Dodge/Cummins backcountry reliability

[quikshft]

Hi guys,

One of my newfound favorite things to do is explore the remote areas in and around Death Valley, and I do mean remote. On my last time out with my brother-in-law, we drove the Saline Valley Road from where it intersects hiway 190 in the south to the Eureka Dunes and saw not more than two other vehicles, that's probably 70 miles of driving. It goes pretty much without saying you want a fairly reliable rig when heading into a remote and harsh environment, and I've been comfortable leaving in my brother-in-law's Blazer, as well as my '98 Durango, but so far the only trip my CTD has made is one with the travel trailer behind it in which my son and I pretty much stayed to the pavement within the Natl. Park. I guess that if I had some trouble with a gas rig I feel I know enough to be able to try a few things to maybe get up and running again, but if I tried to start my diesel in the outback and it didn't fire right up... I admit I have no idea what I'd start with in order to try and get running again.

My truck has been reliable in the year I've owned it, never failing to start and in fact it fires so fast I hardly know what the starter sounds like. Should I be concerned? What things can I check or which spare parts (if any) should I carry with me before heading out on a backcountry trip? Is my truck even well suited to doing some creeping around if first or second gear for half a day or longer? Is there an "Outback trouble shooting guide" that I can get hold of for my truck? Part of the appeal of taking my diesel on a trip of this nature is that comfotable sleeping quarters are attached, as well as plenty of room for gear, spare tires, etc. With my Durango I'm setting up a tent with minimal cushion for comfort (getting old I guess) and then taking it down again.

Sorry for the long read, I'm on vacation this week and never have seen a topic like this posted here. Guess I'm just looking for some reassurance as well as obvious precautions.

Thanks for advice in advance.

 

[CDegner]

I tlooks like your sig says you only have 101K on that rig. It is just barely broke in! I bought my truck with 91K on it and have put another 160K on it. I drove it cross country when I moved to Washington with 183K on it and never thought twice about it.



Guess what I am saying, if it is maintained, you have one of the most reliable trucks there is. Everything is controlled mechanically (some electronics but they can be overridden) and is pretty darn reliable.



Just my opinion but I suspect others are going to agree.



Carl

 

[JLEONARD]

I agree with Carl... . (twice in a row?)

Make sure the hoses and serpentine belt are in good shape, carry a spare fuel filter, a couple quarts of your favorite oil, and have fun!!

Jay

 

[MFalkinham]

Quikshft,



I can appreciate where you are coming from with your question. Sometimes it takes awhile to become confident with a vehicle.



When I bought my '92 with 137k, it was sight unseen and two states away in North Dakota. When I got there to pick it up, the owner had it ready to go, but with not much fuel in the tank. I drove it about 30 miles, and then stopped at a truck stop for some diesel. When I was ready to leave, I turned the key, and nothing. No click, no starter, nada. I wiggled the battery clamps, and they seemed nice and tight. My heart sank as I realized I was in an unfamiliar state at a remote truck stop with a pickup truck I barely knew. I turned the key several more times, and it finally started. The rest of the trip home, each turn of the key was a roll of the dice.



It turns out the battery cables were not as tight as they appeared to be, and were not making good contact. Once that was fixed, in 10k miles the truck has never left me stranded. Now that I've grown to trust the truck, I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere, providing I have some tools and basic spare parts along. But it was still a very bad feeling being briefly stranded so far from home.



- Mike

 

[CDegner]

Originally posted by JLEONARD

I agree with Carl... . (twice in a row?)

Make sure the hoses and serpentine belt are in good shape, carry a spare fuel filter, a couple quarts of your favorite oil, and have fun!!

Jay

This is down right scary! Normally I say something and it is :-{}



Carl

 

[fkovalski]

The questions/ answers thus far are relegated to mainainance issues. Another thought for back country depends on what type of 4 wheeling you do. Specifically- have you also considered a winch? I know it is an item on my wish list!

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

I used to take my 93 60-80 miles from the nearest paved road in northern Maine to go ice fishing, once in -50 weather. I carried a spare serpentine and my Honda generator so I could plug it in. I also carried a battery charger just incase I wore the batteries down but I doubt you'd have that problem. In the hot areas I'd carry a 5 gallon pail of water with me if I were you. I would be more scared of a modern Durango than a well maintained mechanical Dodge diesel. Repeat after me - Too err is human, to totally foul things up takes a computer. Anything could happen to the durango just as easily as it could the pick-up. The worst part about being off-road in the CTD is the harsh ride. Good luck.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

A winch :--)

In Death Valley. . . what do you tie the cable to :--)

Take a sand anchor like the Pul Pal, or maybe three long bars you can drive into the sand for an anchor. Avenir Co advertises in 4WD magazines and offer the Wyeth Scott heavy duty come along that can substitute for a winch. Take nylon straps and chain in case you or some other poor soul gets stuck. Maybe someone will stop to pull you out.

Most importantly, take a couple 6 gallon jugs of water, even in the winter.

Spare tires, at least two.

Fix the dowel pin and loctite the bolts inside the cover holding the case onto the block. If not, be sure to have a couple gallons of oil with you.

Make sure maintenance tasks are up to date like transmission lube, diff lube. Check endplay on the diff bearings--the outer race tends to wear into the nut and clearance gets too large.

 

[fkovalski]

Originally posted by Joseph Donnelly

A winch :--)

In Death Valley. . . what do you tie the cable to :--)

I had to laugh at myself on this one. I think of "backcountry" as in my area where trees are aplenty. A winch is still on my wish list.

