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school me on....

ryoken

ryoken

Puppy Fabricator
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early to mid 90's Dodge Cummins rigs... I'm considering one..

I have a fair amount of knowledge of 6BT's in the boats but don't know d*ck about the trucks...

I'm thinking I really want a 5 spd, as i seem to remember the auto's being problematic? iirc they where also notoriously bad on brakes too? so what should I look for year-wise? like 93 to 98? and what should I look for as to prob areas?

I'm seeing a ton of the 12V's in the 3 to 6 grand range.. but the 24v's seem much more rare...
 
first gen was from 89-93.
91.5 got an intercooler
the early trucks had a 727, later they had a a518 (non lockup 727 w/ OD, not bad)
i believe the later first gens tried the lockup setup and is where problems came from

94-98 is the P Pump "12 Valve" that most people talk bout
second gen truck. all of these trucks respond very very well to mods. i believe they came with nv4500 in all years where the first gens came with getrags... (not 100% on the year change for the 5 speeds)

first gens have a (91-93) have a KP Dana 60 with leafs, second gens have a BJ 60 with coils.... the 98 12 valve is what some people call the holy grail truck. had the 12 valve engine, but with the updated interior of the vp trucks.
on 12 valves you have to do a KDP fix. which is a dowel pin under the timing cover that likes to walk out. can grenade an engine but a very easy fix if caught before.

the VP trucks arent bad. (98.5-2002) they had a problem with bad block casting which will crack and leak called the "53" block ( had a 53 cast in to the block that you'd look for when buying, crapshoot as some die, some dont it all depends)
notorious for having a lift pump design that was barely adequate for stock. any extra demands would starve the injection pump. which would then fry and die, leaving you for about $1500. you can get a good aftermarket filter & lift pump setup to help avoid that.
01.5-2002 they went to disk brake rears which is very nice. ( i had a 02 with only a programmer and mild injectors put down 433.5 hp on 35s. so they can be super reliable and powerful even tho they get a bad rap in the cummins world.
dont really know what else to say. if you have any other questions i can try to help, but yellowk20 and a few others are also big on cummins stuff.
 
thanks..

so the second gens have the good motor, but if ya want a KP 60, you'd have to buy a first gen...

pretty sure a second gen with the NV4500 is what I want...
 
ryoken said:
thanks..

so the second gens have the good motor, but if ya want a KP 60, you'd have to buy a first gen...

pretty sure a second gen with the NV4500 is what I want...
Click to expand...

That's what I would shoot for. The second gen 12 valves have the Bosch p7100 inline injection pump. That pump has been put on many many 24 valves due to it's reliability and ease of tuning. I had a 94 with some pump work and a 47rh. Which is a 727 with an overdrive unit and lockup. Yellow k20 has one with a 5 speed. They are super reliable when properly maintained. The nv4500 had some OD nut issues if I remember, but if caught I believe is an easy fix. KDP needs done. An exhaust a BHAF (big honkin air filter) and very very minor pump tuning on a 12v will have you impressed. I would look for a 96-98 truck with a 5 speed. They have the 215 pump, which is set up different the. The 160-180 or 175 pumps. Steering needs some attention. But a simple brace that bolts to the fame and places a bearing on the bottom of the box fixes that. The d60-d80 in the 5 speed truck will handle plenty of abuse. Good luck with the shopping. And please post back what you find.
 
ryoken said:
thanks..

so the second gens have the good motor, but if ya want a KP 60, you'd have to buy a first gen...

pretty sure a second gen with the NV4500 is what I want...
Click to expand...
Yup
although, honestly, i dont really know why people bag on the CAD 60s. for street/ tow use, they're fine. they have the potential to suck but in general are all right.
 
ok, 96 to 98 it is... it would more than likely end up with 4"s and 35's in the end I'm guessing...


hmmmmm, wonder how that cab would look with a cool tube bed on the back....
 
My boss is a Mopar lifer!

He has a Ramcharger monster mud racer, had a Cummins rig for a tow rig, and just found a 1st gen cummins powered with a work body on it...for an even grand! yes, it runs...:waytogo:


They are getting popular with some other guys at work...one has his up to about 700 ft-lb of torque...
 
ryoken said:
ok, 96 to 98 it is... it would more than likely end up with 4"s and 35's in the end I'm guessing...


hmmmmm, wonder how that cab would look with a cool tube bed on the back....
Click to expand...

Really any p pump will be more then sufficient for power numbers under 550 or so, most experts seem to think the 180hp pumps respond the best to serious tuning:dunno: .

Another awesome thing not mentioned is MPG capability of the Cummins, a mildly built 12v, with 350hp ~ can easily pull 20mpg (keeping your foot light) and will have 7-800 ftlb's on tap when you need it :D


What cab are you looking for ?
 
any of the 3 cabs could work i suppose... not sure how i feel about the extended cabs, useful-wise.. I'm getting a new dog next summer so a cc is definitely an option.. but it doesn't look like dodge crews look nearly as cool as the older GM stuff...

i'll be applying the same train of thought as I was considering on a K30.. I don't want it mega long, if I got a crew, i'd prolly wanna ditch the bed, shorten it up a bit, and go with a tube/utility bed.... a single cab regular bed would probably stay unmolested the longest...

an yeah, i'm expanding the search to all sec gens... most of the 98's seem to go for bucks..
 
98's are considered the "holy Grail" trucks, early ones still had the 12 v but got the new interior, and both rear doors opened on the extended cabs, and the bigger p pumps as well.

Crew cabs ???? The only cabs from 94 - 01 are STD or extended, there were other names , quad cab - both rear doors opened , club cab - rear doors did not open ( maybe one side did , I can't remember) or STD cab .
 
Yup 94-98 options were
Reg can long bed or ext can long bed
In 98 you got the option for a quad cab short bed, reg cab long or quad long
 
fwiw, my Z71 is an extended cab, and it's handy. But I think I'd prefer a c.c. if I had to do it again.

I keep foul weather gear, tools, personal junk, in the cab so I can lock it up. I have to get a bed box one day...:whistle:
 
my boss doesn't like his in his F250, say's it's a waste that collects junk... I think it would be helpful just for that reason on a DD...

I'm gonna guess a 98 quadcab is outta my price range... gotta try and find something around 5 g's..

what's the WB difference between a reg cab and extended?
 
Wb looks like 20" difference from STD to ext cab, a ext cab short bed is only 4" longer then a STD cab long bed. 135" - STD long, 155" ext cab long and 139" ext cab short bed.
 
On the standard Trans subject, The 89-93 had the G360 Getrag ( Not gargbage, but the tops go bad and make shift problems), The 94-03 had the NV4500 ( great trans, just bad 5th gear problem but fixable). And starting in 1999 they came with a 6 speed...NV5600 ( big time oiling issues from the factory). If you have any q's about them just gimme a shout.
 
no doubt its a good trans but you should see some of the cores i get at work. mainshafts busted in half, cases cracked from end to end. they are the most expensive trans we build because of that.
 
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