98 dodge cummings ???

jeepeater2003

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
raleigh
well, im looking at getting a 98 dodge diesel 4x4 2500 ext cab.

its got 220xxx miles on it and he just rebuilt the tranny and said he put a shift kit in it. there seems to be nothing wrong with it. it has a new injection pump as well.

how are you'lls experinces with these vehicles, towing, reliablity, power...

also, what are some good mods to do, im thinking about exaust,BHAF,edge chip in that order then more when i get more money. also, do you think ill have to do anything else to the tranny or torque converter. i think it has a stock converter in it so should that present a problem.

also i know about the 53 blocks that crack so im going to see if it has that block.

any help would be greatly appriciated.
thanks
tyler
 
12v or 24v? and dammit, there's no G in Cummins! :flipoff2:

I guess since you mentioned a chip it's a 24v. The KDP can get you as well, ask about it, if it's been done. If not, PRONTO.

Keep the power sane (Edge EZ), RPM's above 1600 or so, and your trans will live a happy life. BHAF's are OK, but just OK.. They suck in hot underhood air. If you're cheap, you can just free up the stock exhaust by removing all the BS, and install a small 3" bullet muffler. I got the $20 one from Summit and it's good on noise control, and didn't hurt EGT's at all over a straight pipe.
 
What is the KDP exactly? And what kinda money does it take to replace, my girlfreind just fell in love with a 98 cummins dually with 150,000 on the clock today, tryin to tell her if its a good or bad idea.
 
KDp = Killer Dowel Pin.. if you search google or any dodge forums you will find 100's of writeups on it.. it can do just what the name says :)
 
"Killer dowel pin" You don't replace it, you prevent it from falling out. The preferred method is to put a little tab in front of it... takes a few hours to do, but if/when it falls out, it normally punches a hole in the side of the timing case, makes a HUGE oil leak, and is $$$$ to fix.

Do a few searches on the dieseltruckresource.com on "KDP" and you'll find out more than you want to know.. ;)

Basically, you're buying a great engine, and the crate it comes packaged in. If you can deal with that, then go for it.
 
jeepeater2003 said:
how are you'lls experinces with these vehicles, towing, reliablity, power...
also, what are some good mods to do, im thinking about exaust,BHAF,edge chip in that order then more when i get more money.
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd be putting $3-4k aside so that I could put another transmission in it in a year or three. :p

jeepeater2003 said:
also, do you think ill have to do anything else to the tranny or torque converter.
Click to expand...

You'll have to replace them. :flipoff2:

But seriously, do you know anything else about this "rebuilt" transmission? Who did the work? What's the warranty? Is that warranty transferrable?
 
i need to find out more info about the tranny and what EXACTLY he put in there.

i heard some more info today that is interesting. that dodge uses basically the same torque converter in there diesels to there dakotas. and that it is to small for the diesels and it heats up to much witch kills the tranny.

any one else heard this?

tyler

ps. iv never heard of the KDP. ill have to search it
thanks
 
jeepeater2003 said:
i heard some more info today that is interesting. that dodge uses basically the same torque converter in there diesels to there dakotas. and that it is to small for the diesels and it heats up to much witch kills the tranny.
Click to expand...

:lol:

Damn, I've heard some funny shit, but that takes the cake. Where did you read this? (Nothing against you, but whoever wrote it has no clue. OK, so you can get a 5.9L V8 in the Dakota, which is the same basic engine in the base 2500/3500, and OK, maybe they share the 46RE trans, but damn, the similarities END there. (The CTD has the 47RE, which does share a bunch of internal parts)) But, a TIGHT torque convertor will heat the fluid FAR more quickly than a stocker. I can see 220+ in the cooler hot line if I was to leave it in gear on a warm day and sit still.

There's alot of things that could really be improved on the trannies.. mostly tolerance related, which creates pressure leakages, reducing the amount of force on the friction materials. The TC is also very "loose", which is good for emissions, and not much else.

Guys have been very happy with an aftermarket TC and valve body on an otherwise healthy transmission (~$1500), and have dyno'd ~350hp and have it hold.

So is it a 24 valve or a 12?
 
its a 24 vlave

i didn't read it rich, some one "told" me about it. he knows alot so i was wondering if it was true from some one who actually knows.

so what type of torque converter are you sugesting and if it has a shift kit in it, can i still upgrade the valve body? or would that just be stupid?

tyler
 
The 3 I would suggest are Goerends brothers, DTT, or Suncoast. All of them make quality products, and their valve bodies are often times more than the average "shift kit" depending on who makes it.

There's a guy in Raleigh who is on the Dodge boards who has built a couple of modified 47RE's, he could do the work for ya, I bet he's cheap too. I think he bought his latest stuff from Goerends.

The TC and VB will transform the truck.
 
if you had the choice rich between the TC,VB, or an edge chip, witch would you do first and why?

also. what dodge boards do you belong to and witch is he on.

tyler
 
I may not be rich, but here's my .03:

I have done a fair amount of reading on cummins autos and currently tow with a '97. I'd do VB, TC and edge in that order. Some say the VB is enough to handle only mild mods so you COULD try just the VB and edge but i'd do a TC also to be safe. ( I don't know the specific power levels for the tuners as our truck doesn't have a computer) .

In any event, you'll deffinitely want to get a tranny temp guage if it doesn't already have one on it. fuel pressure and egt guages would also be adviseable as well if they aren't integrated into your tuner.

You probably don't want to put any more power into it until you get the tranny taken care of. At stock power you can burn up the tranny; add more power and it'll only be a quicker death to the trans.


Good luck, Cummins is a solid powerplant I'm sure you'll be happy with it.
 
TC and VB go hand in hand - They should be done at the same time.

Being able to get the power to the ground will make the truck quicker, so it's kind of like getting more HP.. It will certainly accelerate more quickly.

The first mod should be gauges... For a 24v, you'll want 4 - EGT, boost, trans temp., and fuel pressure. They all help diagnose problems, and can warn you of a problem before it gets really expensive.

The best free Dodge diesel board is www.dieseltruckresource.com IMO. If you do get the truck, and when you're ready, I will put you in touch with the guy I know that's done the work... Real nice guy, and very knowledgable. If you rob enough old ladies at ATM's, I can also put you in touch with my DTT tranny builder.. :D
 
12 vs 24

If down the road you want to run WVO (waste vegetable oil) the 24v has issues due to fuel pump, 12v does not. Just something to keep in mind.
There is another thread in this section on alternate fuels and running grease that would be a good read.
 
probly not going to do that but it is something to keep in mind. thanks
 
Back
Top