Got a decent deal on a '93 W250, extended cab, 6" suspension lift and 35's on it. I got it, and it seemed OK, until I started really using it. Let me list a few here, and anything that needs broken off into it's own topic I will, but if there is a "look here for this" type info, please feel free to point me that way.

1. Fuel milage...my father in law's gets 18MPG or something like that. I'm pushing between 10 and 12.

2. Tranny/Overdrive. I read through a few threads, and they gave me a few ideas. My tranny seems to want to kick into/out of overdrive while driving (no trailer, steady throttle, anywhere between 55-75 it will do this). In, out, in, out. Aftermarket tranny temp sensor doesn't look TOO hot. I was thinking of replacing the selenoid (fixed my old volvo). Auto, in case you didn't gather that...I sometimes think I should have held out for a manual one.

3. Heat, it seems to run hot, with no trailer. My Exhaust temp seems to hover around 900 just driving down a flat road, is that normal? I changed the t-stat, and it helped some. I don't have shrouds (and it looks like they might be hard to find....good thing I got a friend who has a machine shop and is very handy).

4. Electrical...guy made a mess....I have pulled lots out, but there is one that STILL gets so hot it melts a fuse (in line blade fuse under the hood) and then it warps/pushes itself out. Doesn't pop a 20 amp fuse though...I've yet to trace it back and find what it's running. What service manuals offer the best Electrical diagrams/help?

5. Hard starting...very hard. He said something about a failed heater valve or something, but wasn't very sure. Takes a lot of cranking, then I get lots of white smoke while it warms up (my neighbors love this ) Might have to do with #6?

6. "Bypassed" sensor with a switch. There are pictures here, I'm going to spend a weekend in the garage with my laptop comparing, so I can HOPEFULLY figure out the components that might be bad. With bypass switch ON, it's ok, with it OFF it blows lots of smoke and seems to "miss" a lot.

7. Brakes are really spongy and low. They previous owner said something about it being an adjustment on the rear wheels? Gotta push that baby down ALL the way before you start to slow down.

My first cummins, but I'm fairly handy, and have an old hand who is great with stuff (and has a nice set of tools, garage, etc...) and more then willing to take the time to turn this form a decent deal for a pickup in OK shape into good deal for a great pickup that will work for a long time to come (which I KNOW these can be). My in-laws have had theirs for a long time, and I can also get my brother in law to run down and help (they are farmers, lots of experience with diesel engines)

 

Welcome to DTR. 1, 3, 5, and 6 all point to retarded injection timing. Is the injection pump painted the same color as the engine or is it different? I'm thinking it got a new pump and was never properly timed.

#2 sounds like a flaky or mis-adjusted TPS. Take a look in the sticky thread to see how to adjust it, see if that helps.

#4: The Dodge factory service manual is the way to go. Geno's Garage sells reprints, and originals pop up on Ebay a couple times a week. Since your truck is an automatic, a '92 or '93 FSM would work fine for you - the only difference is that the '93 includes info on rebuilding the manual trans you don't have.

 

Dave, couldnt the "switch" he is refering to(6) be a bypass of the KSB? that might account for the hard start and smoke? asking partialy for my own edumaction too...." with it on its OK, with it off, blows a lot of smoke and seems to miss"...

 

Probably is. But even with a malfunctioning KSB the timing shouldn't be so retarded that the truck misfires.

 

The missing and smoke is AT TEMP driving down the road, just to make that clear.

Thanks for the timing info...is there a sticky on timing a new pump? (printing TPS stuff right now...) I'll check it out when I get home. It's horsey time tomorrow morning, so if it's not too much, I'll just stay up late and make the old lady drive while I sleep...although I STILL have to tighten up the axels on my trailer (just redid all the sleeves/bearing, welded a broken axle, hooked up the trailer brakes, and replaced all the springs on my 4 horse tandam axle trailer...or almost just did, since it's still up on saw horses).

 

You can try just shoving the pump towards the head for right now. It sounds like it's WAY off so you don't have to worry about advancing it too far. Probably off a tooth, or retarded all the way. Shove it at least 1/4".

Take a look in the sticky for how to loosen up the pump and move it.

 

eh...not to sound like a noob...the "Pump" is the VE pump? What am shoving toward the head?

 

i noticed you said the brakes where spongy. i have this same problem, to fix this do i need to bleed them, do away with the ABS crap, adjust the backs, perhaps change to a braided stainless line, or just all out change the master,shoes,pads perhaps something else?

 

nweaver, take a look at this link
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...50&postcount=5
the "pump" is the ve pump. and when you loosen the 3 nuts the the whole pump will rotate toward the head. you will want to leave the ratchet strap on while you tighten the nuts so it doesn't drift back.

 

Thanks....

 

check the air charge temp sensor for the white smoke on start up mine did
that when it was less than a year old. mounted in the intake toward the rear

 

WOW

what a difference 1/4" makes.....

 

So did that clear up issues 1, 3, 5, & 6? Glad we could help.

 

Is that a 1/4" on the flange to gear housing bolts, or a 1/4" of the AFC top toward the head? Either one will make a HUGE difference.

I bypassed the thermo switch for my KSB- I had a spare switch, and the sensor is $40. It is pretty easy to fix up, and not bad in itself.

Take out the lift unless you just have to have it. The added rolling resistance of the larger tires, coupled with the additional aerodynamic drag, will suck your MPGs down. Stock height and 235/85-16s or maybe up to a 265/75-16s will get you the best MPGs.

Since you tow, get a tranny temp gauge, and then look into transmission upgrades- valve body and torque convertor.

Daniel

 

I've thought about killing the lift, but I think it might be more then I want to take on (looks like they redid several things, suspension, steering, etc). The tires are what kill me, my family has a first gen (92 I think) and a nice set of toyo tires that are running into about 10 years, and they use that truck a lot on the farm. I'm sure the tires I'm looking at (cost more) won't get nearly that kind of mileage.

Yes, it fixed all those issues. Before this, I could put my foot into it, and the EGT would skyrocket (I'm sure I could have pushed well past the 1500 on the guage) and then engine temp would follow...this was at lower speeds (40-45) pulling a 4 horse trailer. Saturday, I had a nasty headwind, and could put my foot into it and pull that trailer uphill at 60 Mph without exceeding 1200 EGT. It made me feel excited about this truck (I had been considering selling it and looking for something more suited for my towing needs, another first gen). Also grabs and starts in about a half a second now (instead of 2-4 times of 30 second cranks before).

It has a tranny temp gauge. I need a boost gauge and to work on the brakes (the bottom out on the pedal right now) but I think I'll start another thread for the brakes. Thanks a ton guys...and that back freakin bolt...holy cow does that suck!