2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Newbie, been lurking. Positive EBay story

[DMannon]

I'm a newbie here, but have been following TDR for years. My ex got the 96 CTD in the divorce, so I bought a 02 shortly thereafter. When I bought my house, I sold it, and just about cried as I watched it drive away. :{



Finally got my hands on an 01 with 125 k on it from EBay. Worked out real well and I got a nice cross country drive to boot... Long Island, NY to San Luis Obispo, CA. Ran like a champ the whole way. First thing I did when I picked it up was change oil and filter and put a K&N in the air filter box. Averaged about 17 mpg at 65+, so I'm happy.



Sure liked all that $2. 50/gal fuel through the central states. Here in CA, I'm taking a hard look at biodiesel.



I plan on taller tires, gauges (seriously thinking about the x-monitor, with fuel pressure in the little cubby under the airbag switch, suggestions/kudos?), 4" magnaflow exhaust, and Rancho 9000s.



Basically, be using it for daily driving and for my Bigfoot Cabover.



Anyways, nice to make your aquaintance. You all sure take a lot of the guess work out of owning a Cummins.

 

[HeavyHauler]

Welcome to the TDR! The only thing I would tell you is to not mess with the exhaust on a stock truck. You're just not going to get any significant peformance/mileage gains just by adding a 4" exhaust. Same goes with an air intake. Exhaust and intake mods are only going to be noticable when you start adding larger amounts of fuel and begin to approach 350HP or so.



Gauges are always a good idea so you're on the right track there.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Welcome DMannon

I thought I was the only crazy guy to go a long ways to bring home a truck. I just drove a '98 12-valve up to Washington from Palm Springs. It was worth it in my case too. On a similar side note I drove to Indiana and back with my '96 to retrieve car I bought on eBay, did well on that one too



I think HeavyHauler is right, at stock HP exhaust mods won't do a lot for mileage but ditching the muffler will help spoolup response and free up a couple HP. I do think helping the intake on a stock truck is worthwhile though, I noticed improved spoolup on my stock '01 when I put in a better filter. One word of caution though, K&N is not reputed to have good filtering quality and Cummins does not approve them. I say that because I ran one once and a very fine dust started collecting inside the tube going to the turbo. A better pick would be an AFE, Amsoil element or a BHAF (big honkin' air filter). Do a search and you'll see what I'm talking about.

 

[CORed]

Even on a stock truck, however, a 4" exhaust will give you much cooler EGTs if you start it at the turbo. It may not release much HP, but EGTs are something that could help increase the longevity, not to mention the sound of your Cummins!



To me, the EGT reduction and sound are worth it. If I don't even get 5 more HP, that'll be a pleasant bonus.



Steve

 

[DMannon]

Ok, so it sounds like I just ought to stay conservative, put some gauges in, change tire size, see what kind of performance I get, then make decisions about exhaust, etc.



Apparently, the previous owner had the injection pump replaced at Dodge (in NY). Tell me if I'm wrong, but what I'm gleaning from TDR is that the VP44 is prone to failure due to poor lubricty of ?? (design, fuel, bad juju), and is exacerbated by poor lift pump performance. This lift pump is located in the fuel tank stock? and can be modified with a frame mount setup of either the elusive '$70 pump' or something like the FASS setup?



Is this a worthwhile mod, or a case of if it works don't fix it?



I think I need to order the shop manual from Geno's... .

 

[DMannon]

OK, so how do I get my signature to post?

 

[JApol]

It will only post once per page

 

[JApol]

mine won't show on this post

 

[DWitcher]

Man you've gotta post more details about the trip. I'm a road trip freak and that is the mecca of raod trips. Oo.

 

[DMannon]

OK, so here's the travelogue... Flew into JFK at 6:30 AM, took the Long Island RR to Patchogue, where the seller picked me up. After a cup of coffee and how-do-you-dos, he took me to the local DMV for a transit permit.



Then I headed south for DC. Every toll booth had me muttering about about why not buy a gasser if I've gotta pay these tolls anyway. Verrazano Bridge was cool, but the East Coast needs to start picking up the litter. I stayed in Springfield, VA that night.



Took the Metro to the Smithsonian the next AM and did the tourist on the Mall thing. The Wall and the Lincoln Mem really impressed me. So many possibilities and so many squandered opportunities...



Took the Metro back to Springfield, retrieved CTD, and drove to Fredericksburg, where I dined at my first (and probably last) Hooters. Got an oil change and a K&N the next morning and drove on to Asheville, NC. Cool little town, really nice folks.



Drove the next day through Tenn to Little Rock. Next morning, up early, as I had to be in OKC by 1 to pick up my girlfriend, who flew out to finish the trip with me. We continued on and hit SEVERE weather in Elk City, OK. Had to pull off and get under a gas station overhang, jellybean-sized hail, and the radio said hurricane watches for the area around Elk City. It passed pretty quickly and we headed on towards Amarillo, but not before gettting out and enjoying that amazing light that colors the plains after an intense storm.



Woke up the next morning to hear of the tornadoes and deaths in TN. Whew, dodged a bullet. Had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel in Amarillo while my laundry was at a fluff & fold. Then we headed out for Santa Fe.



Got in early enough to spend a couple of hours walking through old Santa Fe and had dinner at a microbrew called the Blue Corn Cafe, which had a great selection of ales, and really good food.



Headed out the next morning for Flagstaff, and hit just about every other trading post and Stuckey's looking for silver for my lady. Took a walk on the Laguna Rez and got run off by one of the Rez cops for trespassing. I swear, there were no signs anywhere.



Got stuck in traffic just outside of AZ while a truck & trailer burned completely up on the side of the road. After about 15 minutes of waiting, we hooked it around over the median, took the next exit and got on Old 66. Went by the truck just as they were finishing putting out the fire. All you could recognize were the wheels...



Stopped just past Petrified Forest NP and found what had to be one of the strangest road side attractions I've seen in a while. Petrified wood, geodes, mannequins hanging out of all sorts of dead vehicles, two women running the place who'd spent one too many day in the desert sun, and an ostrich farm to boot. They tried to sell the place to me, but I'd just spent all my mad money on a truck and silver. :-laf



Got into Flagstaff before sundown, got a great deal at the Garden Hilton, then walked downtown to... another microbrew! Saw the end of one the FF games, had a great dinner and too much beer.



Drove ALL the way to San Luis Obispo the next day, through Mojave and past Edwards, got home just at dusk and had a homebrew and a hot bath. Gee, but it's great to be back home... .

 

[DonFitzwater]

You covered some ground and spent some money on the lady of yours! Get the biggest exhaust system you can afford as I have found that Subaru drivers really don't like being eye to eye with a 5" pipe belching the plume of death in their face!