I just bought a sweet '05 3500 4 DR Dually with a 5.9 and 6 spd manual. It only had 89,400 miles on it and looks like new inside and out. Took it on a 2600 mile shakedown cruise and it was flawless and got impressive fuel mileage and rode great. I'm a happy Cummins owner.
I've been browsing this forum and have seen some really good information so I decided to join. I now have 93,300 miles on her and was curious about things that may need attention or at least checking on at this stage. I bought it from a dealership and the oil had been changed and is due in another 1,000 miles or so for a 5,000 mile interval which the owners manual calls for.
I love this truck. It is the exact truck I've wanted for 25 or 30 years ever since they came out with this truck. I want to take really good care of it because it's part 1 of my retirement plan. Part 2 is to get a 30' RV to pull behind it in 6 to 9 years. Part 3 is to clock out for the last time, can't wait.
I drove the big Cummins for 12 years so I know about their reliability and power, so I have faith. A few people have told me I need to get a Bullydog but I'm not sure about that. I've been told the exhaust system is not stock but I'm not certain. As it is I'm very happy with the truck but some extra mileage wouldn't be a bad thing provided it didn't endanger the engine.
Oh well, enough rambling for now.

 

5000 mile intervals is very conservative. you can run 7,500 on dino oil, and 15-20k on high grade synthetic like amsoil. just make sure you run 15w-40.

A great upgrade for your truck that will support high performance mods, but also keep your fuel system clean and better protected is a FASS150 platinum lift pump.

filters better than stock, separates air and water from the fuel, and flows 150GPH which can keep up with a 500hp+ truck's fuel demand...

I have a similar unit on my truck which is a 4 year old airdog150. airdog quality has gone down dramatically in recent years since the original owner sold the company...so I no longer recommend airdog/pureflow products because their new stuff has been nothing but problematic lately.

skip on the bullydog...if you want performance/economy from your truck, get a Smarty S-06. wouldn't run anything else on the common rail as far as programmers go...(unless you had an 06-07, then I would say to run EFI-Live)

congrats on the purchase though! they are great engines and trucks.

My truck has towed heavy it's entire life till I got it a little over 5 years ago. It used to tow goose neck trailers a lot. Now it just cruises around and does some hauling here and there, but mostly just a toy/daily driver. and its torque output is now triple what it was stock, and hp output is about 2.5x greater than stock and she's holding up to it just fine with over 238k miles on the clock


stock rated power for this one was 235hp/450tq
stock rear wheel power (dyno tested) was 216hp 445tq

current rear wheel power is 576hp/1285tq with the power turned all the way up.

with power set for fuel economy it is at about 400hp/900tq which is the level I daily drive at...


It's not the cheapest to build power, but if you do it right it can be very reliable with the extra power

how reliable? I daily drive it and the most maintenance I do is change the oil every 10-15k miles, adjust the valves every 20k (and retorque the head studs while I'm already in there), and rotate the tires... and your other typical maintenance...change the coolant every 20-40k inspect the brakes, etc. in other words unless something breaks/wears out from it just being a 13y/o old truck (like my a/c compressor I replaced 4 years ago, or my PS lines that started leaking or alternator, etc.) I don't do any extra maintenance on it...

I said all that to basically tell you these are VERY TOUGH engines. They were not designed to be in pickups...they use the same components used in generators, heavy equipment, and marine applications. They just retune them and give them different injectors for over the road use to reduce their power output to protect the junk dodge automatic transmissions, and to meet emissions for over the road use.

stock bottom ends in these trucks can take 800hp+ without changing a thing. pistons and connecting rods are HUGE in them. and the mains that hold the rotating assembly in...is all 1 huge cage under the block...there are no individual main caps. it's 1 large main cage holding the crank in which makes it considerably stronger than the v8's. As long as you don't run these motors out of oil, or have a catastrophic fueling failure (severely cracked injector) these motors will last you a LONG time with or without performance modifications.

