just bought a '98 12v. i want to mod it a bit but i want to make sure i'm not going to do anything that's going to negatively effect gas milage or reliability.
this is going to be a tow rig for my rock buggy. i was going to put on a better intake, a #10 tst plate and a 4" exaust and leave it there. i'm also going to swap it to amsoil synthetic motor oil. what brand intake/exaust should i pick up? also, is the #10 tst plate the one to get for what i need?
last question, i just bought the truck and don't know much about it yet. any common problems i should check out? my oil pressure sender is out but i'm going to pick up a new one from cummins as soon as i get a chance. thanks alot

 

The 10 plate wont hurt your mileage as long as your foot is about the same as it is now. If your truck is a clutch I think it might slip the stock one and will deffinatly be hard on a stock auto. Get them upgraded and you should be good to go Exhaust....Summit has pretty good systems for pretty low $$. The cost is usually about name brand and material used (stainless/aluminized etc.). On your intake, AFE has really nice setups/filters. I would choose the pro gaurd 7 due to its filtering ability. For 60 bucks or less though, you can purchase a BHAF. Its a tractor/truck filter that can be had at NAPA, and lots of places haha... NAPA number is filter 2790 I believe. Mine was bout 60 bucks but can be had for cheaper. Hope this helps,
TNutcher

 

sry for the stupid questions but what do the different #'s mean for the fuel plates. what do they do? the past owner said it had a fuel plate but that's all he could tell me. i'd like to find out more about it. where is it and how do i identify it? also, is the air filter you were talking about short and fat with a metal mesh around it? if so, my truck already has one of those.
thanks again

 

DO your KDP before it does you!

 

So very true!

the KDP can be a real bugger,

However as far as mods go, please read this below.. its a nice intro to the 12V world of bombing and what u might need to consider for a nice tow rig..

THIS is just to get a little more power out of your ram. You can do serveral things, i see you are getting gauges, and you have an air intake on the way. which is good. Now this is an into to the main power source of the ram, Your P7100 Pump, and what you can tweak on it for more power. You can also time it, but thats advanced, well at least for me... use this as an intro more than anything.. I tried my best to explain it.... here goes... and

I meant to say post.... sorry.....

Here is an intro the link to the pic might not work, but u can see it as banks plate in my gallery.....

to get more power out of your truck the first and foremost investment is a good set of gauges. These are a must anytime that you are adding more fuel to your mix.

A governers spring kit, Reffered to as a GSK is a wonderful investment that widens your normally narrow powerband from the 12 valve engine and allows you to fuel hard to at least 3200 RPMS or so, before it starts to defuel, this is all dependant on your governer arm adjustment and your plate positioning. A Torque, or fuel plate should come next. NO one really follows the plate guide anymore and the most popular plates nowadays are 100 (PM northslope for wicked work! ) and a zero plate. Piers Diesel Research and Hot Rod Diesels have them for the same price, The fuel plate... here is my explanation....

Torque plates.... ok this is a torque plate right here... https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...=500&page=1

More commonly reffered to as fuel plates, they come in different numbers to explain how "aggressive" (for lack of a better term at the moment) that they are 10, 8, 6, 5, 0, and 100, zero being a flatt plate that bombards the pump with fuel, and a 100 being a ten plate curve with no top end defueling, much like the zero.. The one you see there is my banks plate, screwy yes, i know, i dont get it myself. that plate goes in the P7100 injector pump, It goes under what is called the AFC housing, which has a little starwheel on it, the starwheel can be accessed with the removal of the hex dealy using the the right hex head size plug, and u loosen it for more smoke, and better lower end, and tighten it for the inverse. Use a good screwdriver.... furthermore... You will see four screws there where the starwheel is, two that are flatt, one that is possibly a breakoff screw that can be a real PITA to remove, take a hammer and good screwdriver and bang the tar outta it, it will come off, if that fails, left hand drill bit... Looking down the driver side, the top left hand is the breakaway, and the top right is a regular screw as well, the bottom two are 8mm bolts and you need to get around to one that is in the back of the AFC housing that holds that fuel shutdown solenoid in place...

Install time, for a newbie, well it will take you about a couple of hours at most. If you read my literal "dissertation" of a post hehehehehehe. it tells u the procedure on how to do it. Your only real problem might be that break off screw, especially if your truck is stock, However, nothing a good strong screwdriver and some persuasion cannot take care of.

