Last week I went down and traded my ford on an 03 dodge with 5.9 with 63k on it. I am new to dodges obvioulsy and just want to know what to watch out for with these trucks. Im not gonna get to crazy with it. I plan on doing a leveling kit with wheel/tires, some flip out tow mirrors, and an exhaust. A buddy also told me instead of going and buying an air intake i should just buy a k&n filter off ebay and cut a hole in my stock airbox for alost the same effect but a quarter of the price. Any commments on what to watch out for on these trucks or any suggested mods/good products for the mods that i want to do would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Congrats on the Dodge purchase? Is your truck completly stock? You will want to look into front end maintenance, track bar, and wheel bearings.

Do NOT put in an oiled filter, especially K&N. Great filters just not good for diesel injectors if you over oil those filters. Just buy a quality DRY filter and do the Home Depot Mod. Do a search on here for that. Wish I had gone that route instead of my current after market filter. I don't think it is worth the money I spent. How ever it looks cool

 

Thankyou... Yes my truck is bone stock.... I will have to search the home depot mod thing..... And what isthe benefit of the wheel bearing/ track bar upgrades....?

 

Urethane bushings in the track bar are nice.
Air filter.... I don't know where guys get the idea they need a K&N. When you dyno the truck with the stock air filter and then with the intake completely GONE and there is no difference, well a free flowing filter won't do much will it? But lots of the guys running K&N are getting higher silicate levels in their oil analysis. If you think a K&N helps you, go for it.

Same with the exhaust. We should have a sticky on here showing the dyno's our members have done with the stock exhaust and no exhaust at all. Unless you're making 600+ horsepower you don't need to change the exhaust for anything except for lightening your wallet.

Now for every guy that swears he got better mileage with a K&N or super muffler, I'll give you a guy that swears fuel mileage pills did the same for him. However I do believe a loud exhaust will improve your mileage because you won't goose it so much. A cool sounding exhaust will make mileage go down for the opposite reason.

Best add-on is a Smarty jr.

 

Lost lake.... Thanks for the input..... I don't want a k&n I was just stating what a buddy told me.... I want the truck to breathe better and I want exhaust for the same reason and I do like how it sounds Im 23 so the loud exhaust is what I want.... And I was considering a smarty but will that burn up the tranny faster. ?

 

Check the brakes sometimes they are due that early. Check for slop in the front end. They have an upgrade kit for the steer components available from Chrysler; 08+ parts.

Geno's garage sells fleetgaurd filters, get the air filters, oil filters and premium fuel filters.

Probably due for new shock, bilstein 5100 is what most people use/like.

 

CAUTION:
TURN BACK NOW!!! IF YOU BACK OUT OF THIS SITE NOW AND DELETE IT FROM YOUR HISTORY YOU WILL SAVE YOURSELF FROM THE "CUMMINS CRACK ADDICTION" THAT SO MANY OF US HAVE ALREADY FALLEN VICTIM TO"....If you have decided to read on then.....
Congrats on your Cummins "upgrade"!!
As for mods, there is nothing in my signature that I feel was a waste of money. However, I have heard a lot of guys that swear by the "whilly's whistler" homemade air-intake (apparently very cost effective).
Most importantly I would suggest getting some gauges, ISSPRO or Autometer (Pyro, boost, trans). Then go get a Smarty JR!!
Right there you have spent just under a "G-note" and made a drastic difference in your truck! Enjoy....

 

Thanks for the input guys .....

 

fuel pump is a weak link on this trucks.

mine left me stranded on the mountain, everyone told me to just get a new upgraded one and i waited to long.

 

My point is the truck breathes as good as it can when stock. Removing the intake and the exhaust completely has not shown any advantage on dyno testing done here.

If you want a loud exhaust that is different! *****'s Whistler is something I always wanted to try, it lets you hear the turbo spool... I used to have an old tractor that would whistle when I revved it and that was pretty cool.

Smarty jr. is not supposed to toast your tranny.... I have 120,000 with mine pulling up to 25K and the front band is pretty worn now, but I also let it shuttle shift for 70,000 miles. I don't think the Smarty did anything but HELP my trans.

Ask ANYONE who has a Smarty jr..... They all love them. And my own survey suggests trucks that run a Smarty jr. have FEWER problems than those that don't. WHY? I don't know, but I do know the timing is changed a bit from factory, pressures in the trans may be a bit higher, I don't know what it all is, but Smarty jr. trucks just don't seem to have as many problems.

Also ask a Smarty jr. owner if he would EVER take his Smarty off his truck... It is unbelievable what it does to the feel and the performance. The throttle is instant like a gasser. The power is fantastic. The mileage goes up. Drivability is so much better. My wife can tell if I have the Smarty turned off (you have to disconnect it to put it on another truck so a buddy can try it) and she kind of freaks because it's not there. And she's 45 years old....

 

I've never heard of fuel pump issues on the 3rd gen trucks.


Everything breaks though.... Eventually.

 

I agree with everything you just said! And yes, the main purpose for my exhaust was the sound...at first I thought it would "drastically" change the performance. But now I think it it serves more as a FU to imports that I pass. I admit it...I have always been a "tad" imature!!

 

I'm guessing he may mean the lift pump mounted by the fuel filter canister.

 

"And my own survey suggests trucks that run a Smarty jr. have FEWER problems than those that don't. WHY? I don't know, but I do know the timing is changed a bit from factory, pressures in the trans may be a bit higher, I don't know what it all is, but Smarty jr. trucks just don't seem to have as many problems. "

Maybe its because you don't have to push the truck as hard to accelerate or tow when using a smarty jr...

 

yes i did..............sorry.

my lift pump went out at 65,000 miles. my dads went out at 55,000 and know lots of guys that barley made it to 30,000. just the other day my apprentice 03 made it to 175,000 miles and the pump finally went out.