I'm a recent convert from the Cummins group and have been reading this site since I found it the other day. I just bought a 2005 3500 dually crew cab 4x4 diesel/auto and so far am pretty happy with it thus far. My questions are as follows:

What kind of problems might I have yanking the muffler and leaving the cat in place as far as codes/warranty/service are concerned? Can the cat come off with a federal emission PCM?

Who other than K&N makes a drop in filter that's worth anything as far as flow is concerned?

Who seems to make the best power box for towing that doesn't cause all kinds of codes or problems witht the motor/tranny?

I had an Edge EZ on my 2003 Cummins and had all kinds of problems with injectors going bad and leaking O rings....that's just naming a few things. I had the box on it for 30K+ miles and at the end it was causing all kinds of driveability issues. I liked the sound of my straight piped exhaust and the BHAF really helped with spool up and EGT's. Just looking at the Chevy, it looks as though the smaller BHAF might fit on it as well....not for sure though. Any opinions will be greatly appreciated.

Sure the cat can come off. You will probably set some codes, but with just a regular federal emissions truck you should not turn on the SES light.

Warranty? I think that depends on the dealer. Removing the cat, circumventing emissions control devices....setting codes...perhaps impeding EGR functions... I think I would get used to swapping the cat back in when it's time for warranty work and clearing any related codes set by running without it.

Personally I would not run anything but a stock paper filter. Those high-flow, washable units are not magic. Plenty of info out there that suggests the obvious is true---high flow = more contaminants. Lots of guys rolling big numbers with stock air filters. If you must check out the AFE air cleaner or the Volant intake.

Predator makes a good programmer with a tow tune and you can clear codes, do real time data monitoring, program for tire and gear changes, remove top speed limiter. TTS has a +50HP tow PCM getting good reviews.

Obviously when you talk about modding and warranties you've got a problem. Take the stuff off (I guess) and return it to stock for service. It might cost you to play.

Sure the cat can come off. You will probably set some codes, but with just a regular federal emissions truck you should not turn on the SES light.

Warranty? I think that depends on the dealer. Removing the cat, circumventing emissions control devices....setting codes...perhaps impeding EGR functions... I think I would get used to swapping the cat back in when it's time for warranty work and clearing any related codes set by running without it.

Personally I would not run anything but a stock paper filter. Those high-flow, washable units are not magic. Plenty of info out there that suggests the obvious is true---high flow = more contaminants. Lots of guys rolling big numbers with stock air filters. If you must check out the AFE air cleaner or the Volant intake.

Predator makes a good programmer with a tow tune and you can clear codes, do real time data monitoring, program for tire and gear changes, remove top speed limiter. TTS has a +50HP tow PCM getting good reviews.

Obviously when you talk about modding and warranties you've got a problem. Take the stuff off (I guess) and return it to stock for service. It might cost you to play.
I believe he was talking about taking of the muffler & leaving the cat in place. I would be interested in hearing the answer too

Leave it stock. Save a few bucks and minimize the opportunities for problems.

How could you leave cummins for a izuzuuuuuuuuuu lol

I believe you said it very well. That's why I'm leaving mine stock.

Leave it stock. Save a few bucks and minimize the opportunities for problems.

