Looking at one, can anyone tell me what kind of mpg they get and can you chip these out to receive better mileage? Great thing is, this truck only has 112,000 miles on it. Is 11,900 too much for it? Thanks for any help guys.

 

that's pretty low mileage! motor is just barely broke in!

mileage depends on transmission, tire size, gear ratio, and driving habits...

mine with everything I've done to it still gets 14-16mpg (depending on if its winter or summer...winter fuel is full of alcohol which kills fuel economy on all diesels)

when engine was stock mine got 17-18mpg. still had 35's on it though...


you can get an edge EZ, smarty, quad max mileage, quad adrenaline, etc for it to help with mileage if you can refrain from putting the skinny pedal to the floor...

now if you have stock sized tires, 3.54 gears, and a 5 or 6spd manual trans, you can get 20-25mpg out of a 2000.

just make sure you get a 0-30psi fuel pressure gauge, and an aftermarket fuel system like airdog, fass, or raptor rated at 100GPH or higher when you get it...injection pumps on these trucks are sensitive to fuel pressure and the stock lift pump can't keep up with stock fuel demand which causes injection pump to fail. keep 14-20psi at all times to that injection pump and you can run it hard worry free.

price sounds good, but check the engine block, drivers side towards the front of it just above the oil pan to see if its a "53" block or not. it will be about 1" tall numbering in the blocks cast. it can also be found on the passenger side just above the oil pan. If you see that numbering, you can probably talk the seller down in price because 53 blocks have a casting flaw in the passenger side water jacket which causes the block to crack and leak coolant on the passenger side below the freeze plugs. also check the block on that side if it is a 53 block for any stains there that looks like coolant leaked. if its cracked, obviously don't buy it. if its a 53, talk them down in price... if its a 54 or 55 block, don't worry about it at all.

I wouldn't let the fact its a 53 block scare me from buying it though if its a nice truck. My truck has a 53 block and I'm pushin 550hp on a motor with 225k miles on it, and it hasn't cracked. not all 53 blocks do, but its something to be aware of...

 

Thanks jigabop. What does a new fuel pump run?

 

I paid $500 for my AirDog150

Airdog's are not just a lift pump, their have a built in air/fuel separation system, and fuel/water separation system as well as a spin on 2 micron fuel filter, and 1/2" fuel lines from the tank to the injection pump, and a 1/2" draw straw giving you a full 1/2" fuel system, and a 150GPH pump that has a lifetime warranty (if you register it).

I will warn you that their 1/2" draw straw sucks and I eventually went with a modified liberty fuel canister from vulcan that has a flexible draw straw 5 pre-installed in the fuel basket, and the fuel return line goes directly in the basket rather than returning in the filler neck like the airdogs DS kit has you do... DS1 and return in the filler neck results in sucking air when fuel level is at 1/4 tank, so the liberty canister is the fix for that...

other than that great pump. fass has an identical fuel system which suffers that same issue, or there is also the raptor fuel pumps that do not have their own filtration system, so they hook to the stock filter system, and they don't separate air from the fuel.

raptors usually run about $100-$200 less than the airdogs. they have 100gph 150gph and 165gph for all 3 systems... 100gph or better is what you want.

also highly recommend a fuel pressure gauge so you can make sure your fuel pressure stays between 10-20psi at all times. anything outside that pressure range will damage the injection pump. ideally 14-20psi is best since the fuel return valve on the injection pump does not open till pressure exceeds 13psi. with that valve open, it means more fuel is flowing through the injection pump keeping it cooled and lubricated.

 

jigabop can you slow that down for slow people like me? I can almost understand the aidog system. I don't understand the draw straw or how you fixed that problem. Can you please dumb down what that is and how you fixed it?

 

Ok, DS1 is a solid draw straw that if you install per their instructions, requires you to drill a hole in the top of your tank, and put the straw in there and measure it then cut off excess straw from the bottom to where it fits in the tank and touches the bottom...

the problem there is: the tank expands and contracts from heat which means on warmer days that draw straw is further away from the bottom of the tank than it is on cold days...causes it to suck air when you get down to 1/4 tank of fuel basically causing you to run out of fuel long before your tank is empty...

now the Draw straw 5 in the modified jeep liberty fuel canister replaces your factory fuel canister and has a flexible draw straw already installed in it.

the fuel canister is spring loaded and allows the bottom of the canister to move up and down with the tank expanding and contracting always keeping the bottom of the canister at the bottom of the tank. Since this draw straw 5 is flexible and is attached to the bottom of the canister, it moves up and down with the canister always staying at the bottom of the tank...

now the last issue addressed...the original air dog setup has you cut your fuel filler neck in 1/2 (the hose that goes from where you put the fuel nozzle in at the gas station, to the fuel tank..) you cut that in 1/2 and insert a tube in there that has an extra line essentially T'ed in there so your airdogs return line can hook up to it and return fuel via the filler neck...

Well the problem is the airdog moves fuel so fast when your tank is low it can still suck air because fuel is being returned a foot or better away from where its being drawn...

The new canister has a fuel return right in the fuel canister that dumps it right back where its drawing it up from...this helps keep you from sucking air when your fuel tank is low on fuel because the fuel is being returned 1 inch from where its being sucked up from. keeps the fuel level higher around the draw straw.


finally there's one last alternative fix that some have chosen to do, but I really don't like the idea of it... there is a product called a hellman sump that makes you cut a huge hole in the bottom of your fuel tank and install a sump that sits in there and sinks down below the bottom of the tank like a sink drain. at the bottom there is a hookup for the airdog feed line to draw directly from the bottom of the tank. While it does completely eliminate 1/4 tank issues and draws every last drop out of the tank, it also sucks up every last bit of junk in the bottom of your fuel tank, and makes the bottom of your fuel tank vulnerable to brush hitting it and ripping it right out of the bottom of the tank that can cause a massive fuel leak. also if it leaks, theres no stopping the leak without losing every last gallon of fuel from the tank..at least if it leaks from the top, the leak stops when you shut the truck off...(unless you have a full tank and are parked on a hill...even then it can only leak so much..)

make more sense?


DS1:

DS5 in liberty canister:

 

Like this one? http://www.puredieselpower.com/catal...w-p-36494.html

 

well I guess its actually a DS2 that airdog comes with...got em mixed up...either way its junk

DSV is the way to go.

 

Hey skeeter, I just bought a 1999 3/4 4x4 cummins with 126,000 on it for 11K. Body has some minor dents (no rust) and transmission had just been rebuilt and beefed up, interior great for the year. I would ask if the transmission has been rebuilt. This is my 2nd dodge truck, my 1998 with gas 318 engine, I had to rebuild the tranny twice, they seem to go out normally around 90- 120K miles. Just someting to consider. Hope this helps