I'm looking at a 1998 12 valve ram 2500 quad cab, slt Laramie. It is a cream puff and the price is right. I have been researching the issues and fixes. I want to upgrade in hp. My plans are automatic transmission first, PATC?? I would like opinions on open air intake, tranny, lift pumps, exhaust, turbo, intake manifold and exhaust, head bolts, fuel plates. Any advise on upgrades and vendors would be appreciated, Thanks

 

Welcome to DF! I'll move this to the diesel section. Jigabop will be able to help you out.

 

Thanks for re directing,

FNG

 

I'm not a 12v guy, so you may need to ask horatio about the best timing, smoke screw, and fuel plate to run..

as far as air intake goes: BHAF (same for all second gens 12v or 24v)

intake horn: no need for it unless you plan on going big in power.

exhaust any 4" exhaust will do well on a rig.

tranny, lift pump, and turbo really depends on how much power you want, and what you plan on doing with the truck...

so what are your goals here? give us a hp range to shoot for, and tell us how you plan on using the truck?

 

Thanks for the reply. I'm not wanting to get carried away. I'll be towing a 27' toy hauler. Would like a little boost in hp. Would like to keep fair mileage.

Kurt

 

a boost elbow and fuel plate along with a bit of timing adjustment will give you a nice boost in hp. the pumps can easily be turned up quite a bit.

torque converter and valve body for the trans will go a long way towards holding extra power.

gauges and a better than stock lift pump are both a good idea as well.

you will probably want a fass95 lift pump, and boost trans temp and egt gauges.

 

Thanks~ I've researched a few fuel plates. The adjustable elbow is on the turbo? I've also read that my 98 automatic can be advanced to 15.5-16 degrees timing? What are your thoughts on gov springs in the pump and different delivery valves? I'll go with the 150 lift pump, 4" turbo back exhaust a large air filter, possible air intake. Can the turbo remain stock? Or do you recommend a different turbo? With the tranny is it better to upgrade the entire unit or just the valve body and converter. I've looked at a few and they vary in price from$ 2700-$5800. These seem like modest increases, will this effect the fuel mileage much? Thanks a bunch!

 

it really depends on how much power you want to make as to how far you need to build the tranny and what turbo you can run.

you can go further with timing than 15.5-16...I know a lot of guys running 24* timing.

anyway. figure out a power goal and we can tell you what you'll need to get there.

you can also jump on cumminsforum and post there. you will get a lot more responses as the site is dedicated to cummins powered dodges and has 100x the traffic dodgeforum has.

cummins on that site is broken down by generation, then broken down again by performance parts, powertrain, and non-powertrain.

you can PM cumminsrulez on there and he can definitely suggest some 12v mods for you. he is chapter vp of the east side of my state (I'm chapter pres of the west side) and he drives a 550hp 12v with a 215hp p7100 pump. he can definitely give you a good idea of what you need to modify to get whatever power you want and stay reliable.

 

Thanks, Jig

I'll take your advise, 95 FASS, fuel plate etc. The boost elbow is foreign to me. Do you just replace this elbow with the one that comes with the fuel plate? Is this elbow adjustable? I guess I'm unsure what this thing does. Is it like a pressure regulating screw? Thanks again for you input, much appreciated

 

it's a little elbow that replaces the elbow on the compressor housing that the boost signal hose hooks up to.

unlike the stock elbow, this one has an adjustable screw in it to limit the flow of boost to the wastegate actuator which will delay the opening of the wastegate allowing higher boost pressures, but it will still allow the gate to operate.

you can run an HX35 safely up to 35psi. beyond that becomes out of the efficiency map of the turbo and does nothing for performance.