Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Need Opinions

[NDFarmer]

Well, I have been reading all of your posts for the last 4 months and finally subscribed so that I could benefit from your experience.



A brief overview of my situation. I farm up in ND - Cold winters - hot summers. I had a chevy 1/2 ton 6. 5 and needed something bigger to pull a 30' gooseneck flatbed with water tanks on the trailer - about 20,000 lbs. So obviously my choice was to get a cummins - like all of my tractors have. It took me 4 months to find the pickup I wanted. Had it exactly one month and my wife put it on it's roof - literally. :-{} It should be out of the shop at the end of next week.



Anyways, from reading all of your posts I know what I need to do. As soon as I get it back I'm going to get to work on it but need opinions on the following items.



1. Air Filter - I have read alot about BHAF, AFE, K&N, Jannety, BD XIntake etc... What I need to know is which one is going to be the best in dusty conditions. Keep in mind, in my case performance comes second to reliabilty but I would like both.



2. Lift Pump - Matter of time before it dumps on me. I want to beat it to the punch. Once again, I have read up on FASS, pusher pumps and such. What system is going to be the most reliable?



3. Exhaust - I'm going to put a 4" turbo-back system on. Am pretty set on straight pipe system but was wondering if there is a 4" system that comes with the resonator - don't want the drone but want the semi sound. I am taking the silencer out of the turbo the day I get it back.



4. VA Plug 'n Power or Mach I Injectors? I don't plan on doing both but want the best bang for my buck.



5. Gauges - I've listed this last but I know that it's probably the most important. I do plan on doing all of this at the same time so I guess it doesn't matter what order I put them in. I'm going to get pyro, trans temp, boost & fuel pressure. My question is if anyone makes a "dual guage" so that I could get all four gauges in a 3 gauge piller mount.





As you can see, my biggest concern is reliability. If there is anything else that I should be considering, please let me know.



Well, this is probably a long enough post for my first one. I apologize in advance if it's too long.

 

[BillGotthelf]

Do the gauges first. You need Boost, EGT, fuel pressure and trans temp fot towin heavy. Some of the boxes (tst and edge) can be had with digital gauges (boost, trans temp and egt). They also have ten levels of power so towing is not a problem. Other boxes have 1 or 2 settings and off. Injectors DD makes some good and a little less expensive ones. I have heard good things about the DDII's. I ran the DDIII's for awhile and liked them. EDM's (Like Don M's Mach series) are excellant also and you probably would run 1. 5 or 2's. Intake systems-the BHAF is the least expensive way to go but for the long haul (in a dusty area) the filter systems like the new AFE proguard7 will more than pay for itself. They also help with the EGT's. You will need some trans help for sure. Minimum you will need is a TC and valve body. There are good companies out there, I personally like DTT. Get a muffler/resonator for your 4" the drone without will kill you. Fuel system-why change it out if it works. The fuel pressure gauge will tell you when to chage filters and when to start worrying about spending that $600 for the FASS system.

 

[juicedcummins]

1 Gauges

2 fuel system upgrades

3 Trans upgrades

4 Air mods

5 box and or injectors



If you add too much power before you beef up the auto there is a VERY good chance that you will be buying or rebuilding the whole thing. Better of to start there and see what kind of shape it is in first. The stock tc-sucks and more power will be just wasted in it before it gets to the ground.

 

[HillCountrykid]

Welcome aboard.



1)The BHAF seems to be the best at trapping particles, plus you'll hear the turbo more. I personally run a K&N in the stock air box. I did cut alot of large holes in the box, but it's cheaper and easier to just get a BHAF.



2)My factory lift pump made it 63,000 miles. It got replaced by a Holley fuel pump that I located back by the tank, and ran new fuel lines all the way to the injection pump. Pretty expensive route, but I like it. $400~$500 for everything. BTW, the stocker did'nt die, just got replaced. You might want to keep the stock set-up and see how your fuel pressures are. You won't need the extra volume that most pumps give, so it might be wise to see how it lasts first.



3)I have the Jannetty 4" exhaust, and like it. It's not the cheapest, but it's heavier wall tubing than most others. Alot of people think this leads to less drone. The muffler they supply leaves the exhaust pretty loud, not straight pipe, but nice tone in my opinion. I messed up and put on an extra, small race muffler and it killed the sound. I can't remember how the drone was before I had two mufflers, but I'll know pretty soon when I take the extra muffler off.



4)If you go with injectors, you'll have to get a boost fooler since you will be making more boost. This is an addition cost. All of the boxes that I know of have this built in. I'd get the box first, then some injectors.



5)I run Auto-Meter gauges, but I'm just about possitive they don't have any dual gauges, so I'm no help here.



Don't worry about long posts. That's what we're here for.



Brian

 

[NDFarmer]

Thanks for the reply Dl5treez. It's nice to see another Dakota boy around here - haven't seen many.



It sounds like I want to stay away from the oiled air filters. When I'm in the full swing of farming, the last piece of equipment I want to babysit is my pickup.



I looked at Rip Rook's exhaust. The only thing I don't like is all of the loose hangers. I think I read somewhere that Jannety makes a 4" with hangers already welded on. Maybe it's not that big of deal.



I won't ramble on any longer. I'll just wait and see what other people have to say.



Thanks again.

 

[NDFarmer]

Dang,



People are replying faster than I can keep up! One more quick question. I already read the posts about the transmission being upgraded. Is this really necessary if I only do the VA box, air filter & exhaust? I think that it would only be about 60-80 more hp. Also, the gooseneck I will be pulling will only be for probably 20 trips a year at 10 miles per trip - only loaded one way. I do have the PressureLoc in already. Not enough?????

 

[HillCountrykid]

The Jannetty system only has one hanger already welded. You weld the rest. I took mine to an exhaust shop, so they did it for me.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

I'm running a 12" long Dynomax Race Magnum Bullet on my truck... 4" ID/5" OD... not a lot of muffling going on. mostly just takes the "bite" out of the exhaust note. I prefer straight pipe, but it can kinda wear on ya... I wouldn't mind if it was a hair louder, but it sounds awesome... gets lots of compliments!



Forrest

 

[HillCountrykid]

I have a stick, so I'm no auto expert. But I'd imagine the stocker might hold.

 

[DHayden]

1. I would stay away from the air filters requiring oil



2. Injector's will give you a broad range of power instead of a "spike" the boxes can give, but on the other hand you can turn the box off if you want so it's up to you.



3. I have the SPA's, they are clean, reliable and give many options



4. I also have a 6 speed and not up to snuff on the auto but from what all I have read the stock auto only holds up to about 60hp over stock and goes down hill quickly after that.

 

[Hohn]

Hi there! Another ND native here (Beulah).



Here's my ultimate towing setup:



1-- gauges (FP, EGT, TRANS, boost)

2-- transmission upgrade (DTT, ATS, etc. . )-- FULL trans, not just TC and VB

3-- TST powermax competition-- unmatched bottom end

4-- Mach 1. 5 injectors-- lotsa bottom, little smoke, good power, good mpg

5-- exhaust

6-- BHAF, preferably the marine grade filters. I like the ProGuard filters, but the BHAF is a better bargain at lower power levels.



If you're really feeling spunky, I'd throw in a hybrid hx35/40 turbo.



Justin

 

[KIseminger]

Like someone said before: The K&N's are ok if they maintained properly. I have heard of people needing to replace compressor wheels because of this reason when used in dusty areas.

I have a UNI air filter personally and it works pretty good. Plus it's cheaper than the K&N's.



I could say more but I think everyone has all the bases covered.