It won't take much to get the power up on a Cummins. It's the tranny that will cost you the most if you go with an auto. Dodge only beefed the tranny enough to hold the stock power. A torque converter and a valve body will probably hold enough power to get into the 14's, if your not doing high boost launches. A bigger turbo and injectors will definately help with the 60-100 power, but then you need to go further into the tranny.

 

You don't want to keep a 6.0 past warranty. The 7.3 and of course the Cummins are good engines. Darn sure stay away from the 6.4, run don't walk.

 

Well, I think the dodge is the best option then. Can you guys get some good trannys and prices?

 

How far do you want to go with your power? Do you want to drag race? Sled pull? Just tow? If you want to keep going higher and higher you might as well get a full billet tranny. That'll cost around $5-7k. If not it depends on your goal for power output and what the truck is used for.

 

I had read somewhere that the early D-maxes(LB7)had leaking injector issues which would dilute the crankcase oil because of their genious mounting location. Supposedly they corrected this with the LLY. That's just what I heard.

 

I would say that when the 6.0 drops an injector, blows a head-gasket or grenades it's VG turbo and it's sitting on the side of the road even my first gen dodge will be faster to wherever you want to go! But I do keep a chain in the bed just in case a PS owner needs some help. I won't even charge anything, just so long as I can post a picture.

 

Someone on here is running I think, dont quote me, 11's or 12's with a 12 valve and a manual trannie. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

When I did all the research on the diesel, I to came up with dodge 12 valve for being most reliable. An added perk was that it was supposed to be able to get the most power, although it was with mechanical add ons. Now, I call mine a blue slug for a reason, cause stock it is just a big blue slug (and I don't mind it). Just remember, that comparing stock to stock doesn't always add up, your going to modify, so you should look to see who has the high numbers in daily drivers. I see more 2000+ body style Fords that are suped up, but with people who don't know squat and have daddies money behind the wheel.

If I were you and just wanted quick power, I'd go 5.9 CR, 7.3 PS (I just really like this engine), or the duramax, and probably in that order. If you want something faster, and know how to use a wrench, find an old 12valve first gen, might as well really suprise people when you blow by them with a cloud of soot.

 

Well knowing me, my goal is 1000tq, and I really don't know if id take it farther. Just depends on my income really. It will be more of a weekend warroir type thing since I'm keeping the 4Runner. I think I'd have alot of fun sled pulling.

 

You sound like the rest of us here. I doubt you'll stop at 1000tq. You've been bitten by the hp bug. You'd be better off with a full billet tranny so you can build your hp piece by piece and not have to worry about anything else.

 

I think thats a wise desicion. Could the stock tranny handle it if I put a good exhaust on it? Id want to save for a few months before I dropepd 5gs. I was thinking, one like this, http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2002-...QQcmdZViewItem

 

A cold air intake and a good exhaust are just supporting mods on CTD. They don't really give more than a few hp. They mostly drop your egts and allow the engine to breath better when you start modifying. You can safely add about 65 hp to the motor without worrying about the tranny. You should get the exhaust and a good set of gauges (pyro, boost, trans temp) first. That way you can keep an eye on your engine when you start modifying.

 

That sounds reasonable. Any info you can give me regarding sled pulling? I've never been to one, but it really seems like my thing. Drag racing is something you can do with anything.

 

Gotta get on my soapbox for a minute… I’ll probably make a bad impression with this being my first post… Take a look at the Competition/Pulls/Offroad section, or the Performance and Accessories sections of this forum and notice all the modifications and headaches it takes to make these trucks (or any diesel trucks) “fast”. And all the things that start breaking and causing problems when they do start pouring on the steam.

