Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Yes!!!! Finally!!!!!

[Mtngoat]

Hi guys!



As I said, Yes!!!Finally!!! For years everytime a Ram Diesel would pull up beside me, I would roll down the window just to listen, and I kept saying, "Some day!" Then I found the TDR site and lurked here for almost 2 years, telling myself, "Some day!" Well... . it's TODAY!! I am now the proud owner of a 2000 Dodge Ram 3500 CTD with auto trans (35K miles), and most everything else!!!

Having said that, I have lots of questions. I spent all morning go thru past threads 145 pages so far (whew). So, I have answered a lot of questions doing that. Lots of contrasts in opinions thats for sure, but the common love for their trucks! Hopefully, someone will take the time to tell this newbie what some of this stuff means.

I am a gearhead and old hot rodder now heavily into fourwheeling. But I have only a very basic understanding of the diesel engine which I am gonna learn.

My plans with this truck are to of course bomb it, but I think I would be smart to learn about its advantages and disadvantages, and how it all works so I can put my money into smart bombs one time and not have to redo them. But I am truly ignorant of this machine and how it works. And, hopefully there will be a member or two in the Topeka-Lawrence-Kansas City area that wouldn't mind getting together so I can their brain. .

Looking thru the forum, I have pretty well answered my questions about fuels, oils, filters, transmission mods, oil, coolant, and fuel filter changes gauges, cleaning the engine, and so on. Here is the list of things that I don't know what they are, or what their function is. Please take some time and help me out



Intercooler? Wastegate? VP44? lift pump? pusher pump? banjo bolts? defueling? ISB?

What exactly does the turbo do and how?

I have an idea what some of these are but not for sure.

Hey! I am proud to be here and when I get my sticker it will be proudly displayed!



Respectfully,

Robin

 

[ISBPilot]

Congratulations.............

So, are you excited? Just kiddin'. I know exactly how you feel. I kept pinching myself every once in while after I got mine too.



It will take a more knowledgable member than myself to give indepth details about some of your questions. Here are my rough ideas.









Intercooler - is hooked up to the turbo to cool the air going into the motor



Wastegate - allows excess boost to escape from the turbo (this is preset at factory but when bombing starts the extra boost is a benefit



VP44 - our injector pump on the 24V, gets fuel from the lift pump and sends it to the injectors



Lift Pump - sucks fuel from the tank to supply to the VP44



Pusher Pump - some members have added this for a better fuel supply to the VP44



Banjo Bolts - have been replaced with larger models to allow better fuel flow and some are tapped to accept a fitting to run to a fuel pressure gauge



Defueling - decreases fuel to the engine at preset RPM to protect the engine, computer controlled and set as a safety feature



ISB - this is the model series of Cummins engine that we have in our trucks



Turbo - the turbo force feeds air into the motor. this allows the use of more fuel and produces more power faster



Hope this helps and I am sure someone will come by and fill in the blanks for you. Take care and enjoy that Sweet Cummins!!!!





Todd

 

[drice]

frist off welcome to the TDR home of the best looking smart dodge owners.



well I'm a 12 valver (I drive a 12 valve cummins) but I think I can help you.



first off the intercooler works kinda like a radiator in the sense that where the compressed air from the turbo is cooled down before it is put in the engine.



the wastegate is on the back of the turbo that opens up to let air bypass if to much boost is made. it keeps the turbo from blowing up.



the VP44 is the type of injection pump that the 24valve trucks use.



the lift pump is the pump that supplies the injection pump with a constant pressure of fuel. it is just like the fuel pump in the tank on a gasser except it is not in the tank on a diesel.



I don't know much about the pusher pump except for the fact that they put on in place of the stock lift pump to supply more fuel



The only thing I knwo about the banjo bolts is that they allow more fuel to flow through them. and that they go onto the VP44.



Defueling at a certain RPM the injection pump starts cutting back the fuel. this is how the diesel governs the speed.



I know no clue what ISB is except that you have a cummins ISB sorry about that one.





the turbo is run by the exhaust gass of the engine the exhaust gasses spins a propeller which inturn spins another propeller that sucks air and compresses it into the intercooler then the air is heated up and put into the cyclinders and burned then out the exhasut valve which spins the exhasut sid of the turbo . etc...







IF any of this is wrong I'm sorry for my stupidity. but this is how I understand it.

 

[drice]

dang I hate that well now you can read it twice once from a 24 valve prosective and once from a 12 valve prosective

 

[BV]

Congrats

Let me add a little info.



Turbo - A set of turbines - The exhaust goes through it on one side and spins the intake side wich pushes more air into the motor. This is the piece that helps create those boost numbers you have read about.



Intercooler - Takes the HOT air from the turbo and COOLs it before entering the intake manifold. The cooler the air the more you can stuff into the cylinder without melting things down.



Bango Bolts - These are the bolts on the lift (or transfer) pump and the injector pump that hold the fuel lines on. Thye are hollow in the center and have holes near the head so liquid can flow through them. They can be restrictive to flow.



Enjoy your Cummins with Dodge wrapper.

 

[Bluefalcon]

I have another question. I keep seeing something to do with the silencer ring, like "honest the silencer ring jusr fell out". I have my first CTD but we are on our third at our business. I no enough to keep myself out of trouble on my '01 but I am learning more and more every day thanks to TDR.

So... ... . What is it? What will it do for me if I remove it, pros and cons? And how do you do it?

I have about 18 months left on my lease and I am watching real close on what the new ones are like. What happens over the next year will help me make my decision. One thing is true, if I do get a new one I am going to bomb the hell out of it. Oo. Oo.



