Surrounded by idiots . . . myself included!

[tugboatphil]

I will say from experience with a hole in my aux. cooler line. I did a roadside patch and started up to see if it still leaked. There was no leak at all in Park. I put it in Neutral and it was still gushing out. The fluid does not circulate in Park.



So in winter, if you are idling to warm things up, unless you are in neutral, the transmission is not getting warm. And from another experience with a tree hitting my rear end while idling... . make sure your Ebrake works and your wheel is chocked if you are on any kind of incline.

 

[Philip]

In park all the fluid is divereted to the pan. Very little is used anywhere. In nuetral it loads the torque converter. The biggest user of oil in a auto.



For the people with a 93 service manual look on page 21-122 for park. The dark lines are the flow path for oil being used.



For neutral the page is 21-121. The lighter collored lines shows the oil paths being used.

 

[DValentine]

Off the subject a little, a couple weeks ago I watched 2 guys tear out an engine in the 300 ton crane we were using. The week before everything was fine. The temp dropped over the weekend and was about 0 degrees. Monday morning we have 60 tons to move and the crane hydraulics won't move. The mechanics think the coupler from engine to the hydraulic pump went out. They pull the engine - a N 14 cummins and find the coupler is fine. They try a bunch of suff... . for the whole week and spend the weekend finishing the engine install. ALL THIS to find out that the crane had thick hydraulic fluid in it... . summer weight... . not winter weight. I don't know who paid the bill.

 

[DVolk]

Surounded by idiots .... my self included

my 70 mopars were in park , how ever id always cycle the trans from park to first reverse to drive then check and so on

 

[JLEONARD]

I was impressed that my son knew all about this. I'm sure his customers are thankful. He even told me how much the difference is

 

[DonTX]

Well, I checked mine, and it was at the proper level - in neutral. It had been rebuilt not long before I got the truck, and does not leak, so someone else saved my bacon for me. Think I will put a label there, so in my old age I don't forget that.

 

[cerberusiam]

Dodge transmissions have NEVER circulated fluid in park unless it was intentionally modified. There is no circulation at all even in the pump or to the pan when in park. This is why checking the level in neutral is critical to make sure the level is correct when all the components are using fluid.



FYI, long idle times in park will destroy the pump assembly and the converter hub.



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[cojhl2]

FYI, long idle times in park will destroy the pump assembly and the converter hub.

Omygosh,, this is a valuable bit of info. This means I better keep my parking brake working.



On the farm we were taught as kids to never park a vehicle where it would roll. I keep that habit today,, but sometimes it cannot be helped. Although I do not trust the parking brake or the Park position in the transmission on steep hills anyway.

 

[BPaulsen]

Again,

one's never too old to learn something new. I'm glad I brought this up, as I was almost ready to buy a new converter and have the transmission pulled, which, thanks to 6 hours of labor to do that job would have been another big bill . . . for no reason. As I can tell from the interesting posts, I'm indeed not alone here. If it help only one of you guys to avoid a big bill, it was all worth it!



Yes, even as a car guy, I didn't know about the Park/Neutral difference, and I could kick myself in the you know what because of it. I too think that my trans, which was serviced at an independent, regular automotive shop past summer, must have always been low. They probably didn't know better either, and the winter cold now triggered the whole thing.



Most upsetting about the whole thing is not the bill (hey . . . I now have a fresh injection pump and a fresh lift pump!), but the fact that the guys at CUMMINS SOUTH PACIFIC, the guys who charged me countless hours at $91 each for diagnosing the problem, and road-tested my truck three times (!), didn't bother to check, or didn't know better, and certainly had no idea how a 1st. Gen. truck in fine fettle is supposed to run.



Well . . . after I almost lost confidence in my truck, after so many years of trouble-free service, I'm totally in love with it again. I'm now waiting for the tach, next month I will buy a 16cm housing, and in March most likely those $499 injectors this diesel dude offers on xBay.



Thanks to the mild no rain--no rust SoCal weather, 10 years from now, when I'm 60, I'll have the coolest diesel-powered vintage truck on the road (remember, mine looks even older). By then it will have 280K miles and probably still run on its original engine. Truly a truck for life; it has everything I need, nothing I don't.



MoPar or no car!

 

[mysteryman]

You would do better to get the "190" injectors from Piers diesel... They are about 300. 00 a set and won't ruin your fuel mileage or your engine/drive line... Good luck

 

[BPaulsen]

Injectors

Since you brought it up (getting sidetracked here) . . . .



