89 Com'n Home

[Diesel Man]

I'll keep this short; my first Diesel truck experience was 1997 when I borrowed my father-in-laws 89 Dodge Diesel and used it to tow my Road Runner to the open road races in Nevada. Since that time I have been hooked on the Cummins Diesel!



Now for the good news, that same truck is now mine, and it only has 75,000 miles on it. It's in 100% original condition. No modifications what-so-ever. The bad news is that it's had very little maintenance and no upgrades to fix any factory bugs.



The first thing I want to do is to go through it and do all the basic maintenance.



Can someone please tell me where to buy (preferably online) the filters;



Oil Filter

Fuel Filter

Transmission Filter & Gaskets (auto)

Air Filter



After that I’d like to find out if there are any “critical” modifications I should do to the truck. My plan is to fully restore it and drive it daily.



Thanks for any help you can give me.

Best Regards,

Diesel Don

 

[dusthomps]

Don,



Check out Genos Garage for purchasing filters online. This is where I order most of my filters from.





Dustin

 

[bgilbert]

Don, Geno's will have it all, except for the filter, you should get yourself a BHAF which is just a bigger than stock air filter. You will just have to remove the factory airbox, bolt the intake hose to the neck of the BHAF, and lay in place of the factory airbox. You can get a BHAF just about any parts store. Napa BHAF part number is 2790, do a search for other BHAF part numbers. Fleetguard pn is AH19037, I've read the carquest BHAF, I think, is cheaper than Napa.



Open up the air in, air out. Air+fuel=power. BTW (by the way) you have a ' W ' model not a ' D ' model. W=4x4, D=2x4. Enjoy. Bill

 

[blacksheepdiesel]

Diesel Man,



Welcome to the TDR!



My '89 W250 auto was a dog (especially pulling a trailer) until I slipped on the 16cm2 exhaust housing and turned the fuel screw in a little. Those two changes instantly made it a different truck altogether. My transmission is still holding with 243,xxx clicks. I bought it with 150,xxx mi so I don't know if anything was done to it before that.



Trent

 

[Diesel Man]

First of all, thanks guys; dusthomps, bgilbert and redbadge for your kind assistance.

I ordered the filters from Geno's and bought some Delo 400 oil from Costco. I had already been doing the oil changes on this rig just to make sure it got done (In hopes that someday it would be mine I had previously used over the counter Perolator filters).



I also put new tires on it and cleaned it up over the weekend. Boy was it dirty! It needs a lot of TLC but it really is in pretty good shape under all the dirt. It's never been used as a work truck or anything harsh.



Redbadge, I'd like to know more about "the 16cm2 exhaust housing and turning the fuel screw" Where can I buy this exhaust housing? And how do I locate the fuel screw?



Does somebody make a decent after market exhaust system for this older rig? It really needs it!





Sorry for all the questions but this project has been a long time coming for me and I've really been looking forward to fixing up this puppy. [bgilbert, thanks for the tip, I'll go fix my sig ]

 

[dusthomps]

Don,



Here's the link to the TST website which shows a good pic of the VE pump and the location of the fuel screw. In the pic it is labeled as the "power adjustment screw. " You can buy an exhaust housing from a variety of vendors such as Piers or TST.





Dustin

 

[dpuckett]

Don-



ALso check to see if you have a Limited Slip Differntial (LSD). If so, dont be afraid of the friction modifier.



The 4x4 makes it a W 250. What rear end ratio do you have? There should be a tag on the rear diff cover, which you can look at when you change the fluid.



THe 16cm housing forces the exhaust gasses that drive the turbo to go into a smaller area, thus making the turbo spin faster and spool quicker. Translated, you have more off-the-line pep.



Get a pyrometer and boost gauge, along with transmission temp. You will need them for when the BOMB bug hits. Normally, it bites HARD after you change the air and fuel flow. With a nonIC 1st Gen, skip the 30 psi boost gaguge and get at least a 40psi. With my moderate enhancements, I can hit 36 psi on demand, and have hit 40 on a cool day. This is with a stock exh housing on a PDR HX35.



THere are several sources for 4" exhaust- Rip Rook (Source Automotive) and www.bigexhaust.com come to mind. I know, that sounds ridiculous, but it does make a noticeable difference in spoolup and reducing EGTs. I dont know where the myth about smaller pipe making better performance came from; probably the same place about Ford owning Cummins and ATF being a good injector cleaner. I see a lot of CTDs around here with a 2-3/4" pipe, some of them 2nd Gens. But then, this is gasser he!!, so who knows? Maybe the muffler shops do that on purpose, so they dont feel so inferior with their bigger V8s.



Daniel