Upgrades for towing. and other questions.

[Turbowski]

Hello all,

I bought a 2006 2500 Mega Cab a little while ago. I bought it to tow my 37ft travel trailer with ease. My only problem is I don't want to hurt the truck while towing. the truck has 86k miles and the trailer weighs around 8500 pounds. I know that I'm going to need gauges for the EGT and Trans temp. not sure what else could be done.

Also, two weeks after I bought the truck it blew a injector nozzle and locked the motor up. needless to say. I got a motor put in it that has under 99k miles and has a 3 yr 36k mile warrantee. when I bought it I noticed that it would blow black smoke pretty regularly so I suspect that there is a tune already in it. would it be a bad thing to take the truck to a dealership and have them re-flash the ECM? Also while the motor was out my Diesel mechanic told me that the torque converter was replaced recently. he didnt give any details besides that it was purple. Not accustomed to these newer 5.9l. My baby is a 2001 5.9l 5 speed. any advice would be wonderful.

 

[cerberusiam]

Minimum gauges in my experience: Boost, EGT, Rail Pressure, trans temp (probe in front cooler line). With those you can diagnose many issues and see them coming before they are a problem. Nothing is perfect but that will be a good start on learning what to expect so you can see the out of range things.

Purple TC could be ATS but unless you can find a number or manufacturer stamp no telling for sure.

A stock tune will blow what looks like black smoke every time you nail it after driving around normally, it is soot build up in the exhaust not necessarily smoke. Get the engine up to operating temp and do multiple hard runs back to back and watch the tail pipe, if the amount of black is decreasing the more you run it hard it is just soot.

8500 lbs is just a nice load for that truck, nothing extreme. Note that unless you have grades to pull you will not work the engine hard enough at times to keep it cleaned out unless it catches a lot of air. Watch your EGT gauge when you get it installed, you need several hours at 1000 plus degrees to really work the engine.

The big issue with going to a dealer is if there is a tune on it and they mes sup the flash routine they WILL make you buy a new to the tune of about $3000 with labor and programming. Before even considering that go thru the above and see if it is really necessary to even think about dealer help. Too many dealer techs at this point are nothing but parts changers and the shop charges are where the profit in the dealership is so they ride it hard.

 

[Prairie Dog]

My buddy has an 06 with 60K on it that he bought new. It has always been able to blow a fair amount of black smoke if pushed hard.
I don't think that changed until the 6.7L and it's emmissions came along.
So that's no indicator of a programmer - although with an upgraded trans, it surely could have one.

 

[Turbowski]

Thank you both for your replies. kind of takes a little bit of stress off my shoulders. The only thing about the tune that it possibly has is that it was an abnormal amount of smoke. and the reason I am really worried about it is that this will be the third motor this truck has had. I recently talked to the previous owner and he informed me that the original motor threw a rod out the side of the motor at 76k miles. he told me that he got a motor from somewhere and that he got rid of it after 9k miles because he was to much in debt on the truck. ell I had the truck for two weeks and had an injector blow up and cease the motor. once we got the motor to spin we noticed that it was easy to turn over with a normal 3/8 ratchet. so no compression whats so ever. My main worry is that there is a tune in it and that the tune is to much for the motor to handle.

I will get the four gauges that cerb recommended. I would hate for something to go wrong again.
and I understand fully about the dealership techs now days. that's why I had to ask first before taking the truck to get the re-flash. I'm already 6k in the truck and only got to drive it for 2 weeks lol.

 

[Turbowski]

Also to add to my recent. The new motor didn't require a core charge so I am for sure keeping the old motor and tearing it down to see exactly what failed. then ill take my time and re-build it for a back up.

 

[cerberusiam]

Downside to the iron powder cracked cap rods, a little too much stress from a bad injector they break and window the block. The rebuild should have included 24V forged rods and you could put that specter of destruction behind you.

Used engine and not replacing the injectors with new units is like playing Russian roulette with a $6k piece of machinery. it will never end good. I sincerely hope your reman engine include NEW injectors not remans or it is in danger. It might warrantied but your down time is not.

 

[Gary Hinz]

I use a product called Diesel Clean, 10 oz every fill up. Smoke gone and MPG up. Might use more for initial dose. It raises the btu for cleaner burn.