03' Dodge Cummins 4x4, soon to be Expo...

[Magnum Johnson]

I got rid of the Toyota to step up to something big enough to get the wife and kid comfortably into. I ended up picking up this 03' Dodge 2500 QCSB with 52k miles on it. Its seen some previous off road action and the dealer I picked it up from tried to cover up the scratches with a couple of crappy repainted spots but the truck runs like a dream and rides like a caddie. I wanted a manual but settled on the 47re in this one because of the miles and what I paid for it. Assuming I can alter time and make more of it I will be fabbing up my own bumpers and sliders and also plan to get a FWC or other cheap camper for it that I don't mind beating on a little bit. I also plan to get a shift kit into it, add a supplemental pump for the lift pump, add in a better fuel filter, and maybe look for some slightly more narrow tires. Its a low output 235hp CA truck but its got more than enough power for me and I don't plan to tow with it so im more concerned with economy and longevity mods.

Mods as of now:

level kit
Some kind of aftermarket shocks
17" Eagle Alloy wheels
315/70 Yokohama's
Straight pipe exhaust (4"?)

Any suggestions would be appreciated for worth while mods and I look forward to getting the truck out in the dirt and making some good family memories.

 

[ExpoMike]

Welcome to ExPo and nice rig.

 

[warrpath4x4]

throw an AEM cold air intake on it or other dry air filter, i do not recommend a oiled filter of any type on a turbo. ive seen the aftermath of a turbo sucking in the oil.

 

[Regcabguy]

Score!

The stock air filter can't be beat. Do a www.psmdiesel.com upgrade or Home Depot cheapie. A NAPA 4" 9946 element dials it in.

John @ www.certifiedtransmissionsantee.com knows the Dodge autos well and is honest.

Joe and Pablo @ www.ntgracing.com are equally skilled and honest and are a Dodge speciality shop.

Your tranny and transfercase should have ATF+4 which is a synthetic. I switched out the diffs to Amsoil 75-90 Severe Gear and when I checked the level,it was still honey colored @ 31K miles.

Your fuel filter is 7 microns currently with the Fleetguard. I run the Baldwin PF7977 which is an exact replacement and is 5 microns. In addition I have the GDP 2- micron setup between the stock filter and CP3 injection pump. $3,000 for new Bosch stainless injectors. Additional filtration is cheap considered. Geno's has a good supply of stock filter mounted fuel pumps. If you're on a budget a new one should last for 60K or more.

Don Thuren offers a very affordable softride kit w/3" coils,white-bodied shocks,endlinks and minipaks. www.thurenfabrication.com. His site is being updated. He'll usually return e-mails or phone calls(his preference) within 24 hrs.


A Smarty Jr. set on sw#1 will wake it up without tearing up the auto.

Nice truck and a good score!

 

[Saiyan66]

That's a good looking truck you have there. Good find on one with that low of mileage. Welcome to the Cummins family.

 

[redthies]

Beautiful truck! First mod? Desert pin-striping from a trip out to Anzo Borego, or salt haze from a trip down to the beaches of Baja Norte!

 

[EXP-T100]

Be careful with what filter you go with including a dry filter ( http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/3rd-gen-powertrain/471465-problems-dealer.html ) and Regcabguy is right the stock box is the best for the 3gens, i went with psm cold air and cool hose. check them out, lots of testing on there sit to look at also. Hows the tranny at low speed? is it hunting in 2nd and 3rd, kicks back and forth?
by the way i love the gray its bad ace lookin and killer score with only 52k thats not even broken in yet!!

 

[Magnum Johnson]

Thanks for the advise guys!

Im always a fan of keeping everything stock to keep it dependable but I think that the air box will be addressed with a larger hole.

The tranny is my main concern on the truck and everything is ok with it now with no hunting for gears or anything funky but I will be doing a shift kit asap to help it out.

 

[warrpath4x4]

make sure where you make your bigger air box hole, a big hole into the engine bay is just sucking hot air, not cold air.

another thing for better mileage, switch all your gear boxes over to synthetic, my old cummins i had and my buddys cummins both ran amsoil and we gained 2-3mpg just by doing that.

 

[dorton]

Nice looking ride. Congrats on the purchase.

 

[Magnum Johnson]

I had planned to change the oil, filters, and diff fluids yesterday and today but a severe cold is kicking my butt at the moment and I will be happy to make it through a full day of work tomorrow.

I am a big fan of quality oils and what they can do for a vehicle, does anyone have a preference on the best engine oil (I know that's an open debate) and fuel filter for the cummins, oem filter?

 

[Ponyracer]

Either spend the $ and go to a high end oil like amsoil and then send in samples to have it tested instead of changing it (change only filter and add a quart or so) or run rottella, Valvoline blue (what I run) or another cummins approved brand and change it at the normal intervals. I buy my filters from the dealer or napa, believe there fleetgaurd??

If you aren't already, become a member of cumminsforum.com, has more info than you could read in a lifetime!

Also, on the 4" straight pipe, you will pick up zero performance by changing the exhaust as you already have a 4" system. You will lower your egt's a bit by removing the cat and muff. I did that on my 07, lost the muff first, then the cat 6 mo later. Muff deleate sounds about perfect, without the cat things get VERY noisy. Like can't put down the pass rear window or open the slider noisy, so keep that in mind! Great to announce your truck though, my dog's jump up and run to the window 3-4 minutes before the truck hits the drive!

 

[Texan1983]

geno's garage is great for maint. parts and filters. They sell the fleetgaurd with stratopore (synthetic media) most cummins guys swear by these filters.

as for oil, i always feel that off-road based rigs need oil changes, so im anti amsoil long run intervalls. I like rotela T synthetic 5w40 but valvoline blue is great stuff as well.

nice looking truck, have fun!

 

[arlon]

Personally I think the 03 was one of the best ever cummins trucks. If I'd have run across an 03 4x4 with that kind of mileage on it, it would be in my driveway right now too..

 

[Magnum Johnson]

Im loving the truck so far but I wish I had a longer commute to work so I could enjoy it more!

How do you guys feel about fuel additives? I hear a lot about 2 stroke oil etc...Opinions?