Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) I bought it and now I'm gonna play

[Jrork]

Figured I'd start a new thread since I bought the truck.



Everyone has been a big help getting me pointed in the right direction and what a gas!



I pulled the silencer ring off tonight and am revved. Sounds so much better. Looking at the exhaust it looks like a big mamajamma muffler with some smaller muffler like unit in front of that. Is that a catalitic converter or a resonator? My truck is a 98 2wd, 24valve, non-53block, 5 speed truck.



I want to get a bit more sing out of the turbo and a bit more music out of the exhaust without spending a ton of money. I'm just going to use it for towing a travel trailer.



Thanks everybody

 

[CLamb]

Leave the resonator on and take the muffler off. Makes for a nice deep tone that is still plenty loud. I haven't done anything to mine yet, this is my first CTD again after a 3 year absence. Its been stock for almost 2 weeks now and thats very unlike me lol. It is nice hearing that 24v growl in the morning again.

 

[johncameron]

Leave the resonator on and take the muffler off. Makes for a nice deep tone that is still plenty loud. I haven't done anything to mine yet, this is my first CTD again after a 3 year absence. Its been stock for almost 2 weeks now and thats very unlike me lol. It is nice hearing that 24v growl in the morning again.

Leave the RESONAtOR! I completely straightpiped mine and one month later I went back to the shop to put it back on. The drone is unbareable without the resonator. With it there it is not too much louder than stock at cruise.



If you are considering mo-power, I love the feel of injectors. They are so smooth compared to my box. If I were to do it again, I'd probably go with 120HP+ injectors and a adjustable box for boost fooling and playing power! My DDII's tow like champs and will not over temp with ~30lbs of boost.



John

 

[Jrork]

Damn, I'm like a little kid on Christmas Eve. I can't stop staring at it.



For you guys that have more experiance than me with these motors, I'm just looking for some more sound. Not looking to drag race and am curious if I just leave the reasonator and put a better air filter in it, will that suffice for my quest to make just a bi$chin tow rig? I'm just like everybody else and money is an issue. The exhaust on this looks stock but brand new. I hate to replace it with something 4" or bigger only to find that I can't tell the difference in how it pulls my trailer. Can I just get rid of the muffler and be happy???

I appreciate your thoughts... ... ..... John



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[johncameron]

You will see NO improvments in power with intake/exhaust improvments. The engine will run cooler and and it will sound better! If you want more turbo noisem look into a BHAF air filter http://hoeslidiesel.com/specials.htm They are reasonably priced and are easy to install. And yes, pull the muffler and keep your stock exhaust with resonator. You don't need a bigger exhaust unless you add some HP.



J

 

[Cummins Thunder]

If you only want more noise, then do as others have said and remove ONLY the muffler.



As for an air filter... The BHAF ("big honkin air filter", do a search for it) is a cheap and proven option that wont dust the engine.

If you have more money to play with then I would go for the AFE PG7 stg 1 or 2



AFE stage 1



You should also look into a gauge setup.

The VP44 in our trucks is very prone to failure due to lift pump failure, and a fuel pressure gauge will help prevent this.

 

[Jrork]

Thanks guys. Thats exactly what I'm looking for. I'll pull the muffler and let you know what I think.

The BHAF is HUGE! What's the trick to mounting it or is there a trick?

 

[RJPotts]

Exhaust and all is great and a BHAF is a good proven mod that will lower EGT slightly and mated with no muffler will make that little HX35 scream.

But the hands down MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do is at least get a fuel pressure gauge. You need this, dare I say, before anything else. Because if you have to buy a VP44 money will really be tight. They aren't cheap.

Otherwise, welcome to TDR and when you get the bug, and you will, you're in the right place.

-R. J.

 

[Jrork]

This is great information. I've read quite abit about the horror of having to replace a VP44 but I can't figure out what causes it to go out. Is there anything in particular that I can do to give it the best chance of living a long and healthy life? What causes it to go out?

Thanks everyone... ... ... John

 

[Cummins Thunder]

The main reason the VP44 fails is due to the electronics getting too hot.



The lift pump (or LP) circulates cool fuel thru the pump to help keep the temps down, when the LP fails you lose the cooling to the VP and there fore the pump will over heat and the electronics fail.

 

[Jrork]

Gotcha. My experiance with electric pumps was that it was always better to push rather than pull fuel from the tank. Does the placement of the VP44 also cause this issue and thereby generate unwanted heat? Sorry if thats a silly question.

 

[AKAMAC]

Jork, There are two fuel pumps, injection (vp44) and fuel (lift pump). The vp44 is gear driven and mounted on the lower left front of engine. The lift pump is located to the rear and below the fuel filter. The pressure that the vp44 makes is the main cause of heat, the lift pump not only supplies the vp but keeps it cool by circulating excess fuel through it. The vp will run with a limited pressure or unrestricted flow but heat and lack of lubrication will kill it.

The fuel pressure that RJPotts and Cummins Thunder refered to is the lift pump pressure. There are schrader valves located on filter canister (pre-filter) and vp (post-filter) that can be used to monitor the pressure.

Hope this helps and welcome to the site. Mike

 

[Jrork]

Wierd, I thought I posted a reply but it done disappear?? I'll do it again and please accept my apology if it is a duplicate.



Thanks everybody. I'm finally starting to understand the fuel system (sort of).

You've all convinced me and I'm sold on a set of gauges first before anything else. Here's picture that I took when I bought it the other day. Is this a location that I can hook the fuel pressure gauge to?



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[lumberjack98]

Yes take out the plug on top of the filter canister with a 7/16 wrench (closest to the nut in the center will be after filter so you will know if the filter is cloging) if you go with a electric guage get a 18" rubber grease hose for a grease gun (around 4-5 bucks) and put it between the port and the sending unit so the vibration won't kill the sender. unfortunatly my new to me truck's filter restricted flow and cost me a vp before i got the guages. also the lift pumps are prone to failure. money well spent is a relocation kit for the lift pump (mine 109. 00 from vulcan performance) it moves the pump off the block and puts it by tank to push fuel and also is a big line fuel supply kit so if you later upgrade more power you wont starve the vp. wlecome to the tdr

 

[Jrork]

Will do. Thanks

 

[Ralph Heron]

guage install ideas...

Bro,



Check out the pix in my profile... got the same year truck (mines 4x4)... have fun and let me know if there's questions... Install went pretty smooth and the guages work great!



Ralph-

 

[Jrork]

Thanks Ralph. Your truck is VERY nice. and your install turned out great. You can count on me pestering you when I go for mine.

Reading all these posts about the VP44 and the lift pump and the fuel pressure issues has got me scared to death. I don't want anything bad to happen to my baby (my others are all grown up so I can say that).



I'm going to be paranoid about driving till I get those gauges... ... . John

 

[SHobbs]

Check out Genos for thier muffler elimination kit (MEK). It is a short length of pipe that replaces the muffle and maintains the baffle. I have this on my truck and have been happy with it, exhaust noise is not that much louder than stock and free flows much better.