 

Thanks or the info. I have a lot of questions because I'm not familiar with the 5.9. The owners manual says to use 15W40 natural oil. I got the 5000 interval from the manual as well because I live down an iron ore road and it's always dusty coming and going from the house. I drive mine daily too 7 miles each way to work and about the same distance to town so the miles don't stack up very fast, but I do take it on the occasional weekend road trip.
One main question I have is about the oil filter. I have read that there are some brands of oil filter that should never be used due to collapsing. What brands are these to stay away from. I use WIX filters on my '87 F-350 6.9, are WIX good for the 5.9?
This truck has been well taken care of inside and out and looks like a new truck. This leads me to believe that it has been well taken care of mechanically too. Not sure how hard it was worked or how often in it's past life. It does have a B&W gooseneck hitch but it doesn't appear to have been used much. It also has air bags on the back so I know it has been used for towing, just not sure what or how much.
Looking forward to meeting folks on here and learning more about the 5.9.

 

I believe it is Fram that they say to stay away from...

I recently switched to Mopar filters in mine.
Fleetguard is also an excellent brand, and it is now the official cummins brand since cummins now owns Fleetguard which is now AKA "Cummins-Filtration"

wally world actually carries the OEM filters for these things now, and they only cost like a dollar or less more for OEM filters than it does for the cheap ones. not bad if you ask me.

and yes 15w-40...typo on my part

this is exactly what I run in mine:
http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produc...?code=AMEQT-EA

I have an account with amsoil though so I don't pay full price for it. If you decide to run that kind of oil, it saves you money on the first oil change to get an account with them. I pretty much run their oil in everything on the truck. transmission, transfer case, engine...will eventually change the diffs to it...

again you can definitely go beyond 5k on oil changes. unlike gassers, diesels don't break down their oil anywhere near as fast as a gasser... the oil may be blackened from soot, but soot does not hurt the motor. as long as the oil maintains its lubricity and viscosity, it is still good to run.

If you don't believe me: at 5,000 miles, send an oil sample off to an oil testing lab (amsoil will even test it for you) and get the results back...they will tell you whether you can run it longer or if it should be changed...they will also tell you what the oil contains and the amounts...oil analysis can also tell you if there are early signs of excessive wear in the motor by any contaminants that might be present in excessive amounts in the oil which will show up under the analysis and they will list possible causes.

 

More great info. Thanks again.

By OEM you mean Mopar filters ? If not what brand is OEM ? I probably won't do any power mods on it for a while. I don't even own a trailer yet...lol. The first day I drove it to work one of the guys asked, "What are you gonna pull with it ?" I answered, "Anything I want to."...lol.
I have read on here that the K&N filter isn't a good idea for these trucks, any recommendations for the stock system ? Fleetguard air filters ? This one has a K&N in it in the stock air box.

 

yes, ditch the K&N ASAP.

if you want to ditch the stock airbox, you can change it to a BHAF

(big honkin air filter)

and yes oem = mopar filters

if you need any comparisons: there are several videos showing different OEM filters being opened up, and comparing to brands like fram and supertech and other cheaper filters...

the OEM filters have a tighter filtering media and metal end caps where filters like fram have a looser filtering media and cardboard end caps. then you have supertech which doesn't even use metal in the center of the filter to keep it from collapsing. they use a weak plastic cage.

 

Thanks again. Any BHAF recommendations ? I may just go get a replacement stock AF for now and look at my BHAF options. So you can get Mopar filters at wally world? I'll check that out here. If not I have O'Reilly's, Auto zone, NAPA, and Car Quest nearby plus the net.
I have gone to Geno's site and looked at the A pillar gauge mounts and the ISSPRO gauges for EGT, boost, and Fuel Press. How would one route the cabling for these through the firewall in a manual ? It's cool that ISSPRO has gauges that match the dash.

 

not hard to route through the firewall. I routed mine down the pillar, zip tied under the dash and through the firewall where several wiring harnesses come in through the firewall.

there are usually a few access points through the firewall you can shove tubes and wires through. just make sure to keep your tubing and wires clear of the pedals.

 

Looking at stock AF options there's not a Fleetguard dealer in 50 miles according to the Fleetguard site locater. The local parts stores have an Air Raid stock replacement filter and a Bullydog replacement. I was wondering about your thoughts on these and the WIX 2" and 4" stock replacements.
I haven't gone to the local Wally World yet to look, but they didn't show Mopar on line.
I'd also like some ideas on BHAF systems. I looked at a few and I'm not sure which are the best options and which are not worth it. I'm not looking to go high power but I'm more looking for MPGs.

 

http://articles.mopar1973man.com/2nd...kin-air-filter

site shows different part numbers and such for different brands of BHAF's that will work.