTs
Other things to consider:
Summit wiring harness - $50 (self install). The 2nd gen trucks route the power for the headlights through the headlight switch in the cab. As a result, the headlight switch has a tendency to fail (costs about $80 in parts + labor costs to repair). The wiring harness reroutes the power to the headlights through relays which helps reduce the load on the headlamp switch and also results in brighter headlights.
If the truck's steering is vague, you may end up installing a PSC steering box, DSS ($170), a 3rd gen trackbar ($450), and/or other aftermarket trackbar to fix the problem.
Shocks - $70 ea + install. Most folks seem to like Bilsteins for all around use.
I'd agree if your transmission is good, I'd look at gauges up front won't help fuel economy or HP but could save you some cash if it keeps you from overheating your transmission.
Killer Dowel pin is a mixed bag lots of people have never had a problem with it; however, when it goes bad it can really cost a lot to fix. Had mine fixed when I did the gov springs and the timinig which probably saved $100 or so because some of the work is common between the three.
With the stock transmission you aren't going to be able to get very agressive with the HP upgrades(probably have to keep it below 300 or so, there are others on the board that can talk to that better than me).
My guess for impact and cost are (you can probably do a lot of these cheaper by shopping around for better prices):
timing, gov springs, KDP - $400 (installed) piece of mind and setting the timing to about 15. 5 should improve fuel mileage.
gauges - $400 (self install) for piece of mind(this is for a three gauge setup, transmission temp, boost, and pyro)
cam plate - $200 + installation primarily more HP - seems most folks like a $10 fuel plate for all around use. (may be able to install this yourself depending on how mechanically inclined you are, I haven't installed one so I can't really say how difficult it is).
injectors - $600 + installation - primarily more HP but can get better mileage - break point seems to be 215 injectors. They are suppposed to provide about +60HP and a bit better mileage. You may be able to install these youself; however, I haven't so I can't tell you how difficult they are to install; however, from what I've read it seems possible for a do-it-yourselfer(is that a word?).
I'd look at the following later as you become addicted to upgrading your truck
BHAF - $450 (self install). Primarily HP but may help mileage. You may not actually need this until you get beyond 350HP(lots of discussion both ways on the topic), also prices are all over the place, you can get filter systems for a good bit less then $450.
4in Exhaust - $750 + installation. Primarily HP, maybe a little mileage (I personally didn't notice any improvement), and reduced EGTs
Other things to consider:
Summit wiring harness - $50 (self install). The 2nd gen trucks route the power for the headlights through the headlight switch in the cab. As a result, the headlight switch has a tendency to fail (costs about $80 in parts + labor costs to repair). The wiring harness reroutes the power to the headlights through relays which helps reduce the load on the headlamp switch and also results in brighter headlights.
If the truck's steering is vague, you may end up installing a PSC steering box, DSS ($170), a 3rd gen trackbar ($450), and/or other aftermarket trackbar to fix the problem.
Shocks - $70 ea + install. Most folks seem to like Bilsteins for all around use.
McLaughlin said:Pretty good suggestions so far,
I'd agree if your transmission is good, I'd look at gauges up front won't help fuel economy or HP but could save you some cash if it keeps you from overheating your transmission.
Killer Dowel pin is a mixed bag lots of people have never had a problem with it; however, when it goes bad it can really cost a lot to fix. Had mine fixed when I did the gov springs and the timinig which probably saved $100 or so because some of the work is common between the three.
With the stock transmission you aren't going to be able to get very agressive with the HP upgrades(probably have to keep it below 300 or so, there are others on the board that can talk to that better than me).
My guess for impact and cost are (you can probably do a lot of these cheaper by shopping around for better prices):
timing, gov springs, KDP - $400 (installed) piece of mind and setting the timing to about 15. 5 should improve fuel mileage.
gauges - $400 (self install) for piece of mind(this is for a three gauge setup, transmission temp, boost, and pyro)
cam plate - $200 + installation primarily more HP - seems most folks like a $10 fuel plate for all around use. (may be able to install this yourself depending on how mechanically inclined you are, I haven't installed one so I can't really say how difficult it is).
injectors - $600 + installation - primarily more HP but can get better mileage - break point seems to be 215 injectors. They are suppposed to provide about +60HP and a bit better mileage. You may be able to install these youself; however, I haven't so I can't tell you how difficult they are to install; however, from what I've read it seems possible for a do-it-yourselfer(is that a word?).