IMOP, If you don’t REALLY enjoy working on your vehicle (like, you’d rather work on your vehicle than do just about ANYTHING else) and you want something “fast” (as you stated), you probably don’t want a ¾ or 1-ton diesel truck (regardless of manufacturer). I know there are people who have modified their trucks to make them fast, but that is NOT what these types of trucks were designed for and they are not the best baseline vehicle to start with for accomplishing that task. Plain and simple, diesel trucks were designed to be efficient and reliable while hauling loads (either in/on the truck, or behind the truck). If you want “fast”, start with a Corvette, or a Mustang, or a Camaro, or some other performance vehicle. If you want to go off-roading, start with a Jeep or some other off-road vehicle. If you are looking for economy and reliability, get a Honda, or a Toyota, or a Nissan. 7000 lb trucks weren’t engineered to be nimble in any way. If you already have a diesel and you want to improve its performance, that is one thing. But when you are looking to purchase a vehicle to accomplish the task of going “fast” (to the tune of a 13 second quarter mile goal that you stated), one of the LAST places you should look is at 7000 lb diesel trucks! If you want to pull or haul, you are looking at the right vehicles. Basically, pick the right tool for your application. You can drive a nail with the handle of a screwdriver. But why do that when you can use a hammer?

If you are looking to make a ¾ ton or 1-ton truck “fast”, you have an uphill battle in front of you and you will have to overcome many obstacles and reliability issues. Maybe not from the engine, but from everything that is connected to it. And typically once you accomplish your goals of making it “fast” you can forget about using the truck for what it was designed to do. In many instances these highly modified vehicles aren’t remotely practical as daily drivers. Almost every time you start modifying vehicles to do things they weren’t designed to do, you start reducing the reliability and drivability of those vehicles. You can buy a stock or lightly modified performance car that will accomplish the same performance goals and maintain the drivability of the car. For what you are going to spend making a diesel truck run 13 second ¼ mile times, you could probably buy (used) both a fairly stock diesel truck AND a performance car without having to sacrifice what either of them were intended to do and without spending all your time and money either upgrading or replacing broken parts. You can build a streetable 13 second car for just a few thousand dollars including the price of the car. The same cannot be said for a 13 second 7000 lb diesel truck. For the extra 5 grand you’d spend just to get a good automatic transmission, you could build a car to run low 12’s. That doesn’t count the money for tuning boxes, gauges, exhaust, intake, turbo, injectors, traction aids, and all the driveline parts you ARE going to break.

Diesel trucks are WONDERFUL vehicles (especially Cummins powered ones!). Going fast was not one of the important design elements the engineers had in mind when they developed these trucks. I know there are people that enjoy making these trucks perform in ways it seems they should never be able to perform. And I am glad those people exist. You need to be a special breed willing to throw lots of time and some decent money at these things to get them to perform in the ways some of these people do. Sure, you can get great power out of a Cummins for a small investment. Then stuff breaks. Then you start the never-ending cycle of upgrading and replacing the next weakest link. Make no mistake, keeping these trucks running with a significant amount of power is NOT easy, though many people may try to make it seem that way.

I enjoy working on vehicles. I’ve been a drag racing junkie my entire life. I enjoy things that are out of the ordinary. Even with all those traits, I wouldn’t want to undertake turning one of these trucks into a “fast” vehicle, though I appreciate those who do. I don’t know your personality, or your likes and dislikes, or your disposable income (and don’t need to know). But not everyone gets enjoyment out of working on their truck all the time and spending every free penny in their effort to make their truck faster. If that type of work and investment seems fun to you, go for it! If it doesn’t, you probably shouldn’t buy a diesel truck and try to make it fast. My opinion, for what it’s worth. Just trying to give you another viewpoint that might differ slightly from these die-hard whackos (and I say that as a compliment to those whackos!).

 

Welcome to DTR! Well you'd be wrong. Drag racing in a 8000lb truck and smokin' the competition is not norm and that's why people do it. For something different. Everyone's seen a really fast car. Not many have seen a really fast 3/4 or 1 ton diesel pickup. That's the attraction. Doesn't have to be trailered to the track (can actually pull the trailer unhook and race). These guys love their trucks and alot of them race them because they can. It's the coolest thing in the world to see a Dodge Cummins smoke a Viper or Corvette. These trucks may not have been intended for the track, but they sure kick butt there. Not trying to start an argument just stating a point.