First Posting

[dfirlik]

I joined the TDR and bought my first pickup a couple of weeks ago. After looking for six months we (my wife was an active participant in the search) found a 98 12V Club Cab SB 4x4 with 155K on it that fit our budget. It's high milage for it's age but because it was used in a business that covered the state, the miles are mostly highway. A previous comittent took me out of town right after I bought it so I 've driven it only about 50 miles so far.



I'm not in a position to work on it myself at this point so I want to take it to a dealer or mechanic to have some of the scheduled maintenance items performed and to have the idle checked. It won't idle for the first 30-45 seconds after starting on a cold morning. After that it's ok. There are several Dodge dealers as well as a Cummins Service center in the Grand Rapids (MI) area. Do members in this area have a have a preference or recommendation for service?



Although I'm at the bottom of the learning curve when it comes to diesel engines, I have gained some familiarity by reading the postings on this site during the past week. Perhaps by the time I get to the position where I can do some of my own work, I'll be knowledgable enough to stay out of trouble!





Don (MI)

 

[DarrellB]

Good Luck

Nice to here from you Don. I can't help with were you can take your truck (live in Southern Indiana) but I want to welcome you to the TDR and hope you get as much out of it as I have.



Happy Haulin

Big D

 

[Batman]

Welcome aboard Don,



Good luck going to a dealer. Try to find someone near you that can recommend a knowledgable diesel mechanic. Often times, dealers don't really have good diesel techs. Besides, they charge way to much coin for normal maintenance.



Best of luck

 

[Lsfarm]

Welcome!

Welcome dfirlik! Contact Steve StLaurent, he's one of the moderators for the product/accessory forum. At the top of the thread listings there is a link to contact him. He lives close to you.



Fill in you signature so we know what your truck is, this will help us help you.



I'm not a 12V guy, buy have read something about a 'star wheel' for adjusting the idle on the 12v engines. The guys on the 12v forum will be more help.



Join the GLTDR! We have monthly get-togethers.



Greg L

 

[Okie-Go]

Welcome aboard and hope you get her runnin good.

 

[Don M]

You bought the right engine IMO. The 12 valves are tops.



Don~

 

[midnight1black]

Welcome aboard Don.

Now let the BOMBING begin. Oo. Oo.

 

[Cooker]

Hello Don and welcome to the TDR.



I am in GR too, Jenison to be exact. Here are some of my opinions about the dealers/service centers in our area.



Do not go to Courtesy Dodge or Elhart Dodge.



At K+M, their diesel mechanic (and he only works on the Cummins trucks) is the cousin of a very good friend of mine. I cannot comment on his ability, or how good a job he does as I have never spoke to him. If it is convienient for you to take it there I can get in contact with him to make sure your truck gets taken care of.



The guys at Wayland Chryseler seem to be ok. Kalvin is their service manage and is very knowledgebale when it comes to our trucks. They sell and work on alot of Cummins trucks there.



If you are not able to work on your truck, the best place, IMO, to have any engine related service work done is the GR location for Cummins Michigan. Stewart is their Dodge guy around there and he is very knowledgeable and a just an all around nice guy. If my truck were stock, I wouldn't hesitate to let him work on it.



If all else fails, I am always williing to help out a fellow TDR member. If you have a basic set of hand tools the majority of the truck is pretty easy to work on, IMO (much easier than many of them damn gassers) If you need a hand or have any questions feel free to shoot me an email. If you'd like I can email you my phone number so we can catch up sometime.



Congrats on the new truck,

Ryan

 

[Doc Tinker]

Welcome to the TDR, Don. Hope you find find us fun and informative (in that order )



Doc

 

[Cummins Corvette]

Welcome!! And nice truck BTW! You have a rare truck. I wouldn't worry about the miles; if it is an auto, which might be the only part that needs attention. Mine has 144k on it, from a very similar situation to yours. I bought mine from a Schaffer oil rep. that drove it from Salt Lake City, to St. George, to Vernal, and back every week for three years. You will enjoy both the truck and this site immensely. Oo.

 

[dfirlik]

Thanks for the welcome mat, the comments and the offer of help. I normally do most of the maintenance on my vehicles but right now lack of time, the cold weather and my lack of familiarity with diesels make letting an expert do the work a better option. I have already learned a lot (and barely scratched the surface!) about the CTD from this site and by the time the warm weather comes, I should be ready to do the work myself.



With 155K on the odometer and no idea if the scheduled maintenance was performed faithfully (or at all), I’ve decided to take it to the local Cummins Service Center and have them do all of the maintenance items and inspections. That will establish a maintenance base line and I can then do the scheduled maintenance from that point on.



The initial reason for looking for a diesel PU was to pull a travel trailer and now it looks like I may have acquired a new toy and hobby also! Life is wonderful in this great country!!



Don (MI)

 

[Deezul1]

Welcome and you have a great truck. Good luck on the repair work. The mileage is not a problem if taken care of.

 

[Extreme1]

Welcome!

Caution, the peer pressure here to BOMB is irresistable (especially after a ride in a fast truck).



For your cold weather idling, try adjusting up the idle a little. You need a 10mm wrench and a screwdriver. Follow the throttle cable, levers, linkage to the rear of the injector pump. There is a stop screw that is locked by the 10mm nut. As I recall in is higher, out is lower but you'll be able to tell by looking. It's an easy adjust, 5 minutes tops. Shoot for 800-900 rpm when hot.