I'd look at the following later as you become addicted to upgrading your truck
BHAF - $450 (self install). Primarily HP but may help mileage. You may not actually need this until you get beyond 350HP(lots of discussion both ways on the topic), also prices are all over the place, you can get filter systems for a good bit less then $450.
4in Exhaust - $750 + installation. Primarily HP, maybe a little mileage (I personally didn't notice any improvement), and reduced EGTs
Other things to consider:
Summit wiring harness - $50 (self install). The 2nd gen trucks route the power for the headlights through the headlight switch in the cab. As a result, the headlight switch has a tendency to fail (costs about $80 in parts + labor costs to repair). The wiring harness reroutes the power to the headlights through relays which helps reduce the load on the headlamp switch and also results in brighter headlights.
If the truck's steering is vague, you may end up installing a PSC steering box, DSS ($170), a 3rd gen trackbar ($450), and/or other aftermarket trackbar to fix the problem.
Shocks - $70 ea + install. Most folks seem to like Bilsteins for all around use.
acctually the 98 12valve has the same injectors whether it is automatic or manual even though one is rated for 180 and the other is 215 the only differance in these trucks is the pump.
as for mods look on ebay and you should be able to find a cam plate for around $100
the fuel plate is very easy to install.
airfilter go with BHAF around $70. 00
a set of 370 injectors will give your truck a big wake up thay go for around $350-400
upgrade the turbo to a dodgezilla or go on up to twins ranges anywhere from $800-4,000
have head o-ringed dont know the cost of this.
bump the timing up to about 16* free if you can find the tools.
transmission go with a good reliable company and get something with billet shafts.
but the FIRST THINGS FIRST GUAGES AND KDP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
godd luck on the quest for more POWER
McLaughlin said:
Whoa! You can save almost a thousand dollars here. How about $300 for injectors, $250 for BHAF, and $300 for exhuast!
Injectors- 370's from city diesel
BHAF- Pro guard 7
Exhuast-4'' aluminized system from Jeg's or ebay. I actually just got my 4'' exhuast off ebay for $257. 50 SHIPPED, came with a straight through muffler. Fit perfect, sounds great.
Short of gauges and kdp, Get the transmission taken care of! Most of my mods were done before the transmission and when I did it Yahooo :--) All the power and smoke show means nothing if you can't get it to the road
250 for the BHAF ??
What am I missing ?? Mine looks like it was nothing more than removing the stock airbox, buiying the air filter (35 bucks), and putting it on. MAX of 50 bucks.
Is there some 'kit' out there that yall are talking about ??
On that 98, you can do the same thing I did... and for less than 50 bucks, you'll have more airflow than you need.
just make sure you get an outerwears prefilter for it, about another 20 bucks.
What am I missing ?? Mine looks like it was nothing more than removing the stock airbox, buiying the air filter (35 bucks), and putting it on. MAX of 50 bucks.
Is there some 'kit' out there that yall are talking about ??
On that 98, you can do the same thing I did... and for less than 50 bucks, you'll have more airflow than you need.
just make sure you get an outerwears prefilter for it, about another 20 bucks.
filter from $25 outerwears prefilter $20 home made heat shield from plans on http://dodgedieseldatabase.com depending on what type of metal you use and how you finish it $15+
Matthug said:
BHAF- Wix part number 42790 $60 flows 680cfm
Matthug said:
Thanks, knew I was quoting the prices a bit high (figured someone would have cheaper alternatives). Didn't want to understate the potential costs. That is why I mentioned he should look around. The numbers you quoted are about what I ended up paying for my upgrades but I didn't go for the most expensive options either. Didn't suggest the 370's because he has a stock transmission and figured they might produce to much HP and I don't have much experience with injectors.
well i agree kdp first and foremost but think about this a built transmission would be a very very wise invesment because a stock transmission in these trucks is horrible. a performance transmission (dtt,suncoast,ats) can improve your 0-60 like 2-3 seconds on a stock truck so i think a transmission would be the most bang for the buck.
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Issue 128 – Digital Version
Digital Magazines
FREE!
TDR Test Drive - Digital Edition
Renew
Subscribe
Gift Subscriptions
Back Issues
Subscription Status
Address Change Form
Buyer's Guides
Ram Diagnostic Trouble Codes
The Perfect Collection
The Perfect Collection Vol. II
TSB Updates
Dodge/Cummins Historical Overview
Cameron Collection
What Makes Us Tick?
Product Showcase
Advertising
