Anyone have Dr. Performance kit?

[brn2fsh]

Hello all,



This is my first post to TDR. I recently purchased a 97, 3/4 ton, extended cab, 5-spd, 4x4 with 51k miles and love it. I have owned Chevy diesels for the last 10 years and this is my first Dodge/Cummins.



My truck has about 2 weeks left on the factory warranty so I took it to the dealer yesterday to have them check it out and make sure everything is ok before the warranty runs out.



The dealer called me and said that the truck was in great shape and that my truck has a Dr. Performance Stage III kit installed. He also said that the stock clutch has been replaced with a ceramic clutch.



The question that I have is does anyone know exactly what a Dr. Performance Stage III kit is? I looked on the Dr. Performance web site and didn't get much info. Does the kit involve replacing/modifying the pump, injectors, head? I don't know. It must involve something substantial because it costs about $2500.



Any information would be appreciated. Any maintenance tips realted to the performance kit would also be appreciated.



Thanks,



Scott Boelman

Billings, MT

 

[LarryB]

Scott

Welcome aboard. Lots of info here. Use the search button (upper right) and you will find more info than you need.



Again, Welcome!

 

[brn2fsh]

LarryB



Thanks for the reply. I tried to do a search on Dr. Performance but the search engine didn't like the Dr. The search engine said that I need at least 3 characters in the search term and Dr didn't qualify because it was only 2 characters. I then did a search on Performance and received to many hits to wade through.



Thanks,



Scott

 

[Bob Wagner]

start with this thread

http://216.235.147.117/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10066

 

[Extreme1]

Sincre it is already on the truck and someone else spent the cash, I wouldn't do anything to it unless you get the urge to really make some smoke. Yes, Dr. P is an arrogant SOB that doesn't answer questions to most people's satisifaction and his stuff seems overpriced BUT, it does work.



You could try calling him and asking. I think it is a reworked pump (exchange) & injectors + ?



Welcome to the TDR!

 

[SteveH]

The Dr. P kit I had on my 97 12valve 1 ton was great. They replaced the factory injector pump and put new injectors in. It was much much mo betta after they got through with it. I didn't loose any mileage and gained a LOT of power. It doesn't seem to work quite as good on the 24 valvers as it does the 12 valvers. I think I still have Doc's phone number if you want to persue it.

Steve H.

 

[sam peterson]

The DR PER PhIII kit is a replacement higher pressure pump & replacement injectors. I have had one on my 96 dually for about 20 thou miles. Works great but spendy. ---Sam

 

[SlyBones]

If i was gonna spend that kind of money on just the pump, i would step up to ones of Piers' stupid pumps and know ya did it right.

 

[Sled Puller]

Wait a sec- you bought the truck used and did not notice that it ran REALLY good?

And the seller did not mention the upgrades?

 

[brn2fsh]

Hey,



Thanks for all of the replys. I really appreciate the information.



I did buy the truck used and was not aware of the improvements at the time. I bought the truck at Montana Dodge here in Billings, MT. They had just taken it in on trade the same day. I went to the dealership and told them I was looking for a 97 extended cab, 4x4, 5-spd with low miles and wouldn't you know it they had just taken this one in on trade. It was "out back" and not even on the lot yet. I test drove the truck, wrote them a check and drove it home. They did not even have a chance to detail it or run it through their shop.



Funny thing is that the truck was originally bought at Montana Dodge in 1997 by the same fellow who just traded it in. All service work on the the truck had been performed at Montana Dodge and the Dr. Performance Stage III kit and ceramic clutch were also installed by Montana Dodge.



I guess I bought the truck before the dealership had a chance to check their records because the sales people were not aware of the improvements when I bought the truck.



As far as the question of "didn't I know it had improvements when I test drove it". The only other diesels I had driven prior to this truck were the 3 Chevy diesels I had owned since 1989. I had always heard the Cummins had more poop than the Chevy diesels so I guess when I test drove this truck I thought it was normal for Cummins as I only had Chevy to compare to.



When I was test driving the truck I was quite impressed. When going down the on ramp onto the interstate, I shifted from 3rd to 4th and got on the throttle. Black smoke rolled out the exhaust, the back end broke loose and the tires left two long black marks on the pavement. At that point I thought "Man, these Dodges are really much more powerful than the Chevy's". I returned to the dealership and bought the truck on the spot.



Once again, thanks for the responses and I look forward to being an active participant to this forum. I was an active participant on the Chevy Dieselpage and wrote several technical articles for the page.

 

[LSMITH]

Originally posted by brn2fsh

Hey,



When I was test driving the truck I was quite impressed. When going down the on ramp onto the interstate, I shifted from 3rd to 4th and got on the throttle. Black smoke rolled out the exhaust, the back end broke loose and the tires left two long black marks on the pavement. At that point I thought "Man, these Dodges are really much more powerful than the Chevy's". I returned to the dealership and bought the truck on the spot.

LMAO!! I don't blame you! Sounds like you got a really nice truck. Welcome to the forums too, we look forward to having more enthusiastic participation.

 

[Extreme1]

Originally posted by brn2fsh

When going down the on ramp onto the interstate, I shifted from 3rd to 4th and got on the throttle. Black smoke rolled out the exhaust, the back end broke loose and the tires left two long black marks on the pavement

Man, I wish mine would break the wheels loose at that speed!

 

[Sled Puller]

Yep, them Cummins are snappy compared to the 6. 2 Chevy!!!!!



I would have liked to have been there for the test drive and saw your face!!

LOL