Looking for only moderately more power than stock (about 230-250 would serve me just fine), my initial choice was Bosch 190 injectors. Then I read that the Lucas PODs are better. Than I read what "thedieseldude" in his xBay auction writes, and he claims that his rebuilt ones are much better because the springs are already broken in . . . . (item # 250071623608).

He now claims the Lucas injectors make trucks smoke like a freight train and ruin the fuel mileage and there's nothing better for 1st. generation Rams than his.



Who can you trust?

 

[KMUNCASTER]

holy crap....add me to the idiot list...

I never gave it any thought, being a Chevy guy for life (well up to now)..... and the warm up idea of warming in neutral is a great tip. Up here in the cold country, I let the old Goat warm up (ok luke-warm) for 1/2 hour in the mornings before heading to the shop, no wonder the old slushbox doesn't wanna shift... . tomorrow I'm leaving it in N instead of P... and checkin the level. :-laf



What would I do without you guys ? :--)

 

[dpuckett]

Actually, any more than 5-10min is wasting fuel and washing down your cylinders. I have let mine go as long as 5 min with a brick on the accelerator and only had air up to the big line next to the "C".



DP

 

[cojhl2]

Actually, any more than 5-10min is wasting fuel and washing down your cylinders. I have let mine go as long as 5 min with a brick on the accelerator and only had air up to the big line next to the "C".



DP

I disagree with those that rush an engine to work before it is pretty well normalized.



The time it takes to warm up is obviously dependent on ambient temp.



The guage does not have to be at norm,, it prob will never be during warmup cause the engine is doing very little work,, but nevertheless the engine should not be expected to go thru shock when put to work.

 

[Shadrach]

I have driven Chrysler product since day one. Chryslers have always been that way. BTW, if you are going to let any Chrysler product idle (especially in the cold ) to warm up and it has an auto trans, do it in neutral, that way the fluid circulates throughout the whole trans and torque convertor which will help it shift better sooner.

 

[JLEONARD]

Warm up? What's that? I idle up my 120 ft long driveway then I'm gone. 2 to 3 minutes or so of downhill and back street driving then it's expressway time. I try to keep boost below 10 while onthe ramp but that ain't happening.

 

[1stgen4evr]

when I'm 60, I'll have the coolest diesel-powered vintage truck on the road (remember, mine looks even older). By then it will have 280K miles and probably still run on its original engine. Truly a truck for life; it has everything I need, nothing I don't.



That ought to have it broke in pretty good. My high miles 93 is at 500k and counting. Cranks instantly, original starter, orig clutch. Box stock.



James



Oh and it looks like hell even on the second paint coat.

 

[KMUNCASTER]

5-10 mins of warm up ain't enough...

... in -20 temps and colder, 5-10 minutes isn't gonna cut it, sorry... . you're right when it's warmer (above freezing), but I'll waste the fuel for 30 mins so I don't freeze for the first bunch of miles..... I tried idling it today (-20) in neutral, it seemed to start out better, but that last shift into hi gear is always a tough one when cold..... I have to let off and coast, then ease into the throttle and it will shift, sometimes sooner than later, once it's hot, it's fine (or better anyways). It never shifts like what I'm familiar with or used to in my other trucks, but this old Goat does lots different...



... some call them "quirks"... . it's all about lovin' old trucks... . and livin' with 'em. Kinda like a lot of women, you gotta get used to 'em before you know what they like and how to make 'em do what you want... ... lol... . :-laf



if my wife read that, she'd give me a kick... my transmission would be the least of my worries. .

 

[JLEONARD]

if my wife read that, she'd give me a kick

Ya mean she'd kick your axle from here to next month? :-laf :-laf

 

[tugboatphil]

Bernard,



If you're still reading this, here's one thing I learned about getting pump work done. Cummins Atlantic is the shop nearest me. I went there once to check on mine, as I knew a guy who worked there. He told me that if I ever needed to get work done on it, to not bring it to them. They only removed and installed pumps.



He said to take it to Blue Ridge Diesel Injection, as they were the authorized Bosch shop in the area. Everyone around takes them there. Of course, the customer gets charged a little more, than if they went straight to Blue Ridge.



Maybe your Cummins shop is different, but it's worth checking on it.