Another newbie here. Just purchased an 06 CTD. This week I'll be pulling my new 32 footer and was also wondering on the gauges too. I'm sure my rig can handle the power so I don't know if chip sets are worth the cost but It appears gauges are a must. Looks like the most important first few are the Fuel Pressuer, Boost, EGT and Trans Temp. I'll check out the threads on what everything means but with the cost of gauges and then the placement maybe something like the Quadzilla is the best thing? I saw the Edge Controller but that unit is so small I think it would be hard to read. I like the gauge cluster under the trip computer but it looks like three is the max vs the Quadzilla's 4 and then some.

 

Don't be afraid of the 24V 2nd gens. They have there quirks but most of the problems you read about are a very, very small percentage of the trucks out there. Like everyone has said.. get gauges!! Also.. I'd look at getting an 01.5 or an 02 (rear discs). Check the fuel pressure at the pump with a portable tester before you buy. I drove mine for a year after I bought it before I tested it and I had 0psi. My VP-44 is still going though 80K later . It's just a luck of the draw with the tranny. Some last a long time.. even "bombed". Mine gave up with just an EZ.

Good luck to ya. Oh yeah.. good luck on leaving it stock.

Doug

 

Yeah everyone says good luck on leaving it stock and laughs at me when I tell them that, but other than guages, I honestly plan on keeping it stock, thats just me. I must admit, I have been looking on auto trader and unless I want to drive 6 or 7 hundred miles to look at one, I'm not able to find one in southwest Missouri. Well, I can find them but they are single cabs with 400K on them. lol Maybe I should have my friends in California look for me and find some guy who never took it off roading or anything and just wanted a truck. What sites do you guys look at when wanting to find a deal? I only know of auto and truck trader. Thanks!

 

bump for more answers

 

For me it was just the luck of the draw. If youwanna' call it luck. The one I found was the only one after looking for two months, that was not a work rig nor pulled a 5iver. The one I bought was only a grocery runner with 29 k miles. So I ended up spending bigger money than I had planned, to buy it. One little surprise was saome cash I found under the seats, and an added warrantee from the previous owner. It was an 1800 dollar added warrantee, and only cost 50 bucks to transfere my name to it. Previous owner could have gotten a refund on that unused warrantee.

 

Hope noone gets upset I dragged up an older thread, I was just doing some searching .

While this scangauge is pretty cool (i'll probably get it actually, thanks for posting that link) it should be noted that it ONLY works on OBDII vehicles (95-96 and later in most cases, check their compatibility charts for more specifics). It should also be noted that 1996-1997 ford, GM, and dodge diesel trucks are NOT compatible, also 2004.5-2006 Dodge diesels are not compatible. So just to clarify this scangauge will only work on dodge CTD trucks from year 1998-2004, and I would say it would be under debate whether or not it would work on 2006+ CTD's, i'd check with them before buying it. Also this unit uses the factory sensors (since it plugs straight into the OBDII diagnostics port), I don't know anything about the sensors on these trucks but it's been my experience that factory sensors are usually sub-par, with aftermarket gauges you usually get far superior sensors along with the gauge itself. Please correct me if i'm wrong on this last part though, I am applying prior knowledge to a vehicle I don't know much about, there is definitly room for error .



And just so I don't have to make another thread i'll ask my newbie questions here while i'm at it . I'm hearing a lot about the lift pump, and the auto-tragic transmissions, is there anything else a potential owner needs to look into while test driving these? I'm looking at getting a 2000-2002 6spd H.O. and from most of the things i'm reading (in this thread and others) the only real issues with these trucks is the fuel system problems, and the automatic trannys. I'm basically just looking to cover all my bases since it appears i'll have to travel quite some distances to get exactly what I want, so I want to be sure I can thuroughly check the truck over when I get there. Thanks for any help, and try not to get upset if I keep dragging up old threads throughout my searchs .

 

Well i was in your shoes about 8 months ago and finally found my rig about 2 months ago so id like to think i can kinda relate.

Make sure it is not a 53 Block do a search youll find it.

Check the fuel pressure like already stated to make sure lp (lift pump) hasnt gone up in smoke. I think might be a little off but if its under 8psi you might have a damaged vp44 and your gona need a new lp.

WHen you own the rig get gauges (fuel Pressure) THough i dont have it yet (It should come this week) id look at a quadzilla cammander. Though you like me dont plan on turning up the rig for a little over $400 from dtr's shop you can get every gauge you will ever need.

Additionally it probably be a good idea to get a secoundary lp unit or relocate the main one back towards the tank.

Well thats all i can think of at the moment. Oh think about gear ratios, 3:55 or 4:10 do you want a little more pull or a little better fuel milage.
Well thats about all i got.

 

Oh ya I knew about the 53 blocks as well. Is that really it? these trucks don't have any more (be it small or large) problems that they are well known for? wow, that is very impressive . I'm hoping I can get sellers to send me pictures of the block to confirm that it isn't the dreaded 53 casting, although i've read quite a few people saying that not ALL 53 blocks suffer from cracking.

I'll probably get this all in one gauge the guy before listed. I like the fact that you can swap it around to different OBDII cars fairly easy, that will come in very handy at times. As far as gearing goes i'm not terribly concerned, I won't be hauling immensly heavy loads so if I had to lean one way or the other it would be for fuel economy but it isn't weighing that heavy on my decision. Hell if I'm unhappy with whatever I end up with swapping it out really isn't that big of a deal to me. I'm mostly concerned with just getting a decently clean H.O., mostly for function but naturally there is the vanity of the 6spd , i'm not going to lie about that.