Have fun!

 

[dfirlik]

. Hey Deezul 1 and Extreme 1... .



Thanks for the welcome. We put 100 miles on the truck yesterday and are starting to feel a little more comfortable with it. It’s a big change from the minivan I’ve been driving for the last 6 years! I’ve been buying and driving used vehicles for the last 20 years and I always have a little pad in the budget to take care of those items the previous owner let go when they knew they were going to sell the vehicle. So far all of the issues I’ve found are minor and easily repaired.



Thanks for the info on the idle. I’ll look at this a little closer this week if it gets cold enough. On cold mornings I have to hold the rpm at 900-1000 for about 30 seconds and then it will idle on its own. The idle might be a little rough for the next 15 seconds or so then it’s ok and it won’t occur again for the rest of the day.



With regard to peer pressure, both my wife and I have had hobbies turn into addictions so we are familiar with the symptoms. The plan is for a stock truck except maybe for the transmission. One of the trailer guys that advocated a diesel for towing also recommended if I bought a CTD to contact Bill Kondolay and get his advice on a transmission upgrade for towing. I know the auto transmission is a “weak link” in the drive train when towing so we’ll probably do this in the near future. Hmmm, maybe a better air filter and 4” exhaust might make sense too…but that’s it!



Don (MI)

 

[Cooker]

and a fuel plate and then injectors, then gov. spring kit... . and on and on



I am curious what trailer place in our area knows about Bill K.



Whenever you want to go for a ride in a DTT truck, let me know.



-Ryan

 

[JohnE]

Don;



Welcome to diesel. May you never go back to the gas side…. .



Your cold weather and morning idle problems are very symptomatic of a <em>cold</em> diesel engine. You should plug the block heater in for a couple hours before the morning start and a bit of fuel additive doesn't hurt either.

Your description to <em>&quot; … hold the rpm at 900-1000 for about 30 seconds and then it will idle on its own …&quot;</em> tells me you have a cold engine. The fuel is ignited by the heat of compressing the intake air. If the engine is cold it is stubborn. Diesel fuel thickens in cooler weather (around 15&deg; F) to the point of complete gelling. A quality additive will impede the gelling to a lower temperature.

Luckily, this is low cost maintenance items.



Ryan;

What do you suggest for winter grade lubrication in Grand Rapids of Michigan? (My in-laws are in Grand Rapids of Minnesota. )



-John

 

[Cooker]

JohnE,



This winter has been so mild, I don't think I'm even in Michigan. As I am typing, there is a winter storm warning, go figure. I was kind of getting used to the lack of snow and the 40-45 degee days



In this part of the state we don't see too cold of weather typically. A few single digit days, but most of the winter we are 10-30 degrees, this witer we have been around 25-40 degrees.



What is the climate like in GR, Minessota?

 

[JohnE]

Don;

I was thinking and re-read your posts. If the winter is mild in GR (MI) this season, than it may be simpler than not plugging it in. Are you waiting for the "WAIT TO START" light to go out before cranking things over? It almosts sounds as though you are not getting any intake air heating. Maybe you need to get the preheaters checked.

It might be a defective overflow valve, too. (pump loosing prime. )



Ryan;

Minnesota is a bit cooler than that, but not much. We had 2" (yes, inches) of snow today and the wind is cold. Not much of the typical winter this year. How is your truck starting this winter? I still recommend brand <b>A</b>&reg; 5W-30 oil even with this winter.



-John

 

[Cooker]

Early in the winter, I was having a problem as Don describes. The truck would die after the initial startup if I did not keep my foot on the pedal for a few seconds after startup. (This was only with the truck not plugged in). After tightening all the conections for the grid heaters and cleaning the battery post it seems to be better now. I haven't had that many chance to check it out as I always try to plug the truck in. (Don you might try this, but I am confident Stewart @ Cummins MI will check those out for you)



I am still very happy with the Delo 15w40. Even when the truck not plugged in (remember it hasn't been too cold) I have never waited for more than 3-5 seconds for the oil pressure to come up. Personally I see no reason to switch to something different. I know you had mentioned in the past about waiting 10 seconds for oil pressure to come up. I think I would consider switching if I had to wait that long.



Don, let us know how your trip to Cummins was, and how the truck runs afterwards.



-Ryan

 

[dfirlik]

Ryan & John



The Bill K. recommendation was not local, it came from a member of the Airstream List on the internet.



In regard to the idle issue, I have been waiting for the “wait to start” light to go out. I have not tried to start the truck without waiting so I don’t know if there would be a difference. Your thoughts on the heaters not functioning properly is a distinct possibility, which I will bring to Stewart’s attention when I take the truck in for service. The high tomorrow is going to be in the twenties and I’ll plug the heater in for 3-4 hours before I try to start it to see what effect that will have.



We just returned from an unplanned extended trip and are trying to get caught up with the mail and bills etc. and the trip to the Cummins shop may have to wait until next week. It’s kind of frustrating to have a new toy and not have the time to play with it.



Ryan, I may take you up on the offer for a ride as soon as I get caught up. I don't have anything to compare this truck to so I really don't know what's normal and what isn't.



Don (MI)