hey guys
i have a 97 2500. i want to do some mild tuning so the truck can pull the camper up some of the hills around whitecourt. i dont have gauges so im not sure how to approch this.
im tryin to part out a 99 24v to make some money but its been pretty dead. i went into JBs power center and they told me that i couldnt get the pillar for my 97. are they the same all the way to 02? is there anything i can do without gauges? any help would be great.

 

Strange I have a pillar for my 97... I will see if it has a part number on it when I get home this evening.

I wouldn't do much of anything without gauges. Also is it auto or manual?

 

You definately need the guages before you start bombing it. Then the quick and easy things would be a 3000 rpm kit, fuel plate and AFC mods those will things will wake it up a lot with out breaking the bank. Do you know if the KDP has been tabbed in it yet?

 

Depending on the amount of gauges you want to run you can still get the 2 gauge mount that just screws to the existing pillar. There are differences between the 99 and up pillars and the 97 pillar with the way they clip on and how they meet the door molding. The shape of the outside lip of the pillar is different as well the 98-99 and up don't have the small trim piece that goes between the dash and door.

As far as tuning with the stock parts, not hard to do. If it were me I would order the stuff from Harry at Peak.

Peak Gauge holders page.

There are the full 3 gauge pillar or just the pods.

 

i havent been into the engine at all. an older farmer had it before me, i was told that anything it needed was done. i have to do some gaskets when i get the money. ill check it then.

its got a manual transmission. i think that means ive got 215hp, i dont want too much more, maybe just bring it up to 300hp. will my numbers change if i let her breath a little better? i havent done anything to the exhaust. other then lose the over axle section 4x4in.

 

You definitely need guages and no a late second gen a pillar wont fit....oh, and a 4" exhaust is a pretty good idea. I might be able to help you with the guage install if you need help (Im in leduc).





I might be interested in some trim pieces from your 99...

 

I have a '98 and the three guage pillar from Glow Shift guages works great . i would think it will fit the '97. I put in a #11 torque plat and it boosts the Hp to 290hp with out any problems Really don't need the guages with mild mods. I pull a 5th wheel or a 3000lb camper with this truck through the Rockies all the time. Plenty of power.

 

'98 is the first year of the new dash, different than the '97's.

 

You start addding fuel and boost you definatly need guages, or you'll be into melt down territory pretty quick.

 

Dr. Evil here is the link to the truck. please note its a sport and there isnt much trim on those.
http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-veh...AdIdZ278344987

i was wondering if there was anybody that had done some mild mods? i dont believe that 300hp is out of the designed operating range of these engines. they where detuned for the american market, right? does anybody know what the upper limit of their design is, in its current form?

after comin out of the kenworth and gettin back into the dodge it is always unsettling to look at the custer and decipher what is actually happening. if i was goin to do a gauge cluster from scratch there are a ton more gauges that it would be nice to have.
however with my rather limited budget ive been trying to cut the corners that arent super important. its almost comical that you need $300 of more equipment to do a bunch of essentially free mods. i have no doubt that these gauges are important after serious modification. say north of 350hp. i would imagine that by then you have had to buy some parts and have started putting some money into the engine already.

 

Could push the plate forward and star screw...Be good to put the gauges in first..just in case...

 

My '96 that i just sold was pushing 343hp 786ftlbs and i could peg my pyro @1600* very easy especially towing. I had 3k gsk,62/70/13 s300 type turbo,100 hp injectors,#8 plate, AFC modded,AFE cold air intake,4" MBRP exhaust turbo back.

 

Have you crank down the head studs yet? Stock is 77ft*lbs, I would crank them to at least 125ft*lbs. Then bump the timing up to 16-18 deg's

I would remove the plate and remove 0.100 in off the front of the AFC lever. Move the AFC housing far forward. Install 60# valve springs and run a 4kgsk. It would wake the truck right up. Just build an engine for a truck with a stock 215HP pump and SDX 5*12 148 deg 90HP injectors. Probably around the 280-300rwhp area and max egt's was 1300 deg's. That engine has 370 marine pistons installed, so it really wants a set of 152 deg injectors.

Once a few more miles are on the fresh engine, I'll crank up the power. There are better injectors coming out for the 12V. I have a few sets of 7 hole 146 deg and 152 deg injector nozzles coming in. Might be on the big size for a stock turbo truck, but prefect for a truck running twins. The weston 181's DV's really help out. Hoping to try a set in Dvs8tr truck and a set into my new 12V build that I have on the go.
http://www.competitiondiesel.com/for...&highlight=afc

 

http://dieseldatabase.com/turning-up...00-pump/?id=58
Not in your chapter, not canadian, but I hope this helps. Invest in a good set of guages thats all Im gonna say.

 

didnt realize how technical some of this would be. after goin through some of the links i understand alittle better why boost and pyro gauges would be important. i thought that all i had to do was move the fuel plate and block off the waste gate to make my 300 hp.
with all the other fine adjustments within the afc you really have to have a firm idea of what is happening everywhere else.