Good engine analysis shop in Seattle area?

[endurancerider]

Greetings to all of you, my first post. I just purchased my truck about 3 weeks ago and it is not pulling as well as I think it should, hitting 1250 EGT up a 15% grade in 2nd gear at 2500 RPM and between 25-30 mph (it winds around a bit), about 28 boost, with only a 4000 lb bumper pull trailer. I am using the "2" setting on the Edge Attitude, which is the tow setting. I also have a 2007 bone stock Tundra (V8) and it pulls the same trailer up this hill very well and I could be easily be doing 40+ mph at the top with the Tundra. The 3500 Dodge should pull better than the Tundra, no?



So it has been suggested to me that I take my truck to a shop which can do a scan of the engine and look, in particular, at the fuel system and injectors and see if anything is out of spec or not working correctly.



Do any of you know of a shop with this kind of expertice in the Seattle, WA, area? So many of the shops these days just bolt on after market gear and do not have experienced engine tuners.



Thank you for your help.

 

[endurancerider]

My truck profile did not come through for some reason, so here it is:



2006 3500 long bed 4x4 DRW, 122k miles, Edge Attitude 30006, 4 inch turbo back exhaust, BD steering brace, all new ball joints, stock tires

 

[Grey Wolf]

https://www.dynomitediesel.com/

 

[cerberusiam]

Boost and EGT numbers don't sound that bad. Pretty normal for that truck.



A 15% grade is steep. SOP is sually not a good reference point and you have to remember The Dodge ways quite a bit more than your Tundra.



What transmission do you have, auto or manual? If its an auto did you manually shift into 2nd and did the TC lock. If its a manual try a higher gear, 2nd is pretty low. Drive to keep your rpms around 2000 and it will pull better as that is the sweet spot for TQ.

 

[endurancerider]

sorry, I have the 48RE 4 speed auto. Just after I purchased the truck, I had a transmission shop drop the pan and adjust the bands to spec.



I drove the hill in 2nd and shifted down manually at the bottom. I don't think the transmission was slipping as the transmission temp did not rise that much, from abut 176 to 195.



I will try it again at 2000 rpm, but I have done that before with similar results. i called Edge and they advised me to increase the RPM's to ensure I was not lugging the engine.



Yes, it is a steep hill and perhaps this is not a good test. It is the closest big hill to me which I can easily do with my trailer (not much traffic, good place to turn around close by). I anticipate getting a gooseneck trailer, a bigger one which may be 10,000 lbs or more loaded, and going over mountain passes and the like in the Cascades (WA, OR, ID, WY)--that is the reason I bought this truck as I was told it was the best vehicle for this in terms of towing capacity, stability, reliability, and gas mileage.



Thank you for your help. Have a great 4th weekend.

 

[cerberusiam]

That makes perfect sense what you were feeling. In 2nd gear the TC will lock, but, it needs to be relatively stable and a low load situation. Otherwise, the stock TC is very loose, about 70% efficeincy in fluid coupling, and it just does feel like it pulls well. Get the TC locked an its a different story.



Not sure how the Edge powers in the rpm band but with 40-60 HP tune with a Smarty I have rolled over Snoqualmie, Yakima Hill, and the Blues towing 10-12k and it never slowed down.



What I did till I fixed the sloppy transmission issues was use a lockup switch to force and hold lockup. As long as you can keep the rpms in the 1900-2100 range you should have no issues. In any gear engaging the lockup switch will hold lockup and not allow a downshift. Much better feel and towing capability on grades. Select yout gear to keep rpms above 1800 when towing and lock the TC for best results.



That comes at a price though, you really need to add a shift kit to the transmisison and a few other internal pieces to help longevity if you expect to be towing in those conditions a lot.

 

[wcjp]

DDP in Monroe as previously mentioned.

http://www.dynomitediesel.com/



PowerShop in Enumclaw, Wa

The Power Shop - MORE POWER TO YOU

 

[Grey Wolf]

I second cerberusiam where the Smarty is concerned

 

[endurancerider]

Thank you everyone for your help. I did not realize you could run the Edge Attitude in stock mode until recently, so I did the hill test this morning in stock. Differences: about 10 degrees cooler and the trailer was really 4000 lbs, the other test with the Edge on the "2" setting was actually done empty, so about 3000 lbs.



First, I found that the truck drove much better with the stock setting. More bottom end responsiveness, higher boost most of the time, and cooler EGT's, which is what I was looking for. On a flat 10 miles at 50 mph, I averaged 15. 9 with the Edge on 2 (and a lighter load) and 14. 8 stock.



In doing the hill at the stock setting this morning, the truck pulled SO MUCH better and the EGT maxed at 1075 but were more like 950 and 1000 most of the way up. The boost was 35-36 vs 27-30 before. The transmission temp rise was about the same.



I am going to get a Smarty Jr and just leave the Edge in stock mode so I can use the Altitude gauge display on the dash.



Thank you again.

 

[AH64ID]

Are you referring to pulling Novelty Hill Road?

The Smarty Junior will do you much better!

