man how do you tow with the ctd ??

[1 locomotive]

I do not type well !!

?? I have now owned my 92 ctd with a 5 speed for 9 months ( first deisel ) I still am trying to figure out what gear to tow in ( 7,500 lbs up hill , at different speeds ) some times it pulls up hill & feels like I could pull 10. 000 lbs with ease < & then sometimes I get were I need to down shift !! that is were I get messed up !! I lost what ever power I had !! so can you guys tell me , how to tow with a ctd !!! hope that make cents !!! thanks loco 1

 

[Nordby]

Keep the rpms in mid-high range with 7500lbs. Many folks consider that a lighter load - I consider that a medium for sure (at least at altitude), and easy to peg your EGT's if not careful. I tow 1-2 horses with a cummins and a powerstroke, the 92 cummins has gages (not stock, so I have to watch it), and I have to back off to 4th some and even 3rd at 8000' up 9% grade with close to 10K lbs on a flatbed.



If you keep your rpms around 2000 to 2200, anticipate the downshift to keep the rpms there, you'll do fine. Sounds like you are loosing your boost and getting some turbo lag during the shift, consider a BHAF and exhaust to spool that turbo up a bit and lower your EGT's.



jon

 

[Greenleaf]

Give her heck!

With the auto I just hammer down and never think twice about shifting. Never had enough load to see the transmission have to down-shift outta OD yet



GL

 

[DKasper]

7500# is right about what my usual load is with my '93 auto, though in hay season I help some friends move bales and then it's around 13k#. I find that generally my pyrometer is telling me when I need to shift down out of OD. Only if the hill is really steep does the engine sound like it needs a shift, but my EGT's are usually pushing 1200 before then.

 

[1 locomotive]

I have the gauges my egt run 1200-1300* let off fuel they go down < but if I have to slow down I can neverget back to cruising speed ! is this the reason for the 6 speed transmission ? will 185 injectors help ? I have the banks stinger kit !, 3 1/2 exhaust 373 gears !

 

[DKasper]

OK, I'll take a stab at this -- Gurus, please correct me when I err!

First off, your complaint of having to slow down while towing a grade simply says that the truck isn't making enough HP & torque to maintain a given speed before EGT's climb to an unacceptable level, or that the engine can't breathe enough to keep temps down.



To make power, you have to burn fuel. You have a limited space in which to do this --the more fuel you pour in this space, the higher the EGT's will go. To reduce the EGT's, the engine has to breathe more freely -- there are several things that control this, including the size of your turbo housing, exhaust piping, engine timing, and of course, air flow in and air flow out.



Another way to increase the air flow is to spin your motor faster, which is why shifting down can result in a dramatic EGT drop: I've gone from 1200 to 700 in 20 seconds. You can also cool the combustion chamber with water injection -- I've heard propane also helps keep EGT's down, but in my book that stuff is more hassle than it's worth unless you are going for huge numbers.



So, leaving your engine's breathing apparatus the way it is and dumping more fuel in(larger injectors, turning up the pump) will result in more power(increased HP & torque), but also higher EGT's. The added torque & HP may or may not be enough to enable you to pull at the desired speed before EGT's rise too high. If you keep adding fuel, at some point the turbo you have will not be able to supply enough air to support the added fuel and you'll need a bigger turbo.



What I'm trying to say is that when increasing horsepower, you have to balance the air in/out with the fuel you are asking the engine to burn to keep EGT's in a manageable range. If you make a change that adds fuel, watch your EGT's and see if they go up -- if so, then you need to do something to help the engine breathe better.



I don't know what a Banks stinger kit consists of, so I can't comment on that. A 6 speed just adds another gear so you split the gears a little more frequently -- I don't think that would be a significant change in at-speed towing. My approach would be to add a little fuel, see what happens and make modifications based on what the engine says it needs.



Sorry for the long winded post!

 

[Greenleaf]

Good Comments!!



My problem exactly. Adding fuel is easy as pie. It's the $$ and time invested in "breathing" which posses a major hurddle. Just throwing a turbo at it don't work. What good is a set of POD's and a modified pump etc. etc. if you can't use them to potential



GL

 

[bgilbert]

I lost what ever power I had !!

Usually when you had it before, now all of a sudden the power is not there, its a fuel delivery problem. How long since you changed your fuel filter?

 

[cerberusiam]

Welcome to the slippery slope.



If your pyro is pre-turbo 1200-1300 EGT is not bad on a heavy load and/or steep pull. You can run that 3 minutes out of 5 and probably be pretty safe. If you have to down shift to keep it cool you won't be able to get back to where you were at without creating the same problem that caused the downshift. Run it where it stays cool and wants to pul even if it is 45 mph. You don't have enough gears even with a 6 speed to change much.



Different injectors will only add to the EGT problem. It looks like you have enough fuel now. If you are still using the stock turbo setup that is where I would focus. You need more air. With the large hot side housing and the H1C when you get into a lug situation you don't have enough air flow to keep things cool and make the HP for the fuel you have hence EGT's go up. Without changing something you either run it hot or slow it down. Thats the nature of the beast.

 

[dpuckett]

First, we need to know what ratio you have for sure in the rear. In 92, the only options with the diesel were 4. 10 and 3. 54. There should be a tag on the diff cover that tells the ratio.



Second, what kind of boost are you getting? You say you have a Banks stinger kit, I assume that includes an exhaust housing. If so, the wastegate pop open pressure may need to be adjusted upward. One thing I will give Banks, is they err on the side of caution. The H1C is good to about 25-28psi. AFter that, you need to look into a HX35, which is good to about 35psi, 38-40 if it has been modified with a bigger impellar wheel. Exhasut housings will interchange from the H1C to the HX35.



1200deg is not hot. I have hit 1350 towing my horse in a 4 horse trailer going up a few 6% grades between Poplar Bluff and Greenville. You can run all day at 1200, and only affect your pocketbook with all the fuel it takes to make that kind of heat. You have the probe in the manifold, so you KNOW what your EGT is.



Try opening up the airbox a little, maybe even run without it, though some thoerize that the hotter air under the hood negates the gains made with the increased flow. I have yet to reach any conclusions myself.



Keep the RPMs up a little. You should be able to run at 2500rpm without any problem. It may SOUND LIKE it is screaming, but I have seen them turn a good deal more.



Hope this gives you a few clues.



Daniel