Ok all of you Cummins fans here is your chance to help a poor old 6.5 TD guy buy a real truck. I am looking at a 98 Ram Quad Cab 12v auto trans (would rather have a stick) It's in good shape but has high mileage. 179k, Whats your thoughts on that. What should i look for as far as problems? The only thing that i can find is that the A/C doesnt work. The trans seems to shift good. I have heard that the auto trans are the weak point of this truck. Thats not a big deal a friend ownes a trans shop and i used to be a trans tech at a dealer (GM)


Also what do you think of the price. $11500


Thanks Bug

Price sounds reasonable. I'm not a guru on any of these dark side trucks. I would recommend you do some research on the Dodge sites to make sure.

The nice thing about the trans is you can get a worked one from ATS for $2100.

Thanks hoot, just joking about the dark side http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clown.gif I have only found one other site and from what i read alot of guys like the last few years of the 12v trucks. I was just a little concerned about the miles. Remember i have been around 6.5's and that would mean you are on your second motor. I dont want to sound like a troll but my 94 6.5TD has only 115k on it and it's on it's second engine and third I.P.


Bug

Sounds like something worth looking into closer.Edited by: hoot

A early '98 with a 12 valve is a coveted truck to have. In '98.5 the 24 valve engine was introduced. However, the early '98 had the refreshed interior but still retained the 12 valver. A lot of hard core Cummins guy's say that is the best year/model to have. If the engine was maintained properly there is at least 200,000 miles left in that engine and like Hoot said a quick call to ATS or DTT and you will have a bullet proof transmission. Edited by: Rosco

Rosco.... you outta come to the MACKIN Dyno Day on 6-5 in Conn. I need reinforcments

How many miles on the truck? This truck is a rare bird with at 12V and a Quad Cab.


My partner is a hard core DC Cummins guy and he was looking for this very truck - gave up and bought a 97 with 90K miles on it. The biggest issue besides the tranny is there is a dowel pin in the front gear case that had a bad habit of "walking" out and causing some havoc on the front of the engine. Might want to ask if the dowel pin has been tabbed. Another place to look is at www.dieseltruckresource.com (http://www.dieseltruckresource.com) search for Killer Dowel Pin or "KDP". Great Truck though, if the mileage isn't too high I'd jump on it. Turn the pump up a hair, get a new plate or slide the stock fuel plate forward and giver.

Thanks EMSi, i'll look into that. It does have alot of miles,179k but from what i have been reading it still has plenty left. They must have been highway miles because it still steers and drives tight. I agree on turning up the pump a little, it didnt have the power i thought it would have. I had never driven a DC before so maybe i was expecting to much.


Bug

It will seem a little sluggish, I think the auto's have a different turbo than the 5 spds. Not too tough to turn up or expensive either. Parts for the 12V engines are very reasonable. It does lend itself to a bit of a "tinkerer" though as the unit is totally mechanical. There are no plug and play 125 hp boxes for this baby. My partner had an '89 drove it to 450,000 Km's (281,000 miles) - sold it still running now. The '93 he just traded for his '97had 360,000 Km's (225,000 miles) and it was sold from the dealer in less than 3 weeks for just about 10,000 canadian. My partner is going for 400 Bhp on his '97 - needs a clutch though. Big difference between these and the V8's is the low end torque you get with the hp gains. For every hp gain on the cummins you'll get more torque rise than you would with a V8 as far as I know.

EMSi brought up another good point I forgot to mention, the Quad Cab. The '97 and earlier truck's were Club Cabs, meaning no rear doors. If money were no object and I could afford two Cummins diesels a '98 Q/C 12 valver would be parked next to my '04.


Hoot, I was not aware of a dyno day in Conn. I was however planning on attending one in Seekonk Mass on May, 15. If you want more info on it check the Local/Regional forum on the TDR or PM me.


My truck is mostly stock except for an aFe Magnum Force Intake and Torque Tube. However, I may do a few pulls to get a baseline. Heck, If they let me I might even switch back over to the factory airbox for a pull to see what kind of power gains (or loss) the aFe setup makes. Edited by: Rosco

It's a done deal, couldnt say no @ 10900. As soon as i sell the Chevy it will be time to bump up the POWER!http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif


Any ideas where i should start?????


Bug

Yup;





www.dieseltruckresource.com (http://www.dieseltruckresource.com)


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cool.gif

first you need gauges so you can see the egt's then there is some free power with slideing the fuel plate. Have the timing set to 15 to 16.5 btc. Kill the kitty and put on a better muffler or straight pipe ithttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif I did not like the noise of the straight pipe.