The reason I left the Cummins group was due to the service I was receiving from the only dealers anywhere near where I live. The closest dealer doesn't have a Cummins certified tech. so STAR wouldn't let them work on ANY motor related warranty jobs. The other dealer where I bought the truck from switched service managers and he was a total incompetent POS. I had a run in with him when he voided my motor warranty because I "took the cat off." Well my friends, the 2003's that were not slated for CA. did not have cats....he didn't want to beleive me nor do any leg work to prove me right/wrong. After a few pissing matches he finally ate crow and reinstated the warranty when he found out I was correct! It was crap like that which totally left a bad taste in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, the Cummins motor is a real beast, it's the crappy parts Dodge makes Cummins put on the motor to keep costs low...IE, poor lift pumps and injectors. I had numerous problems with the truck early on and it was pulling teeth to get anything done under warranty because they always had an excuse as to why they didn't need to service it without costing me....upper and lower ball joints both sides, injectors and O rings, U joints, clutch and related parts etc. I had 2 Cummins powered trucks and both had issues that STAR didn't want to take ownership in. Anyhow, after the last lift pump shopt craps at 39k miles, I went straight to the local GM dealer and bought this truck I have now 0% for 60 months and at dealer cost...no BS prices! They literly handed me the actual invoice and charged me GMS. They also gave me about a grand more than I owed on the Dodge, so all around it was a good deal. Lastly, I finally decided that I wanted an auto after always having manual shift trucks. Dodge doesn't have an auto that's proven just yet, and my Powerjoke tranny sucked. I've always liked the Allison tranny and the Isuzu motor isn't all that bad. A local speed shop hosts diesel dyno days all of the time and I've always been impressed with the Duramax...especially sincen they soposedly worked out most all of the bugs. I'm not real impressed with how low the front of this truck sits, but other than that it's serving its purpose well. Any hints on raising the front end without a lift kit? Can I crank on the torsion bar bolts to give it a more level look?

welcome to the club turbov6joe
if you crank the torsion bars it will level it out but you might want to get the front end alligned. i cranked mine soon as i got it 18000 so far, still on pizza cutter tires, havent rotated or got the allignment but you can tell it on the front tires. No worries because i am looking for any reason to get some 285s.

Am I assuming correctly that cranking the torsion bolts in (up if your looking under the truck) will make the front end come up? Is there a need to have the weight off of the front end when doing this?? How far is too far??? TIA

i never took the weight off to crank the torsion bars, but it would probably make it easier to turn, the diesel is heavy compared to the gassers.
and yes, you tighten them as looking at them from underneith.
i dont know how far is too far, but i had a 3" lift done on 02 Z71 with only cranking the torsion bars, may have put a new key in but not sure.
it did make me a little leary about the angle of the CV joints but i got over it. I put 36,000 miles on it befor i traded.

on edit, you might do a search for "Green Keys" alot of talk about the torsion bars in there.;)

While waiting for your reply I did just that and found some good reading. Looks like 2" is about max for the stock keys. I was under the truck tonight looking and it seemed to me that my torsion bolts are barely cranked in??? I would venture to say that more than 80% of the bolt's thread was still available....does this sound right? Now I'm ready to go back outside and put some turns on the bolts and see what happens. What's the best price out there for that Predator module?

i think it all depends on how much they adjusted them from the factory, IIRC, they adjust them by the ride hight specs (way low IMO). I think i turned mine about 6 full turns on each side. i will probably go up a little more before i get an alignment.

I got my predator from one of the suporting vendors here, Nate.

Ok

You can yank the muffler too. I misread and thus misspoke...coffee hadn't kicked in yet.:o:

The muffler provides backpressure for the EGR. There have been mixed reports as to if it will set the EGR codes and SES light. I personally think the EGR is a bad idea, but cannot condone blocking it. That's your decision. What I mean is the muffler is a smaller issue, IMO, than the cat and EGR.

Keep in mind that fooling with the torsion bars and green keys is more like a poor-man's lift kit. You could possibly have alignment problems but you will definitely increase the angle of the CV joints.

I'm looking for just a tad more front end lift to give it a more level stance, not a full blown lift kit per se. I'm also looking into a slight performance increase....one that will not throw codes, mess up the injectors or tranny if driven like a truck not a race car (I already have one of those), and something that will add a few MPG to the big picture. Does the Predator box leave a fingerprint for the service techs to find when doing warranty work? I know with the 2003+ Cummins, if the tech had the right computer and time to do the looking, they can find the "fingerprints" of a fueling or duration box. From what I've read, it looks as though most of the boxes for the Duramax allows one to program the stock settings back in....wonder if that leaves any traces of foul play?