First trip in new CTD.

[iweb]

Made a 600 mile road trip yesterday to Utah and back and wow what power this thing has! According to OH computer coming home I was getting 21. 5 mpg at 70 mph and going up at 75 mph I was getting 18. 2.



Last dsl was a 85 6. 9L non turbo so I am a newbie and I have been reading here for a couple of months and know about the vibe and death wobble.



Going up at 75 mph there was a roar/howl thing going on, almost like if it had a straight pipe and at that rpm it would be very loud and filled the cab. Going down hill it quit, and if I took it off of cruise and played with the throttle I could make it come and go. Does it under power/load and quit at 70 mph.



Coming home it did it at 70 also and quit at 65. Coming through Vegas at the stop lights it seemed like it didn't have power taking off and I could see a lot of smoke in the headlights behind me. Coming up a pass right before home I kinda raced a Transam and it screamed up the hill. Am I just not used to a CTD or do you think something is wrong? Oh yea in Utah I could smell oil when I would stop and shut down but could not see anything leaking. Thanks.

 

[p-Bar]

Welcome to TDR, Yes these trucks are amazing, I had the same old Ford you did what a difference. The smell is from the breather sandwiched between the valve cover and plastic cap on top, it goes away after 500-600mi nothing to worry about, use the recirc on the air cond. The smoke could just be from "babying it" mine tends to load up , then when I punch it it has a tendency to blow some smoke. The biggest issue I think are when an injector starts leaking by so always keep an eye on your oil level, if its going up you have a bad injector plus it may run rough. Others will probably chime in, I am not an expert. You will find this site very useful. Any questions before posting you should try the search feature you will find most of your questions can be answered.

 

[rbattelle]

I found that my engine was extremely loud at 65-72 mph (1900-2200 RPM) on the highway for the first several thousand miles. So loud it literally hurt my ears (I have sensitive hearing anyway). It quieted down SIGNIFICANTLY as I got above 5 or 6k. Today I consider it pretty quiet. Overall it's quieter than my wife's Civic at highway speeds, which suits me just fine for such an enormous machine.



-Ryan

 

[iweb]

Thanks for the advise on the search, I have been reading for over 2 months and did a search too.



I was coming home tonight up a pass and while playing with rpm and speed noticed that the loud noise or vibration (not sure what to call it) is at 2000 rpm or higher. I dropped down to 1500 rpm going up the pass and it was very quiet and smooth even as I slowly fed in fuel until I got to 2000 rpm and it was loud again. On the flats with CC on and 2000+ rpm it is very obnoxious and not fun at all to drive.



I have a friend with a 2000 ctd and a new 05 so I will take him for a long ride and see what he thinks. Thanks.

 

[67guzzler]

It doesn't quiet back down when you go over 2200 rpm? I think most of the series 600 / 610's have a range (this has been much discussed I think) where there is a lot of resonance (is that the right word guys?) but above or below this range it's pretty quiet. I don't know about others, but that's the case for me.

 

[rbattelle]

It doesn't quiet back down when you go over 2200 rpm? I think most of the series 600 / 610's have a range (this has been much discussed I think) where there is a lot of resonance (is that the right word guys?) but above or below this range it's pretty quiet. I don't know about others, but that's the case for me.

As far as I've read (and I've been around since before there was even a 3rd gen forum) all the B5. 9s in the Dodge have a resonance between 1900 and 2200 (roughly). That's why I never worried about mine.



-Ryan

 

[iweb]

Thanks for the welcome BTW!



I went out today after work and went down a hiway and above 2300 or so rpm the noise/vibration is there but hardley noticable, slow down to 1900-2200 and its back loud but must be under load to make it loud, downhill and nothing.



I stopped, put it in 1st gear and ran the rpms up and down to 2500+ and smoothe, put it in 2nd and it shifted twice real quick and then did the loud stuff at 1900-2200 rpm, put it in D and it shifted and while accelerating made the noise like when driving down the road until it shifted into OD and the rpms went down to 1800 or so and no noise until rpms came back up to around 2000.



So this is normal? Would it help to put a chrome tip on and extend it out a little past the fender?

 

[jwduke]

Welcome to the forum iweb!



Glad you are enjoying you new Dodge! I really like mine, its quite an improvement over my '95 Dodge w/CTD!



My first diesel was a '86 Ford w/ a 6. 9L diesel, what a POS! We had a 26' Jayco travel trailer, and started out from Iowa to the Black Hills of SD. Well we ended our trip 100 miles away, because all this thing wanted to do was overheat! And it was only in the 80's, and fairly level ground! Well the Furd was traded off that fall, and I haven't looked back!



Enjoy!!