35-36 psi seems really high for a stock tune, they should peak at 32 in a truly stock setting.

EGT's on your 06 run about 1450 when pulling a hill hard! The Edge is known to run hot, which is validated by your observations.

Was the edge on the truck when you bought it? It may need an update, but if your getting a Smarty Jr it may not be worth it.

I would consider selling the E J/A and going with a set of analog gauges, they are more accurate and easy to read.

If you do need any work DDP is the place to go!

 

[cerberusiam]

Pretty sure the EJ\A is boost fooling hence the higher boost. One of the side benefits is the lower EGT's at that boost level.



Interesting on the #2 setting, but, some trucks just don't like some tunes. Sounds like that was not a good one to run at 2500 rpms. Too much timing killed the boost and it evidently remapped the duration wrong for how the engine wants to run.



I second the analog gauges if you really want to use them to drive by. I hate digital readouts for ease of reading, give me an old fashioned needle any day.

 

[SMcGrady]

Dynomite Diesel in Monroe is a good outfit. I have had excellent results with them and recommend them to all my friends that drive a Dodge with a Cummins.
http://www.dynomitediesel.com/

 

[endurancerider]

AH64ID: yes, I was pulling Novelty Hill Road. Have you been on it with your rig with the EGT lowering mods?



Cerberusiam: the higher boost was in stock, not with the Edge Attitude controller, so if would appear that the Edge controller was not fooling the boost



Those of you who have recommended Dynomite Diesel: I went and visited yesterday and had a very good discussion with one of their senior mechanics about which mods may make the most sense for my use of the truck. Since the truck has about 122k miles on it, they are going to do an engine scan and road test and then we will discuss further. They seem like very experienced, sharp folks who emphasize function and value over looks and trends. Will let you know what we end up decided and then how that works. Best to all of you.

 

[endurancerider]

AH64ID: oh, and regarding the Edge: I have the latest version (5. 2) of their software for this model truck, and yes, it was on the truck when I bought it, which is why I am just learning more about it now.



The Attitude has an EGT sensor right in the exhaust manifold and it reads trany temp from the engine electronics. It would seem those are pretty accurate and the most important, so I am going to keep the Attitude digital gauges for now and see how it goes.

 

[Nyoest]

As far as comparison were both trucks doing the same mph at the bottom? One thing that I have noticed about the b model cummins is it won't pick up speed up hill with out crazy egts. If you hit the bottom with 70 mph with 28,000 up minneola hill (1. 5 mile grade) you'll top it about 64. Hit it at 55 and your down to a crawl at the top.

Also how many speeds does the yoda have?

 

[cerberusiam]

Cerberusiam: the higher boost was in stock, not with the Edge Attitude controller, so if would appear that the Edge controller was not fooling the boost

Had you pulled the Edge completely off or just turned it off?



Normally, top boost in stock mode is 30-32 psi the n the ECU opens the waste gate. The 35-36 sounds like maybe some boost fooling coud still be going on, or, the Attitude is just reading high as they sometimes do.

 

[endurancerider]

Actually, I was only doing about 15 mph at the bottom as you have to turn off another road to start this hill and you can not take the turn that fast with a horse trailer. I had dropped the 48RE 4 speed automatic transmission down to 2nd using the steering column lever, but I think the truck actually climbed it in 1st as the last time I took the hill, I waited a bit to shift back to "D" and the truck shifted to 2nd near the top, which surprised me as I thought I was in 2nd going up. Still getting to know the truck as it is new to me.

 

[endurancerider]

cerberusiam, I turned the Edge setting to "0", which is the stock setting. I was told by the folks at Dynomite Diesel that is really stock and I can just leave it there, use the Attitude gauges, and then plug in and use a Smarty Jr without any conflicts or problems. I am not sure why the boost was indicated by the Attitude digital gauge as that high, I will ask the folks at Dynomite Diesel about that.

 

[AH64ID]

AH64ID: yes, I was pulling Novelty Hill Road. Have you been on it with your rig with the EGT lowering mods?

I haven't towed up Novelty, but lived at the top of it for quite a few years. I was actually just there last weekend, but we came up Ames lake from Carnation to avoid towing up Novelty... It's a HILL thats for sure, steep and winding, with the best run you can get from Carnation of about 5 mph, and maybe 20 from Duvall when towing. When I have towed up it in other rigs I just put the trans in "2" and didn't try anything crazy. I know with my truck empty I can see 1000° pretty easily.

AH64ID: oh, and regarding the Edge: I have the latest version (5. 2) of their software for this model truck, and yes, it was on the truck when I bought it, which is why I am just learning more about it now.



The Attitude has an EGT sensor right in the exhaust manifold and it reads trany temp from the engine electronics. It would seem those are pretty accurate and the most important, so I am going to keep the Attitude digital gauges for now and see how it goes.

They do seem to be more accurate on EGT, but sometimes the boost can not be accurate. For the most part they work well, but you still hear of far more indication issues with digital monitors than true gauges, at least on the older Attitude stuff.