The other tricky bolt is the one (if you look down from the drivers side) behind the Fuel shutdown soleniod (electronic hooked up deal that bolts in front of the injector pump, easily removed with in my case an 8mm (and most should be too) socket and pull out the two bolts. when you undo those ull notice that there is one in the back that is holding the housing, you can just loosen the one in the rear using a deep 8 mm socket and just move teh shutdown soleniod out of the way, (downward) and then you can get to the plate..

When you are in there its simple adjustment, u just remove the stock plate and put the other plate in place of that one. NOTICE you have some play here. If you dont have gauges, dont set it full forward, If you do have gauges set it forward for a 30 or so rwhp increase!

Now put it back together and you are done. Installation is simply the reverse of removing it.PS having a magnetic tip screwdriver REALLY HELPS...

Which one is right for you.. id say the ten if you are not gonna be that aggressive with it, but the 100 is downright WICKED!! that be the one to go with, the zero is just too much at the low end for me but for dynos and racin, its awesome!.. The zero, PM Northslope AWESOME AWESOME WORK, and ull be helpin out a fellow DTR member, and the zero plate you can grind yourself, well you can do either or, but PM northslope do a search for plate grinding, started by gunracer1.. good instructions..

Either ways, you are going to need a clutch or tranny work if its an auto.....if you are going to play hard, in most cases if you just want a modest power gain, just get a 10 plate, set it a lil bit forward, and a GSK will wake up your truck. In the stock position its easily drivable and fun as well.

Waste gate, if i was good with pictures id put one up for you, but im sure you know what the wastegate looks like, that head looking deal, it is usually hooked to a rubber or similar airline, you want a little more boost? You can get a longer hose or pinch it up, There is a thread, i dont member where tho, where it shows someone improperly blocking the wastgate with a screw.... Well that aint good.. Anyways

Also make sure you get the KDP done on that truck as well... Not hard to do, look in my previous posts, KDP Report Using TST kit, or somethin similar to that......

PS this is cut and paste of other posts, sorry if its redundant....

Best of luck and hope that this helps..

Tx

 

http://www.cumminsdatabase.com/read.php?id=182
Here is a cutaway of your pump... It really helped me understand how it works.

 

Ok ive just helped u with an intro to the BOMB world..

Now to better answer your questions. Synthetics are good in the pumpkins, the engine i would use rotella 15W-40 or delo, or a good diesel oil. Far as filters go, i would use the Fleetguard, or baldwins, both are the best u can get for ur truck in my opinion.

Exhaust? I like mine straight, but if u must go with an exhaust, MBRP or rip rook have some really wicked exhausts for these trucks. I have a banks stinger at home, and i think ima sell it cheap, i dont need it, nor do i want it, didnt make much a difference in HP anyways.

If the truck is a 4wd, the front end track bar and tie rods ends might be worn and will need replacing.

Please do urself a favor tho and Kill that KDP, not a hard job to do, use the TST kit, it will go great...

Here is a writeup..
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...Repair+TST+kit

Enjoy! and hope it helps!

Rick

 

I have always use Rotella in my trucks before, but decided to try the Valvoline Blue, reccomended by Cummins, got it at the Cummins place while I was picking up my Fleetgaurd filters(saved me a stop), it was cheaper than the Rotella (by like a buck) and it dosen't smell after the change like Rotella does. So far I'm liking it...

I'm also a straight pipe guy. In front of the wheel, I've smashed several tips behind the wheel cuttin wood. But I'm hoping Rick will send me a PM/email about the stuff he might want to sell. I might want to buy...

 

i'll look into the kdp deal. i do have one of those tractor air filters. should i still get the afe intake? i wouldn't mind doing straight pipes if it's not too loud. i don't know anywhere to get 4" tube bent up so is there a kit i can check out. thanks for all the replies and the 1 very long post.

 

guess there's more about the truck i didn't know. it's already on straight pipes. the pipe comming off the turbo is pretty small but once it gets under the truck it opens up to 4". looks like they took off the muffler and replaced it with a reducer and 4" pipe out the back. also, i was reading about the block #53 deal. sure enough, it's a #53 block. what does this mean for me? i heard it was only a problem with the 24v's.
is this true? thanks alot

 

I have never heard of a 12v with a cracked 53 block... Have you seen stamey's page on them?

 

no, i haven't. got a link? i'd like to read about it.

 

Here ya go. Enjoy.
http://www.stamey.nu/Truck/Cummins53BlockFAQ.htm

 

I don't know any more than this, but I saw an add either here or on the tdr for 12v engine for sale (cheap) with a cracked 53 block.