 

[JLEONARD]

And I think of a winch as something to lend to someone else who's in trouble

Same with jumper cables.

It's like all the spare parts and crap I carry aboard my boat when I cruise... . oh it's comforting and all that, but it is most often used to help someone else... ...

Notice I said most often.



I guess you should carry as much as you need to make you comfortable knowing (and hoping) you won't need any of it... . like an umbrella...

Jay

 

[quikshft]

Well you guys have gotten me warm and fuzzy enough to make a trip in the Cummins next time out. Good advice given as well, my dowel pin is taken care of as of last week, and I did Locktite the balance of the cover bolts at the same time. I agree with MFalkinham, sometimes it just takes a while to become trusting of a car or truck.

Spare items... it looks like hoses and a belt, fuel filter, and of course tires. On one trip my bro in law took by himself, he had a flat. After fixing it he had another within ten minutes. I will cary three tires! A well stocked tool box can't hurt either. I have and would carry a heavy chain.

Turbo Tim 1, minus 50, That kind of cold scares me worse than Death Valley heat. Actually I woldn't venture out there in summer time, but carrying an adequate amount of water is good common sense any time your off road. I'm a California boy, I just don't like serious cold, I experienced 30 below in Ladysmith, Wi. a few years back, that was enough for me.

Rough ride? One scourge of Death Valley is the washboard roads. On trips in my B. I. L. 's Blazer and in my Durango, we let the air down in the tires to soften the ride. These are lighter tires than the 265/70/16's I have on my truck. I don't think I'd let the air down on those. We carried a battery powered air compressor to pump up once we made it back to pavement.

I like the comments/reminders that my truck is mechanical. Yes my Durango has the computer which is probably it's Achiles heel, and I suppose that could cause as much trouble and perhaps more than I might experience in my diesel.

A winch? That could be handy for something I'm sure, but I'm not sure what that might be out in Death Valley. Here's a picture from a prior excursion. Look mom, no trees!

#ad

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

I don't know what a sand anchor is/looks like but you can substitute for a "sand anchor" with 2 or 3 axle shafts with about 3' of chain welded to the top of each and attached to the next. Pound those babies in and your good to go... . kinda heavy, but they work.

You can't over do your cooling system maintainence here... . use something like the Cummins "Refresh" product. They have 2 versions. . one focuses on the rad with a bit of block attention and the other is just the reverse, working mostly in the block (cast iron, scale etc) with a bit in the rad.

Do a full check/service on any auto transmission before you go.

When you're under the truck doing your grease job, go to the front CV/universal joints behind each front rotor... grab the joint and make sure you have NO play in them. They'll behave just like any bad U-Joint by showing slop in the yoke/cap joint.



In minus 50*F my truck would fire and kick but would not hold on long enough to keep running. After several tries, it killed a near new 1150 Amp batter dead as a post... . bummer... . needed a Ford to jump start me too... talk about depressing...



Bob.

 

[Midnite]

If you're still running your original water pump, you might consider changing it out before such a trip. Mine lasted until about 175,000 miles and died about 80 or so miles north of Las Vegas two years ago. I was brand new to the TDR at the time, and spent about $300 for a tow into town, and about $500 for the dealer to change it.



Of course shortly after I got back home in Alaska and read up on it, I saw the water pump was only a hundred and something bucks, and probably only about a half hour's worth of easy work.



Mike

 

["Mad Max"]

I had similar anxiety regarding a very new-to-me vehicle, as well as new engine system (diesel vs gasser). The Cummins reputation was all I needed as far as how the performance and reliability would be. My only reservation and possibly achieles heel for our rigs is the fuel solenoid below the pump. After several trouble-free months of not knowing what the starter sounded like (because mine also starts right NOW) it one day up and ..... didn't. It cranked and cranked and cranked and continued to not start. Well, one thing was for sure - it's not the plugs / wires / distributor , so it had to be fuel. BUT the fuel is mechanical, right? Well, yes and no. Come to find out (thanks TDR!) that the little wires that tell the fuel solenoid what to do with itself can get brittle and old and shake loose and cause the solenoid not to flow any fuel, hence crankity-and-she-no-wanna-start. Well, I had read about the manual lever next to the solenoid, so I yanked on it a few times, and presto, fires right up. But, the problem continued intermittently, and even happened up at PDR while I was trying to keep up with NASCAR Mark (which is NOT easy... if I may say so ), and so the next day in Piers' parking lot I went in and completely replaced the three wire ends and crimped the terminal ends so they fit VERY tight. And would you know that it has happened exactly zero times since.

So, my 2 dollars worth is make sure the terminal ends of the solenoid wires are all really tight and new. Some dialectric grease might not be a bad idea either.

Everything else the 'crew' said above is all good intel.



What do y'all think about a new fan clutch, 'specially in Death Valley? Maybe thermostat temp range? What about an automatic getting warm while only crawling along? Sure the aux fan will kick in, but not all the auto's have the super duty bed-mounted aux fan... . ? Thoughts?



Oh yeah, gauges are your only real friends out there... .

I got 228k miles (21k of 'em are mine), and I'll take this rig anywhere and back with no worries. Cummins = reliability.

Happy New Year and save travelling!

- Sam

 

[AlK]

In a pinch you can always bury the spare tire and hook the winch cable to it.