And the young man had the integrity to come on here and tell the truth! Gotta love that too.

 

Haha yeah! I wish they made cars, and parts for that matter, as reliable as they did now. You can't go on ebay, or anything without trying to get ripped off with a cheap made part.

 

Sadly that's true TayTay. I still try to buy American when I can.

 

Keep asking questions, and drive when you can. When I was 10, Grandad sent me to town to get another load of fertilizer on a 2 1/2 ton truck, 20 miles or so round trip. I sat on pillows and had those old wooden coke crates behind my back to lean on. I could push clutch or brake, but not at the same time. Made it fine! Times do change.....


(Mom was really ticked!!!!)

 

I didn't start driving car till 13 but dad put me on a 8N Ford tractor when I was 5. Overhauled my first tractor engine by my self at 14.
Some important things I learned about doing mechanical work
Watch
Ask questions
Listen
Read
Hands on
All but asking questions worked better for me with mouth closed and eyes and ears open.

 

Sorry for such a long break.

I had some finals, and I work out after school, so it takes a while, plus homework, and all that.

Just started welding, seems cool, just though it's be cool to share.
I also just drove the truck last weekend, it drives good, I mean, I haven't drove any other truck before, but this seemed to do good. We have to rev it when we start it to keep it going, after a bit of driving, it's good, so it doesn't turn off. Any ideas what it could be? Also my friend told me that I should check the motor mounts, because they could be broken. Last thing, I won't be able to finance anything to get the truck until I'm 16, so about half a year, sense I turn 16 on Oct. 5th. Anyways, thanks for the continuous help!

 

Ok, first thing, when you say after it warms up, what RPM is it reading at idle? An Auto truck should turn 750-800 RPMs at idle in gear with brake on.

Anything less than that and you need to do an idle adjustment, easy enough to do with a 10 MM wrench and skinny hands. If it is idling correctly warmed up, we need to ask, have you done the fuel filter and pre-filter service yet?

 

Ditto what Pat says.
Taytay, I'm glad you're sticking with this forum and with the truck. Keep posting your questions and we'll do our best to answer them.

 

I think it was around that range, I'll be able to make sure on Friday.

Also, I was thinking about maybe getting a manual transmission for the Truck, I read about the manual one using a NV4500? Not sure where to get one, and if they're 2wd/4wd specific, because I only have a 2wd.

And I was thinking about getting some straight pipes for it. Sounds awesome on youtube.

 

Ok, this is where you need to decide what you are going to do with the truck, and plan accordingly. From a real world perspective, if you are just playing, either will serve you well based upon your preference, to get equal reliability, the price is stupid, so forget being reliable on the cheap. If you intend to tow very heavy, then a stick is def. preferred, if you want a fast truck AKA going to drag race it, the Auto, properly built is the only way to go. After shifting all my life, and breaking way too many parts, I can "mostly" keep the boost up while shifting if I want to. It is incredibly abusive to the clutch and trans though.......whereas the old Torqueflite just sifts and the boost never wavers... It is going to be expensive to switch to the NV4500 unless you happen to find a complete wrecked or blown truck for cheap. One other thing to realize, though you can part one together, you really need to also make sure you switch her to a Dana 80 rear at the same time if you do it, there is a reason Dodge decided to upgrade to the 80 on the stick trucks.

Or, you can put a decent Torque Converter and a valve body in it and enjoy a pretty stout Auto.

They are indeed 2WD/4WD specific, they can be converted, but here again, the price escalates quickly.

Straight pipes sound wonderful, especially lightly or semi-lightly loaded, they can get to be quite loud and annoying if you are pulling heavy. I might suggest you go with a 4" MBRP system with a muffler and see what it does for you. Worst case scenario you can always delete the muffler. Whatever you do, save the front section of your stock pipe, from the Turbo to the Cat. You never know when you might have to put it back for emissions. It will be almost impossible to get off without cutting it, so just do a straight cut across the pipe in the middle, you could always put it back on with a connector.

 

I thought if I wanted to do power upgrades, I have to be careful, sense the stock auto can't hold that much power? I'm also kinda going off this

1994 To 1998 1/2 Dodge Ram Power Recipes - $5,000 Budget - Diesel Power Magazine Page 4

 

It isn't so much the Auto as it is the Torque Converter and to a lesser extent, the Valve body ( reworked for higher line pressures )

The basic trans is a Torqueflite, which takes stupid power levels.

Save some of the money they show for things like an aftermarket intake and fuel plate, ( grind your own for free ) and a good Converter is in the cards.

 

So just fabricate my own? Alright.

 

Nah, leave your stock air intake, it isn't a restriction at the power levels you will be starting out with, and you grind your stock fuel plate to whatever number you want.

Here is some info.........

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...e-info-282676/

Lots of power for free or very little cost.

More very good reading for you.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...-power-254853/

 

Actually, when I first started changing things, the air filter was first. I put a well respected, name brand, open element filter/housing on and noticed that my stock truck lost MPG.

Not the fault of the filter, just the nature of physics. As I made other changes, the filter supported those changes and had proven to be a smart decision. Just not necessarily the first thing needed for more power.

Tay Tay, let me support what others have already stated.
Read here and ask questions. Drive your truck and learn the power curve and how it behaves. Fill it full of dirt, wood or anything else heavy and feel the torque of the engine.

Until you find the good and the bad of your truck, it is hard to say what needs to be addressed.

Some parts, after installation, will make you smile with the changes they represent. Some parts will only support other parts and will do nothing for power but will provide reliability and that reliability will provide satisfaction of ownership.

In my opinion, the parts to make power are far cheaper than the parts to support that power. Just accept that and you will be smarter in the future with your money.

Either transmission requires parts to be reliable with more power than stock, so dont wish away your transmission just yet.

Our goal here is not to scare you, but to educate you.
The Cummins power plant is a fine one. With time, you will learn that too.

Enjoy your truck, and enjoy reading here on how to maintain and modify your truck.