92 CTD advice

[KevinSmith]

I will soon be getting my brothers 92 p/u. It has 230k and a nv 4500 swapped into it. What needs to be done. KDP, Axle seals, and double nutting 5th gear are the only common issues I know of. Anything else you would recomend?

 

[Tim1]

Light switch

You will want to add some relays to the headlite and trailer tow circuits to take the load off the headlite switch, as they get hot and melt stuff. See my post in discontinued section. Tim

 

[JGrefenstette]

i wouldnt worry a whole lot about the kdp, i could be wrong, but from what ive seen its been more of an issue in the 2nd gens. i would recomend a tach, isspro makes some nice ones. i got on for my truck. not to expensive, super easy to install. i put up some pictures in the photo gallery if you wanna see what it looks like. an if your gonna be doing any towing/offroading/or much in the way of mods to it, youll probly want boost/egt gauges too. i just orderd isspro's package. its a dual a-pillar mount with the 40psi manifold press. gauge and the pre-turbo egt gauge. come with the boost line, thermocouple and wire lead, and everything you need. good luck, and enjoy

 

[KevinSmith]

What about turbo changes? I have a HY 35 and an Hx35 off of my 2nd gen.

 

[dpuckett]

The HX35 would do well, no matter what other mods you have or dont have. It will work with either its stock 12cm exhaust housing, or the housing on your current turbo.



DP

 

[Midnite]

I absolutely agree with Tim's suggestion about the relays. I think Summit Racing still sells complete harness kits for the headlights.

If it still has the stock leaf springs up front, they may be worn out. If so, it'll have a noticeable nose-down stance and the ride will be *real* harsh. On my '92 I got a Skyjacker 1" levelling spring kit and was pretty happy with it. The ride improved hugely.

It looks like you're in Nevada, so you probably don't encounter snow and ice much, but a Powr-lock limited slip might be good if you do any off-roading and don't want the harshness of a locker.

If it's a 3/4 ton truck, then you can improve the rear brakes a bit with 1" or 1 1/8" wheel cylinders and 3" wide shoes. That's basically upgrading to the same brakes as on the 1 ton duallies. You would have to either turn the drums or get new ones. Since it's a stick, you could also do an exhaust brake--that's one of the best things I think I've done to my truck.

If it hasn't already been done, bump up the injection timing and replace the stock muffler with any straight through design. Source Automotive is a good place to check for that.

Mike

 

[PToombs]

The KDP might not be an issue, but the cover bolts are! The 5 bolts that hold the casing to the block are known to come loose on these trucks. They are near the cam, you will need to bend a 10mm wrench to get a couple of them. Remove, clean with brake cleaner, blow off with air. Put some loctite on and tighten them back in. Just use a punch and stake around the KDP when you are there.

 

[boatpuller]

I agree with Pete, except that the KDP is also a problem not to be ignored, I think that we probably didn't hear about most of the 1st gen KDP's as there were quite a few less 1st gens than 2nd gens and a lot of the 1st gen people aren't on the internet. Even today Cummins says they have no known problem with the dowel pins. I know of a few 1st gens in my area that lost the pin. It's worth an afternoon to avoid the damage caused by the pin or a bolt rattling around under the front cover.

 

[tugboatphil]

Double ditto Pete and Caleb. My KDP had only worked out about 1/8", but all the cover bolts had loosened. It doesn't matter how many others it has happened to, it really only matters to you if YOURS goes into the gears.