im hoping to get a cummins by the end of this week . im a chevy guy but been wanting a diesel and EVERYONE tells me durmax's are ****ty and cummins is the best moter. never had a diesel so i was wondering whats some good habbits to get into? like let it warm up for liek 3 mins or so before i take off and when i get somewhere let my turbo spool down for a while anything liek that thanks alot and ill kepp you guys updated on my truck when i get it

 

Personally, I would install gauges. Pyro boost and fuel pressure will keep an eye on the engine.
The pyro will tell you when the engine is cool enough to shut down.
Until the pyro is installed, a good rule of thumb is idle about two minutes should be safe to shut down.
Then intake and exaust.
Enjoy your truck.

 

personaly, if your running empty you can shut that bad boy off as soon as you stop. EGT's will be around 300-350 which is ok for shutdown. if your towing something thats when you would need to let the engine idle for a bit.

starting up is another thing. in the summer when it's warm I crank up and go. in the winter depending on temp I usualy let her idle for a few min(3-5)

one more nice thing about the Cummins is NO GLOW PLUGS!!! the Ford and Chevy's both have them, and if they go out it is a pain in the **** to get them out if they swell. I'm not going into what will happen if they break but to say the heads have to come off[:@]

anyway, one more thing that has been proven since Dodge put the Cummins into the Ram back in '89. the doors will fall off the truck, the bed will rust off, the cab will fall apart, but the Cummins will still be hummin like the day you drove it off the lot

oh, and last thing. since '89 the engine itself is still the same, only a few internal improvements have been made over the years to support the power increase from 160hp, 440tq('89) to 325hp 610tq ('06)

 

Also keep in mind--clean air--clean fuel--clean oil====filters that is.

Ford and cheve-0-let are pickups,"Dodge is a truck"

 

awesome thanks alot guys appreciate it donnie whats the fule pressure one for? sorry im dumb thanks for all the info guys greatly appreciated

 

the CP3 injector pump (03-present)is a bit more robust than the old VP44(98.5-03) was. when the lift pump died it usualy took the VP44 with it. that is a big $$$$$ part. anyway, one way to catch the lift pump starting to die was a decline in pressure from the lift pump which supplies the injector pump.

unless your planning on realy hopping up the power it isnt needed. in stock form your ok without it. I'm still in as close to stock form as one can be aside from some intake mods that have netted me a half mile per gallon gain in mileage the only thing I realy do have is a boost gage and an Exhaust gas temp gage. both of these are good to have because if you do develop a problem both will say something

 

I always let mine idle at least 45 secs to 1 min empty. If I am towing then let it idle about 3 mins. I have a pyro and it is great. I am a diedel mechanic so I have learned to watch alot of things. When you start it up let it run for about 10 to 15 secs to let the oil pressure build up and let everything get oil. If it is cold out let it run about 8 to 10 minutes. They really hate cold weather. Keep the air and fuel filters changed and change the oil about every 4000 miles or depending on what you are doing with it. Well that is it just take care of it and it will take care of you. P.S. Just remember like ramspeed said you are getting a real truck and not an imitation.

 

I have some experience that flies in the face of conventional wisdom. I work for a major transportation company with a domestic fleet of over 28,000 trucks. Many with the Cummins 6BT and ISB engines as well as a huge fleet of big rigs.

The company policy is "zero idle time". In other words we start our trucks and go, shut them off as soon as we stop, loaded or empty. Our small delievery trucks are running over 400,000 miles between overhauls. The big rig I drive has 844,000 miles on it and has never had a problem. The oil change interval on the big rigs is 40,000 miles.

This experience has lead me to question the things I have been lead to believe over the years. Are warmup and cooldowm really nessessary? In the winter I let mine warmup about 15 min but I have never done a cooldown.

 

thanks alot guys appreciate it im hoping to go to the dealer tomarrow and maybe sat ill pick it up if all goes well

 

cooldown is mostly for the turbo so the barrings arnt starving for oil