Brad

 

[Ian]

Compression

Welcome.



Just wanted to add a note about the turbocharger/intercooler.



As air is compressed through the compressor side of the turbo, it heats, fact of nature.



(Take a bicycle pump, block the outlet with your finger then pump, see what happens to the air that escapes, it's hot. )



This hot air is less dense than cold air, so by running it through the intercooler that is positioned just in front of the radiator, it gets cooled and is more dense. Denser air plus more fuel, = more power.



On the turbine side of the turbocharger, the exhaust gas also drops in temperature doing the work of driving the intake compressor. Sometimes you will see in posts about members with exhaust gas temperature gauges connected before the turbine or after it. Don't know the temperature drop but could be a couple of hundred degrees.



As for waste gates, they are used in aviation in higher performance piston engines. At ground level the turbo can put out more than the engine can handle, at higher altitudes the waste gate closes, allows near sea level performance at say 15,000 feet or so. Also the turbocharger is often used for cabin pressurization.



Just a final note. The turbocharger runs at quite high speed, maybe as high as 30k rpm, and it runs hot. If working the CTD, let it idle for two or three minutes before shutting down, allows the turbo to cool and slow down with getting lubricated. Once the CTD is shut off, no more fresh oil to the bearings.



CTD = Cummins Turbo Diesel

 

[Mtngoat]

nuther thing

This truck didn't have the window sticker so I got a build sheet for this truck and it lists everything it came from the factory with. It says it has a anti spin differental. DOes that mean it has a limited slip? How do those compare to a locker of some sort? I have an ARB and a Detroit in my Jeep, so I know how well those work, but I haven't driven the Ram enough to see if the Anti Spin does much. .



Respects, Robin

 

[Piston Slapper]

Silencer Ring

The silencer is a (removable) metal flange in the intake of the turbo. It is to "Silence" the whistle the turbo makes. Many people remove it to simply hear the turbo whistle as it makes boost. If you take the rubber house that comes from the air filter box and goes to the turbo off on the turbo side. You'll see this cut in half funnel shaped piece in front of the propeller. It's held in place by a ring. Take two small screwdrivers and you can pop out the ring, thus freeing up the Silencer ring. Reassemble. and crank her up! You should her the whistle more!! Then put on a BHAF (Big Honkin Air Filter, Napa part #2790) and you'll really here it scream. This big filter requires the removal of the stock air box entirely. Looks Sweet! You'll get the Oh My God that think is Big from all your buddies! Then cut off the muffler and resonator and **** off the neighbors!



My brother says it sounds like a jet. He says he always knows it's me coming down the drive cause it sounds like a passenger jet landing in the front yard! I'm all



Silencer Ring = no horsepower improvement. Stritcly for sound.

BHAF and no muffler = does help horsepower not sure of the numbers but definetly helps throttle response. It'll builds boost quicker and easier. You'll definetly like it if you love your Cummins.

 

[Thomas]

"It says it has a anti spin differental. DOes that mean it has a limited slip? "



Yes.

 

[Texas Diesel]

Congratulations!



Welcome aboard

 

[Hohn]

***WELCOME ABOARD***

Welcome to one of the best parts of owning a Cummins Dodge-- the TDR! (funny how a lot of us say cummins dodge, not dodge cummins-- what does that tell you?)



Anyway, lots of questions! Many have already been answered here, but I will try to clarfy a bit.



1) Think of an intercooler as a radiator for the intake air, instead of for coolant. Technically, an intercooler is what goes between two stages of turbocharging, so our unit is more accurately called a "charge air cooler". But, because it does that exact same thing, why not call it the more common and convenient term?

2)wastegaste- yes, it bleeds off exhaust, not boost pressure. But, in bleeding of exhaust it has the effect lf lowering boost. The proper name for something that bleeds off boost is a blow off valve. Both are used to manage the pressure in the parts of the plumbing, as pressure spikes when fuel is suddenly added or subtracted can cause problems. Blow off valves aren't really needed on a diesel, since there's no throttle valve.

3) When Cummins developed the "Interact System" for it's "B" engines, the result is INTERACT SYSTEM B, or ISB

4) Pusher PUMP-- an additional fuel pump added BEFORE or IN PLACE OF the stock lift (fuel) pump. Members report that if it's added, lift pumps seem to last. The lift pumps on these things are INFAMOUS for crapping out, so get a fuel pressure gauge installed ASAP to monitor that thing. IF it dies, then the injection pump (VP44) is starved for fuel (which cools and lubricates it) and its believed that most injection pump failures are precipitated by lift pump failure.

5) Defueling is what it sounds like-- the computer cuts back on the fuel to the engine. Since a diesel has no ignition system or throttle, all those functions are controlled by fueling. So, if you are Dodge and want to make a rev limiter, limit fueling at a certain RPM. Speed governor, same thing. If you want to limit HP, limit fueling. Our stock computers are designed to limit the power of the engine so that it doesn't SHRED the rest of the driveline. It's also so that it meets emissions and doesn't smoke. All that means that there is a LOT fo room for HP upgrades.



IT's interesting to note that even that guys on here that are running 500-600HP don't upgrade the bottom end of the engine. Crankshaft, connecting rod, and these kinds of failure are VERY rare. Usually it's a head gasket or something if you crank the wick up too high.





My personal theory is that the Cummins ISB in a Dodge is the best value in all of hotrodding. Where else can you add 200HP or more for just over a grand?





HOHN

 

[rono]

Welcome aboard, the CTD is addictive beyond reason.

Have fun and good luck.

Ron