I will start with the exhaust first, I do custom stainless exhaust work at a convertor company for dyno testing. Would 4" be about right or should i just free up what i have. I found a few threads about a TST fuel plate kit. Sounds like alot of bang for the buck. Any thoughts on that kit. Looks like with the auto they want you to stay with the 230/605 kit, sounds like all i would need. I only pull a 4k lb. snowmobile trailer.


Oh ya they didnt have any record of the KDP being fixed. Maybe that should be my first project. Sounds like a easy project.


Gota go, I am off to pick up my truck.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gifhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gifhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif


Thanks JoeEdited by: TDIBUG

A 4" kit for exhaust is plenty. Based on what I've been told by my DC partner, there is no benefit to going bigger unless your shooting for 500 Bhp plus.


You never did say - or at least I didn't see it. This truck is a '98 Quad Cab 12 Valver?

"I am looking at a 98 Ram Quad Cab 12v auto trans"

In his first post.

Shoulda read more carefully.


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Embarrased.gif

I drove all the way to work with the radio off so i could listen to the sweet music of that Cummins engine.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif The dealer could not come up with a service history on the truck. So i have no idea if the KDP has been taken care of. I think that should be the first thing i do, that would be a good time to adjust the timing too. May be cheaper to have it done than buy the special tools.


Bug

I put over 400,000 miles on a 95 12-valve. If it is stock I really wouldn't worry about the engine. You might look at the injector pump to see if any of the paint is chipped away from the bolts holding the cap on. If it is, someone has been into the pump, possabably put a plate in. Also look at the boost elbow and see if the clamp holding the hose to it is still stock or has a screw clamp on it. That is just a couple of things to look for to see if anyone has turned the engine up.

Well i think i may have found the reason they sold it so cheap. It has a oil leak. I thought the front diff. was leaking from the pinion seal (easy fix) but after driving it awile it has motor oil dripping down onto the p/s hoses and then onto the front axle. I will look at it closer towmorrow.


I still like the truck and had planed on having to fix it up a bit anyway. I just hope it's not a major deal.


BugEdited by: TDIBUG

Well it has happend before that the KDP has fallen out and by the grace of some higher power not caused any other damage but to crack the front cover. I hope this isn't the problem - hopefully its as simple as replacing a gasket.


http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Ermm.gif

Does not sound like the KDP. It usually is on the left front side of the engine. Someone might have had the pump off and it is leaking where it is mounted to the engine or where the timing pin is.

Was there signs of leakage before you bought it? Was it cleaned up to hide it?

A good place for any and all things Dodge/Cummins related would be www.turbodieselregister.com

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cool.gifTDIBUG you need to update your signature.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cool.gif

oops, how's this http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif


Bug

Ive seen a few that leak oil between the powersteering pump and vacuum pump I think there is a seal in there that is not to difficult to change If it was the kdp you would know it as there would be oil everywhere I have seen two that have dropped and I think the 97-98 are more prone to falling I have seen older ones that have moved but two that have actually dropped were on 97's 215's watching the forums when someone reports that it dropped it is almost always97-98 never the less take care of it as soon as possible. Front crank seal seems to leak pretty regularly but when you do the kdp you can change that.

Sorry I thought you had a 95 disregard my last post get that dowel pin tabbed ASAP

Next post has pic of were it's leaking oil from. What is the cap and can it be resealed???


Thanks JoeEdited by: TDIBUG

Here is a pichttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/uploads/E52_01_05_04_02-1.jpg

Looks like i may have stumped the Dodge guys on this onehttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif


I found a exploded view of the pump and it looks like there is a sealing washer under that cap. I am going to take the cap off today and hope that nothing important pops outhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clown.gif


Bug

It appears to me that it is the throttle shaft that is coming out of the fuel pump/governor housing Mine has a oil seep there also I don't think you can service it on the vehicle I think you would have to remove the pump wich is a big project. But I really do not know that for sure. matt

You may need to have the pump removed and rebuilt to fix the leak.

Oil leak is fixed.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif I removed the plate and tapped the timing pin hole and put a bolt in it.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/uploads/778_05_05_04_03-1.jpg

On the truckhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/uploads/F36_05_05_04_04-1.jpg

That's the way to grab the bull by the horns. Did you just do it or did you find some help on the forums?

I did it myself after i found out that the only thing under there was a timing pin. That advice i did get from one of the Dodge forums. Dont remove this without marking it, the plate does slide up and down and thats how they set up the base timing on the bench. When i get ready to time it i will have to use the dial indicator through the top method.


JoeEdited by: TDIBUG