BulletMan

Hi Every one. New Here and have a couple questions. First of all I have always been a GM man, But got a deal on a 03 Dodge that I could not pass up and I have always thought highly of the Cummins motors. So far I love the Truck It has just over thousand miles on it. I pulled my boat with it this weekend 31 Cigarette Boat/trailer 12000 lbs. The truck preformed great. Does that Cummins have power or what.
I bought a 2003 Reg,LB,4X4,CTD,6s.

Is there anything I can do to the truck that will not void my warranty? I would really like to put gauges in it right away and later Bomb it.

I have been reading different things about Idling. I read some where not to let it ideal for more then 5 min? Something to do with the fuel washing the Oil off the cylinders? I know my fair share about Motor but not a lot about diesels.

What can I do to the truck (for power upgrades) that will give me the biggest bang for my buck?

midwestdually

First off....welcome to DTR!! and welcome to the wonderful world of the Dodge Cummins....


you are correct on idling...try to always cool the turbo down before shutdown.

i would get some guages and then mayb an different air filter with atleast a 4" exhuast....other then that..not to sure on the 03 and above that wont void the warranty...others will chime in

JKE

Welcome.

Depending on the dealer, they COULD give you a hard time for just about anything they wanted to if you changed it. I think it really just depends on the dealer and if your modification caused a failure.

my $0.02

John

BulletMan

I see that you can buy a Ebreak right from dodge and it’s warranted. Does dodge offer gauges? I think I am going to go to the Xmonitor. I really like the digital read out and I can keep my grab handle. Man these trucks set high! I am 6'3 and I have to jump it get in! Am I wrong in thinking that Exhaust should be the first thing I do that way I can build off that to insure the EGT’s temp stay down? Can the truck completely stock reach High EGT’s? Is there any way to notices whats going on with out a pryo gauge? As far a idling I was talking about warming up the truck. Thanks for the feed back.

JKE

No, you need the pyro to know what is happening. Yes, exhaust, intake, gauges, then more fuel....have fun.

Do not know if they get too high stock. I just have diff exhaust and afe. Have not made it to gauges and may not make it to fuel changes or HP mods. ???

John

jeffteel

Hey BulletMan...you don't want to idle the truck for long periods when you're warming it up. From what I understand, there isn't enough load on the engine for it to really warm up when it's just sitting there at idle, and running it cold for that long can cause some valve problems. I'm not an expert, but I read the manual cover to cover.

DO idle the truck for a minute or two to let it cool down. The heavier you're loaded, the more you let it cool down.

Welcome to the board.

crabman

Yep, with the exhuast brake you can get it to warm up but without it you are pretty much treading water. I let it warm up 30 seconds or a little more and drive off easy till things perk up. Once you get gauges in you will see that the truck cools down much faster than the time allotted by DC in the manual. My theory is they figure if they say 2 minutes then folks will hopefully wait 45 seconds. Just farting around town I will fall below 250 egt in less than 30 seconds. Even pulling my boat for hours and then hitting a rest area I seldom need more than a minute and a half or so.

BulletMan

Is there any wait time before I start to Bomb it? Should I wait until It breaks in? After it is at normal Temp how long are you able to let it idle.

Fummins

Cingrats on your new rig Bulletman! Welcome to the site,lots of good info here,with helpful members.