Intro and my new used 01 3500 24V DRW

[JeepBuilder]

I finally got my Dodge diesel tow rig. About a year and a half ago I worked for 10 months to try and convince a guy to sell me his 93 first gen flatbed. It fell through. I let my TDR subscription lapse and moved on as everybody wanted these trucks and prices were more than I felt like giving up. Then a couple weeks ago he called to say he would sell. Well his truck was trashed and he wanted to much. I politely thanked him for remembering me, declined and went home. Now last summer a super good friend who's 70 wagoneer I am restoring had delivered a CJ-7 here with his nephew. His nephew had a beautiful 2001 Forest green pearl quad cab dually. I absolutely fell for it before it even rolled to a stop. Flash forward to 2 weeks ago. Just for grins I called him to ask about it. He was 2 days away from listing it on Craigs List in Seattle. I hopped a plane and drove it home. The interior is like new. It has a NV4500 5 speed. I am changing oils, fixing small stuff and keeping a log of everything.
It has some great goodies. An ATS turbo, 50 HP injectors, Edge tuner, full instrumentation, Aftermarket fuel pump, trailer brake controller, southbend dual disk clutch, Projector headlamp's , Bypass filter, etc. I was dyno'ed at 405/895 I don't use the tuner. I have read about the transmission. It does fine with no boosting.
I have stayed up late reading TDR. I now know what the weaknesses are and the strengths. I renewed my subscription to the Turbo Diesel Register and just got my first copy. I also ordered all the factory paper manuals and even replaced the missing owners manual. I have always white knuckled when towing. Pushing trucks to their limits. Not anymore. My wife loves it, I do to. I restore and make parts for jeeps both big and small. My name is Al. I am glad to be on board here. I have been reading on this site for a long time. I know it is a great place to be.

 

[GrantP]

Welcome back. I've never owned a VP44 truck but the biggest issue I've seen is the lift pump and it sounds like the previous owner already addressed that. There's that "little" issue of 5th gear falling off too, might want to look at that if it hasn't been repaired already. And then there's that glorious piece of engineering that is the 2nd Gen track bar (assuming 4x4) but I digress. Enjoy your new truck!

 

[JeepBuilder]

So far I am getting about 16 PSI on the fuel pressure gauge. At least I can watch it. I am knocking on wood (that is grounded. Ha.) on the 5th gear issue. And yes 4x4. I had to put new tires on a couple days ago since the existing tires were like ice skates on our road ice. The guys at Les schwab tire store checked the suspension and it was tight. I did have outer shoulder wear on the passenger side. I am going to schedule an alignment check today. I will upgrade the front trackbar when it needs it. I am not sure just yet on it's condition. 164K miles on it. I did loose power steering and brake assist from below zero temps here. I am in the Idaho panhandle about 40 miles from Canada. So it is really cold and the snow is deep. Most of it went away with a pressure valve inlet screen cleaning. I learned about that here! I still am changing to a borgeson improved pressure and flow pump, redline synthetic, a magnafine return filter, and a vacuum pump seal kit. All sitting on the shop floor. The worst issue the truck has is bed weld failure on the drivers rear corner. It flexed so much on Seattle's poor roads, it cracked all the way down the bed side corner of the gap next to the tailgate. I do have a TIG welder that can fuse two razor blades together (with limited coffee consumption) for the metal. But I am going to have to tackle that either with 3M panel adhesive or welding later. The bummer is the paint work it will make. These trucks do have their issues. But it is possible to keep the truck from wearing out around the engine and obtain high miles with some work.
Don't put your tools away right?

 

[mfurrh55]

The module on the injection pump sometimes overheats and will cause a no start condition, you can't replace it, you have to replace whole pump, if it ever happens while your away from home, pour a bottle of cool water on it to temporarily get home, had same experience with my 01,Great trucks though, Monte

 

[JeepBuilder]

The module on the injection pump sometimes overheats and will cause a no start condition, you can't replace it, you have to replace whole pump, if it ever happens while your away from home, pour a bottle of cool water on it to temporarily get home, had same experience with my 01,Great trucks though, Monte

I appreciate that info. We always carry a stainless bottle of water when we leave the house. We are deep woods rural and we never know when we may need to walk from downed trees or a corner taken to fast in glazed ice. It has happened and you get thirsty after a bit. Sounds like the truck does too. Thank you.

 

[Dude's Diesel Performance]

I finally got my Dodge diesel tow rig. About a year and a half ago I worked for 10 months to try and convince a guy to sell me his 93 first gen flatbed. It fell through. I let my TDR subscription lapse and moved on as everybody wanted these trucks and prices were more than I felt like giving up. Then a couple weeks ago he called to say he would sell. Well his truck was trashed and he wanted to much. I politely thanked him for remembering me, declined and went home. Now last summer a super good friend who's 70 wagoneer I am restoring had delivered a CJ-7 here with his nephew. His nephew had a beautiful 2001 Forest green pearl quad cab dually. I absolutely fell for it before it even rolled to a stop. Flash forward to 2 weeks ago. Just for grins I called him to ask about it. He was 2 days away from listing it on Craigs List in Seattle. I hopped a plane and drove it home. The interior is like new. It has a NV4500 5 speed. I am changing oils, fixing small stuff and keeping a log of everything.
It has some great goodies. An ATS turbo, 50 HP injectors, Edge tuner, full instrumentation, Aftermarket fuel pump, trailer brake controller, southbend dual disk clutch, Projector headlamp's , Bypass filter, etc. I was dyno'ed at 405/895 I don't use the tuner. I have read about the transmission. It does fine with no boosting.
I have stayed up late reading TDR. I now know what the weaknesses are and the strengths. I renewed my subscription to the Turbo Diesel Register and just got my first copy. I also ordered all the factory paper manuals and even replaced the missing owners manual. I have always white knuckled when towing. Pushing trucks to their limits. Not anymore. My wife loves it, I do to. I restore and make parts for jeeps both big and small. My name is Al. I am glad to be on board here. I have been reading on this site for a long time. I know it is a great place to be.

Glad to have ya here sir!